“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 [the antichrists] 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.
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things,” (I John 2:18-20).
The early church recognized that the spirit of antichrist was already at work in the world. In fact, the antichrist spirit had actually emerged from among the religious!
But John taught his readers that the Spirit of truth would teach God’s true children and keep them out of deception from the antichrist spirit.
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come,” (John 16:13).
In 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 Paul taught that there was coming a point in history when “He who restrains” would be taken out of the way:
“And now you know what is restraining, that he (the Antichrist) may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
The “He” that Paul refers to, who restrains the antichrist spirit, cannot be the bride of Christ, who is a “she”. So if it is not the church, then who is doing the restraining? It is the Spirit of truth Himself who restrains the deception of antichrist!
Why does God deliberately take His Spirit of truth out of the way in end times and allow Antichrist to emerge? Because in the end times, people will not receive truth. They will not receive of God’s Holy Spirit. So, God is forced to withdraw His Spirit of truth, allowing for the strong delusion of Antichrist to take over. God gives man what he demands.
“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the TRUTH, that they might be saved.
“And for this reason GOD WILL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE THE LIE,
“that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness,” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).
What is the truth, as taught in the word of God?
1. There is coming a point in history when every nation will have turned its back on God. There is none righteous, no not one. Only individuals who have accepted the blood-bought salvation of Jesus Christ will be saved.
2. The nation of Israel will find herself at the brink of extinction. Only the return of her Messiah will save her.
This begs the question: What will have happened to America?
What we are seeing in American society today is a loss of love for truth. People are willing to believe lies, if it suits them. Many have already come under strong delusion, with its resultant loss of life and freedoms, accompanied by destruction of property. Governmental strength of force may prevent an outward toppling, but inward national corruption can destroy it from within. What emerges is a nation that looks the other way when real persecution of its citizens begins.
In the end time, the church will be marked by lukewarmness. By being ignorant of the word of God and insensitive to His Spirit, she loses her diligence for safeguarding TRUTH, in her effort and desire to appease the world. God is forced to withdraw His Spirit of truth. Deception & apostasy flood into the world.
The church is responsible for safeguarding and proclaiming TRUTH. She does this by yielding to the Holy Spirit’s revelation of the word of God. God revealed truth to us in His word. It cannot be compromised in any way, shape, or form!
Of course, God always preserves for Himself, a remnant. But, there is a point where even the remnant cannot hold back the judgment of God. Jewish rabbinical thought teaches there is a point when so few good are present, that the forces of evil threaten to overcome even them. Jesus said in Matthew 24:22, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” So, out of mercy, God sends divine judgment to preserve the remnant.
Church, we need to count the cost of being a disciple of Christ, and prepare ourselves. The victorious overcoming of a Christian is described in Revelation 12:11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
We have been called to preserve the Spirit of truth within the world and within an organized church, at a time when no one wants to hear it.
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you, be watchful…” (2 Timothy 4:2-5).
The time of the apostasy and the antichrist is ahead of us. Preserving the Spirit of truth now will help to delay— but it cannot stop— that apostasy.
Church, prepare!
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