Antichrists / Los Anticristos
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Introduction
Introduction
There are many people that are fascinated with the end times.
Many people speculate about the end of the world.
There are people who have actually set a date for the end of the world.
Harold Camping a few years ago had said Jesus would come back on:
September 6, 1994
May 21, 2011
October 21, 2011
A group of people called the Millerites (modern day Seventh Day Adventists) had said Jesus would return in 1844).
Others have speculated about the identity of the antichrist. Some have associated: Benito Mussolini, Adolph Hitler, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, John Paul II, or even Barac Obama.
The Bible tells us how we should think about the last days and what are focus should be in this regard.
We should not be concentrated on setting dates.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
»Pero en cuanto al día y la hora, nadie lo sabe, ni siquiera los ángeles en el cielo, ni el Hijo, sino sólo el Padre.
Matthew 24:36
We should be working/serving the Lord in anticipation of his coming.
It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
Mattew 24:46
»¿Quién es el siervo fiel y prudente a quien su señor ha dejado encargado de los sirvientes para darles la comida a su debido tiempo? Dichoso el siervo cuando su señor, al regresar, lo encuentra cumpliendo con su deber.
Matthew 24:
We should be prepared for the coming of the Lord.
“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
Mark 13:3
»Por lo tanto, manténganse despiertos, porque no saben cuándo volverá el dueño de la casa, si al atardecer, o a la medianoche, o al canto del gallo, o al amanecer;
In this section of 1 John we are exhorted to consider:
We are living in the last days
The spirit of the antichrist is present
We must be watchful
I. We are living in the last days
I. We are living in the last days
I. Estamos viviendo en los últimos días
I. Estamos viviendo en los últimos días
The Apostle John wants us to know we are truly living in the last days:
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
Queridos hijos, ésta es la hora final, y así como ustedes oyeron que el anticristo vendría, muchos son los anticristos que han surgido ya. Por eso nos damos cuenta de que ésta es la hora final.
The last days are not a time in the future.
The last days started with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The Bible says that when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost (50 days after Jesus’ resurrection) the “last days” were inaugurated.
“ ‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
»Después de esto,
derramaré mi Espíritu sobre todo el género humano.
Los hijos y las hijas de ustedes profetizarán,
tendrán sueños los ancianos
y visiones los jóvenes.
»“Sucederá que en los últimos días—dice Dios—,
derramaré mi Espíritu sobre todo el género humano.
Los hijos y las hijas de ustedes profetizarán,
tendrán visiones los jóvenes
y sueños los ancianos.
Acts
Do not for a minute think that the last days are far away into the future. We are truly living in the last days.
There are many that have stopped believing that the end is near. They think that if Jesus has not come back in 2,000 years, then surely it is all a lie. Many people think it is simply wishful thinking.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:
El Señor no tarda en cumplir su promesa, según entienden algunos la tardanza. Más bien, él tiene paciencia con ustedes, porque no quiere que nadie perezca sino que todos se arrepientan.
The reason why the Lord has allowed the passage of time is to allow men to come to a saving knowledge of the truth.
Many are coming to know the truth and many others are hardening their hearts even more.
Because we are living in the last days we must not be ignorant of the dangers that we will face in the last days.
II. The spirit of the Antichrist is present
II. The spirit of the Antichrist is present
II. El espíritu del Anticristo está presente
II. El espíritu del Anticristo está presente
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
Queridos hijos, ésta es la hora final, y así como ustedes oyeron que el anticristo vendría, muchos son los anticristos que han surgido ya. Por eso nos damos cuenta de que ésta es la hora final.
John
John reminds his hearers that they are aware of the coming of the antichrist.
The antichrist is an actual person that will manifest himself upon the earth to turn away the world against God.
He is prophesied in the book of Daniel and is identified as “the beast” in the book of Revelation.
He will be an evil man who will try to take the place of Jesus Christ. He will blaspheme the name of God and do everything in his power to destroy those who will believe during Great Tribulation upon this earth.
However, John tells them that the most immediate danger is that although the antichrist is an evil person that will manifest himself in a future time - the spirit of the antichrist is already alive and well upon the earth.
John says “many antichrists have come”. Because we see these antichrists in our day we know we are living in the last days.
The spirit of the antichrist is already operating in our midst. Not only is the spirit of the antichrist operating in our midst but it is seeking to destroy the Church of God.
Antichrists in our midst. John helps us identify who are these present day antichrists.
John helps us identify who are these present day antichrists.
These antichrists find their origin inside the church.
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
At some point these antichrists had identified themselves as being part of the Church of God. They considered themselves believers.
In the end, they stopped associating themselves with the people of God. They manifested what they really where - antichrists and not true Christians.
Their abandoning of the Church of God demonstrated they had never truly believed. They were in fact false believers.
