anti-Christs / against-Christ

[marie glen]

I was reading a commentary this morning on 1 John chapter 2, verses 18-26 which pointed out how "anti" is "against" Christ.. Which I sort of knew but you get used to a phrase.. John as we know wrote (later most believe) the Book of Revelation, which includes of course, the seven letters to the churches. The commentary also said it's believed John lived and ministered in Ephesis, Turkey.. or Asia where those churches were..

We can see in those letters the progression of the gnostics.. Or, more accurately, i'm thinking, now, their effect on the churches.. For John writes in 1 John 2, how they "went out from them" and "didn't remain with them"... And now he called them against Christ..

I'm thinking we can see how the gnostics began in the faith.. (but with paganism and sometimes "the law" mixed in) - I studied a bit and read how the gnostics before Christianity were a loose collection of 'esoteric' pagan ideas.. and more commentary said it would be reasonable they would be attracted (initially) to the the miracles and growth/popularity of the new faith.. I'm thinking in some ways they were like the new age type of folks we have today.. Of course some truth is weaved into these ideas, or they'd completely fall apart(?)

So according to John they went out.. and now in 1 John 2, we can see that now they have progressed to "against" Christ.. Yet by time of the seven letters, they still had an effect on the churches..

"Who is the anti-Christ but he who says Christ did not come" - the gnostics as we know asserted that the problem wasn't man's sin and flawed nature and character, but somehow God's creation had "fallen" into matter, and that was the problem and what we needed to be rescued from (to them, ascend? via their knowledge/gnosis; overcome matter not their own flawed nature/the flesh). So to them it was impossible that Jesus, Son of God had come "in the flesh" because matter was like evil to them. [I also researched "Jewish myths" and found some commentary which said these were rather gnostic in nature.. but that's as far as I got with that..]

I haven't read what any church fathers wrote about the gnostics, but I've read there was a big problem with them in the 2nd century.. I have a bee in my bonnet that believes the 'hell' myth was injected into Christianity via the gnostics. I certainly may be wrong about that.. but it's a persistent buzzing bee anyway..

The church father who first mentioned 'hell', was it Augustine? I think I read that here in another thread..? Was Origen a contemporary who remained more true to the faith? I don't have that backwards do I?
   :Peace2: God bless! ...have a great day..

[rosered]

  Have a great day too Marie !! 

I do believe  , for me , it is the knowledge without Love , if the love is lacking what good is this knowledge ?

It only  swells up in the pride of life and causes the  lusting desire of power over the people   with no knowledge  of God ... these little mini gods are  spots  for the LOF  cut off . like a  useless branch ready for the fire to be burned out .


  Jesus Christ represents the Love of God   manifested to us  and  goes painstakingly    detailed into how  we are to  learn of Him  and  His righteousness into what  pleases God .  All for ONE AND ONE for all   , ONLY ONE GOD   in you all and though you all   

  1 cor   8    ...5For even if there are very many so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords),

6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist.


And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

7But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled....

The Word of truth by the Spirit of Truth are  two powerful  and persuasive   witnesses   in the heavens and earth   .

John 4 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.


23But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth,

for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. 24God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth."...

LOVE one another as I have loved you   by this  they will KNOW  you are mine

[sheila]

we don't war against flesh and blood.but powers and principalities Unless a kernal of wheat 'fall' to the earth and die it remains lone

  but if it fall to the earth and die..it bear much fruit unto heaven.when Jesus come in the appearance of sin..it was flesh that expierences

death..due to the sin works in the flesh/no man of sin robbed it[life] from him...he laid it down willingly. man fell into sin..from a

flesh+spirit,sinless/innocent state.

.Man's body is the temple of the Lord.and He look's upon it as 'Holiness unto the Lord" due to His spirit[life] dwelling in it

   It may be full of robber/thieve spirit's[which destroy it and cause God to be "far off "from it..and when God's spirit leaves it.man's body

  returns unto dust.and man's redeemed spirit is drawn to Him and into His very presence in Heaven....

  unclean spirits in the outer court[typified by women[menstrous]/gentiles/Roman army sacrificing swine]= sin in our flesh.........

conquering armies in Holy of Holies=demonic possessed people with satan sitting as the voice/imitator of God..[false prophet

spirits/deceiving spirits etc.examples of this.God told me to kill my child etc...God showed me men in hell in burning flames and agony

God torturing them eternally ,God told me to put the infidl's to death..convert or else[Constantine].From now on call no man unclean/ 

do not despise the face of any man.

     we pass under the rod of His correction and are brought into the covenant.....the negative powers He wields to shape/form

   turn unto the correct way,and test us.   when He 'has us where He wants us" no longer will their sound be heard when He assembles

us[destroy this temple and I will raise it on the third day] some day He will show you that 'rod' and you will say..is this the man[of sin]

that would not let his prisoners go free?


early on when the problems began in the christian church..leavenings was removed[go out from us] but over time..and especially

in the last day Laodeacian church..this leavening had increased to the extent[Daniel.saints overcome dragon trampling/two wittnesses

killed by beast]that God calls the few out of her..instead.

