Today’s reading is 1 John 2:1-3:24.

The antichrist is a big money maker today. No, I don’t mean the antichrist is someone alive today making lots of money. I mean writing a book, making a movie, preaching a series about the antichrist is making other people lots of money. However, the very sad part about this is folks are spending all this money to find out about the antichrist from fictional series like Left Behind, but they aren’t actually reading their Bibles to find out about antichrist.

The word “antichrist” is found only four times in the whole New Testament, two of which are in today’s reading: 1 John 2:18, 22. The other two are also found in John’s letters: 1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7.

What I can’t help but notice is that the text said the antichrist was already there when John wrote his letter. Further, I can’t help but notice he didn’t really speak of a single antichrist. He spoke of many. Further, I can’t help but notice that he didn’t speak of the antichrist as a world ruler who unified the world and then led them to follow the devil. Antichrist is anyone who denies Jesus and God. 

John was actually dealing with the Gnostic heresy that claimed the flesh was bad so God hadn’t come in the flesh. They denied Jesus was the Savior or they denied that He actually died. In any event, John says “antichrist” is not a world leader but anyone who denies Jesus in one way or another.

The “so what” of the matter is we need to get rid of the sensationalism surrounding “antichrist” and start realizing antichrist could be anyone of us who decides to deny Jesus in some way. That is true even if we are still religious. The Gnostics were still religious. They were simply wrong. 

***Question: What do you do to stay pro-Christ?

Keep the faith and keep reading?

ELC