Alright, turn with me if you
would to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2 and let's read
verse 18. It is the last time. And as you have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists whereby we may
know that it is the last time. In that verse, John gives a very
serious message of warning by saying these two things. It is the last time. And there are many antichrists. That's a serious warning. It
is the last time. And there are many antichrists. He's saying there is no time
to spare. We are all about to go stand
before God. All of us. And there are many
people lying to you about how you can stand there justified,
saved, spared from that wrath. Now,
John said it is the last time about 2000 years ago. He wrote
this almost 2000 years ago. Therefore, many people will mock
that and say, where is the promise of His coming? Time just keeps
going, it just keeps going. Turn back about a page or two
to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3 verse 1 says, This second
epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir
up your pure minds by way of remembrance." He said, I'm writing
this to remind us all of something. That you may be mindful of the
words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the
commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers
walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise
of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God,
the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water
and in the water, whereby the world that then was being overflowed
with water perished. But the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. He said, beloved, be not ignorant
of this. It is the last time. It is the last time. It's coming.
It's the last time in the sense that there is nothing left to
be done but for Christ to come back. That's the last thing. Everything else is accomplished.
That's the very last thing. It's the last time in the sense
that even if he does not return immediately, I've been asked
so many times and people want to know, when do you think the
Lord's coming back? I don't know. But even if he does not come
back immediately, men and women go to meet him through death
every single day. They stand right there every
single day. It is the last time. He said, get ready. Judgment
is coming. Be warned, he said, many preachers
are lying to you about what will save your soul. And that's a
serious warning. That's a serious word. He said,
they're pointing you to another way other than Christ. Another
way of salvation other than Christ. And he said, the man who does
that is anti-Christ. What does that mean? What is
anti-Christ? Many people hear the word anti-Christ
and they think that that is one being. one physical adversary of Christ
that's going to rise up in the last day. And that's just not
so. That's not so. Antichrist is
not one particular being. Antichrist is the message. Preaching, hearing, believing
the message that steals all of the glory and all of the work
in salvation away from Christ. That's Antichrist. A man stands
up and preaches a message that takes all of that, he puts it
in your hands. That's Antichrist. If a man adds
to the work of Christ, or takes away from the work of Christ,
IF HE TRIES TO SHARE IN THE WORK WITH CHRIST. IF HE SAYS, AND YOU'LL HEAR THIS, IF HE SAYS, IT'S CHRIST'S BLOOD
AND MY DECISION. OH YEAH, IT'S THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
IT'S CHRIST'S BLOOD AND IT'S MY BAPTISM. It's Christ's blood and my right
living. If he at all takes anything away
from Christ doing all the work, paying all the debt, satisfying
all the demands, getting all the glory, that man is antichrist. That man is not just wrong, that
man is antichrist. Now let me show you that in the
Word. Go with me to Matthew 7. Matthew 7 verse 15 says, beware
of false prophets. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. He said, beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep's clothing. They look like they're of God.
But they're not, he said, inwardly they are ravening wolves. They're devouring men and women's
souls through the lies that they preach. Look with me at Matthew
24. Matthew 24, verse 11. and many false prophets shall
rise and shall deceive many. Verse 24 says, for there shall
arise false Christ. That's not necessarily meaning
that people will say, I'm Christ. It's saying that they will not
preach Christ as he truly is. They'll preach another Christ.
There shall arise false Christ and false prophets and shall
show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. But he said, they're not going
to deceive my elect. I'm going to keep them by the power of
God. They are going to deceive many. And if it were possible, they
would deceive my elect. But it's not possible. Go with
me to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John 4 verse 1 says, Beloved,
believe not every preacher. The word spirit means preacher.
But try the spirits, try the preachers, whether they are of
God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Not just every spirit that confesses
that Jesus is coming to flesh. Jesus Christ. Whoever confesses the Christ,
whoever preaches the Christ, what does it mean to confess
and preach that the Christ came? That means God came. God himself came. That means
Messiah came. The one who was sent to accomplish
the work came. And that's exactly what he did.
