What is the spirit of the antichrist?

No other system of teaching meets the test. Every other form of teaching betrays its human, or perhaps in some cases, Satanic origin. Very high claims may be made: it may be professed that God is the source of what is being taught, that by His Spirit He is addressing Himself to men, while yet Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God is in various ways dishonored — in many cases even denied. His claims are not owned and submitted to; His rights are ignored and even refused. There are systems of teaching in which He is wickedly degraded and blasphemed.

Such systems of teaching are not of the Holy Spirit: another spirit is at work in them. Our apostle tells us that every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ, the Incarnate One, is not of God, but is the spirit of antichrist (ver. 3). The New Testament apostles and prophets warned the people of God that this spirit of antichrist would come. John, the last of them, now tells them that it has already come. It is not that the Antichrist himself has come, but that many have come who are characterized by his spirit — the spirit of insubjection to the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ. We are justified, therefore, in rejecting as not of God, every system of teaching in which Jesus Christ come in flesh is disowned or dishonored.

The truth is that Jesus Christ — that Person, the eternal Son of God — came in flesh, so that He was a true Man amongst us. The antichristian teachers did not confess this. They were not sound as regards His Deity, as 1 John 2:22 showed us. They were not sound as to His Manhood, as this verse shows. History informs us that one of the first heresies to afflict the early church is that which John is meeting here. It is known as Docetism: the teaching being that, as matter was evil, Christ could not have had a true human body of flesh and blood; it must only have appeared to be such, being in reality a phantasy. Another form of error as to Christ's humanity also troubled the early church, when men arose who recognized that the seat of sin is found in the spiritual part of man rather than in his material body. These denied the spiritual part of His humanity, while emphasizing the reality of His flesh; but they rose up a century or two later and there is no reference to them here.

Jesus Christ came in flesh of a perfectly holy kind, and hence there was in Him that wonderful manifestation of eternal life, of which the first verse of the epistle speaks. To deny His coming in flesh would mean the denial not only of the possibility of this clear manifestation amongst us, but also of there being in Him the Divine fulness to be manifested. But the matter is put here even more strongly. We need not wait for a flat denial for even non-confession of the truth betrays the spirit of antichrist.

In verse 4 we have the contrast between the saints (the word here is again that for the whole family of God, and not the babes merely) and these false prophets. The one "of God," the other "of the world." In 1 John 2 we saw how the Father and the world are wholly in contrast: here we find that there are two families springing respectively from these two sources; and they are as much in contrast as the sources whence they spring. Moreover there is in each an indwelling power, though the mode of indwelling is doubtless different. There is "He that is in you," and "he that is in the world." The children of God have the Anointing of the Spirit of God. As for the world it "lies in the wicked one," (1 John 5:19. New Trans.) — the wicked one is consequently in it.

The name ἀντίχριστος signifies an opposer of Christ. It is used only by John in his first and second epistles, though those opposed to Christ are referred to by others under different names. It is important to distinguish between an antichrist and the antichrist. John says, "as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists;" whereas "he is the antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:18, 22. He is the consummation of the many antichrists. To deny Jesus Christ come in the flesh is the spirit or power of the antichrist, but it eventuates in a departure from the special revelation of Christianity: 'they went out from us.' 1 John 2:19; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7. Now this clears the ground at once of much that has obscured the subject. For instance, many have concluded that Popery is the antichrist, and have searched no farther into the question, whereas the above passage refutes this conclusion, for Popery does not deny the Father and the Son; and, in Revelation 17, 18, Popery is pointed out as quite distinct from 'the false prophet,' which is another name for the antichrist. It is fully granted that Popery is anti-christian, and a Christ-dishonouring and soul-deceiving system; but where God has made a distinction we must also do so. Besides Popery there were and there are many antichrists, which, whatever their pretensions, are the enemies of Christ, opposers of the truth, and deceivers of man.

As to the Antichrist, it should be noticed that John makes another distinction between this one and the many. He speaks of the many as being already there, whereas the one was to come; and if we turn to 2 Thess. 2:3-12 we read of something or some one that hinders that wicked or lawless one being revealed, although the mystery of iniquity was already at work. Now there has been no change of dispensation since this epistle was written, and John wrote much later, from which we learn that the revelation of the antichrist is still future, though doubtless the mystery of iniquity is getting ripe for his appearing; that which hindered and still hinders the manifestation of the antichrist is doubtless the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth. He will leave the earth at the rapture of the saints.

