Anti-Spirit Anti-Christ

By Jason Trupp - 11/21/2011

       Most denominations agree that before a person can receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit must woo them (1 John 5:6). When a person receives the Spirit's witness of Jesus, they receive Him into their heart. If a person rejects the witness of the Holy Spirit, they will reject Jesus. This is the unforgivable sin because "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which they can be saved (Acts 4:12). To put it another way, to be pro-Holy Spirit is to be pro-Christ. To be anti-Holy Spirit is to be anti-Christ. This has always been a great danger and problem for the church, but now it is happening in a new and greater way.

       "Jesus-only" gospel has given people the idea they can accept Jesus by faith and be "saved" without going through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's role is minimized or ignored all together and therefore, the none of the regenerative works of the Spirit (fruits and gifts) which truly help a believer become a saint are manifest in the so-called Christian's life (see Titus 3:3-6). Indeed many people say a sinners prayer accepting Jesus in their heart but remain completely unaltered in the day-by-day conduct of their lives. The apostles continually warned against such false gospels and whenever the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented, the promise of the Father which is not eternal life, but is the gift of the Holy Spirit, was included (see Acts 2:37-39). Simply put, you cannot be "pro-Jesus" and be anti-Spirit.

       This is exactly what the apostle John was referring to in 1 John 2:18-19. "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. 19 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." Most believers agree that in the last days one will arise known as the "Antichrist". However, his coming will be predicated by many antichrists rising from within the church. Two words we need to look at closely in this passage are "with" and "of". The best way to describe this is to compare flour and eggs. You can put flour and eggs in a bowl, but flour is flour and eggs are eggs. They are "with" each other, but they are not "of" each other. They are not made of the same stuff. Even if you mix them together, at the molecular level flour is flour and eggs are eggs. Consider the wide array of things that can be made of flour; a thick a cake, a thin pie crust and even gravy all have flour as the common ingredient. Before we judge another by appearances, let's take to the time to look at the central ingredient. The different parts of the body of Christ may look different, but at their core it is Christ they have in common. So in this passage we see that mixed in with the faithful saints were antichrists. They were with them, but they were not of them. We see a parallel depiction in the parable of the wheat and the tares found in Matthew 13:24-30. I encourage you to take the time to read it. Now John tells us that even though the antichrists were with the saints, they went "out" and in so doing revealed that they were not "of" the saints. They did not have Christ in common.

       Most pastors stop at this point and this passage to bash other ministries. The problem is, John does not stop there. He goes on in verse 20 to explain what made the antichrists different from the saints. "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things." The true believers had an anointing from the Holy One and knew all things. An anointing (the Greek word translated "Christ") means they were "anointed ones"! But anointed by whom? The Holy One. This is not referring to Jesus. It is referring to the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised in John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." To be in Christ means to be in the same anointing Jesus was in. You want to be holy? Receive the same Spirit of Holiness that made Jesus, the Son of Man, the Holy Son of God and that makes our bible which is nothing more than ink on paper the Holy Word of God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is what separates "christs" from antichrists; those who are for God from those who are against God.

       It is not hard to receive His anointing. It starts in your head. You have to be open to it and willing to receive it. Then it enters your heart. God's Spirit is breath. I love the fact that before God spoke a word to create a thing, He breathed (see Genesis 1:2). Everything after that point was good because it passed through the Breath of God's Holiness (the Holy Spirit). Jesus, following His Father's example, breathed on His disciples and then spoke (see John 20:22). My friends, God is still breathing on us and Jesus is still inviting us to "receive the Holy Spirit". God breathes! He's not made of wood or stone. He is alive and He's breathing on us. I don't believe for a moment that God is ready to give all creation over to the Antichrist. His breath is proceeding forth once more just as the prophet Joel prophesied. Now the choice is up to us. Will we be of Christ, made of Christ's blood, part of Christ's body, and imbued with Christ's anointing (the Holy Spirit), or will we reject all that and be with Christ, but not of Him -- antichrists? I speak specifically to those who are in the church (or at least playing church), those who claim to be Christians but have no real evidence of the transforming, regenerative power and work of the Holy Spirit evidenced in their lives. The "going out from us", also known as the apostasy, the rebellion, the revolt from God's laws and ways or the "great falling away" is under way (See. 2 Thessalonians 2:3). Your true nature will indeed be revealed before long. I implore you to stop resisting the work and witness of the Holy Spirit. Receive Him! Receive His Testimony! Truly receive Christ and be forgiven and redeemed. The hour is now. Today is the day!