The Spirit of Antichrist—in the Church

By Mike Oppenheimer
Let Us Reason Ministries

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Paul warns us that at the end of the age, inside the church, there will be teachings of demons—quite a serious charge. That it will be a time that is extremely dangerous to believers who do not know the Word correctly and do not watch what they are being taught.

The Devil has tailor-made deceptions for every church in every age; he knows the people’s weaknesses and propensities to do wrong in certain areas. He will use whomever he can in whatever capacity he can to bring confusion, falsehoods, and destruction—especially if he can target a church’s pastor. Contrary to popular teaching, the Devil, who is the greatest of angelic creatures, is of the highest intelligence, has power, and is often underestimated in his scheming by those who think they can bind him.

Some people are deceived by not having the knowledge of the truth to discern what is being introduced as false, and they do not care to hear a different view that may challenge them because they are following a man or woman instead of Christ Jesus by his Word. How do you tell the difference? It is how they respond to the Word. They will either ignore what the Word says and continue listening to the false teacher of their liking and stay in the falsehood they hear as willing subjects to be manipulated to their own destruction, or they will react by acknowledging they were wrong and repent, getting right with God and abandoning the falsehood. This is how we know if someone is yielding to the Holy Spirit in his or her life.

For example, there are those who teach we as spirit had a per-existence with God before we came to earth.

1 Corinthians 15:44-49 explains that the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.  “The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” In other words, only Jesus is like God, not Adam. We are told that He alone came from heaven to become man

vs. 47: It is Jesus who is The Lord from heaven. He is the creator and giver of life, not Adam. vs. 49: “And as we have borne the image of the earthy [Adam], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

It is when we are transformed into the new man in the resurrection that we become incorruptible, sinless, immortal  (1 Corinthians 15:50).

Some teach we are little gods because we are reborn into His image, that we are an exact replica of Him now.

Colossians 1:15: “[W]ho is the image of the invisible God,” “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3). Why? Because Jesus is unique, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is the only man who revealed the image of God perfectly, being God Himself in human form.

The BIBLE says:

John 1:4-5: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” The key: darkness does not understand the uniqueness of Christ Jesus.

John 5:26: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.”

Only the Son has life in Himself; so look out when you hear we can speak things into existence as word-faith promoters claim.  Word-faith interpretations distort the Scripture that says “give life to the dead and call things into existence that are not.” This verse does not say this about us but about God alone who has this ability. Romans 4:17: “God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

The BIBLE says:

Isaiah 40:25: To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”

Isaiah 46:5: “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike?”

Those who are in the truth confess – Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”

John is saying Jesus is the only God/man. There is no other man that is God come in flesh. If they are teaching contrary to this, they have the spirit of ANTICHRIST.

To call oneself or another human being God is what the Bible labels as blasphemy.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

The spirit of iniquity mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 states, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”  The Holy Spirit in the believers, in the Church now restrains (hinders, prevents) the Antichrist from revealing himself. Paul says the mystery – the spirit was already at work in his day, and will one day reach its zenith in a single man, a man who claims to be God. For this to be accepted, the idea that man can be god must be well circulated.

God instills humility in us, not pride. The Antichrist does not come as some Devil but as a lamb – “he had two horns like a lamb and spake like a dragon” (Revelation 13:11-12). He has words to exalt you, that is the antichrist spirit, to exalt man. Listen carefully to what the word-faith teachers speak on man and you will know what the Antichrist will be like. It is the same voice that was heard in the garden to Eve.

This contains such audacity and pride, to exalt man to be as the Creator. It is what New Agers, theosophists, and occultists speak. When a church no longer resists infiltration of non-biblical New Age practices, they will be carried away quickly by having opened the door to lies.

Why would any church allow men to teach what occultist’s and theosophists teach? Something that was never said in the Bible or church history? It is an antichrist spirit that has someone confess he is a little god or has God’s unique abilities (e.g., speaking things into existence).

We are currently bound in our sinful flesh, being conformed to be like Christ who is our Master and Lord. As soon as we lose this perspective, we allow pride to have us boast in what we do not possess.  What a deceptive trap!

What is the antichrist and the spirit of antichrist? “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; 2 Thessalonians 2:4: [the antichrist] . . . so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). Paul warns that inside the church will be teachings of demons. Nothing is more obvious than calling ourselves god. Satan’s goal is to teach self-deification to man just as he offered to Adam and Eve. How many gods are there if we are each little gods?

But doesn’t it say in Psalm 82:6 that we are gods . . . is God confused what He says on this, or are YOU?

What does the true God say to those who want his title, power, and ability, who want to be as equals.

Deuteronomy 4:35: “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.”

Deuteronomy 4:39: “ Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

Isaiah 43:10: . . . “that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”

Isaiah 44:6: “I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

Isaiah 45:5: “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.”

God says He knows of no other Gods— do you believe God?

Isaiah 45:22: “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

No word-faith gods or messiahs in training. There is no other God but the actual ONE True Eternal God, and He wants to save you from your deception. If you claim to be a god, then you have forfeited salvation because the first act of true worship is acknowledgement that the real eternal God saved you and you worship the only true God.

Jeremiah 10:11: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” Anyone who claims to be a god, (little g or not) knows they have not created heavens and earth. They have no power to create anything with their words.

The one who started this LIE that man is a god and is now in the church must be dealt with harshly as the liar who first spoke this is coming to gather his little gods.

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