More about the Antichrist

By Carlton Foster – January 18, 2020

The word “Antichrist” first appears in the New Testament part of the Bible, in 1 John 2. He gave a warning to us by saying, “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such Antichrists have appeared. From this, we know that the last hour has come (1 John 2:18).  He further stated that “Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ; anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an Antichrist (1 John 2:22).”  Anti means against Christ; they are contradicting what Jesus Christ stands for.

There is also something called “the spirit of the Antichrist”. These are those who claimed that they are a believer in God, but do not acknowledge the truth about who Jesus is and why he came into this world (1 John 4:3). These people are deceivers!  Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.  Many deceivers have already gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an Antichrist (2 John 1:7).

Another definition of the Antichrist is the person who wants to replace Christ with their assertions: they will stand in-place of Jesus and do what is rightly belongs to Jesus and ascribe it to them. For example, they secure to themselves the notion that they can forgive people’s sin, and make them free from the powers of sin.  They also ascribe worship to themselves instead of towards Jesus.  The notion of seeking praises is a form of worship to self. This is also the spirit of the Antichrist.

Many people have fallen into that same position of an Antichrist without realizing what they are doing.  We should see and know that every time that God shows us His love, we are to recognize that love is of God and should give God the praise and glory that belongs to him; however, some people in their acts of benevolent, requires in return, acknowledgment and praise to them; which they proudly accepts instead of redirecting the praise to God. People want to be praised for their good works, but this is a fault and will display the spirit of the Antichrist!

They require all praises and honor to be given to them for the good they have done. This tendency will put the individual in the spirit of the Antichrist.  I noticed that in the Bible, the majority of the godly persons do not ascribe to themselves the benefit of doing good works. For example, in Daniel 2, when Daniel revealed the dream and its interpretation to King Nebuchadnezzar who wanted to give Daniel the glory, Daniel said no! It did not come from him, the ability to reveal dreams and interpretations came from God. Daniel reflected the praise and goodness towards God.  He could have remained quiet and accepts all the praises and reward from the King, but this would put him in the spirit of the Antichrist, so he refused his gifts.

You could search the Bible and would see everywhere that godly people are given praises for their good works, redirected the praises to God and not to themselves. Even Jesus himself, while doing these good works, told them that it is his father in him that does the work. In Mathew 8:1-4, “Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. ‘Lord,’ the man said, ‘if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.’ Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the Law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.’”. Another example is Elisha who refused Naaman’s praises and gifts for helping him to be healed: “Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in the entire world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant. But Elisha replied, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, of whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts.’ And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused. (2 Kings 5:15-16)”.

When we do good works and want recognition and praises we are ascribing to the spirit of the Antichrist.  Some people if they don’t get the praises will get upset and will withdraw or diminish their ‘kindnesses’. Unfortunately, there are a number of individuals who are inherently like that.  They show those tendencies in the communities, with families, and at the workplaces. God surely wants us to be loving, to give to the poor, to give gifts, or to go the extra mile, but in doing so, he wants us to not broadcast it or if we do, let the world know that it was done as a result of the goodness of God. All praises and glories go to God!

Any institutions that tried to usurp their power and recognition for their goodness is also seen as Antichrist when they want recognition for their good works.  There are many organizations, such as the Universal Catholic Church, and others that do good for humanity, but they need the public to recognize their good works, and to glorify them and say “look how good they are, they have done this for me,” in so doing, these organizations are taking the place of Christ when they don’t redirect the praises to God.

Remember that Jesus says we cannot make one hair on our head white or black; in other words, we don’t have the power to do a lot of things that we do for people, but it is God who works in us to do good.  So it is wrong to accept praises and worships for some of these efforts that we put forward where we thought we did them on our own. If you have the tendencies to receive praises and honors for your efforts to help others, you are asserting a spirit of the Antichrist.