Pastor Paul Chappell: The Antichrists Part One

take your bible please and turn to the book of first john tonight for our scripture reading first john and this afternoon i was at home and i was thinking um i don't know why sometimes i just get my days and times mixed up and we got home and i i told terry i said today's the super bowl and uh i i found out like an hour or two later it was not the super bowl i kept kept thinking i don't i don't think it is i found a golf game on television and i said boy this is going long and anyways in case you're wondering it's not the super bowl today but uh just so you know how preachers think that i thought i'm preaching on the antichrist tonight and it's the super bowl and this might take a minute and some of these guys want to see that fourth quarter i've pastored you long enough to know you want you sit here and you pray god help him go fast because i want the fourth quarter of the super bowl and i just was thinking how how is that going to happen how am i going to preach on the antichrist and then get them home in time for the super bowl so thank the lord we can be here till 8 9 10 o'clock tonight and it's all good and we got plenty of time plenty of time and i don't i don't think it'll be that long but uh we'll see what happens next sunday night amen so first john is where we've been and tonight we want to turn here and uh find ourselves back where we left off last week in chapter two first john chapter two i'm going to read this scripture and then we're going to have one more song and then we'll get right into the to the to the message verse 18 please little children it is the last time and as you have heard that antichrist shall come let's take note right now the term antichrist is not some preacher's term it's not something we make up it's not some uh kind of conspiracy theory term so we're not we're not preaching about this tonight to be flamboyant the word is in the bible so if it's there we need to dig it out and discover what are we talking about here so it says little children it is the last time and as you know ye have heard that antichrist shall come even now there are many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time they went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us but ye have an unction from the holy one and ye know all things what what amazing verses and we're going to spend some time here tonight and i hope the the message will give us an alertness as christians in these last days so let's pray together father we just want to thank you for our church lord it's just a blessing to me tonight just to see the assembly and be a part of it and we do again thank you for our ushers and their faithfulness and their spirit we thank you for what you're doing lord we ask that you would help us to declare the gospel this year and use our church again and again to be a lighthouse for you keep us tender towards you lord help us to cherish what we have in you and even in this place and father we ask that you would bless the song and then the message tonight we pray in jesus name amen you may be seated the apostle john begins a new thought in verse 18 of our text tonight once again he addresses the recipients of this letter as little children let us always remember ephesians 5 1 which says be ye therefore followers of god as dear children there's nothing worse than a christian who gets to the place where they are no longer teachable and you can sense this spirit in many ways sometimes it's a stubbornness sometimes it's an attitude of been there done that got the t-shirt i've heard him sing i've heard her preach sometimes it's a major decision without ever seeking counsel it manifests itself in many different ways but all of us need to maintain that tender child-like spirit of a child as is spoken of here in first john my little children the aged apostle is speaking as the holy spirit directs him and he says here he says it is the last time now this is a phrase that we have heard from scripture and we hear repeated in our day and age in which we live the last times or the last days the apostle paul spoke of these i believe he was the human author of the book of hebrews and so turn there for a moment and let me say as we begin we're going to turn some and i'm going to mention probably 40 verses tonight and so if you like prophecy and you're interested in the topic let me encourage you to get out a pen and write down the notes because we're not passing paper notes out yet hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1. hebrews 1 god who at sundry times and in diverse manners in different times and in different ways spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets notice now hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son whom he hath appointed air of all things by whom also he made the worlds now we would think that when christ was manifest and when he was doing his miracles and his teachings that that would not be the last days those would be the first days that's how we might think in regard to the lineage of our christian faith but the last time or the last days actually started with the incarnation of jesus christ and really when you study the scriptures concerning the last days the teaching tells us that the last days begin with the coming of jesus christ and please remember when you study bible prophecy that the bible says one day is with the lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day and so when we talk about the last days i literally believe there are but a few days from the time that jesus came the first time until the time that he comes the second time and so the term the last days indicates a time that began with jesus christ jesus is the revealer of god's truth according to hebrews 1 and he gave to us this truth in written form through the apostles and the prophets jerry vines in his commentary on first john wrote there is a sense in which the last time began in the days of john and has been growing in intensity until now we have been in the last time since the days of our lord jesus the bible indicates that toward the close of the age there will be latter days of increased difficulty and turmoil for example the bible says in first thessalonians chapter 4 and verse number 1 now the spirit speaketh expressly and that always captures my attention how many of you believe that the bible is a god-breathed book that all of the bible comes from the holy spirit but we read in first timothy 4 and verse 1 now the spirit speaketh expressly it's like a double emphasis here's a spirit-filled a spirit-revealed book and now the holy spirit's speaking explicitly expressly what is he saying here's what he says first timothy 4 1 that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils now that's hard for us to comprehend i mean we've all seen people that come to church for a while a year or two five six whatever and then for whatever reason they they get sideways they get frustrated they get tired they see a hypocrite if you're gonna quit church because you see a hypocrite and today's your first day just quit now because you're going to see that kind of stuff and that's just kind of the way it goes there's not a perfect christian anywhere around in fact jesus only had 12 in the first church and one of them wasn't even saved just saying so when you when you look at this situation it's hard for us to we can imagine someone leaving church but it's hard for us to imagine someone renouncing faith at least it's hard for me it's hard for me to imagine somebody that once prays and says i believe