MANY
ANTICHRISTS HAVE COME!
By
Doug Krieger
Wait! You didn’t get that yet . . . let me repeat
it another way: In 1 John 4:1-3 we learn
“how you can recognize the Spirit of God” – How’s that?
“Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
Ask a believer what is “the
spirit of the antichrist” and “those in the know” will tell you that someone
who denies the incarnation—the Son of God came in human flesh—has the spirit of
antichrist . . . viz., someone who rejects the doctrine: “God became a man.” This is normally followed up by James 2:19:
“You
believe that there is one God.
Good! Even the demons believe
that—and shudder.”
In other words these demonic spirits
are more than apt to declare Jesus is the Son of God (and on occasion declare as
much according to Matt. 8:28-30; Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41); but, demonic admission
that Jesus is the Son of Man come to defeat them as “the incarnate One” is a
bridge too far because such a confession spells their demise. The demonic hordes know He is the Son of God
but utterly resist Him Who declared to Satan himself: “Man shall not live by bread
alone but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Indeed:
“‘The
first man Adam became a living being’
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit . . . And as we have borne the
image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man”
(1 Cor. 15:45, 49).
“. . .
according to Christ . . . Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a
public spectacle of them [having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that
was against us . . . taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross],
triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:8-15 Excerpts). [Note: Christ triumphed over principalities and
powers by His death and resurrection as a MAN—He is NOW the glorified Son of
Man. Admission that Jesus was the
Christ, a man, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself
and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” –
Phil. 2:8) defeating the powers of darkness as a man devastates these principalities
and powers.]
Thus, denial of the incarnation
is the “spirit of antichrist” – and that’s about as far as most ardent
Christians go. Moreover, most will
likewise admit that the “anointing” mentioned in 1 John 2 is the “moving of the
Holy Spirit” in one’s life—and that all believers in Christ have such an
anointing—sort of like the gospel song: “Every
time I feel the Spirit moving in my heart I pray, pray, pray.”
RELATIONSHIP – THE FATHER LOVES
THE SON
Notwithstanding these scriptural profundities,
these are not the main topics of discussion in I John 2 and 4; so
what is/are? In 1 John 2 it is talking
about RELATIONSHIP between the believer as a “son” and the Father. Furthermore, it speaks of the eternal
fellowship/relationship the Son of God, the Anointed One, the Christ, has with
the Father wherein each of the “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”
(Gal. 3:26) have been brought, as a result of the Holy One, into that same
fellowship the Son has with the Father.
This is precisely why I am “trinitarian”: Our God is eternally ONE—distinctly Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. “Church father”
Origen went off the rails (my opinion) on allegorizing the Word of God to the
extreme; however, he did make one candid observation: To be the Everlasting Father (Isaiah
9:6) demands an eternal Son. Herein is eternal love between the Father
and the Son (John 3:35, 5:20, 10:17, 14:31, 15:9-10, 17:23-24, 26; Eph. 1:6;
Matt. 12:18, 3:17, 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22, 20:13).
In sum, a believer via faith in
Jesus Christ does not have a superficial and/or only an objective encounter
with the Holy One, with Christ, but a marvelous subjective one described as
such: “But you have an anointing from
the Holy One, and all of you know the truth” . . . to the extent . . . “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 Jo. 2:20,
27). This anointing you have received of
Him teaches you to “remain in the Son and in the Father” – i.e., “remain
in Him” means to stay, remain, abide in the fellowship and love
between the Son and the Father.
ANTICHRIST BREAKS YOUR
FELLOWSHIP/LOVE WITHIN THE TRIUNE GOD
But there’s something else going
on here which frustrates the believer’s “abiding life” in the fellowship
between the Son and the Father—and it is to this I strongly speak.
“I am writing these things to
you about those who are trying to lead you astray” (vs. 26). “You have an anointing from the Holy One,
and all of you know the truth” (vs. 20) . . . but those who would lead you
astray are speaking lies—and “Who is the liar?” (vs. 22). That’d be “whoever denies that Jesus is
the Anointed One (viz., “the Christ”) . . . “Such a person is the antichrist—denying
the [relationship] that the Son has [with] the Father and foments lies which
dislodge you from their blessed fellowship.
