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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman The
Spirit Of The Antichrist
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John 4:2 and 3 in the NIV states that "every spirit that acknowledges
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that
does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of
the antichrist". I think the NIV's translating of the Greek
word "homologeo" as "acknowledges" here is a bit
problematic. Most English versions of this verse translate
"homologeo" as "confess", and for good reason. "Homologeo"
means "to speak (legeo) the same (homo) things". Generally
speaking today, "acknowledge" suggests a mental acceptance of
something while "confess" suggests a heart-felt conviction of
something. We see this concept of confess in Romans 10:9 where Paul
wrote that "if you declare [Greek homologeo - speak the same thing]
with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe [Greek pistis - trust] in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (NIV).
Again, I prefer the word "confess" over the word
"declare" here since this confession is associated with the
heart believing or trusting Jesus as Lord. This verbal confession,
then, is motivated by a heart-felt conviction, not a mere mental
acknowledgement. The
homologeo or confession that both Paul and John had in mind is a
heart-felt conviction concerning agreeing with God on who Jesus is, and
that is part of the triune essence of God. This is the very issue I
believe the spirit of antichrist is presently confusing, and thus,
deceiving many on what defines a real Christian. So
many people are identifying as Christians these days based on some kind of
mental acknowledgement or declaration of their version of a Biblical
belief system that speaks of some kind of Jesus, but what Jesus? Are
their acknowledged claims of Jesus in agreement with the Bible who defines
Jesus as part of the triune essence of God, and is the Supreme universal
authority over all things material and all things spiritual? Are
their declared claims based on their heart-felt conviction that Jesus is
indeed the only Lord of their lives? Remember,
"Satan masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).
It makes sense, then, that the spirit of Satan, the spirit of the
antichrist would deceive people with confusing and deceptive Christian
speech. A verbal claim is meaningless if not backed by a heart-felt
conviction of the Lordship of Jesus that is confirmed in the way one
lives. I wouldn't spend too much energy on trying to figure out who
the antichrist is. Rather. I'd be trying to discern how the
deceptive activity of the spirit of antichrist is influencing our culture
today, and that takes a good measure of Biblical discernment.
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