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Antichrist:
Denying Jesus Christ is Come in the Flesh
There are only 4 verses in scripture that actually use the word Antichrist:
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
I would like to focus initially on the last two passages, that give a special identifiable characteristic of Antichrist. Clearly, the spirit of Antichrist denies the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This seems initially to be fairly straightforward, but actually involves a subtlety that requires study and understanding to perceive the deception spoken of in 2 John 1:7. So, just what does "flesh" mean in those verses?
Defining The "Flesh"
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1 Cor 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1 Cor 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?Clearly, "flesh" can be interpreted as synonymous with being a sinner, or "carnal", which is defined as lacking the Holy Spirit. Adam and Eve when they were created were in perfect harmony with God, and had a spiritual nature. When they sinned, they lost this spiritual nature, and became carnal sinners. Ever since the fall, the children of Adam and Eve and their descendents are born carnal, lacking the spiritual nature forfeited in the garden. So when John says that Christ is "come in the flesh", he is actually saying that Christ was born by a sinner that had a carnal nature.
Note what the following says about being carnal:
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.To be carnal is to be sold under sin. So Jesus Christ had to born of a sinner to "come in the flesh":
Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Acts 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;Rom 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. ...
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;All Have Sinned - Except Jesus Christ The Son Of God
So Christ was born of a sinner, Mary, a descendant of Adam and Eve, and Abraham, and David, who herself needed redemption from sin, and this is something that she herself clearly recognized:
Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.Mary is no exception. As a sinner, she like the rest of us also needed a Saviour.
1 Ki 8:46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) ...
2 Chr 6:36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) ...
Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Eccl 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Christ could only inherit the fallen nature of the children of Adam and Eve from his mother, because she was a sinner, yet scripture tells us that Christ was NOT a sinner, and never sinned:
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
2 Cor 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.The Last Adam (Jesus Christ) Was Made Spiritual
Born of a sinner with a carnal nature, Jesus Christ knew no sin. How is that possible? How was His birth different from the rest of us?
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.While Christ was indeed born of a sinner that lacked a spiritual nature, He was also born of the Holy Spirit:
Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Though born of the flesh (of a sinner), scripture tells us that Jesus Christ had, before the incarnation, and from His conception, the spiritual nature that Adam and Eve had lost!
1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1 Cor 15:46 Howbeit that was not first [Adam] which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that [last Adam] which is spiritual.
1 Cor 15:47 The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy: the second man [Jesus Christ] is the Lord from heaven.So a prominent characteristic of Antichrist is a denial that Jesus Christ "came in the flesh", which is to say a denial that He was born of a sinner (Mary), who herself could only pass on a carnal human nature.
Roman Catholicism Dogmatically Decrees That Mary Was Sinless
Note the following papal decree:
We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.
Hence, if anyone shall dare -- which God forbid! -- to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law if he should dare to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart. ...Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very dear to us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal for piety, religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this most sweet Mother of mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties, needs, doubts and fears. Under her guidance, under her patronage, under her kindness and protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing is hopeless. ...
Source:Ineffabilis Deus, Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 1854)
The decree of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that Mary was sinless from her conception in her mother's womb, is considered to be an ex cathedra teaching, from Peter's Chair, an infallible article of faith binding on all Roman Catholics. Catholics are also taught that Mary never sinned her entire life:
411 ... Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ's victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.306
306 Cf. Pius IXs Ineffabilis Deus: DS 2803; Council of Trent: DS 1573 [
Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Ligouri Publications, English translation copyright 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana, bearing the Imprimi Potest of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, page 104.
Catholics also teach that Jesus Christ inherited His sinless immaculate nature from His mother Mary:
... I admit we [Catholics] speak glowingly of Mary (who doesn't love and speak well of their mother?), but in this context I was being the prosaic, theological one. I wasn't using poetic, superlative language about the Blessed Virgin. I was simply laying out the logic: Jesus was the sinless Son of God. He took his sinless human nature from his mother. For that human nature to be really human and really sinless its human source must have been uniquely pure. This seems to be a simple, logical, and modest claim.
Source:
... So much is Mary's very being full of grace that this title [Immaculate Conception] serves to identify Mary in place of her own name. It is also true that no person with a fallen nature could possess a fullness of grace, a plentitude of grace, appropriate only for the woman who was to give God the Son an identical, immaculate human nature. Mary was conceived in providence to be the woman who would give her same immaculate nature to God when God became man. Certainly we can see the fittingness in God receiving a human nature from a human mother, and receiving an immaculate nature from a truly immaculate mother.
Source:
... we affirm that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word of God, who in His divine nature is from all eternity begotten of the Father, consubstantial with Him, was in the fullness of time again begotten, by be born of the Virgin, thus taking to Himself, from her maternal womb, a human nature of the same substance with hers.
Source
The same quote of Cardinal Gibbons appears in
Mary Declared The Mediatrix Of Salvation
Where does this alleged sinless immaculate nature of Mary ultimately lead in Roman Catholic Church teaching?
969 ... "Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation .... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix."510
510 Dogmatic Constitution On The Church,
Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Ligouri Publications, English translation copyright 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana, bearing the Imprimi Potest of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, page 252.
See also:
Mary has been elevated in Roman Catholic teaching to a Mediatrix of Salvation, interposing her between Christ and mankind, when scripture tells us there is but one mediator:
1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Heb 8:6 But now hath he [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.Taking The Place Of Christ On Earth
In addition, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Pope, titled Vicarius Christi (which is synonymous with the word Antichrist), takes the place of Jesus Christ on Earth:
... We [the pope] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty, ...
Source: Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical LetterAsk a Catholic a question about the Holy Father, and they will likely think you are talking about the Pope, yet this title is used only one time in all of scripture (John 17:11), and it refers not to any man, but to God the Father. The application of this title to anyone but God is a blasphemous antichrist usurpation.
It is also a papal teaching that not just the Pope, but every Catholic priest is, in fact, another Christ:
12. ... Thus the priest, as is said with good reason, is indeed "another Christ"; for, in some way, he is himself a continuation of Christ. ...
Source: Pope Pius XI, Encyclical LetterConclusion
By denying Mary was a sinner in need of a redeemer, Roman Catholicism denies Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, and this is the deceptive teaching and spirit of antichrist that John spoke of:
1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
And by teaching that the Catholic priest is "another Christ" and that Mary is a Mediatrix, Advocate, and Co-redemptrix, placing her between God and mankind and dispenser of all grace, the Roman Catholic Church fits this characteristic identified by John:
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:
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