How is this done? “Whoever acknowledges the Son has the
Father also.” Once that blessed acknowledgement is broken the anointing
enjoyed in that fellowship and love between the Father and the Son—which is
shared with you via the Holy One . . . then you have been led astray by the “antichrist
spirit.” That “antichrist spirit” will
COUNTERFEIT the anointing, the fellowship and even the love of God by substituting
a multitude (viz. “many antichrists”) for the “real thing.”
Deception—to be PROFOUNDLY
deceived—must appear as the “real McCoy” (“Satan masquerades as an angel of
light”—2 Cor. 11:14). Normally, the
spirit of antichrist or false prophet, seems to have the goods—some “form” of
healing may be taking place . . . the “false prophet” in particular enshrouds
within his utterance “thus saith the Lord” or “God is telling me to tell you”
and, most assuredly, the attention giver is centered on the prophet
himself. They want you to “wait on the
Lord” (not for the Lord to speak to you but so they can speak a word into you). I’m not saying that from time to time such a “word”
is not for you—but TEST THE SPIRITS whether they are from God or not (1 Jo.
4:1).
Once the Liar through these “antichrist
spirits” dissuades you from your “abiding place” with the Anointed One (the
Son), you lose your vibrant relationship with your Father. In other words, the Anointed One brings you
and me into His anointing ipso facto into the fellowship between the Son
and the Father through the Spirit.
However, these “spirits of antichrist” have one chief aim: “Those who are trying to lead you astray”
from the anointing He has given you “Who teaches you about all things”
(vs. 27).
These antichrists who have “gone
out into the world” are antithetical to the truth, the Anointed One, the
Holy One, the anointing you have received of Him. They would lead us all astray from our
abiding in His truth and the moving of His Holy Spirit in us.
SATAN ENTERED INTO JUDAS ISCARIOT
Many of us, including myself,
have had for many years a “prophetic focus” on the coming of the final
Antichrist—an awful end-times figure ready to be embodied, as was Judas, with
Satan (who “entered into Judas Iscariot” to commit the dastardly deed of
betrayal—Luke 22:3; John 13:27) to become “the Beast” (Rev. 13:1). I do not diminish this end-times’ reality;
however, we have lost sight of the many antichrists sent from the Liar to
dissuade us by usurping the authority of the Holy One in Whom we should be
abiding.
How do these lying spirits (“test
the spirits to see whether they are from God”), these “false prophets”
– the “spirit of the antichrist” who would “lead you astray” (1
John 4:1-6) – how do they achieve their goals among us wherein the relationship
that the Son has with the Father is no longer enjoyed by the believer? It is broken, your PEACE is disrupted. Yes, you heard a voice, even an audible voice
or a swirling impression in your mind directing would-be steps. Listen to the wisdom of Smith Wigglesworth:
“It is
satanic to feel that God has a special message for you and that you are someone
more special than anyone else. Every
place that God brings you to in a rising tide of perfection is a place of
humility, brokenness of heart, and fullness of surrender, where only God can
rule in authority. It is not where you
are somebody, but where God is everything and where you will be living for His
glory . . . We have to live in the place of knowing the Scriptures and
listening to His voice so that we are able to divinely discern whether these
things are of God or not” [– yes, “test the spirits” for Jesus came in the
flesh as Son of Man, Son of God in fellowship and love with the Father!][i]
The major theme of 1 John 2 is the
relationship that believers have with the Father and the Son. That relationship is both “the anointing”
from the Holy One expressed through the “new commandment” (John 13 and 15) that
we should love one another AS Jesus loves us—it is by His love that we love one
another . . . this is “because the darkness is passing and the true light is
already shining” (1 Jo., 2:8) through each one of us for “anyone who
loves their brother and sister lives in the light” (1 Jo. 2:10).
RELATIONSHIP BY LIFE
Again, the theme of this relationship
is reinforced by 1 John 2:12-14 wherein John writes to children in relationship
with their fathers. First children, then
fathers, and then young men. He skips
the sequence—it could have been children, young men, and fathers but his
emphasis is the immediate relationship between children and fathers—twice we
find this order (1 Jo. 2:12-14).
In this sequence/order between
children and fathers is “the love of the Father” vs. the “love of the
world”—“the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life” (1 John 2:15-17).