that jesus is the very son of god and i accept him as my savior and then to envision that same person maybe later on in life saying i don't believe any of it or i've i've heard a few say i never believe that it's hard to envision it's sad how many of you would agree with me that's a sad thought that somebody would say that that somebody would do that i mean it's terrible when someone says to their spouse i'm done with you we're getting a divorce i'm over with this it's heartbreaking it's gut-wrenching but how about when someone says that to god god i want none of you anymore but god says in the last times that there will be people following seducing spirits doctrines of devils and they will depart from the faith and we're seeing that happening today some of you remember a few years ago joshua cooper who wrote many books advocating courtship and he shocked all of his fan club when he denied faith in jesus christ some of you perhaps have watched this pentecostal church the hillsong church and they've been fraught with immorality time and again the last few months and one of their songwriters began it all just about a year and a half ago marty sampson by openly declaring on instagram i never believed any of this i don't believe that i'm a christian i recant my faith and somebody goes wait a minute how does somebody who wrote songs about jesus say that he doesn't even believe in jesus anymore it's just it's gut-wrenching to hear that but the bible prophesies it there will be people who said they believed who no longer believe first timothy chapter 2 timothy chapter 3 and verse 1 this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come and it speaks of people that will have a form of godliness they'll they'll maybe go to church they'll know the lingo they'll know how to say amen they'll know how to praise and worship but then they have this form of godliness but they deny the power thereof you see and god says that's one of the indicators of the last days so we have the apostle paul and john the apostle warning the church that the last days will bring intense uh evil and there will be incivility uh and satanic activity and that there will be people who recant their faith right when we need people to step it up and and stand in the gap and declare the gospel there will be people in these upcoming years deny the gospel and we may go into this more a little bit later but oftentimes you say how does that happen let me just pause to say often accompanying the denial of the gospel is a very wicked underlying lifestyle of immorality of of living against god's morals and and they can't rather than repent of that sin they they can't deal with it and and some have taken their own life and others just say i'm just going to say none of this bible is true it's the only way they can deal with the fact that they are in the clutches of immorality but whatever the underlying reason the bible says in the latter times there will be those that turn away from their faith so john is going to teach us about the age that is indicative of the last times the the falling away and then he's going to give us some help as to how we can stand with discernment and we're going to take a few weeks on this but let's begin tonight by noticing first of all the reality of the antichrist the reality of the antichrist verse 18 my little children it is the last time as ye have heard that antichrist shall come now notice that it doesn't speak about a spirit it doesn't speak about uh the this is not speaking about the strong delusion though that is spoken of in the last times it says the antichrist and so this is the person of the antichrist i want you to think of the description the bible says ye have heard that is to say they are being reminded about what they were already told concerning the antichrist a person not a figure of speech or symbol an actual person now the word antichrist is a compound word anti of course meaning against and christ meaning the anointed one so this person that is spoken of will be against christ and and the apostle is saying there is coming one who will stand against the anointed one this is the one uh who will be the antichrist that will deceive the world into thinking that he is the christ we'll see in a moment he will claim himself to be the messiah but what i want you to notice now in verse 18 is that that the antichrist shall come the antichrist is truly the opposite of everything about our christ and just to kind of get some familiarity when we say the opposite let me share a few ways first the bible tells us in john 6 38 that jesus christ comes from above the bible tells us in revelation 11 7 that the antichrist will come from below and here we see that they are opposites secondly the bible tells us in philippians 2 8 that christ humbled himself and became obedient to the death of the cross but the bible says in 2 thessalonians 2 and verse 4 that the antichrist will exalt himself very proud in spirit thirdly the bible tells us that christ was despised isaiah 53 he was despised and rejected of men but that the antichrist will be admired revelation 13 3 the antichrist will be very popular uh he will be a peace giver he will have answers to all of the hard questions so so to speak and he will be very admired number four the bible says in luke 19 10 the son of man has come to seek and to save that's why jesus came the bible says in daniel 8 24 we'll be in daniel in just a moment that the antichrist will come to destroy and number five the bible says in john 14 6 that jesus christ is the truth and in second thessalonians 2 11 the bible says that the antichrist is a liar he is as the devil the father of all liars and so when you hear the term antichrist it is a bible term and it is a term that describes this one who is the opposite of jesus christ christ came uh his incarnation is recorded his 33 and a half year perfectly sinless life is recorded his death his burial and his resurrection all recorded but the coming of the antichrist is foretold now there are seven characteristics of the antichrist that i just want to mention as we come to this word tonight so if you would turn in your bibles to daniel chapter 7 and we'll have some things up on the screen as well but let's just look at daniel chapter 7 and and let's learn what are some of the characteristics of the antichrist and yes i do believe the world is preparing for this person let me say this tonight i would never uh be the one to say who the antichrist is his greatest influence i believe will happen after the church is raptured first thessalonians chapter four his greatest influence will be during the time of the tribulation and i'm not going to try to name who i think the antichrist is but i will go this far i would not be surprised at all if the antichrist is alive on planet earth today and rising in influence as i speak tonight that would not surprise me at all so what about the characteristics of the antichrist well we know first of all that he will rise from obscurity so notice in daniel 7 if you would and here and we'll begin in verse uh number six after this i beheld and lo another like a leopard which had upon the back of it four wings of a foul the beast had also four heads and dominion was given to it this of course is daniel's interpretation of the vision verse seven after this i saw in the night visions and behold a fourth beast dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly and it had great iron teeth it devoured and break in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it and it had ten horns i considered the