To say that Jesus the Christ came is to say that the successful
Savior came. The finisher of the work came. If he started the work, but he
hasn't finished it yet, If he's in the process of trying
to finish the work, then he's not the Christ. The Christ didn't
come. To preach and say and believe
that he has done everything that he can do and the rest is up
to you. He has no hands but your hands. Won't you let him save you to
confess that? is to confess that He's not the
Christ. That's what you're saying when
you preach that. Ladies and gentlemen, He's not
the Christ. He's just this man, Jesus, and
He's trying as hard as He can. It's to confess He's not the
Savior. He's not the Savior. You're not saved. You're not
saved. If you don't put your stamp on
it, you're not gonna be saved. Salvation is in your hands. That's
to confess he's not the Christ. If salvation ultimately lies
in our hands, that makes us the Christ, and that is anti-Christ. That is anti-Christ. Verse two, hereby know ye the
Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof
you have heard that it should come, and even now already is
it in the world." Already. Turn the page to 2 John, verse
7. There's only one chapter, 2 John,
verse 7. 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. All right. I would like to expose
the message of antichrist by preaching the message of Christ. I'd like to confess what and
how Christ accomplished the salvation of His people. I thought about
this subject of Antichrist. And as I thought about it, this
verse, the question that is in this verse came to my mind. Who
is on the Lord's side? There are only two messages being
preached in the world. Every denomination that's out
there, every church building that's out there, only two messages
are being preached. Antichrist and who is on the
Lord's side. Only two messages. I'd like for
us to finish this message, entering into the Lord's side, who he
is, What he did, how he did it. Alright, go with me over to Exodus
32, where our brother just read. Now in this account, as we read
this, Moses represents the Lord Jesus Christ. As we hear what
he said and see what he did, let's remember that. Moses represents
the Lord Jesus Christ. Very sadly, Aaron represents
a false prophet. All of the children of Israel
represent you and me. Everything that they wanted,
everything that they did, that's you and me. Verse one says, and
when the people saw that Moses, delayed to come down out of the
mount. The people gathered themselves
together unto Aaron and said unto him, up, make us gods, which
shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man
that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what
has become of him. They all said, where is the promise
of his coming? Where is he? We're tired of looking
for him. We are tired of waiting for him.
We are anti him. We want to make our own gods.
Verse two and Aaron said unto them, break off the golden earrings,
which are in the ears of your wives and your sons and your
daughters and bring them unto me. You bring me the best you
have. You bring to me your glory, bring
your worth, bring your value. Verse 3, And all the people break
off the golden earrings which were in the ears, and brought
them unto Aaron. And he received them at their
hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a
molten calf, And they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. He lied. In that moment,
he was a lying, deceiving prophet. He pointed them to another way
of salvation, and there's not another way. Verse 5, And when
Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation
and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord. He did it in the
name of the Lord. And that's what Antichrist does.
It points men and women away from Christ in the name of Christ. Let me repeat that. This is what
Antichrist does. It points men and women away
from Christ in the name of Christ. And if it were possible, the
very elect would be deceived. But thank God it's not possible.
Verse six, and they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt
offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat
and to drink and rose up to play. They made their own sacrifices.
They thought they were all okay with God. Verse 7, And the LORD
said unto Moses, Go, get thee down, for thy people which thou
broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
They have ruined themselves, and you're going to have to go
down to them. This is the only hope they have. You've got to
go down to them. Verse 8, They have turned aside
quickly out of the way which I commanded them. This one way.
They have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it,
and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods,
O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."
He sees everything we do. Verse 9, the Lord said unto Moses,
I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked
people. Now therefore, let me alone that
my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume
them, and I will make of thee a great nation. He said, Moses,
my peace lies on you. Moses representing Christ, he
said, my favor is on you, but I'm going to destroy them. Verse
11 and Moses brought the Lord, his be salt, the Lord, his God,
and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against that people,
which thou has brought forth out of the land of Egypt with
great power and with a mighty hand. Wherefore should the Egyptians
speak and say, for mischief did he bring them out to slay them
in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth?
Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy
people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob." Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Thy servants, to whom thou swearest
by thine own self, And said unto them, I will multiply your seed
as the stars of heaven, and all this land have I spoken of will
I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever." Moses,
representing Christ, the great intercessor, he said, remember
your covenant. Remember the promise you made
for this sinful people. I plead their life for the covenant's
sake. Verse 14, and the Lord repented
of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. That word
repented does not mean changed his mind. It's a different word. It means he sighed, he breathed
strongly, he consoled himself, he had pity. That's what it means. Verse 15, And Moses turned, and
went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony
were in his hand. The tables were written on both
their sides, on the one side and on the other were they written.