Against this backdrop His “dear
children” are enjoined to recognize “the last hour” wherein “many
antichrists” will seek to separate His dear children from the Father’s
love. John then draws a major
distinction between them who “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” (1 Jo. 2:19).
Why did they leave us? Because they were never with us in the first
place—they were NOT in relationship with the Son and the Father; therefore,
they were not of us. Yet, the “spirits”
of these “many antichrists” would seek to sever through lies via the Liar
himself—that blessed fellowship/anointing given to us by the Holy One, the Anointed
One, the Christ, our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 Jo. 2:1).
Brothers and sisters, when we
lose that anointing . . . when we are led astray by these false prophets, these
ANTICHRISTS, who are in opposition to God’s presence and moving in our lives,
then our abiding in Him is shipwrecked.
“The spirit of the prophets is
subject to the prophet” – 1 Cor. 14:32
Why highlight this
scripture? What does this have to do
with these “lying spirits” who would lead us astray—these antichrists?
When a believer speaks by the
Spirit of the Living God, that person speaks or prophesizes as the “oracle
of God” (1 Peter 4:11). The person
doesn’t lose control of their speaking—they are not robotic, for the “spirit
of the prophets” is under control of the prophet himself (1 Cor. 14:32).
But more so! That prophet is likewise not under the
control of someone else: “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others
should weigh carefully what is said (discern) . . . The spirits of the
prophets are subject to the control of prophets” . . . “for you can all
prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged” (1 Cor.
14:29-32).
Speaking as the “oracles of
God” is NOT under the jurisdiction of another prophet or someone else who
is prophesizing/testifying/sharing in the congregation. They are imparting the “revelation” which has
come to them (1 Cor. 14:30) but “if a revelation comes to someone who is
sitting down, the first speaker should stop” and obviously allow the second
speaker to share their revelation as well.
This is not confusing nor an indignant interruption . . . “For God is
not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the Ekklesia of the Lord’s people”
(1 Cor. 14:33). This multiplicity of
prophets is another assurance that no man or woman is lifted up as THE prophet
in the assembly.
This does NOT sound as if some overseer
is orchestrating the conversation, participation, contribution or sharing in a
Christian gathering—nor is it a free-for-all.
The God of Peace prevails in such a congregation: “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be
eager to prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:39).
Nor does this sound like someone
controlling what is being shared in a gathering; and, for that matter, staying
in lockstep with someone’s ministerial notes because, although the saints are prophesying,
they most certainly are not necessarily prophesying about the same thing. Again, I speak concerning the “general
assembly of saints” and not the equipping ministry on behalf of God’s people.
This kind of prophesying appears
to welcome diversity, not uniformity—each person is responsive to their own
prophetic revelation which is not under anyone’s “authorization” or even “scrutiny”
but as 1 Cor. 11:3 states: “The head
of every man is Christ” (the “Anointed One”).
It’s when such fellowship is
threatened, when such prophetic diversity is squelched, that the “spirit of
antichrist” manifests. Isn’t this “Ekklesia
in action”?
“What
then shall we say, brothers and sisters?
When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of
instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the Ekklesia may
be built up” (1 Cor. 14:26).
BIBLICAL NUMERICS – THE NEW
JERUSALEM
For those brethren whose fascination
are the absolute measurements from Scripture, you won’t be surprised that I
advocate the expression of the New Jerusalem as a cube and not pyramidal in
shape—why? Firstly, because the passages
in both Ezekiel 40-48 and those in Revelation 21:16 indicate as much:
“The
city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal”
(Rev. 21:16)
“These
are the exits of the [holy] city. On the
north side measuring four thousand five hundred cubits . . . on the east side,
four thousand five hundred cubits . . . on the south side, measuring four
thousand five hundred cubits . . . on the west side, four thousand five hundred
cubits . . . all the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits” (Ezekiel
48:30-35)
This “equality” of measurement
expresses God’s “impartiality” (“For there is no partiality with God” –
Romans 2:11; for “. . . glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what
is good” – Romans 2:10). Even so:
“And
when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a
denarius., But when the first came, they
supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a
denarius. And when they had received it,
they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘Thee last men have worked only
one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat
of the day.’ But he answered one of them
and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong.
Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as
to you. Is it not lawful for me to do
what I wish with my own things? Or is
your eye evil because I am good?’ So the
last will be first, and the first last.
For many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:9-16).
