The Antichrist

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
1 John 2:22–25
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The Antichrist
            When we think of the antichrist, we often picture the Hollywood version in the latest horror movie, the devil come to earth to wreak havoc on humanity. And though there is some truth in this there is still much confusion about who the antichrist is.  We know that the term means one who would stand in the place of Christ. John tells us here and in his other epistles that the antichrist is not simply one person who will come at the end of days to fight Armageddon but is in fact many people who are here right now. The antichrists are those who would deny Christ as the Son of God. Those who would lead Christians away from the truth of God’s revealed Word, and entice them with the gospel of me, myself, and I. The antichrists want to turn us inward, away from Jesus, so that we no longer believe He is our Savior. John warned us centuries ago that this was happening, and it has continued to happen. Yet in the end, the antichrists of this world have already been defeated. Denying the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit does not erase them, nor does it take any power or might from them. For this reason, we remain in God’s Word, always growing in our faith and knowledge of Christ crucified for us. So that when the lies of the antichrist come to us, they are refuted, and the truth prevails. The cross and the empty tomb have seen to that.