They are false teachers in that they deny the Father and the Son.
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
¿Quién es el mentiroso sino el que niega que Jesús es el Cristo? Es el anticristo, el que niega al Padre y al Hijo. Todo el que niega al Hijo no tiene al Padre; el que reconoce al Hijo tiene también al Padre.
:
They teach lies.
They deny the true identify of the Father and the Son.
It is possible that they say they believe in the Father and the Son - but they do not believe in the Father and the Son as revealed in the Bible.
There are many people in this world that say they believe in God. There are many that say they believe in Jesus Christ - however, they believe in a God of their own imagination and not in the God of the Bible.
Many people believe in a Jesus that is not divine. For them, Jesus is another human being, a mere prophet, a good teacher - but not God in the flesh.
Others believe in a God that is not holy. They do not believe in a God who is just to condemn rebellious humanity.
Others believe in a God that is tolerant of their personal sin.
Others believe that all religions lead to God. Jesus Christ is simply one of those many ways to God.
We must believe in the God of the Bible.
We must believe God is holy. He has given us his law. God will judge and condemn man’s rebellion against himself.
We must believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is worthy of worship and adoration. He is worthy of giving our lives to him in obedience.
We must believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. He is the only way that God has given us by which we must be saved.
We must believe that being a Christian necessarily requires a new life. We are a born again. We become a new creation. We cannot hold on to our sinful life.
We must believe that the Church of God is the visible manifestation of his body, on this side of glory. We must commit ourselves to the local church. The church’s sole mission on this planet is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not a social club where Christians come to have a good time. We are called to preach the truth of God’s holiness, his mercy in Jesus Christ, his justice, and his coming to judge the living and the dead.
The spirit of the antichrist goes against all this. The spirit of the antichrist creates liberal churches that are devoid of the gospel. They may have beautiful buildings, wonderful Christmas and Easter services, many social assistance programs - but they are spiritually dead. There is no life in them. They have become a relic of the past.
We m
The spirit of the antichrist is focused on confusing those who call themselves believers so that they may succumb to its false teachings. How can we be prepared to stand against the spirit of the antichrist?
I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
1 John 2:
Estas cosas les escribo acerca de los que procuran engañarlos.
III. We must be prepared
III. We must be prepared
III. Debemos estar preparados
III. Debemos estar preparados
John tells his hearers that believers are equipped with two important defenses against the spirit of the antichrist.
We have the anointing of the Spirit
We must remain in Jesus Christ
We have the anointing of the Spirit
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
Todos ustedes, en cambio, han recibido unción del Santo, de manera que conocen la verdad.
Many believers see the “anointing” as some other than what the Bible talks about. They think that having the anointing is healing people that are sick, prophesying, or falling down under the power of God. Others think that having the anointing is yelling while they are preaching or simply an emotional high.
John says that the anointing manifests itself in a believer but showing them the truth.
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
1 John
En cuanto a ustedes, la unción que de él recibieron permanece en ustedes, y no necesitan que nadie les enseñe. Esa unción es auténtica—no es falsa—y les enseña todas las cosas. Permanezcan en él, tal y como él les enseñó.
The spirit of God guides us to the truth of his word.
The spirit of God helps us understand/discern truth from falsehood.
The spirit of God confirms to us that which is true according to the word of God.
It is for this reason that we must be students devoted to the study of the word of God. Why have we been preaching 1 John? Why did we preach through the book of Jonah? We must know the word of God, we must be ministered by the word of God, we must let the Spirit of God apply his word to our lives to be transformed.
We must remain in Jesus Christ.
John tells us that we must remain in Jesus Christ.
We cannot continue the journey to our heavenly home if we do not remain in Jesus Christ.
We must not fall away.
We must persevere.
We believe in the security of the believer. We believe that those who are saved will persevere to the end. However, it is illogical to think that perseverance means I stop identifying myself with the local church.
If we were to go to the baptismal record/baby dedications - there are many names that represent people that at one point were part of this local congregation.
We do not know people’s hearts.
However, one thing is for sure - if they are not homebound, if they are not dead, if they are not in another local church - but have simply decided they no longer have time for the local church - they are living like unbelievers. We must consider them as unbelievers - not to shun them but to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they may truly believe.
Conclusion
Conclusion
These are hard words! Many have or are in danger of succumbing to the spirit of the antichrist.
We must reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
1 John 2:24
Permanezca en ustedes lo que han oído desde el principio, y así ustedes permanecerán también en el Hijo y en el Padre. Ésta es la promesa que él nos dio: la vida eterna.
If we remain in Christ we have a promise - eternal life!
If we do not remain in Christ we also have a promise - eternal death!
Let us pray that:
God will give us the strength to persevere, to remain in Christ to the end of our life on this earth.
God will bring all who have backslidden - back to him and will be reconciled to him.