They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out , in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.
But you have an annointing from the Holy one, and you all know.
I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
As for you, let that abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.
These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
And as for you, the annointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His annointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
And now little children abide in Him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him with shame at His coming.
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
1 John 2:18-29 NASB
My previous post dealt with the topic of deception in the last days. You can read it here. I would like to continue with this theme as I believe that it is vital for us to be well grounded in the faith, not just in the end times, but even now, as false teachers have always been among us.
John is writing to Christians who have received the faith (the gospel, doctrine etc.) firsthand from the eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ (see 1John 1:1-4). These Christians as John states, knew the truth. That was the purpose of his epistle. He was confronting false teaching that threatened the Church. He was not protecting a group of believers who didn't have a grasp on the truth, but they knew the truth from the beginning. They were literally grounded in the apostle's teachings.
This is important in so many ways. We must be firmly grounded in the truth. Although the original Apostles are long gone, the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) is the same faith built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Himself being the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:20) that has been handed down to us through the word of God.
Let us endeavor to grasp it, understand it, believe it, and make it ours. It must not merely be a faith of the head, but a living, active faith that is obeyed and followed, and allowed to transform us into the image of Christ. Anything less than that is not the faith found in the pages of scripture.
What we believe about Jesus affects our worship and submission to Him. Anything other than what is revealed in scripture will impact our faith in a negative way. Ultimately, the danger is that we will end up believing a different gospel, and following a different Jesus than the only Jesus who can save us (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Corinthians 11:3-4). Our abiding in the truth, and consequently in Christ, is where our safety is found. To be outside of the truth is to be outside of Christ, and to be susceptible to all forms of error.
John was confronting heresy in his day that twisted the truth of who Jesus truly was. This was, and is the spirit of antichrist. There is nothing new under the sun, and new twists on old heresies still abound today. No doubt when the final beast kingdom arises, false prophets will arise out of it deceiving many with the same attacks on the person and work of Jesus.
It is my firm belief that the end time beast prophecied to arise will be made up of the Muslim nations surrounding Israel today. The scriptures are clear, all the nations mentioned in prophetic passages concerning end times events surrounding the day of the LORD are Muslim majority nations today. While many teachers are looking to a coalition of European nations to spawn the antichrist, the Bible actually directs us to look at the Middle East.
You must understand that Islam has its version of "Jesus." The Jesus (Issa) of Islam is a mere man. He never claimed to be God, He was never crucified, and in the last days He will return to help an individual referred to as the Mahdi (the antichrist?) eliminate Jews and Christians, and install Islam as the final religion. This Issa destroys a man known as the Dajaal, (Islam's version of the antichrist) who by the way refers to himself as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." That's a bit eerie isn't it?
It wouldn't be too farfetched to imagine the false prophet of Revelation 13:11-18 claim to be Issa (Jesus), deny his deity, deny that he was crucified, and instead direct all worship to the man known as the Mahdi. Now I admit this is speculation at this point in time. We don't know how everything will play out, but we have the warnings found in the scriptures telling us of false prophets and false Christs raising and deceiving many.
I want to make something clear. I love Muslim people. My wife and I are aquainted with many Muslims. We have had some of them in our home, and been in their homes as well. We see a people who are themselves blinded by a deception that has run for 1,400 years now. They are born into this, and desperately need the light of Christ to shine into their hearts. Just as you or I at one time also were lost without Christ, so are they. Unless they come to a knowledge of the truth and surrender their lives to Jesus, they too will perish. God loves all people and sent Jesus to die for the Muslim as well as the Hindu, atheist etc. We are all on level ground at the foot of the cross.
So with that in mind, we must know what we believe, why we believe it, and make sure it is the truth. It can be hard to debate a Jehovah's witness, a Mormon, or a Muslim. Many people fall for the deception that these groups spread. It is amazing how similar these three cults are in their beliefs. An attack against the person and work of Jesus Christ is at the heart of these group's message. Indeed they preach a different gospel and a different Jesus than that which has been revealed in scripture.
Back to our passage, John speaks of an annointing that we as believers possess. This annointing is the Holy Spirit, who Jesus also refers to as "the Spirit of truth" in John 14:15-26. It is the role of the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in each believer. Through the indwelling presence of the Spirit we have fellowship with the Father and Son. This is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27).
The Holy Spirit is referred to by Christ as the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit guides us into the truth, and without the revelation of the Holy Spirit we cannot expect to abide in truth in our own strength. With this annointing we do not need the opinions of men to direct us into the truth. While the ministry gifts are meant for the edification of the Church, and are vital in guiding the Church through deception and on to maturity (Ephesians 4:12-15), ultimately we have the responsibility to study these things for ourselves with the annointing of the Holy Spirit.
Men are fallible, prone to make mistakes, and even deliberately mislead. We must always back up what we hear with the word of God, made clear to us by the Holy Spirit. That is the meaning of this passage.
If we remain in the truth, submitted to Christ in trust and obedience, we have nothing to fear at His return. His truth will preserve us from error. With the Holy Spirit to guide us we can be confident in these days we live in. I read something years ago, and I don't remember who said it,
"The Holy Spirit will not lead you where the word of God cannot keep you."
These are meaningful words for us to ponder. By the power of the Holy Spirit, let us press on to know Christ, abiding in His presence, safe in the storm, and not ashamed at His return.
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