by Doug Fortune
I thought that title might get your attention! After
all, many Christians today are fearful of this one whom they believe
will rise to power and rule the world. Eschatological speculators have
busied themselves for decades trying to figure out who it would be...
Hitler, Kissinger, Juan Carlos, Prince Charles, Clinton? May I suggest
that he might be closer than you think?... so how can you recognize him?
"By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit
of antichrist, which you have heard that it should come; and even now is
already in the world" (I John 4:2-3). In other words, if someone
denies that Jesus Christ was born and walked the earth as a man, then
he’s a good candidate for being the antichrist, right?... wrong, that
one is just a good candidate for displaying ignorance. Historical
evidence proves unequivocally that Jesus Christ walked the earth as a
man and when that verse was written, it hadn’t been that long since
Jesus had done just that; so obviously this verse has to mean something
different than a casual reading renders. Actually, if we all understood
Greek, a fairly casual reading would render an accurate understanding.
Let us focus on the primary wording upon which the
verse hinges; "Jesus Christ
is come in the
flesh". Notice it doesn’t say HAS come, it says IS come;
nor does it say YET to come, it says IS come. The word used there is erchomai
in Greek; it is the middle voice of a primary verb used only in the
present and imperfect tenses. The middle voice is that use of the verb
which describes the subject as participating
in the results of
the action. The present tense may be used to describe an action that,
begun in the past, continues in the present
-- the
emphasis is on the present time. The imperfect is often used to
describe an action or state that is in progress. Like the present tense,
the imperfect tense displays an internal aspect. That is, it portrays
the action from within the event, without regard for beginning or end.
The imperfect (like the present) takes a motion picture, portraying the
action as it unfolds. As such, the imperfect focuses on the progress
of
the action.
In other words, this verb is not necessarily
descriptive of a past event that is finished or completed; nor is it
descriptive of an event that is yet to be. It is
describing the COMING of the Lord as something that began with Jesus
Christ, yet continues presently as a process that is not complete.
Keep in mind that the middle voice means the subject participates
in the results of the action. The flesh He is appearing in presently is the
flesh (human life) of His people. Remember, this verse is written after
His death and resurrection; WE are participating
in his coming as He is appearing IN His people. Rev.1:12-13 tells
us clearly where to look for the Son of Man to appear; "And
I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw
seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst
of the seven candlesticks
one like unto the Son of man..." Of course verse 20 tells us
what the candlestick are; "...the seven
candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches."
Some would have us looking at the clouds in the sky
for His coming, as if it is yet to be, rather than happening now; may I
suggest
we would do better looking to a different cloud?. . . that great
cloud of witnesses (Heb.12:1). I believe this is the cloud in which He
was transfigured (Mk. 9:7), the cloud He was received into (Acts 1:9),
and the cloud He is returning in (Rev. 1:7). Indeed, Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh! He comes to believers as He continually reveals
Himself. To confess otherwise is antichrist.
Oh yes, what about the future antichrist?... well,
consider the following Scriptures:
"Little
children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now
are there many
antichrists; whereby we know that it
is the last time. They went out from
us, but they were not of
us... Who
is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son." (I John 2:18-19, 22
)
"...this is
that spirit of antichrist, which you have heard that it should come;
and even now is already
in the world." (I John 4:3)
"For many
deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."
(II John 1:7)
Sounds to me like antichrist is already here and it
is not just one individual. Someone is probably saying, ‘But that is
the spirit of antichrist, according to I John 4:3
"...this
is that spirit of antichrist, which you have heard that it should come;
and even now is already in the world." Well, if you look
in the Greek, the word spirit is not in the text, just the word
antichrist. You can also go on to verse 4 for contextual confirmation of
the coming of Jesus Christ in us, as it
says "You are of God, little children, and
have overcome them [who is them?... the
context is speaking of antichrist]: because
greater is He that is in you,
than he that is in the world [who
is in the world?... antichrist]" (1
John 4:4).
Antichrist is from the Greek word anti, which means
instead of or substitute, and christos,
which means anointed (it is never used
as a proper name, it is a descriptive word). Antichrist is something that is instead of, or a
substitute for the anointing. I dare say you don’t have
to look far to find antichrist. Religion is filled with substitutes for God’s
anointing, and showing forth the coming of the
Lord in our lives. Indeed, this is a day when antichrist, the man of sin,
is being revealed. God is opening our eyes to those things we manifest
that are ‘other than’ or a substitute for manifesting the fullness
of Christ, who is within us. As antichrist is revealed, the prophetic
proclamation of Christ who is within us must slay him.
Religion has lied to us about who we are, that we are
sinners who must struggle with two opposing natures. We’ve been told
that we must die and go to heaven before we can truly manifest the
nature and authoritative dominion of Christ -- this thinking is
antichrist. We have seen ourselves in light of this and have been
looking into the sky for the appearing of Christ. The prophetic voice
today is declaring the appearing of Christ in the clouds; it’s the
mystery Paul spoke of, which is Christ IN YOU.
Indeed, Jesus Christ is come in the flesh!
If you’re looking for a natural fulfillment of
antichrist rising to power, you might find it recorded in history.
Consider the natural fulfillment of antichrist personified and Rev.13:16
in the following: The mark is the name of the beast, the name of the
beast is the name of a man, and the numerical value is 666. The word
‘earth’ used in the book of Revelation is ghay, it means a region
-- the ‘earth’ envisioned by John was the Roman Earth or Empire, not
the whole world. The Roman papal empire used Latin as it’s language
and in the year A.D.666 Pope Vitallian decreed the exclusive use of
Latin so that every person in Western Europe, as a member of the
Catholic Church used Latin; thus the mark in the forehead (mind,
thoughts) and the hand (written language). The Greek word (remember, the
book of Revelation was written in Greek) for Latin is Lateinos, and it
has the numeric value of 666. The word ‘Latin’ in the Latin language
(Latinus) is a proper noun meaning ‘the Latin man’; hence the name
of the Roman papal empire, the Latin empire is also the name of a man. This Latin empire in A.D.1178 by Pope Alexander III forbid trading with
heretics (non-Catholics), and Pope Martin V after the Council of
Constance commanded that the heretics (non-Catholics) could not have
houses in their districts or enter into contracts, or carry on commerce.
Thus we find a natural fulfillment of antichrist rising to power
recorded in the pages of history. In the year 1520 Martin Luther wrote,
"We are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true
and real Antichrist. Personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other
obedience than that to Antichrist." (from ‘The Prophetic Faith of
Our Fathers’, vol.2, p.121