The Apostle proceeds to give us three great tests whereby we can distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error:

(Vv. 2, 3). Firstly, the greatest of all tests is that which concerns Christ Himself. We can test whether men speak by the Spirit of God by their attitude to Christ. The testing question is, Do they confess Jesus Christ come in flesh? They may, indeed, confess that Jesus Christ is truly a man, and a pattern man; but do they confess that He has “come in flesh”, and therefore that He is a divine Person Who existed before He came in flesh? Moreover, to confess Jesus Christ come in flesh is not only to confess the truth of His Person, but also personally to bow in obedience to Him as Lord. The false teacher will neither confess the truth of His Person, nor own Him as Lord, and thus proves that he is not of God and is speaking by a false spirit, the spirit of antichrist that is already abroad in the world.

Nothing so preserves the saints from erroneous and false teachings as walking in the power of the truth. The nearer we are to Christ the more readily we detect what is not of Him; even as He said, "My sheep hear my voice" - "they know not the voice of strangers." So here the apostle first urges walking in "the commandment," and then warns the elect lady of surrounding dangers. Many deceivers, he says, have entered ("gone out" is a better reading) into the world; but they could be discerned from the fact that they did not confess Jesus Christ come in flesh. It was not so much a denial of the incarnation (although this might be included) as the refusal to own, and bow to, the claims and authority of Christ as "come in the flesh." This John solemnly affirms is the deceiver and the antichrist; that is, we apprehend, the spirit of antagonism to Christ and His claims, which will eventually culminate and find expression in the man of sin. (Compare 1 John 2:18-22.) The final form of hostility to Christ and Christianity may be thus gathered from current teachings. What need for holy vigilance in the power of the Holy Ghost!

But where there may be a fair profession of Christianity, these two vital truths may be actually lacking. A man may speak against them, or he may cunningly avoid them, while speaking even flatteringly of Jesus as a wonderful example. But this is not of God: it is the spirit of antichrist, and no believer should be deceived by it. They had been warned beforehand that this would come, and of course when the coming antichrist is revealed he will deceive thousands; but the same spirit that will energize him is already doing deadly work in the world.

“They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” God and the world are thus completely contrasted. Those who succumb to diabolic deception do so because “they are of the world,” a satanic system over which Satan is both the “god” and the “prince” (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 14:30). Desire for present gain, present glory, the tinsel and color of exaggerated pride and popularity, ­all mere passing illusions, — are those motives by which the evil one attaches his victims to a world that chooses to ban God from its affairs. Men of this character will of course gain the ear of the world: theirs is the language and conduct the world approves. We cannot be surprised if they have a large hearing.

The presence of this character of evil in various forms while yet there were apostles on earth, made it manifest that the time, characterized by blasphemous antichristian principles, had begun. The spirit of the Antichrist was there, though not yet developed as it will be in him when he comes. How this spirit has since progressed! How many movements of the present day are animated by it! If the Antichrist himself has not come yet, his spirit — his character — is plainly discernible in many current activities.

For the spirits and the prophets speaking by them are portrayed; and because they do the reverse of what true prophets do, they are false. And they are spoken of as to appear in this "last time," when all things hasten to the day of God's interference in the world by His judgments against the rebellion; and the spirit is called "that of antichrist," because it is set against the Lordship of Jesus over the world (to which must be added denying the Father and the Son), and will fully exist in the antichrist when he is manifested. Those who are of God overcome the seduction and turn away, because they have the Spirit in them that is greater than the spirit in the false prophets.

The test as to the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error is stated in these words: "We are of God; He that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth us not. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth and of error." The test is the apostle's doctrine. The Epistles are the full revelation of the doctrine of Christ, they contain the "many things" which the Lord spoke of when on earth, and which should be revealed when the Holy Spirit came. He has come and has made known the blessed things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him, but which are now revealed by His Spirit, the Spirit of truth (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). The spirit of error denies these doctrines. In our day the enemy has invested a most subtle slogan, "Back to Christ." It sounds well but behind it stands the father of lies. These men who speak of going back to Christ charge our beloved brother Paul with having a theological system of his own, which they claim Christ, on earth, never taught. They reject the great redemption truths made known by the Lord through the apostle to the Gentiles. Their cry "Back to Christ" is the spirit of antichrist.

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” The natural heart will embrace any subterfuge: man will quite glibly profess to love God, but it is convenient for him that God is out of sight, so that real, serious dealings with Him are avoided. But he must have dealings with his brother. If it is true that God’s love has entered his heart, how can he help loving his brother? If he does not, then he does not love God either: he is a liar. Dreadful designation! It is not simply that the man has been untruthful in a certain instance; but when he takes the hypocritical stand of professed love for God while hating the children of God, this is the very spirit of antichrist, who is a liar, as is his father the devil: it is the character of deceit willingly assumed.