For some time, brethren have been using the term "antichrist" in connection with the deity/humanity controversy.  I have noticed that brethren on both sides of the argument have applied the term to those on the other side.  It is obvious that someone is misusing the antichrist passages and misapplying the term.  What does it mean to be "antichrist?"  How does the Bible use the term?  "What saith the scriptures?" See (1 Peter 4:11; 1 Corinthians 4:6; Acts 17:11)!

 The term "antichrist" is only found in the writings of John in the Bible.  W.E. Vine observes that the term "pseudochrist" is found in Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22, but he points out that "the false Christ does not deny the existence of Christ, he trades upon the expectation of His appearance, affirming that he is the Christ." (Vine's Expository Dictionary, p 62).  We must distinguish the "psuedochristos" from the "antichristos."  The "false Christs" relied upon the existence of Christ, whereas the "antichrists" denied the existence of Christ.  Simply put, the antichrists of John's day were "anti" Christ.  They were false teachers who opposed everything that Jesus Christ was and represented.

 It appears that John's "antichrist" teaching was directed toward a heresy known as "Gnosticism."  The Gnostic heresy taught that matter is inherently evil, therefore a divine being could not take on human flesh.  This view led the Gnostics to distinguish between "the man Jesus" and "the spiritual Christ."  They maintained that the spiritual Christ came upon Jesus at his baptism and left just before the crucifixion.  It appears that the Gnostics took the "two-spirit" position on the incarnation. Another sect of the Gnostics (Docetism), taught that Jesus only seemed to have a human body.  Both groups held views that amounted to a flat denial of the incarnation of Jesus.  I do not know of anyone in the brotherhood who denies that Jesus had a real, flesh and blood,  human body.  I do know some who deny that the unchangeable and divine spiritual being  known as "The Word" clothed Himself in a flesh and blood body for the purpose of human redemption.  Those who teach that Jesus had a "human spirit" take the same position as the Gnostics but for a different reason.  Gnostic philosophers argued that Jesus had a human spirit (rather than a divine spirit),  because a divine spirit could not occupy an inherently evil body.  Modern philosophers argue that Jesus had a human spirit (rather than a  divine spirit), because Jesus became susceptible  to evil when He came in the flesh.  There is not much difference between the two positions.  We can learn a great deal about these heresies by turning to John's "antichrist" warnings.  Let's examine the four previously mentioned passages.

 1 John 2:18 - John said, "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."  (NIV)  Some have tried to make a direct link between "the antichrist" and "the beast" of Revelation 13:1-4.  It is certainly true that both are of the devil (Rev. 13:4), but 1 John 2:18 says there were "many antichrists" and went on to say, "many false prophets have gone out into the world" These false prophets refused to acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:1-3).  The Bible says antichrists are men (1 Jn. 2:22).  Rather than thinking of a 7 headed beast when thinking about antichrists, we need to think of false teachers who "deny the Lord who bought them" (II Pet. 2:1).  We also need to think  plural instead of singular.  In John's day there were "many antichrists".

 1 John 2:22 -  "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-- he denies the Father and the Son." (NIV)  What was it about Himself that Jesus worked so hard to get people to see?  His deity or His humanity?  Did Jesus really have trouble getting people to accept the fact that He had a human body?  Was there a problem with people seeing but denying the reality of the Lord's fleshly body?  Biblical and secular history bear out the fact that it was not the Lord's physical existence, but His divine existence that was questioned.  Jesus constantly said things like, "I am from above: you are of this world: I am not of this world" and "I and My Father are one" and "You believe in God, believe also in Me" (Jn. 8:23; 10:30; 14:1).  Jesus taught that "all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father" (Jn. 5:23).  When Jesus came to his own country, the people were not "offended" at the Lord's physical being or presence, they were offended by His manifestation of divine wisdom and power (Matt. 13:53-58).  They didn't have a problem accepting His humanity, but they did have a problem with His divinity.  The antichrist heresy was not a movement which denied the humanity of Jesus.  It was a denial of the incarnation of deity.  John had already refuted the antichrist heresy in the opening of his first epistle.   Notice his language carefully: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" (1 Jn. 1:1).  By simply linking John's opening words here with the opening words of his gospel we can identify the antichrist error.  In his gospel John said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn. 1:1).  Since the inspired John said, "the Word was God," we may scripturally substitute the expression "God" for "the Word" in 1 John 1:1.  By so doing we are forced to the  conclusion that the miracle of the incarnation allowed John and others to hear, see, and touch "God."  The eternal person of the "Logos" clothed Himself in a human body and "dwelt among us" (John 1:14).  John said the antichrist denied that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22).  This was not a denial of the manhood of Jesus, it was a denial of the Godhood of Jesus!  This brings us to our next passage:

