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Online-SUNDAY SCHOOL
Bible
Studies For Life
How Did We Get Here… and Why? Unit
4 Session 13 24 FEB 19
1 JOHN 2:18 The
last hour is the entire period between the birth and the Second Coming of
Christ. Peter also spoke of this in (Acts 2:17 RSV) "'And in the last days
it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;" (2 Pet 3:3-4 RSV) "First of all you must understand this,
that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own
passions {4} and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever
since the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the
beginning of creation."" Also (Heb 1:2 RSV)
"but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed
the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."
The fact is the word "antichrist" or "Antichrist"
or "The Antichrist" is not in the book of Revelation. Yet book after
book and movie after movie make it seem like the word is used in almost every
verse. What a travesty to proper Bible studies! The word is found only in the
book of 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3 and 2 John 7. It
is a generic term used of any lost person! (1 John 2:22 KJV) "Who is a
liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that
denieth the Father and the Son." Dr.
Herschel H. Hobbs wrote in his Studying
Adult Life and Work Lessons, April-June 1986, page 128, "In 1 John
2:22 and 4:3 the definite article is used in the Greek text and is translated
"the Antichrist," a definite person. All opposition to Christ is
antichrist or anti
Christ (1 John 2:18)." Obviously any one not for
Jesus is anti
Jesus. (Mat 6:24 RSV) ""No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." If you do
not love Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you hate him. No one can be
neutral about Jesus. (Mat 12:30 RSV) "He
who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me
scatters." (2 John 1:7 RSV) "For many
deceivers have gone out into the
world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the
antichrist." NOTE CAREFULLY, John's use of "many deceivers" and each
one of these is "the deceiver and
the antichrist." [Note that anyone who is against Jesus is an
anti-Christ as John later spoke of anti-Christs in 1 John 3:18-25. "many antichrists have come." Note: “HAVE COME ALREADY!
John defined an antichrist as "he who denies the Father and the Son."
There is no one single THE
antichrist!] Thus "the" cannot refer to only one person in all of
history! The Bible NEVER even hints that there is one such person. This is an
invention of the popular viewpoint that is in most books and pulpits today.
This viewpoint was invented in the late 1800's and made popular by a couple of
famous preachers using the unproven theories of Scofield. Certainly in
Revelation John identifies many who are anti-to-Christ. And each such person is
a real antichrist. But he never states a certain human is or will be a Supreme
Antichrist. Indeed, if there is such a being, it is Satan. Dr. Hobbs in his
superb book "The Cosmic Drama, Word Books, October 1975, page 127 wrote
about Revelation: "this beast symbolizes a man, the Roman emperor
Domitian, the personification of the imperial power of the Roman Empire."
But Domitian was only one of many antichrists. There has never been a time
without antichrists.
OK: What about a history look at the supposed real person single
Antichrist?
The Herschel Hobbs Commentary, Spring 2000 (which seems to use less
and less of Dr. Hobbs' work in each issue) states on pages 29 and 33"
"Many people identify the "man of sin" or "man of
lawlessness" described by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as the Antichrist
who will come during the end time. But Paul also went on to write "The
mystery of iniquity [lawlessness] doth already work" (v. 7). Based on
these passages…but there will be a future, end-time Antichrist." Note the
Commentary states "will." Its author is one of the many people who
claim a single Antichrist. What Paul said was (2 Th
2:3-4 RSV) "Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come,
unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the
son of perdition, {4} who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called
god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God,
proclaiming himself to be God." Dr. Hobbs noted page 126 about this
person: "Where the definite article is used, it evidently refers to a person." The question then: Is
Paul's "the son of perdition" a Supreme Antichrist? Is he
"the beast"? "That day" does refer to the Second
Coming." But first comes "the
rebellion." What rebellion? The Jewish rebellion against
Rome in A.D. 66-70. Who is "the son of perdition?" This is
Domitian, who made himself god of gods throughout the known world. Just look at
the context. The Commentary states "the beast" is yet in our future
and there is a supposed Supreme Antichrist. Dr. Hobbs,
book, page 178 write "The beast was Domitian and imperial Rome." Of
the beast and false prophet Dr. Hobbs wrote: "These two ferocious beasts
are clearly identified in chapter 13 as Domitian or imperial Rome and the Concilia which enforced emperor-worship." Then Dr.
Hobbs wrote, 1986, "In the end time God will again remove the leash on
evil. This will be for the purpose of revealing the man of lawlessness in his
true light." In 2 Thess 2:6-8 Paul used the
Greek, which means, "really know." Paul said his readers really knew
because he had previously explained it. What remained was identifying in God's
(Greek) opportune season (kairos) this person to them. Paul wrote in about A.D. 50.
For him to say some future emperor was to be this person and God would destroy
him would have made them open enemies of Rome. This is the reason John wrote in
code to say Domitian was Paul's son of perdition. Finally a
world about the "end time." Peter said bluntly (1 Pet 4:7 RSV)
"The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your
prayers." His readers were IN
the end times as he wrote. Specifically from Peter's day until the Second
Coming is the final days
of earth history. We live in the end times right now.
OK: What about a later look at the supposed real person single
Antichrist? The SBC is still not in sync with the Bible!
He still is a big deal to a lot of viewpoints on Revelation, primarily
today’s popular Premillennial View. “The Herschel Hobbs Commentary”,
LifeWay/Adults, Summer 2008, Dr. Robert J. Dean
[author] stated this on page 62: “Many people identify the beast out of the sea
in Revelation 13 as the Antichrist. The name the Antichrist is not found here.
