The Spirit of Anti-Christ

I want to share with you today about two important events. One happened last week but many people are blinded to its significance and the lessons it teaches. The other has not yet happened but news reports indicate it may be right on the horizon and this second event could be very, very significant indeed. The first event was the terrible terrorist attack at Ft. Hood. I do not hesitate to call it a “terrorist attack” because, without a doubt, that is what it was! President Obama and most of the news media have gone to great lengths not to “jump to any conclusions” and have treated this attack as though it were an isolated event not connected to anything other than the gunman himself. Painting this attack as the deranged acts of a mad-man, they wring their hands and scratch their heads seemingly mystified as to any possible motive! But this is no mystery. This terrorist’s motives were exactly the same as those who attacked us on 9-11. They, like he, were dutifully carrying out the clear teachings of their religion. The attacker is responsible for his crimes, but there are two other conspirators in this tragedy, the first is Islam itself and the second is the societal cancer known as “political correctness.” Our unwillingness to speak the truth about Islam nor heed the clear warning signs of jihadist tendencies effectively aided and abetted the enemy in this massacre. Until we see this conflict for what it is we will continue to be vulnerable to these shocking attacks and sorely handicapped in defending ourselves.

These murders flowed from the one whom Jesus called “a murderer from the beginning” - they flowed from the spirit of Anti-Christ. Those who believe the lie that all religions are basically the same; that Islam, Judaism and Christianity all worship the same God, have fallen prey to his delusion. The Apostle John identifies the spirit of Anti-Christ in his first epistle: “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come….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. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also…Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work…No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God…This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother…Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him…Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 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 have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1John 2:18-4:3) Carved in the stone which rings the inside of the Dome of the Al Aqsa Mosque are these words written in Arabic: “Far be it from God to ever have a son!” By the Biblical definition, the teachings and practices of Islam are the spirit of Anti-Christ.

The second major event is unfolding even as I write. The Palestinian Authority has leaked word that it intends to petition the United Nations to unilaterally create a new nation of “Palestine” within the borders of Israel. Given the makeup of the UN, this measure would find wide-spread, almost unanimous support. This action would be akin to the UN establishing a new nation of “Dearborn-istan” within the state of Michigan because the majority of citizens there are Muslims and have expressed a desire to replace the rule of U.S. law with Sharia law. I would hope we would not allow the UN to violate our sovereignty like that, and I suspect neither will Israel! Yet many, even some in our own government will hail this action as a “step on the path to peace.” If it comes to pass it will be a step, but not towards peace. It will be, in fact, the fulfillment of Joel 3:1-2: “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.” It will not bring peace, but war and judgment.