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What is the Spirit of Antichrist? John is the only writer that gives the term antichrist and describes this topic in detail in his letters 1 and 2 John. Though this is not the only way to describe the false Christ working, it is insight into what His spirit will teach. I Jn. 2:21-22: “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.” John is saying that all believers hold to this truth, Jesus is the only Messiah –sent by the Father and that He is of the same in nature as the Father. 1 John 4:2:-3 “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.” And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. John is using the perfect tense in Greek “has come.” In the Greek language that denotes a past action with continuing results into the future. John writing this after the resurrection and makes it clear that Jesus came in the flesh, rose in the flesh and is still in the flesh. James 2:26: “the body without the spirit is dead” John 19:30: Jesus- He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” We notice that a separation of the spirit from the body brings death. All resurrections have the same physical body come back to life, by the spirit coming back inside it. There is never a spirit resurrection in the Bible. Jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection, being raised the eternal new man, glorified in the body he first came to earth with. There are many who refuse to believe Christ took up the same body that died. Jehovah Witnesses for example believe in a spirit resurrection. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 15 that if Christ is not raised we have no hope, we are false witnesses. The body that emerged from the tomb was seen at least 11 different times, was touched on several occasions, he ate food several times after the resurrection. Jesus rose again in the same body he was born in, only transformed. 1 Cor. 15:14 tells us, if Christ not be risen from the dead you have a dead faith. If you don't believe in the resurrection of the body you are not saved by the gospel, it is the third part of the gospel that the JW are denying. .Just as 1Tim. 2:5 says, “the mediator is the man, Christ Jesus. He is inhabiting a body. John in his second letter “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” (2 John v.7). In this epistle John uses the present tense in Greek which focuses specifically on the future coming of the Lord being physical. People that deny that Jesus rose in the flesh or is not coming back in the flesh, by saying He is coming back as a Spirit or in some other form other than His physical body, are described by John as deceivers, of the spirit of anti-Christ. (1 John 4:2 focuses on the past; 2 John v. 7 focuses on the future). Jesus is in a physical body eternally glorified in heaven and will come back physically to rule on earth. |
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