horns and behold there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things what we learn here is that there is a rising up from obscurity a little horn subduing three other horns now the horns in ancient culture represented the dominions or the kings that were in power and so the horn reference reminds us that this one that comes into power is going to conquer three kings on the way into power most scholars believe somewhere in europe this will take place many based on daniel's vision believe it's a revival of the old roman empire and from this uh political structure uh there comes the rising up of the antichrist that's why many of us have watched with great interest the european union that's one reason why i was a great advocate of of the united kingdom breaking out of the european union because uh it is a moment perhaps of pause in this coming of the antichrist and so whether it's 10 european powers or whether it's 10 geopolitical lines that are drawn around the globe as some believe however the structure of the world's power is the antichrist will rise up from obscurity and he will be strong and stout the bible says in verse 20 and of the ten horns that were in his head and of the other which came up and before whom their uh whom three fell even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things whose look was more stout than his fellows the word stout here meaning this will be a noble leader in the eyes of men a strong leader someone that is to be feared so he rises from obscurity putting out uh three horns along the way or or kingdoms he is stout he will be intelligent the bible says in verse number eight there at the end of the verse he had eyes uh like the eyes of a man and a mouth uh speaking great things now the the eyes of a man speaks of of this leader having some form of discernment or ability to see i think he'll probably be a man who knows science he will know exactly when to close the restaurants and open them and this man who has this great stature in the world and this man who has eyes that are full of human wisdom the real indicator of him being the antichrist will be that he will speak blasphemy he is going to blaspheme the lord jesus christ i believe he will be spiritual i believe he will love religion he will he will be an advocate for all religions except for the name of the lord jesus christ now notice in daniel chapter 7 and verse 25 the bible says this and he shall speak great words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and think to change times and laws and they shall be given into his hand until the time and times and the dividing of time now this speaks of the times of the tribulation but we notice here that he will speak great blasphemy nothing will be sacred now we see this sometimes in the spirit of certain antagonist and anarchist nothing is sacred no political party is sacred no religious book is sacred no one is sacred do not get in their way but no one will ever have the embodiment of this spirit like the antichrist himself and believe me he will be powerful he will rise up after this tenfold federation kingdom his kingdom will be rising up through this he will knock out three other leaders on the way to power and this is why many believe somehow it is associated with uh the european union or some middle east power struggle we also want to remember about the antichrist that he is a self-claimed messiah he is a false messiah he will be perhaps jewish or part jewish and if you'd like to turn to matthew 24 15 i'll just share a couple verses along this line just to get the sense of how he will proclaim himself matthew chapter 24 and verse 15 the bible says when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by daniel the prophet stand in the holy place who so readeth let him understand and let them which be in judea flee into the mountains now this term the abomination of the desolation speaks of this antichrist claiming to be the messiah claiming to bring sacrifice into the temple in fact notice if you would over in second thessalonians chapter 2. ii thessalonians chapter 2 uh very quickly ii thessalonians 2 and verse number 3. now the bible says here let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first okay that's what we were talking about a moment ago falling away from the truth a great time of apostasy people renouncing their faith people turning from the faith listen there are whole denominations like the united methodist church and some presbyterians some baptists who are totally now given over to saving the whales and they're totally given over to social justice theology and liberation theology and all these social messages but they have completely denied that jesus christ is the only way of salvation so the falling away from the truth has been happening for some decades and the bible says here let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except now now this is speaking of the coming of the lord shall not come except there come a falling away first and 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 so that he as god sitteth in the temple showing himself that he is god so here we see another name or two for the antichrist he is here referred to in this passage verse 3 as the man of sin the son of perdition and he will himself sit in the temple and he will claim that he himself is the messiah and so we understand the antichrist literally desiring as one from hell to take the place of the christ mind you the lord has not come at the second coming but the antichrist is making his play and he's establishing himself as the religious and political leader of the world and then let me say this about his description he will appear to most all of the world to be the answer to the problems he's going to have the answer to the pandemics he's going to have the answer to the politics he's going to have an answer to the problems of war it's just gonna seem like he's got the answer and i am telling you and i'm saving some of my recent research for the upcoming series in the month of april but i'm telling you that the world is hungry right now for this man there are people longing for a centralized global answer to problems and we are seeing in our own country a spirit that says down with nationalism down with america and up with globalism down uh with nationalism and i i want you to recognize that while there are extremes perhaps even in the in those that uh that are sometimes ultra nationalistic in a sense of divisive and hatred in their speech let me say that one of the things that i believe is a preservant against the antichrist coming into power are nations that take a strong position as an independent nation and that is why i said a moment ago the comments about the united kingdom so notice if you would here that he will be a man that appears to have all the answers turn if you would to revelation chapter 6 and verse 2. and we're just taking a moment to look at passages that tell us about the antichrist tonight revelation chapter 6 and verse number 2. it says and i saw and behold a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer here we see that this antichrist on a white horse with the bow with no arrows is conquering how does that happen he is conquering with diplomacy he is conquering uh with his uh ingenuity so-called and those people that follow him so blindly so his description is anti-christ establishing himself as the messiah let's look quickly at some of the activities of this antichrist how will uh how will he be identified if you will well turn again to revelation 13 if you would one of