You may wish to dispute my
simplistic exegesis; however, this does not circumvent overcomers whose rewards
exceed those who “shall escape so as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:15)—but it does
demonstrate the fairness of the Almighty Who has no intention of man’s
governance “top-down” in that Jesus clearly taught:
“You
know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great
exercise authority over them. Yet it
shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let
him be your servant. And whoever desires
to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew
20:25-28).
From the “divine perspective” the
River of Life (Rev. 22:1-2) flows throughout the Holy City, New Jerusalem—yes,
this demands gradation or a top-down as in the “Mountain of the Lord”—but the
Bride, or the Lamb’s Wife, the Woman of Revelation 21:9-10, is described as a
cube whereupon each of her six faces are 144,000,000 square furlongs (12,000F *
12,000F = 144,000,000 sq. F.). The “throne
of God and the Lamb” is the source of this “pure river of water of life” and
expresses God’s authority which eternally waters the Holy City and from whence
the “tree of life, which bore twelve fruits and whose leaves of the tree
were for the healing of the nations” nourish and heal her residents—so they
are the cube, and His Throne supplies the Holy City with this abundant
expression of nourishment for all.
There is a pernicious tendency
among the people of God to consign one’s “anointing” to someone else’s
responsibility—be it the pastor, an anointed prophetic voice among us, or a
self-appointed authoritarian or someone designated by the happy throng “who
speaks on our behalf.”
Brethren YOU “having gifts
differing” (Romans 12:6-16), should be equipped by gifted members of the
Body of Christ to stand in your CALLING which is directly given to you by the
Holy One—anything else which does not release you into your calling, which stifles
your spirit is not of God but is of those antichrist spirits who have gone out
into the world to lead you/us astray from the Holy One and His anointing in us.
CLEVER DECEPTION: SMOOTH TALK & FLATTERY
What am I saying here? There are those brethren—yes, brethren—who ascribe
special status to themselves through “smooth talk and flattery deceive the
minds of naïve people” (Rom. 16:18) in that their self-described classification
as the “Lord’s prophet” – their special anointing and/or maturity in the faith
once delivered – actually causes “division and puts obstacles in your way
that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord
Christ, but their own appetites” (Rom. 16:16-18 - NIV).
Brethren—these surreptitious “overlords”
may sound so authentically spiritual but their clever words, smooth talk, and devious
ways to subjugate the children of God for selfish gain is naught but a denial
that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One—they are antichrist—they substitute
Christ . . . for them Christ has not come in the flesh; no, they have come “as
Christ”!
“For, as
I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live
as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their
destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach (belly) and their glory is
in their shame. Their mind is set on
earthly things. But our citizenship is
in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior
from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring
EVERYTHING UNDER HIS CONTROL, will transform our lowly bodies so
that they will be like his glorious body” (Phil. 3:18-21).
Once they cross the line and
truncate the moving of God’s Spirit within your spirit and in so doing, quench
the Spirit, break your spirit, wound one’s spirit, confuse your mind, wreck
your peace, damage your fellowship with the Father and with His Son—then they either
purposefully or inadvertently bear testimony to the Antichrist, the father of
lies.
Phrases like these can be either
announced or understood but are naught but “controlling mechanisms” designed by
those who would feed their own appetites:
“Brother,
you are not under authority . . . you are rudderless . . . you need to be
subject to the leadership and follow them in order to ‘learn the lesson’ of
submission.”
“. . .
embrace the cross, deny yourself, learn from your elders and only speak when
they decree.”
“Brother
Smith has a ‘prophetic mantel’—only when you are in alignment or under his
prophetic mantel can you be an effective spokesperson for the Lord.”
“Without
the ‘apostolic anointing’ of God’s mouthpiece on the earth today, you simply
cannot have any fresh revelation from the Holy One. You have an anointing but only if that
anointing finds its source from God’s spokesperson whose maturity in Christ is
head and shoulders above any of us in this room.”
“Get out
of your mind, follow your spirit—your spirit will tell you to follow the one
with God’s anointing, our leading brother among us all.”