  Just as Israel was overcom.so too.most of Christianinty has been overcome[a house divided against

itself can not stand[denominations]...but where lawlessness aboundsgrace abounds more abundntly..and the free gift/grace[leavening]

is also worked through the two measures and extended into the third measure[all].We can bear wittness that some are zealous,but not

according to accurate knowledge


   the kingdom of darkness has all kinds of traps,snares,temptations,false prophets,persecutions ,weakness of our flesh,and false

prophets at hand to stumble,imprison,lead astray,try and put to death a child that has put faith in Christ and God...and He judges that

whatever they do to those who believe in Him is the same as doing it unto Him.Add to this man's knowing" in part" or seeing through

a glass darkly.along with Father keeping some things to be revealed until the end[when every hidden thing is revealed] and many causes

of stumblings abound[through'that man" from which they come] Praise God that He delivers us from our enemy that is stronger

  than us[by MY SPIRIT]!!!!!!!He shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause sin/stumbling/offense


     the gift of eternal slvation is given freely from His hand in love and no-one can snatch you out of His hand because of it.[engraved

  on His palms]some    loss/correction may come to us for 'trampling' on that grace...and/or not fully appreciating the gift.Believing a lie/

being misled[imprisoned in apostate churches,stumbling,falling into temptation,failing a test etc.


       there is a deceiver in this world that would like to have you believe he is God ; the 'god' of this world.and he has been judged. :HeartThrob:

   

[Ross]

      we don't war against flesh and blood.but powers and principalities
       there is a deceiver in this world that would like to have you believe he is God ; the 'god' of this world.and he has been judged. :HeartThrob:

1 Cor 1;20-24 " Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, God was pleased, through the foolishness of what we preach, to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs, and Greeks are looking for wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to the Jews- and foolishness to the Greeks.
But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God"

2 Cor 10;12 " We would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are recommending themselves. Rather, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves by themselves, THEY ARE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING."

2 Cor 11;14,15 " For Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise      themselves as servants of righteousness."

1 John 4;4 " Little children, you have been born of God and have overcome them, because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

1 John 4;12 " No one has ever seen God. If we love one another God lives in us and His love has achieved it's goal in us."

These scriptures, and more, seem to highlight the security of our position.
Satan tries to displace/distract us from that position by highlighting the weaknesses of our own dedication along with hiding/covering-up the reality of our resurrection to a more glorious role than our current life-style.
I.M.O we need to go through this to appreciate fully why Christ went through His sufferings and work of the cross to guarantee our future.
Gnostics, Sadducees, Pharisees, Muslims, Bahai, etc, all have a grim outlook- self-efforts with many weaknesses.
Christ has set us free from the law of sin, and death.
Beloved sisters there is so much we learn from these errors of religions to clarify why we needed Christ to complete His role and brings us to our Loving Father as children of the almighty God; not slaves.

[anti_nietzsche]

I identify as a universalist and as such I believe that all religions have something to say about God. The quest for God is actually universal and points to the fact that a God must exist. But the religions have different images of God and they are competing in that. In the christian faith, it is not us who have sought God but God sought us in Jesus Christ and found us in Christ's incarnation, life, crucifixion and resurrection. God now is not just the God of Jews anymore but the God of entire mankind, including atheists, muslims, buddhists, hindus and whoever else we might think of. And on the cross Jesus forgave all of mankind, not just the christians. Christians now should be such people that they would preach this Gospel of Christ and bring the love of God to the farthest reaches of the Earth.

Mother Theresa once remarked, what use is it if a Muslim converts and becomes a doubting christian. He should instead strive to be a good muslim. God is present in all religions and translates words into emotions and impulses and all that. My dad who was an atheist was nevertheless as strong in neighborly love as christians. Christ spoke to him in nature and in impulses of goodness that he received like all other men.

Let us not fall into religious quarrels but stay on the path of tenderness towards all men, forgiving their trespasses that our trespasses might be forgiven too like Jesus told us.

[rosered]

      we don't war against flesh and blood.but powers and principalities
       there is a deceiver in this world that would like to have you believe he is God ; the 'god' of this world.and he has been judged. :HeartThrob:

1 Cor 1;20-24 " Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, God was pleased, through the foolishness of what we preach, to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs, and Greeks are looking for wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to the Jews- and foolishness to the Greeks.
But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God"

2 Cor 10;12 " We would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are recommending themselves. Rather, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves by themselves, THEY ARE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING."

2 Cor 11;14,15 " For Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise      themselves as servants of righteousness."

1 John 4;4 " Little children, you have been born of God and have overcome them, because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

1 John 4;12 " No one has ever seen God. If we love one another God lives in us and His love has achieved it's goal in us."

These scriptures, and more, seem to highlight the security of our position.
Satan tries to displace/distract us from that position by highlighting the weaknesses of our own dedication along with hiding/covering-up the reality of our resurrection to a more glorious role than our current life-style.
I.M.O we need to go through this to appreciate fully why Christ went through His sufferings and work of the cross to guarantee our future.
Gnostics, Sadducees, Pharisees, Muslims, Bahai, etc, all have a grim outlook- self-efforts with many weaknesses.
Christ has set us free from the law of sin, and death.
Beloved sisters there is so much we learn from these errors of religions to clarify why we needed Christ to complete His role and brings us to our Loving Father as children of the almighty God; not slaves.