the activities of this antichrist is that he will bring unity and the bible says they will say peace and safety it will be short-lived but he will appear to bring unity to the middle east and to europe revelation 13 speaks of this verse one and i stood upon the sand and saw the beast rise up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy and the beast which i saw was like a leopard and his feet were as the feet of a bear and his mouth as the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority now the beast here or the antichrist is symbolized by the animals that once represented babylon persia greece and rome and for those of you that have studied daniel's vision and we're going to look at that down the road in a month or so daniel's vision was a vision starting with the roman empire coming all the way up through babylon and persia through that media persian empire through greece and rome finally we see that the antichrist will revive the old roman empire and this is what his goal will be is to bring about power from all of these previous kingdoms he rises up as the final power satan himself will give this power notice if you would in verse number 2 of revelation 13 the bible said there and the dragon gave him his power and the antichrist amazingly is going to be killed at some point during the tribulation and then he is going to be raised back to life notice if you would in verse 3 the bible says and i saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wandered after the beast so here we see more of a description and more of the activities he's busy with diplomacy bringing together world powers people are enamored with him he's bringing peace without using arrows he suffers some kind of perhaps a head wound and then he is resurrected from that he is the anti-christ and so satan and antichrist will be worshipped notice in verse 4 of this chapter it says and they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast and they worship the beast saying who is like unto the beast who is able to make war with him and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of the life of the lamb so we see here and in concursion in concurrence with dr gacha's message comments last sunday night about the lamb's book of life those whose names were not in the lamb's book of life referring to the unsaved the vast majority of the population they are literally worshiping this antichrist he is so powerful he is seen as so much the problem solver uh he's he's overcome this death experience and now they begin to literally during the tribulation after the church has raptured literally worship him it's an amazing thought indeed and notice then the antichrist will control the world's economy now notice this in verses 16 and 17 of this same chapter and he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads and no man might buy or sell save that he had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name now when i was a kid a lot of times we would have preachers preach prophecy and i couldn't get a lot of it like they would talk about the whole world seeing the antichrist i would think how's that going to happen well that's fairly easy for me to comprehend now just on their watch or on their phone or on a large screen and then this idea of some mark and i think well that's going to wash off but now we see the technology advancing so one of the ways that this antichrist extends his power is that no one's gonna do business that doesn't identify with him meaning they have rejected the christ and that they are worshiping him similar to how the roman emperors declared themselves as deity and demanded that citizens worship them as god this antichrist will expect the same and all who worship him will take this mark according to revelation and here in chapter number 13 and verses 16 and 17. now you think about various different technologies in our world today and i'll just mention a few things not to create some kind of uh you know some some kind of a you know mystery or uh to try to sensationalize but let me use the illustration that's so popular today with vaccinations and let me just start by saying i'm not against vaccinations you can be and i don't have to be and we can all still love jesus together right so uh but i personally we had all of our kids vaccinated and and uh i think i i have not been vaccinated yet for the virus i i probably will be i had a monoclonal antibody put into my body with 90 minutes of of a drip the other day when i had uh when i had the virus and so i've probably in some ways already had it i don't know so i'm not speaking against vaccinations i'll let that be an area of what baptists call individual soul liberty you can figure that out for yourself i'm sure you will but let me tell you what i am uncomfortable with i am uncomfortable with what is being called vaccination identification initiatives vaccination identification initiatives a coalition of health and technology organizations are working to develop a digital kovid 19 vaccination passport to allow businesses and airlines and countries to check if people have received the vaccine the vaccination credential initiative announced on thursday is formulating technology to confirm vaccinations and the likelihood that some governments will mandate people provide proof of their shots in order to travel and to do business now i don't mind showing a piece of paper i really don't but when andrew yang who was running for president is now running for the mayor of the city of new york recently literally said it seems that there should be a way somehow that we could mark people technologically so that they could show their mark and prove whether they've been vaccinated or not ladies and gentlemen i have a problem with that because that is an indication that the technology's just about ready for the antichrist to come and you can hear the reasoning right we need to know for the safety of everyone and we need to be careful and so we need everyone to take this mark late last august 50 employees at a company called three square market received chips in their hands now 80 of them have this in their hands patrick mcmullen is one of the employees and he says it's great because when he wants a dr pepper he can just go to the vending machine at the company put his hand up with the chip and the dr pepper comes out and his account is charged and it's just that easy and he tells how it goes between his thumb and his forefinger and he just puts the puts the chip there and how that dozens of employees are loving it now all i'm going to say about this is we are being in my mind now conditioned we're being conditioned i'm not saying vaccines are wrong i'm not saying it's wrong to prove that you've had a vaccine i'm not preaching against that but i'm saying there is a conditioning going on in the world today so that we should expect global leadership on this matter and so that we should follow the science and so that we should uh make sure that uh that we are willing to do whatever it takes in these types of situations and and as the as this rises with interest and technological availability it will reach its pinnacle at a time prophesied when the beast will say all right this is how we're going to do business in the world from now on because this technology can tell us of your bank account your medical history and everything we need to know about you is going to be in this technology and so that is why i say i am not against vaccinations but i want to watch very carefully the identification initiatives it's it's a piece of paper that's fine