Worse yet is the tragic put down
to younger brethren who are told they are not mature enough to “share their
portion” in a gathering until they have “learned to be in submission” to the
elder brethren. No, I am not advocating
there should not be “accountability” in the Body of Christ—indeed, John clearly
states there are children, fathers, and young men whose relationships to one
another are by “life” and not by “organizational” ability. Clearly, children should be in submission to
their fathers but it is a matter of the “fellowship of life” and reflected in His
love.
The subversion of one’s personal
anointing with the Holy One can be most insidious. Particularly egregious are those factions
and/or sects within Christendom who assert that the anointing is bequeathed
upon a brother or sister through the “laying on of hands” via the presbyter or elders/leaders. Without their hands upon the novitiate the naïve
cannot secure the anointing—furthermore, the innocent’s consecration into the
Body of Christ is forthwith given by this laying on of hands and even the
baptism of the Holy Spirit may be secured therefrom.
In point of glaring fact this
type of “consecration” is into the “group think” and truncates the immediate
reception of the Holy One whereupon “all of you know the truth” (1 Jo.
2:20). “For by one Spirit we have all
been baptized into one Body” (1 Cor. 12:13).
This laying on of hands, if
practiced simply to convey mutual support for the supplicant whereby the Body
of Christ affirms that individual is welcomed into God’s family, is one thing—but
to ascribe special status or anointing by so doing borders on cunning subterfuge
which is anathema to the gathering of His people.
In the main, these “false
prophets” will have what appears as “divine utterance” or unique and celestial
dreams with strange aberrations confounding the “normal mind.” Such outbursts demand attention, respect, and
even adoration; notwithstanding, the focus is always upon the prophet and one’s
ultimate obeisance to “God’s oracle on the earth today”—although such
entitlement is normally deferred until a defining moment, place, and time when
the “prophet” is formally acknowledged by followers who have known all along
that he/she was the ONE.
Once the prophet is recognized or
formally acknowledged it automatically demands one’s surrender of their will,
their thinking, and tragically, their human spirit to his supernatural
authority and person—henceforth, he has usurped the position of the Anointed
One and defacto is antichrist!
THEY WENT OUT FROM US – I AM OF
CHRIST
Listen up—there are many
antichrists out there who have come to lead us astray. There is some suspicion
that those who “went out from us, but they did not really belong to us”
may have been those trying to lead us astray in that “their going showed
that none of them belonged to us” (1 Jo. 2:19).
Tragically, when someone is
excluded from a sectarian group of “brethren” the person exiled or “disfellowshipped”
is informed either by word or by “group think” that they are outside of God’s
anointing and will suffer loss or, forbid, even death! Such declarations are infested with the
spirit of antichrist—history more than bears this out . . . everything from
Exclusive Brethren to Jim Jones, from the Inquisition to “Christian cults” are adroit
at banishing brethren who are accused of thinking “independently” or operating “outside
of the anointing” or “prophetic mantel.”
I’ve often wondered: What could possibly be wrong with saying “I
am of Christ” or as the NIV puts it: “I
follow Christ” (1 Cor. 1:12)? Well, for
one the phrase is ensconced within a most sectarian-divisive entourage:
“I
appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no
divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s
household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I
follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’”
(1 Cor. 1:10-12).
Obviously, someone’s copped an attitude. If I were to embrace “I am of Christ” in
contrast to what someone else has embraced in this pool of “heroes of the faith”
(Paul, Apollos, Cephas), then “my Christ” puts all of them to shame—there’s no
competition! The only problem is
this: My embrace of “this Christ” has
made me the most sectarian of them all because I have purposefully or inadvertently
championed my sect akin to something like “the Church of the Immaculate
Perception”—please, come up to where I am!
FALSE UNITY VS. TRUE ANOINTING
“Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is
For
brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is
like the precious oil upon the head,
Running
down on the beard,
The beard
of Aaron,
Running
down on the edge of his garments.
It is
like the dew of Hermon,
Descending
upon the mountains of Zion;
For there
the LORD commanded the blessing—
Life
forevermore.”
(Psalm
133)
You may find it impossible to
believe that there are those among us who are convinced that the anointing oil
poured out upon Israel’s high priest, Aaron, is an archetype of the unity we
all share in the Body of Christ—with Aaron’s head symbolic of Christ, the Head
of His One Body . . .but alas, this passage of Scripture which should ignite
the Body of Christ to rejoice in their unity under Christ, and they, members
one of another sharing in His anointing, is used by many a false prophet to
illustrate how key brethren among us must first experience the “anointing of
the Spirit.” We must learn from their
anointing, must await as it flows down from them/him/her until it reaches us
underlings (sorry to be so crude).