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the
writing of God graven upon the tables." God's law. And when
Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said
unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said,
it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery. It doesn't
sound like a battle that somebody is winning. Neither is it the
voice of them that cry for being overcome. It doesn't sound like
a battle that somebody is losing. But the noise of them that sing
do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon
as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the
dancing, and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out
of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount." The first
thing he did was he showed every single one of them, you have
broken God's law. That's the first thing. Every
one of the people, you've broken God's law. Verse 20, And he took
the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and
ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the
children of Israel to drink it. He showed them, This is what
you've done. You have drunk iniquity like water. Verse 21, And Moses
said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast
brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, let not the anger
of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that
they are set on mischief. Moses said, you brought this
sin on them. And Aaron said, it's not my fault.
This is just what they wanted. And that's what the false prophet
does. He gives the people, He gives the flesh of the people
exactly what they want to hear. He gives them exactly what they
want. Verse 23, For they said unto me, Make us gods which shall
go before us. For as for this Moses, the man
that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what
is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever
hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me. Then
I cast it into the fire and there came out this calf. It just,
I just threw it in there and just a calf just, I don't know,
a calf just came out. Lies. Lies. That's foolish preaching. Lies,
lies, lies, ridiculous lies. Verse 25. And when Moses saw
that the people were naked for Aaron had made them naked unto
their shame among their enemies, the lies of the false prophet
cause all the people to stand before God naked. And if a sinner does not have the
finished work of Christ. He'll stand before God in the
same condition. He will have no covering of blood. He will have no robe of righteousness. Verse 26, Then Moses stood in
the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? Let him come unto me, and all
the sons of Levi, God's priests, God's preachers, God's called
men, gathered themselves together unto him. God's men will get
to Christ. They'll go straight to Christ
every single time. Verse 27, And He said unto them,
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his
side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp,
and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion,
and every man his neighbor. That sword is the Word of God. This Word is sharper than any
two-edged sword. And with this Word, Through the
true preacher of Christ, God slays His people. It cuts all the way to the heart.
Verse 28, And the children of Levi did according to the word
of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand
men. For Moses had said, Consecrate
yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son and
upon his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing this
day. And this right here is the blessing.
This is the word of God. This is the gospel of our salvation. All right. This is what it is
to preach Christ. to preach the Christ who came. All right, this is who he is.
This is what he did. This is how he did it. Verse
30. And it came to pass on the morrow
that Moses said unto the people, you have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up unto the
Lord. Peradventure, I shall make an
atonement for your sin. I will go up and I'll make a
covering for your sin. I will cover your nakedness before
God. Verse 31, And Moses returned
unto the LORD, and said, O this people have sinned a great sin,
and have made them gods of gold, gods of their own doing, gods
of their own glory, gods of their own worth. Verse 32, Yet now If thou wilt, forgive their sin. And if not, blot me, I pray thee,
out of thy book which thou hast written. They've sinned a great
sin against you. And I'm asking you to forgive
them. And if you won't, then blot me out of your book.
If you will not forgive them, then let all that wrath be upon
me." That is exactly what Christ asked
His Father to do, and that's exactly what the Father did. Oh, forgive them. Forgive them. Father, forgive them. But He
said, I know that you can. I know that you are a holy God
who must punish sin. So would you please transfer
that sin to me and blot me out. Verse 33, And the Lord said unto
Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out
of my book. Therefore now go lead the people
unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee. Behold, mine
angel shall go before thee. Nevertheless, in the day when
I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. He said, lead them
to the place. I'm about to deal with their
sin. Where was that place? What place is he talking about?
Look at chapter 33 verse 21. And the Lord said, Behold, there
is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock. And it shall
come to pass, that while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee
in a cliff of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while
I pass by." The Father put us safely in the rock of Christ
Himself. And once we were secure in Him,
the Father poured out all of His wrath on our sin. Right there in the place of Christ
Himself. He dealt with our sin. Christ
was wounded for our transgressions. Christ was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His stripes we're healed. That's what it
is to preach Christ. That's the message that is anti-Antichrist. Only Christ. Only Christ. Only His work. Only His blood. Only His glory. We must bow to,
we must believe on, we must cling to Jesus Christ. We must. And here's the reason why. It
is the last time. It is the last time and he's
our only hope. He's the only hope we have. All right, let's
all stand together.