if it's going to be embedded uh in my body that's not going to be so fine with me as i study the scripture and so the person of the antichrist i know i took a little time there but i want you to see in daniel and in revelation there is someone called the antichrist called the beast there is someone uh that is the death is going to bring the desolation of abomination as he declares himself to be the messiah is it something that we as a church should fear i do not believe so because i believe in a pre-tribulational rapture i believe that we as a church according to titus are looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of that great god and our savior jesus christ so i'm not looking for the antichrist as my hope i'm looking for the christ as my hope and i believe the church will be caught away nevertheless the technologies the philosophies the uh the various pandemics and earthquakes and signs of the times i have no question that we can see some of these things preceding the rapture and we may very well see persecution of christians for it's already upon us and other countries and so we need to understand uh these principles and so there is a real person in the bible called the anti-christ and then i want you to see secondly the predecessors of this antichrist the antichrist is coming and may well be alive as i said but look back to the text it says little children it is the last time and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come even now there are many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time so notice the words even now john is indicating that the spirit of antichrist is even now appearing in the church as we're going to see in a moment and in society there are many anti-christs john chapter 5 and verse 43 says i am come in my father's name and ye receive me not jesus said if another shall come in his own name you shall receive him in other words jesus said one of the reasons that you're not receiving me as the son of god is because you are going to receive the false christ when he comes so he says in verse number 18 again he says even now there are many christ whereby we know it is the last time now this is how we know that it is the last time he says the plurality of anti-christ that come would denote a growing opposition to jesus christ and the context here is speaking of people that fell away and began to speak blasphemously against christ now they existed in the first century we saw a few weeks ago that even when there was a preaching of the resurrection paul said in first corinthians 15 why say some of you that there is no resurrection from the dead they were already denying the gospel the gospel had barely been preached we see back in the garden of eden satan went to adam and eve and said yea hath god said that you should not eat of this tree in other words from the very beginning of time satan questions and questions and questions the word of god the tower of babel is a picture of the world trying to get to heaven without jesus christ and they were raising up a tower and they were literally saying we're going to get to heaven without god that is what false religion always does and that is what antichrist do now you have many typifications of the antichrist some would cite hitler and there is some truth no no doubt there some would cite mussolini and i would say to you that in the case of hitler and in the case of karl marx for example who became very much antichrist both had early beginnings in sunday schools and both had early exposure to christianity and for a while walked through church doors and so when the bible says they went out from among us this is the type of picture and many many times people begin with some exposure to the truth but then they want to say it their way jim jones in the 70s david koresh in the 80s and charles manson all of these claim to be messiah type figures they claim to have the authority of the messiah and yet they were all of satan now turn in your bible very quickly to second corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13. second corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13. and if there's any underlying lesson i want our church to have it is a lesson of discernment and i really believe this is why satan is glad when churches don't meet and when the bible is not preached because there are millions of christians who are unwittingly unaware of what's happening in the world around them and they're kind of marching towards the uh towards the coming of the lord rather ignorantly and the bible gives us ways to discern the times so notice in second corinthians 11 13 it says for such are false apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of christ and no marvel for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works so the bible tells us that there are these false teachers they are called ministers and they are transformed as the ministers of christ but they're not truly the ministers of christ and and no marvel he says for even satan comes across as a an angel of light and yet we know that he is the dragon of the darkness and so the bible says they are deceitful workers and they are transforming themselves into the apostles of christ i think one of the greatest illustrations of this is the mormon cult you say why do you use the word cult a cult is a religion that denies the deity of jesus christ the mormon church teaches that jesus and satan were brothers in the past and they teach that jesus became christ through his works that he became the son of god the anointed one but the bible is very clear and jesus himself said before abraham was i am jesus was not a man who became god he is god who became man and yet the cults deny the doctrine of the deity of jesus christ and they teach that an angel appeared to joseph smith and i've been to the birthplace of joseph smith in new england i've been to the mormon temples i've seen their beautiful paintings and their propaganda and how that they described the beginning of their religion how the angel moroni came down and spoke to joseph smith and then later to brigham young i've been to the temple in uh in southwest utah there what's the city i'm trying to say honey saint george that's the city and saint george where brigham young had his 78 wives and where they had all of the revelation coming down and these men literally are revered and they transformed themselves into the apostles of light and they said that they are prophets and even now the president of their church speaks if you will ex cathedra sometimes they have allowed certain dietary things and then they've disallowed them and then they allow it back again and sometimes they've allowed certain ethnic groups to be mormons and then not and then now again and it all depends on what the president of the church says and what we need to recognize from the word of god second corinthians 11 is that many times you'll have these transforming themselves into the apostles of christ and that's why the bible says to try the spirits to see whether they be of god what do they say about jesus is their message a biblical message and so the reality of the antichrist can you just hear john the apostle saying look at little children be careful because the antichrist is coming and he'll look good and he'll have some answers and he'll have wisdom and he'll expect your worship and even now there are some with this same antichrist spirit and so it is in these last days in which we live these two days these 2000 years since the time of jesus christ so we see the reality of the antichrist i want you