This particular section of scripture is entitled “Warning against Antichrists”. That’s a pretty big statement to make, especially as you read through the rest of the text. This text describes how people look like they come out of the Church as Christians, but they never really did accept Christ as their Savior. In essence, if you love Jesus, you will persevere through hardships, you will stand up against the schemes of the devil, and you will be able to carry on in tough circumstances (with the help of Jesus as stated in Eph. 6:10-20). By accepting Christ you know that He is THE way, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are guided in our everyday life.
How do you know you have the Holy Spirit? You know and accept Jesus as God. No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. If someone you know can’t say that Jesus is the Christ and He is God, then that person does not have a true relationship with Christ. Have you ever thought of that before? Or have you ever questioned those people that seem to be Christians, but you’re unsure? I’d say the easiest way to find out is to ask them what their thoughts on Jesus are. You’ll get your answer – and by the Power of the Holy Spirit, so comes discernment on knowing if someone is telling the truth or lying.
Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. John actually calls these people antichrists – because by denying the Son of God, he is actually denying God himself as well. As it says in verse 23, “No one who denies the Son has the Father…”. This is kind of intense and a bit scary to a certain degree, but what I believe is being said here is that anyone who doesn’t love Jesus and know Him as their Savior is an antichrist. If you’re not for God, you’re against. You’re anti- God. If you’re not for Christ, you’re against then you’re an antichrist.
This is where things get interesting. Even within the Church as a whole there are antichrists. There are pastors in this world that don’t believe in Jesus. There are deacons, elders, members of Churches that don’t know Christ as their Savior. There are millions of people that believe that Jesus is a “prophet” and not the true Son of God. And the fact of the matter is that all of these people are antichrists. Their testimony is false, their hope is void, and their lives are darkness. Often times these people come up with their own philosophies, or claim that they have the “spirit” and are able to do signs and wonders – but they are not of God, they are of the ruler of this world – the devil. There is a great example of this in the story of Moses and how Pharoah’s anger burned against Israel and their God (Exodus 7-12). The God of the universe would send plagues out on the land of Egypt, but Pharoah’s own sorcerers and leaders were able to perform signs and wonders as well – not by the power of God, but by the power of satan. What we need to realize is that there is Christ or there is the multitude of satan’s demons. Good and evil - that's it.
Recently, I’ve been reminded that anything good comes from God and anything negative comes from the devil. God would never have us doubt, but believe. Jesus would never have us question His love, but trust in His word. Any question, any doubt, any unbelief comes from satan. Any trouble, any trial, any pain comes from the sinful nature of this world. Did we get that? God only wants GOOD and God is GOOD. Satan only wants evil and everyone to suffer and go down to the depths of despair with him. With God all things are possible, without him we’re lost in the darkness of this world.
Okay, a lot to take in this time, and I'm aware that this is a rather sticky subject. This whole section of scripture got me to thinking after I listened to the audio version at Mars Hill. You too can take a listen below... really interesting - mind boggling stuff here. I have so many questions for the Lord on the day that I get to be with Him forever - good thing we'll have all eternity to get them answered. :-)
http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/epistles-of-john/1-john-2-18-29
Praying for you tonight blogging community - that the Lord would reveal Himself and love you through everything you face in life. Blessings! :-)
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