In fact, the title appears nowhere in the Book of Revelation. The name appears
in the New Testament only in 1 John 2:18, 22 and in 2 John 7. John used the
title to describe those who denied that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God and
implied that concern about a future Antichrist was common among believers.” “The
Advanced Bible Study Commentary”, Summer 2008, page 65
takes the same stance as in 2000 that “there will be one who infamously
deserves the title.” “The Herschel Hobbs Commentary”, LifeWay/Adults, Summer 2009, page 27 “Like Paul, John believed in a future
antichrist…” NOT TRUE!
The SBC continues to be wrong! The
Herschel Hobbs Commentary has little of Dr. Hobbs’ doctrinal teachings in it
anymore.
Let us
look again at the facts:
- John
said anyone who is not a Christian is anti-Christ. (1 John 2:18 RSV)
"Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist
is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is
the last hour." You have to ignore all else to imply from John’s
phrase “that antichrist is coming” to believe he meant a single real
person. The “that antichrist” is no different from “many antichrists have
come.” He is saying there will be antichrists until the Second Coming.
- John
said of all these antichrists: (1 John 2:19 RSV) "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 it might be plain that they all
are not of us." The ones he is referring to here are church members
who left the church but were not really saved people.
- John
gave the definition of the term “antichrist: (1 John 2:22 RSV) "Who
is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the
antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son." We need to apply
what John says not only to them but to ourselves. Southern Baptists cannot
throw many stones and get none back. (1 John 4:1-3 RSV) "Beloved, do
not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of
God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. {2} By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, {3} and every
spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of
antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the
world already."
- This
verse is absolutely clear about what John meant in 1 John 2:18 when he
said “you have heard that antichrist is coming”: (2 John 1:7 RSV)
"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not
acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the
deceiver and the antichrist." Also Christians must be aware of
heretical precepts and doctrines like Calvinism. John describes these
"antichrists" (1 John 2:18) as people with an inadequate and
WRONG understanding of Jesus Christ and the Gospel based upon and only in
Jesus and the divine Son of God. This is the same type of heresy which is
addressed throughout 1 John.
Bottom Line:
Neither
John nor any other writer implied or suggested there would be a single end
times Antichrist person. [Note: Gender is not
stated.]
1 JOHN 2:19 Here John speaks of
specific antichrists: those who were in the fellowship but left, for
unspecified reasons of doctrine. “All” indicated not a small group. John states
right-thinking Christians must maintain a clear distinction from false
doctrine.
1 JOHN 2:20 John said they were
you anointed by the Holy Spirit and thus can discern between truth and error.
All true, IF you are growing per (2 Pet 1:5-7 RSV) "For this very
reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with
knowledge, {6} and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with
steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, {7} and godliness with
brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love." Babes in Christ
do not have this ability and so may be lead into grossly wrong doctrine.
1 JOHN 2:21 John writes to
Christians who have the tools to think straight, so use the tools!
1 JOHN 2:22 The
supreme liar is the one who denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, i.e.,
that He was both 100% man and100% God at the same time. The separation of the
human and the divine was an early (Docetic) heresy. But
Dr. Hobbs did make a point that the definite article was used and pointed to a
specific person. Dr. Hobbs wrote in his Studying
Adult Life and Work Lessons, October-December 1982, page 26
"Apparently, John had reference to Cerinthus himself, who was a
contemporary of John. For he was the source of the heretical teaching John had
in mind. Denial that Jesus was the Christ was basic in Cerinthus’
teachings. According to him Christ was not identical to Jesus…. Thus Cerinthus,
the antichrist, and his antichrists denied the deity of Jesus. Anyone who does
this today is an antichrist.” So we see there was no forecast of the future but
a critical local problem John was addressing.
1 JOHN 2:23 This
is vital to understand. Why? To deny the Son makes it impossible to become part
of God's family and have God as Father. (John 3:18 RSV) "He who believes
in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because
he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
1 JOHN 2:24 True doctrine is the
only way to fellowship, so return to it and leave a thoughts
taken from the Gnostics.
1 JOHN 2:25 John makes a bold
and precise truth all Christian are to remember: ETERNAL SECURITY is ours! (Eph 1:13-14 KJV) "In whom ye also trusted, after that
ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, {14} Which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory."
1 JOHN 2:26-27 “You have no need
for anyone to teach you” is a slam against the Gnostics who said you had to
join their group and then learn secret instruction from a Gnostic leader. The
Christian needs no one except the
Holy Spirit who would teach them how to distinguish truth from error (John
16:13). The Holy Spirit may use human teachers to accomplish this (Eph.
4:11-14). But all True Teachings will be in context with the whole Bible, however the Holy Spirit chooses to do the teaching.
1 JOHN
1 JOHN 2:29-3:1 For the first time, 1 John speaks of Christians as those
"born" (gennao)
of God (cf. 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18). This imagery shows that the believer's
spiritual life results from the redemptive work of God. As a result, believers
can legitimately be called God's "children" (3:1). Certainly, that is
how God calls believers.
1 JOHN 3:2-3 The
discussion of Christ's return entails two important truths: (1) believers do
not reach their final state of glory until Christ is revealed, and (2) the hope
of this event should produce a desire for personal purity. Being “like” Jesus
does not mean we will become gods. It means we will sin no more nor have any
desire or reason to sin. We will have new bodies like His and have Eternal Life
with God.
Marvin
Ganote, Hobbs Study Class, Adult Teacher. ganotemd@gmail.com
Home Page: http://dma1.org/~ganotemd/lesson.htm