to notice secondly the rejection of the antichrists now what do they reject verse 19 they went out from us now this is interesting this is where we see that some of these that were antichrist once were apparently a part of what we might call orthodox or or fundamental or sound bible teaching environments john is saying they were once with us they once sat with us he says they went out from among uh from up they went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they are not all of us so the antichrist first of all reject the fellowship of true believers where the word of god is truly being taught those who first broke fellowship they went out from us now let me pause and i said this last sunday night and someone came up to me after church and said i don't understand that so let me say it again a little bit differently church membership does not mean that you were born into the family of god illustration someone comes to our church from from florida or wherever and and we maybe don't do our due diligence they just tell us i'm coming from a membership of such and so church in florida we got a couple from here from florida so i'll pick on you guys and they say i'm from this church and it's a baptist church and if a deacon or counselor doesn't do a thorough examination they'll just say well i'm a baptist and i want to join this church and so they join now let's just say that they came from a baptist church that never really talked to them about salvation i've had many baptists tell me this that they've come up to a front wanting to get saved but no one ever led him to the lord someone just said go get baptized they weren't saved maybe they got baptized now they're a member now they come here and they join you know that's why when someone comes to join our church we always ask them not only where they were last as a member but when did you accept jesus as your savior because the most important question is not what was your last church the most important question is are you a christian and so that's what john is saying there were people that went out from them why sometimes we wonder well this is not to say anyone that leaves a church or moves somewhere wasn't saved that's ridiculous but in some cases there will be people who did not stay according to john's teaching because they were not truly saved physical union with the church does not mean that you have spiritual union with god and so this is what john is saying in verse 19 they went out from us but they were not of us now there will always be those who can can give somewhat of a of an appearance and they can talk about going to sunday school and their daddy was a preacher and their uncle was a deacon and they were a member somewhere and all of that's good but the key critical question is have you turned to jesus christ as your savior do you know that when you die heaven will be your home and what are you basing that on and as we've been declaring the gospel even this year over even these last few weeks i've i've had to say to folks now tell me what do you base that on and then the answer if it's other than the death burial and resurrection of christ you know that this person needs to be saved because if they're trusting in their works or their journey or whatever they're not trusting in christ as savior and by the way counselors and parents and teachers that's why it's important that we get to the truth of the gospel when we're witnessing to people and don't take the easy route you know don't say don't bring them up to one of the pastoral staff and say well this guy he believes in god is believing god all of his life and he wants to get baptized all right well at this church before they get baptized we're going to ask them when did that belief in god begin and if they say oh well i live in america and this is one nation under god so it's always been we're going to say you know in john 3 the bible teaches that you must be say with me born again there must be a time when you receive christ as savior why because we want them to know for sure that they're on the way to heaven and we want to do our best to maintain a doctrinal unity in that sense kent hughes is a is a tremendous author and he says of this thousands today change what they believe to accommodate their moral behavior on the other hand thousands more take up false doctrine then apostasize their actions sometimes we call it an accommodating theology watch this i want to live the way that i want to live so i'm going to change my theology to adapt to the way that i want to live that's why my daughter christine was telling me about some girl on the internet that sold bows and ribbons or whatever and people watch her and all that all this stuff and she came out this week and she said i'm so happy to announce that i'm happy in my gay lifestyle and that i'm a gay christian and and that this is who i am and this is how it's going to be now let me be very clear also from first john that if someone intentionally volitionally determines to live a sinful life and never to repent of that sin and they're going to stay in that lifestyle as their permanent way of living according to the bible not according to pastor chapel they were never saved in the first place can someone sin and repent and find fellowship with the lord yes if we confess our sin what does it say he's faithful and just to forgive us but the modern day church and i believe many false professors who will follow the antichrist they want to change their theology to accommodate their lifestyle i want to be gay therefore i'll just not read romans chapter 1. and therefore i'll just say that the bible's inspiring but not inspired you following me so we begin to change our doctrine to accommodate our lifestyle god does not want us to change our doctrine to accommodate our lifestyle he wants us to change our lifestyle to his doctrine and yet many times we see that they went out from us because they were not of us meaning yeah they were sitting in the chair and they liked that one song and they liked that one message and all that but they never truly were born again is what john the apostle is telling us here and so these rejecters they reject the fellowship of the church and ultimately show their true colors and then they reject the faith now notice that in verse 19 that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us now sometimes we use this verse kind of loosely like they they went out from us and uh and we'll say they went out from us but they were not of us and people will use that like maybe they had a little different doctrinal difference or they had a different persuasion and if you're going to use ever a verse in the in the illustrative sense it's always best to say i guess you could illustrate it with this phrase but it's always best to interpret the scripture in context and so the context of this is not well they were part of our church but they wanted to have different music or they wanted to have this or that so they went and they went you should if that's what they did then don't imply from this verse that they weren't saved right because not everyone that does something different is unsaved what this verse is telling us though is that in the last times in the times of delusion and apostasy there will be people and we'll be surprised who will say i don't believe that stuff anymore and they will turn away from the lord jesus christ what a tragedy no one sets out to become apostate it's never the result of one abrupt or drastic decision apostasy is often the product of pattern of a pattern of sinful compromises