That’s right, you cannot receive
this anointing oil or flow of the Spirit upon His Body because it is a
“top-down experience” in which the brother or sister with the “most anointing”
(the most “transformation”) bequeaths it to you—but you must be under the
priest/prophet/anointed one’s ministry in order to enjoy such anointing.
Yes, God is moving today;
however, for you to be “in His move” you must link up with a Body of believers
who understand and experience this “flow of the Spirit”—ANY extraneous
spiritual experience which is outside of this anointing upon the Body is
superficial at best, and at worst is dangerous to the “unity” of the Body of
Christ!
This in a word is so egregious to
the true unity in the Body of Christ. It
smacks of an elitism and deception. Christ
has given “gifts in man” (Indeed:
“Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use
them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let
us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in
exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who
shows mercy, with cheerfulness . . . Let love be without hypocrisy . . . Be
kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving
preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, burning in spirit, serving
the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in
prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality . . . Be
of the same mind toward one another. Do
not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” (Romans
12:-16 Excerpts)
Furthermore:
“But
to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s
gift. Therefore, He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts to men” (Eph. 4:7-8).
Each one of us has been gifted;
moreover, He is leading a train of vanquished foes and displaying us as
trophies of His conquest. All leadership
should be under the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is not we who choose our gifts nor gifted
ones but the very Head of the Body, the Anointed One from Whom all blessings
flow and from Whom we all have received—grace upon grace!
Those who claim that a
“rebellious one” who resists the flow of this anointing—who blocks the
anointing in this top-down model—had better consider Who’s leading this train
of vanquished foes and get in line instead of trying to usurp the One Who
triumphed at the cross, is now being lifted up and so shall He draw all men to Himself.
They who consider their
expression of unity demands utter fidelity to a specific segment of the Body of
Christ and that all other “expressions” of unity in Christ are at best
deficient and at their worst naught by “Babylon the Great” are living in fear
and division from other members in the Body of Christ. An “agenda-driven unity”
outside of Christ alone is pure folly and leads to more and more separation and
division from the greater Body of Christ.
This type of “unity” says: “I
stand for the oneness of Christ’s Body—if you do not meet with me you are in
opposition to the unity of the Body of Christ—you are standing on the wrong
foundation . . . you must join me lest you divide any further the Body of
Christ.” In print this sounds awful—and
guess what, it is!
Yes, His anointing is upon His
Body—but it starts with Him as the Head of that One Body and flows from there
to all parts of His Body.
THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
Now, we surely are living in “the
last hour” awaiting the coming of THE Antichrist . . . but the proliferation of
“many antichrists” out to subvert God’s Anointed One’s fellowship with the “sons
and daughters of God” are legion and far more devious than ever.
Our God is a jealous God and will
hold accountable all who supplant the Holy One’s anointing in the life of any
believer—whatever the superfluous language used in subverting His direct
communion between Himself and any follower of the Lamb is the spirit of
antichrist. Jesus said:
“And
so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but
anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this
age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:31-32).
And why is this the case? What is this “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”
that is unforgiveable? Could it be “because
the Spirit is the truth” vs. the “spirit of falsehood” is at stake? “We
are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God
does not listen to us. This is how we
recognize the Spirit of truth, and the spirit of falsehood” (1 John 4:5-6).
When the Spirit of truth is
juxtaposed with the “Liar” wherein “no lie comes from the truth” (1 Jo.
2:21) it becomes crystal clear that the sin against the Holy Spirit is any “liar”
who “denies that Jesus is the anointed One, the Christ”—this denial is a
rejection of “His anointing [which] teaches you about all things and
as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in
him” (1 Jo. 2:27).
Let no man, no liar, no
antichrist dislodge you from Him—REMAIN IN HIM and HIM ALONE! YOU have an anointing from the Holy One—reject
outright “those who are trying to lead you astray” (1 Jo. 2:27).
Finally:
“You,
dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in
you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jo. 4:4).
[i] Smith
Wigglesworth Devotional – Daily Strength for Daily Needs, 1999, Whitaker
House, New Kensington, PA, pp. 506-7
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