Anti-Christ is in the world, but the Holy Spirit is in us

1 John 2:18-28

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• The Anti-Christ is in the world.
• Anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches truth, but the Antichrist lives a lie.
• Abide in God through Jesus Christ who gives us eternal life.
• Anointing of the Holy Spirit is given from Jesus Christ and lives in us.
• Keep the oil of the Holy Spirit in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ.

The Anti-Christ is in the world.
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” 1 John 2:18-19

Today, we are in the “last hour” before the destruction of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. About 2000 years ago, the Apostle John wrote about the coming of the Anti-Christ and noted that many anti-Christs were already present in his time. The many anti-Christs were identified as those who denied God and did not acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and Lord. Today, many, many anti-Christs exist in every city around the world, which has paved the way for the coming of the Anti-Christ whom they follow on Earth. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb…” Revelation 13:8

The Anti-Christ is the entity that has power over physiology and sets within people by giving them their thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. The Anti-Christ is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Click here for a post on the “man of sin”. By sitting within the body, the temple of God, the Anti-Christ is able to enliven the image of the beast to live and speak through people. Today’s culture, which is global, are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do.

God created our mind, heart, and soul to be His temple, not the temple of the Anti-Christ that operates within the thoughts and feelings of the global population, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16

Click here for another post on 1 John 2:18 about the many anti-Christs and the one Anti-Christ.

The phrase “They went out from us but were not of us” means those who have left the fellowship of Jesus Christ, denying God, becoming atheists, and rejecting the influence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This describes the global population of anti-Christs today, who embrace the Anti-Christ’s influence over their thoughts, feelings, and consequently, their words and actions. Click here for a post on the “Great Falling Away”.

It is obvious that today’s culture is not part of the fellowship of Jesus Christ. The churches have abandoned the Gospel of Jesus Christ, government lawmakers do not integrate the values of the Bible into law and policies, the educational system does not allow the teaching of the Bible in classrooms, and Christianity is not welcomed in any sector of society.

Click here for an extended post on the many antichrists and the one Antichrist from 1 John 2:18.

Anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches truth, but the Antichrist lives a lie.
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:20-23

The world is influenced by the Anti-Christ, who governs their thoughts and feelings, shaping their words and actions. However, we who follow Jesus Christ are anointed with the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit, we can discern our thoughts and feelings, striving to be more like Christ in our words and actions. When the Apostle John stated, “You know all things,” he referred to our understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, encouraging us to live for Him rather than for the entity that is obviously atheistic and is the Anti-Christ.

Individuals unaware of the truth of Jesus Christ do not want to hear that they are among the many anti-Christs who follow the Anti-Christ as their leader. The Apostle John is writing to believers who are aware of the Gospel of Christ and want to be made aware regarding the Anti-Christ. The culture of the Anti-Christ is founded on the denial of a living God, lying about the need for forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and being deceitful about the sanctity of the Holy Spirit. No lie is of the truth, the truth being that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Abide in God through Jesus Christ who gives us eternal life.
“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.” 1John 2:24-26

The Apostle John warns of the many antichrists who seek to deceive us, insisting that we surrender our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions to the influence of the Antichrist. They can appear friendly, flattering our esteem and dignity, and speaking with smooth words, “For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:18

Satan tries to make himself look like an angel of light. So why does it seem strange for Satan’s servants to pretend to do what is right? Someday they will get exactly what they deserve. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

We are advised to let the Gospel of Jesus Christ dwell within us, which means embracing in our hearts that Jesus Christ sacrificed His life on the Cross for our sins, that God resurrected Him after three days, that He ascended into Heaven, and that He gave us the Holy Spirit. The deceivers of the Antichrist aim to strip us of all this by silencing our testimony of being born-again, menacing our faith in the resurrection, and ridiculing our belief in eternal life. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you too will remain in the Son and in the Father.

Anointing of the Holy Spirit is given from Jesus Christ and lives in us.
“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” 1John 2:27

The anointing of the Holy Spirit, which is received through faith in Jesus Christ, lives within us and cannot be taught by human beings. For instance, we discern the fruits of the Holy Spirit when we see them flourishing in others, just as we notice when the fruits are not present in the spirit of others. This is only something that we can learn through the Spirit. “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” Matthew 7:16-18

The Spirit is truthful; one is either alive in the Spirit or not. However, intellectual learning cannot teach us the knowledge of the Spirit. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:13-14

The Anti-Christ, the entity that has power over physiology to give us our feelings, emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and words is artificial and not spiritual at all. In fact, this is the one who replaces the spirit and conscience to build a wall against abiding in Jesus Christ. The spirit is hardened to enliven the artificial presence of the image of the beast to live and speak through people. In doing this, people are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do.

We remain in Jesus Christ, because in Him there is life in the Spirit and truth. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:3-4

Keep the oil of the Holy Spirit in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ.
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” 1 John 2:28-29

As we abide in Jesus Christ, the anointing of the Holy Spirit resides within us. Upon His return, Jesus Christ will look for the light of the Holy Spirit in us, and those who radiate that light will join Him to live forever in the New Jerusalem. The presence of the Holy Spirit in us assures our eternal inheritance, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14 We are the purchased redemption, a purchase made by the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross to atone for our sins.

In the parable of keeping oil in our lamps, found in Matthew 25:1-13, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to keep our light burning with the Holy Spirit. Upon His return, the door of Heaven will open for those with shining lights, but it will close for those living in darkness without a shining light.

If we know that Jesus Christ is righteous, we can also understand that anyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. Regrettably, the many anti-Christs around the world fail to recognize His righteousness, choosing instead to follow the leadership of the Anti-Christ. Such individuals are not of Christ, as they reject God, mock the need for sin’s forgiveness, and close themselves off to the Holy Spirit. In contrast, the righteousness of Jesus Christ lives within us through the Spirit, whereas the influence of the Anti-Christ replaces the spirit and conscience, giving people their feelings, emotions, thoughts, actions, and words.

“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalms 1:1-2

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1