Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Every man is given the natural
understanding of the existence of God, because that which may
be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it
unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse. Because that when they knew God,
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. but became
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Yet all men,
without exception, would continue in that rebellion to their own
demise, were it not for the sovereign grace of God to deliver them
from it. We see some who reject the knowledge
of the one true God in favor of various gods of their own
imagination. In such cases, the God is their own selves, and
they express their rebellion against the rule of an absolute
God by fashioning and worshiping lesser gods who must be in subservience
to their free will. David described this scenario,
saying, Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their
God? But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver
and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but
they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell
not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but
they walk not. Neither speak they through their
throat. They that make them are like unto them. So is everyone
that trusteth in them." John speaks of the very spirit which
abides in men by nature and manifests itself in the present age. He
says this spirit is antichrist. The Greek word, which is translated
into English in the King James Version, literally means an opponent
of the Messiah. The word appears five times in
the Bible. All five of those occurrences
are found in four verses in the epistles of John. Until Christ
was revealed in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, this spirit
of antichrist could not manifest itself, though it is essentially
the same as that rebellious spirit which has dwelt in men from the
beginning, but is now revealed specifically as God has been
pleased to dwell among men in the likeness of sinful flesh.
God says that the present time is the last time, since opposition
to the Messiah has arisen. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds. He does not speak of a time yet
to come, but the same age in which Christ has revealed himself.
Little children, it is the last time, and as ye have heard that
Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists, whereby
we know that it is the last time. This opposition is made manifest
by a denial that this Jesus of Nazareth is that one sent by
God to be the Redeemer of his people. This rebellion against
him is seen as men preach another message than Jesus Christ and
him crucified. Paul identified this spirit when
he said, As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him
be accursed. Many stop short of declaring
that by his death and resurrection alone he has procured the redemption
of that elect bride which was given to him. This is antichrist. To deny that Christ came in the
flesh for this purpose is to set forth a message which negates
the work that he actually accomplished and to present a make-believe
Christ. Beloved, believe not every spirit,
because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 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 ye have heard that it should come, and even now already
is it in the world. To deny the purpose for which
he came is the same as denying that he came in the flesh for
that reason. Many heresies arose in the days of John which denied
his fleshly existence. They continue today. This is
Antichrist. We should not be surprised at
the widespread evidence of this spirit, for it was even abundant
in the days when John wrote his epistles. For many deceivers
are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ
has come in flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Sometimes this spirit almost
seems benign, but the truth is that deception is always very
close to that which is true, else it could not be deception.
And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. Do you rejoice
in full and complete salvation wrought by Christ? Or do you
think of Christ as one who has merely attempted to save men?
This is the spirit of Antichrist. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.