that harden the heart until someone says i'm done with this and they turn and they walk away and so the reality of the antichrist is mentioned and then the fact that there are other antichrists is mentioned in the scripture people that turn away from the lord jesus christ and how we how we ought to pray today that we would have a thorough gospel presentation and that we would do our part humanly speaking to help people know that they are saved from the bible so that there's not a an accidental false profession or an intentional false profession here at our church we have written and rewritten our constitution and bylaws over the years to make it very very clear that someone that wants to be a member here has a testimony of salvation and that they've been scripturally baptized and and we tell them right up front things like what is a family according to the bible we don't want anybody saying down the road no one ever told me we deliver doctrinal statements we put it on the website we want folks to know this is what the bible says and so the antichrist reject the message of christ then i want you to see finally here's the positive application moment for us in verse 20. notice what it says here but how many of you like that word after all the negatives about the antichrist there's an antichrist coming he's real there's lots of it around us now there's people denying the faith now that's kind of like man that is a bummer all right so you come to this word but ye all right so what about you and what about me those who are saved members of this church ye have an unction from the holy one and ye know all things so here it is how many of you believe that we're moving into from this from the study even of the scripture tonight we're moving into a time of delusion spiritually speaking how many of you believe that you see that people are just kind of easily deluded into spiritualism but not necessarily in towards christ and sometimes you might ask how do i avoid the deception how can i truly follow christ and avoid getting involved or following after things that are angels of light falsely so all right how do you know what tv minister to watch or how do you know uh what is a good geopolitical decision versus something that might not line up with god's will how do we know that well i want you to notice how this happens first of all it happens through the presence of the holy spirit of god it happens through his presence now look at a word that we don't use a lot in 2021 it says but ye have an unction let's say that word unction unction say it again unction unction what does that mean it means an anointing it means as if to anoint with oil in the old testament god would choose his prophet priest or king and they would anoint them with oil which always was a symbol of the holy spirit of god sometimes we preachers say lord give me fresh unction tonight give us a fresh anointing that's what i'm praying for our church this year that we would have a fresh anointing to declare the gospel uh that we would not have the the couch the potato couch mentality but that we would have the fresh unction that we need the anointing that we need now when we were saved god gave us the anointing of his holy spirit we were set apart we were sealed according to ephesians chapter one by the indwelling holy spirit so god is telling us yes there's going to be a lot of people abandoning the faith there's going to be a lot of antichrist spirit anarchist type spirit and ultimately there's going to be one dominant figure called the antichrist who thinks and says that he is the messiah but you what about you the bible says you have an anointing you have the presence of the holy spirit to give you wisdom in this situation that you know all things now we're going to see in just a moment that doesn't mean young people that you don't have to study for your test tomorrow it's not like oh i've got an unction i don't have to study geometry hallelujah that's not what it's talking about what are all things well let me say the unction of the spirit seals and guarantees our inheritance second corinthians chapter one the bible says that christ hath anointed us and he has sealed us and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts and so tonight we have been sealed by the holy spirit of god the unction of the holy spirit teaches us now turn if you would uh here to first john chapter 2 and in verse number 27 notice what it says but the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is true then is no lie and even as it is taught you ye shall abide in him the roman catholic church said for years during the dark ages to the common man you cannot know the bible there is no way you must come to the church and the priest alone can tell you what the bible means now thank the lord that we can preach and teach and i believe he's called me to do that but wait a minute baptists believe in a doctrine called the priesthood of the believers right first peter says we are a royal priesthood and baptist and anabaptist stood up against the church of rome on this very verse and they said wait a minute the bible says i don't need any man to teach me what do we believe about the ministry of the holy spirit we believe that he illuminates our understanding of the word of god that's why it's good to pray before you read the bible lord guide me teach me show me what i need to know and jesus said when the spirit of truth is come he will teach you all things and so the holy spirit is our anointer he is our unction he gives us understanding of these situations and of these changes that are taking place all around us and the way that we can avoid the deception is to walk in the word of god and in the spirit of god guiding us through these times and so the bible teaches us that the word is a light and a lamp for our path and the holy spirit is the unction and we'll see in just a moment you say well why don't some people see it that's an interesting question because it is available through the word of god and the leadership of the holy spirit this discernment this wisdom that is needed so it is his presence then uh that is residing within us that gives us unction and understanding and notice what it says there very clearly uh in verse 20 ye have an unction from the holy one and ye know all things now if you would turn to first john chapter four and verse one very quickly first john chapter four and the phrase know all things speaks of discerning all these things about the false teachers or the antichrist first john chapter four beloved believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether it be of god now you're going to notice sometimes when you're witness to a friend they'll go i'm spiritual how many of you know that christianity is on the decline in america and spiritualism's on the rise up so a lot of people say oh i'm spiritual i just do it my way i believe there's a higher power i saw it once on star wars and there's a force out there and i'm spiritual and a lot of people say they're spiritual i've heard many many politicians talk about being spiritual and uh and believing in a higher power but god says believe not every spirit in other words there's a lot of spiritualism that i don't want anything to do with he says here notice this now but try the spirits to see whether they be of god say that with me please but try god says with the unction of the holy one test this try this by the scripture is what is being said if someone starts saying i'm the messiah wait wait wait a minute someone starts denying the deity of jesus christ wait a minute wait a