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Antichrist
Brian Mashburn
August 1, 2021
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Antichrist
Imagine having walked with Jesus while he was here on Earth. Imagine being a sponge as you take in his teachings, observe him interact with a wide spectrum of people (both friend and foe), and follow his prayer life. Imagine the Spirit that resided in Jesus being shared with you to the point that you were forever impacted, full of gratitude and joy, and desperate to pass this Spirit on to those you love.
That is a good description of the disciple John who writes to his "dear children" in the book of 1 John. As we get to the end of chapter 2, he has already been clear what he wants for them: He wants them to have a real, experiential relationship with God. He wants that for them because he knows that is what provides them with complete joy, help against sin, and unassailable confidence in their salvation.
But sadly, there are forces present among his dear flock that are legitimate threats to this.
He has already identified "the world" as something to be wary of and savvy about. "Do not love the world", he says, because it is full of deceit and trickery, and besides, it is passing away. Align yourself with it and you will pass away with it. He wants them to be like him, aligned with Christ.
He then uses a strong word to describe the world, and some of the people who have been fooled by it.
Antichrist. I do not know what images that word brings up in your mind, but for John, he is speaking about people and ideas that are subtly "against Christ." Things that ask for people to affections for things "instead of" Christ.
And these people and ideas are threats to his dear children having what he wants for them - God, joy, purity, confidence - because they are only available through Christ.
John knows. He learned it from Jesus, and he enjoys these things because he remains in Jesus, and he continues in Jesus.
Today, we look at these people that had become antichrist closely, and reflect on ourselves in light of them.