ANTICHRIST IS HERE!!

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

Author: W. A. Dillard
Our dearly beloved apostle, John wrote: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” I John 2:18. Now, hold on just a minute! What is he saying? What does he mean? Think with me!
Since “ …man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Luke 4:4, it is imperative that every word of God be thoroughly understood to have correct theology and proper discipleship. Therefore, we observe that “antichrist” is a compound word. “Anti” is a prefix meaning “against; opposite in the negative.” “Anti” in this case does not necessitate harshness, but simply a mild twisting of the truth into error, and propagating it as truth. Moreover, “Christ” is a Greek term transliterated into English. It means “anointed.” So, the apostle John is telling us that there are many who are anti (the) anointed in the world already in his time. Of course, that number has been multiplied exponentially over the last two thousand years.
Now we follow with a proper application of the compound term that is totally in harmony with all the rest of the Word of God. Greeks would use the term “Christ” while Hebrews would use the term “Messiah.” Hence, the meaning of these terms go deep into Hebrew history. The anointing of a new king or high priest was accomplished with a public ceremony wherein oil was poured over the head of the designated person. In scripture, oil is consistently symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Upon the anointing with oil, the Holy Spirit empowered the one anointed with sufficient wisdom and power to properly fulfill the office for which he was being installed.
In the New Testament, only two entities were anointed with the Holy Spirit, imparting to them the power to fulfill their designated roles. Those two are the Head of the body, and the body of the Head. Specifically, these are Jesus, the Head of His body, the church, at His baptism, and His body, the church, on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2. The Head of the body, and the body of the Head stand for the same principles. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life while the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, and it is the propagator of the faith once delivered to the saints in and through the Head.
Finally, if every word of God is important, and is true (which it is), and if the anointed body of Jesus is heaven’s agency on earth standing for and propagating that word and its truth, then it follows that every institution and person on earth seeking to pervert, deny, and twist that word and that truth out of its context to make it seem to say something it does not is indeed antichrist. Truly, many antichrists are here, and they will play a significant role in propelling THE COMING MAN OF SIN into international prominence. Therefore while it is today, call on the name of the Lord in repentance from sin, then walk in faith in the anointed Head and body instead of one of the many antichrists.

339 – Dec. 05 – This Day in Baptist History Past

 

A Baptist church still thrives in Athens

 

1842 – Two Greek converts, John and Kyriakes, who had been baptized the previous day by Apostolos, a Greek national convert, were attacked by some rabble who screamed, “Away with the antichrists!” On the following day the mob, that had been stirred up Greek Orthodox priests, gathered near the home of Apostolos and threatened him with violence. He was accused of turning the people into Americans and breaking down their religion. Apostolos, a previously converted national, the first Baptist convert of the modern era, had been baptized in August of 1840 by Horace T. Love. He and his wife had sailed for Greece on Oct. 24, 1836 with Rev. and Mrs. Cephas Pasco. Their ship arrived at Patras on Dec. 9. Even though they applied to the government for permission to distribute scriptures they were rebuffed and received much opposition from the officials of the Greek Orthodox Church, even issuing a decree prohibiting the reading of the new Scriptures and commanded that copies should be burned wherever found. The decree actually aided the Baptist cause. By 1838 they had acquired the language and locations for their ministries. In 1839, Harriett Dickson, a widowed teacher who already knew the language came to teach in the school that they had opened in 1837. Rev. and Mrs. R.F. Buel then came and joined in to help in the work at Patras, for a time, before moving on to Malta. However, both Love and Pasco’s health failed and they went back to America. Other missionaries came, but Buel recommended that the mission be terminated and in 1855 it was halted. But today, thank God, a great Baptist church thrives in Athens. [This Day in Baptist History II: Cummins and Thompson, BJU Press: Greenville, S.C. 2000 A.D. pp. 665-67. Henry C. Vedder, A Short History of Baptist Missions (Philadelphia: Judson Press, 1927), p. 435.
Prepared by Dr. Greg Dixon

 

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