minute i've got to try the spirits here i've got to get into the word here i've got to match what this guy at my work who wants the bible study is saying with what the bible actually says why verse 1 because many false prophets are gone out into the world hereby know ye the spirit of god notice this now every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh is of god and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ has come in the flesh is not of god and this is that spirit of what does it say come on is the spirit of what antichrist wherever you have heard that it should come even now already is it in the world ye are of god little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you say it with me then so god says i've given you my holy spirit i've given you the unction that you need and there's going to be lots of spiritism and lots of worlds of religion and be careful when they all gather in yankee stadium and the baptist is holding hands with the uh with the followers of allah and with the wiccans and over here with the buddhists and over here with the dalai lama and over here with this one and that one and they're all singing we are the world and we believe in a higher power and when everyone's going oh isn't that wonderful that's just what we need this is the science we've been looking for somebody's got to say wait a minute we're not going to take the name that is above all names off of the top shelf and put it onto the bottom shelf with all of these others and say we're all the same no we believe that there is none other name given under heaven whereby ye must be saved and that name is jesus christ now the world says well that is a very very narrow-minded approach you're going to tell me that the only way to heaven is through jesus you're a narrow-minded bigot no don't say amen you don't you don't want to be that in real terms but you may be called that and the only answer i have is say it's about as narrow-minded as this book right here because god is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and until someone repents of their false religion and believes on the lord jesus christ they will not be saved people say to me why does acts chapter 2 emphasize repentance and public baptism so strongly it is certainly not because we're saved through public baptism it is certainly not to minimize faith in salvation but what he was saying to that jewish audience is this if you're going to be saved don't add jesus to your god shelf don't add jesus to an ecumenical type of dogma you have to turn from that other religion and you have to turn solely exclusively to the lord jesus christ in order to be saved and in this day when these ecumenical spiritualists don't just want tolerance they want to promote that philosophy it will take spiritual unction to stand wherever you live and learn and lead and say i'm a christian and i believe that jesus christ is the way the truth and the life and let the chips fall where they may i heard today about a county employee just had a had a lapel pin with a cross that's all had a cross on his lapel pin and a very powerful individual walked into his office and said you take that off take that off that's the world you live in by the way that individual has a legal right to wear that and maybe we'll fight that i don't know but the world will push and push and push and try to get you to take away any semblance of faith in jesus christ and so we see the presence of the holy spirit and the power of the holy spirit greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world you see if knowledge listen now if knowledge comes by the study of the word of god wisdom comes by the presence of the holy spirit of god let me say that again knowledge comes by the teaching of the word of god discernment comes by the leading of the holy spirit of god that's why when you're going through a rough patch in life that's why when you're struggling about certain decisions it's always wise to study the word and to go to someone who's been walking in the spirit for a long long time and say would you pray with me would you help me do you sense that this might be of god or would this be a trap you know that i've never made a major decision as the pastor of this church we've never built a building we've never bought a bus i've never hired a staff member we've never done anything major here without me spending much time in prayer much time of the word much time walking in the spirit and seeking counsel from people who know how to try the spirits to see whether they be of god getting it right theologically having discernment in a in a difficult day is not impossible god says i've given you the tools just use them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world let's close tonight with one final passage first thessalonians chapter 5 first thessalonians chapter 5. notice in verse 1. everybody with me tonight but of the times and the seasons brethren ye have no need that i write unto you by the way let me pause to say that while the corinthian church was the carnal church full of sin the thessalonican church is called the model church they their testimony resounded throughout the world as a great church and because of that he says i don't even need to write this to you how many of you would say that's a pretty good compliment paul says you know concerning the times and the seasons and what all is going on in the world i don't really need to tell you this but there might be some people living in lancaster 2000 years from now who may need to hear it so the holy spirit wants me to write this down he didn't say that but i'm just imagining it verse 2 for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night the term day of the lord speaks of the time from the time of the rapture of christ on in through the millennial period it's often referred to as the day of the lord it cometh as a thief in the night now watch this for when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape the rapture of the church takes place the first few years of the tribulation as we study in the book of the revelation seems to be going okay peace and safety seems like the antichrist but then the bible speaks of the great tribulation judgment and wrath poured out upon this earth they say peace and safety then cometh of destruction upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape but ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief in other words god's people should have wisdom concerning these coming days should have the unction of the holy spirit to realize that when they are talking about peace and safety and when they're saying boy the world the world is going to be so much better because the united nations because of this organization or that organization and they're talking about how they're going to do it we need to have the wisdom to say there will be no peace until the king of kings comes again and that's where our hope is our hope is in the lord jesus christ is there an antichrist according to the bible there is were were there other and are there others that deny christ and in this age as well yes there are so how do we discern it all with the residents of the holy spirit and the presence of the word of god we can see these issues and we can walk forward and keeping our eyes on jesus christ be found faithful until he calls us home

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, 1 John 2, antichrist, end times

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Length: 71min 36sec (4296 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 01 2021