Comforted by the WORD OF LIFE by the Spirit of Life   bro , great scriptures  !!

I do praise God for the HOLY SPIRIT   whom always intercedes  on the behalf of  all   mankind .
In Adam all die    and in Christ all shall be made alive .

It is certainly possible  , when reading the WORD  to  think to much of ''this temporal life  '' 
  as the  WORD OF TRUTH BY THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH teaches us it is but a vapor a  mist that vanishes away .

  I thank  you for the admonishment   , and not to be angry over the  ''condition  ''  of the world GOD HAS IT ALL  COVERED     by the Blood of the Lamb already bought and paid for from the foundation of the world   , knowing this would all take place  , as a boil that festers under the  skin ,  till is is painfully obvious   and must   ''come to a head ''   and be extracted  and taken care of   till it is fully   recovered ..

Loving all mankind   but  despising the evil  all mankind is subjected too.

Gods Word say to hate the evil  , and I do, especially within  .

  :HeartThrob: 






James 4    English Standard Version
Warning Against Worldliness

1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passionsa are at war within you?b 2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4You adulterous people!c Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? 6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.d The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

13Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— 14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

[marie glen]

Amen guys and gals! Right on! :thumbsup:

....we're veRy blessed! through no merit of our own.. It is all Him! All of us as different members/parts of His body..  Wisdom is justified of her (his) children... but when all is said and done, we are "altogether unprofitable servants" for we only are doing what He has caused us to do..

We 'war' not against flesh and blood.. the gnostics so early on, used by principalities and powers.. the 'hell' myth inserted by principalities and powers.. and made a stronghold, so strongly held, by principalities and powers.. all falsehood when strongly held, spells which hold sway.. but which will disappear and be swallowed up of life.. And HE, and truth will be all in all..
                    :banana: :cloud9:

[rosered]

Amen guys and gals! Right on! :thumbsup:

....we're veRy blessed! through no merit of our own.. It is all Him! All of us as different members/parts of His body..  Wisdom is justified of her (his) children... but when all is said and done, we are "altogether unprofitable servants" for we only are doing what He has caused us to do..

We 'war' not against flesh and blood.. the gnostics so early on, used by principalities and powers.. the 'hell' myth inserted by principalities and powers.. and made a stronghold, so strongly held, by principalities and powers.. all falsehood when strongly held, spells which hold sway.. but which will disappear and be swallowed up of life.. And HE, and truth will be all in all..
                    :banana: :cloud9:

  :dsunny: :HeartThrob: :HeartThrob: :HeartThrob:  I can hardly wait sis !!!!   I want Gods will to be done   and cannot wait to  see the END results   
  1 Peter 4 Living for God's Glory
...6That is why the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead,

so that they might be judged as men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and sober, so you can pray.


8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins....

[Ross]

True stories are always more incredible than fiction.
The truth is pretty glorious.

Gal 4;26-31  " The Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
                      For it is written,
                                            ' Rejoice, O barren that is not bearing; break forth and shout, you that does not experience
                                             the pangs of child birth, BECAUSE THE SOLITARY HAS MANY MORE CHILDREN THAN SHE
                                             WHICH HAS A HUSBAND.'
                   
                     AND WE, BRETHREN, ARE CHILDREN OF A PROMISE, LIKE ISAAC,
                     but just as he who was born of the flesh did persecute the one of the spirit, so it is also now.
                     But what does the scripture say?
                                            'Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman may not be heir with
                                             the son of the free woman.'

                    So then, brethren, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free."

[rosered]

True stories are always more incredible than fiction.
The truth is pretty glorious.

Gal 4;26-31  " The Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
                      For it is written,
                                            ' Rejoice, O barren that is not bearing; break forth and shout, you that does not experience
                                             the pangs of child birth, BECAUSE THE SOLITARY HAS MANY MORE CHILDREN THAN SHE
                                             WHICH HAS A HUSBAND.'
                   
                     AND WE, BRETHREN, ARE CHILDREN OF A PROMISE, LIKE ISAAC,
                     but just as he who was born of the flesh did persecute the one of the spirit, so it is also now.
                     But what does the scripture say?
                                            'Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman may not be heir with
                                             the son of the free woman.'

                    So then, brethren, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free."

Yay :Pray:


Learning who our true Mother is and Father  , is  Awesome !!!!    being  children of His  born out of corruption    into incorruptible Spiritual beings as new creature in Christ !!  :dsunny: :banana: :HeartThrob:   


   Eph  4 4 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,


2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,


3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.


4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

wow!! :dsunny:    love is the answer    , for every question  of Who is the LIVING  God   :HeartThrob:

[Ross]

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

wow!! :dsunny:    love is the answer    , for every question  of Who is the LIVING  God   :HeartThrob:

:gimmefive: :iagree: :cloud9: etc etc