1 John 4:2-3 - "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: 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 ave heard is coming and even now is already in the world."   Some brethren are being accused of denying the humanity of Christ and this passage is being used against them.  First of all, I know of no one who denies the humanity of Christ.  Secondly, those under indictment in this passage were not denying the Lord's humanity.  They denied that the eternal person of "The Word" came "in" the flesh (1 John 4:2; 1:1).  History is not fillled with people who denied that Jesus of Nazareth physically existed, but many have denied that the eternal person of God the Word inhabited that human body.  According to 1 John 4:3, the antichrist is one who rejects the fundamental truth of the incarnation, that is, the truth that God "dwelt among us" (John 1:14; Matthew 1:23; I Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9).  Notice the passage again: "Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God" (1 John 4:2).  John did not say that the Lord's flesh came "instead of" Jesus Christ, and he did not say that Jesus Christ came "instead of" the flesh.  He said, "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."  In this verse John combines two elements: person (spirit) and flesh (body).  John is saying that the spiritual being of God the Word "has come in the flesh."  He distinguishes the actual person of Christ from the flesh.  The term "flesh" did not include the "spirit".  The combining of the spirit of Christ with the fleshly body resulted in "Immanuel, God with us" (Matthew 1:23).  In like manner, the separation of the two would constitute death (James 2:26).  Jesus died at the point when His spirit left His body (Luke 23:46).  By the way, none of the passages we have cited mention "two spirits" as some of the brethren are saying, neither can any passage be produced that either states or implies that Jesus had two spirits.  Let us be careful to "speak where the Bible speaks."  This rule is just as important on this subject as it is on any other Bible subject.  We have one last passage to consider.

 II John 1:7 - "Many decivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.  Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist." (NIV) John now describes the antichrists as being "deceivers."

Once again, their position was that of denying that Jesus Christ (God the Word - I John 1:1) has come "in" the flesh.  John has now referred to the antichrists as "liars,false prophets, and deceivers" (1 John 2:22; 4:1-3; II John 7).  He used the word  "many" in 3 of the 4 passages we have studied.  There was obviously a problem with this heresy in John's day.  But what was the problem?  Did John and other Bible believers have trouble convincing people that Jesus possessed a human body? Were there a great "many" people who denied the physical existence of Christ?  The Bible says, "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).  Was there a real problem with people denying that Jesus had a flesh and blood body that was just like ours?  The answer to these questions is no.  But there was (and is) a real problem getting some people to acknowledge that Jesus Christ was fully and functionally God in a human body!

Conclusion

 Some are misapplying the "antichrist" passages.  I urge honest brethren to  take a close look at these passages and speak where the Bible speaks by condemning that which God condemns.  The Bible teaches that the divine person of "the Word" came to the earth and occupied a human body for the accomplishment of the divine will (Hebrews 10:5,9-10).  Any doctrine or position that denies these fundamental Bible truths is antichrist.  If you have been deceived by antichrist doctrine you need to repent and ask God to forgive you for holding such a denigrating view of your Saviour.  If you have taught the doctrine that robs our Lord of His honor and integrity, you also need to repent and correct your error.  Quite simply, failure to acknowledge God's attribures and holiness is failure to acknowledge God.  It is unbelief!

Kenneth E. Thomas here. I wish to state my agreement with Tim's article. If you desire to study further with us, such a meeting can be arranged FREE of cost to you by appointment. Simply email me at kthomas@dpc.net or call 1(309)347-3582-Office or my home phone number is 1 (309) 347-5645. We would be happy to hear from you at any time. Tim can't come he lives in Bowling Green, Ky. Ken