Posted on 03/03/2013 4:56:17 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Pastor and author John Piper says the antichrist is here and not yet here in a blog post on the Desiring God ministry website on Wednesday.
The well-known Minnesota pastor explained that the "spirit of antichrist is already in the world," but the actual antichrist figure is "yet to come." He supported his explanation by referring to the writings of Apostles John and Paul. John is the only one in the Bible who uses the term antichrist, but Paul refers to this figure as "the man of lawlessness."
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6-7, Paul says, "Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day [of Christ's second coming] will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. . . . And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work"
Piper explained, "Paul says that a 'man of lawlessness' is coming. And he says that the 'mystery of lawlessness' is already at work. I take this to mean that a distinct figure of great satanic power (verse 9) is coming, but that his mysterious presence can already be felt in the present time. He is 'already' here, and he is 'not yet' here."
He also referred readers to I John 4:3, where Apostle John says, "Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." "So both Paul and John picture a final time just before the second coming when a person of great demonic power will rise up in rebellion against the true Christ and his people," said Piper. "In the meantime, the satanic characteristics of that figure are always manifesting themselves in the world with greater or lesser dominance. The antichrist is coming and he is here already."
The concept of already but not yet is not isolated to the antichrist, but also can be found in what the Bible says about the Kingdom of God, said Piper. "Perhaps most of you are accustomed to saying that the kingdom of God is 'not yet' here and is 'already' here. Not yet here in its consummation, but already here in significant fulfillments," the well-known Minnesota pastor explained. He cited the scandal of Jesus' ministry as "fulfillment without consummation," referencing Jesus' words in Luke 17:21, which says, "…the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." This, Piper said, was the "secret kingdom" that was revealed to only "a few." Of the secret kingdom, the preacher affirmed that the kingdom "is already present, but yet, not fully come."
In the blog post, the pastor remarked, "But most of us are not accustomed to speaking of the antichrist as already here but not yet here. But consider the way the apostles John and Paul speak of this figure."
In the closing of his blog post, Piper poses the question, "What does this mean for us?" He answers, "It is a call for us to live sober lives of alertness and faithfulness."
He states that the aim of the "mystery of lawlessness" and the "many antichrists" is to "deceive us into the blinding slumbers of indifference and love of sin," referring to Romans 13:11 that says, "The hour has come for you to wake from sleep."
Piper reminds Christians that "we are the children of light. We are not of the night or of the darkness. "So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober," according to 1 Thessalonians 5:4–6, he urged.
Please come soon for your redeemed ones, Lord Jesus!
Pretty straightforward.
Well I would bet that he is born, just not filling the position yet.
Time to ready our oil lamps, as in the parable of the ten virgins. We recognize that the time is at hand, so it is time to prepare.
Either Satan has a suitable prophet and anti-Christ ready and waiting in every generation that he tries to raise up in hopes that this is the time he will succeed, or God works to Satan’s timetable.
Probably already in the WH; the horns just havent come out yet...: )
The Anti Christ will deceive, claim powers and abilities and have a massive following. Yet there will be a gnashing of teeth and many whom that were deceived will be shocked at the outcome. Families will split apart. daughters will turn on mothers, sons on fathers and vice versa. there will be hardship that the world has never known.
Unfortunately the Muslims believe the Twelfth Imam will return and they will strive to rush the 12th Imam’s return. The 12th Imam is the precursor to the AntiChrist.
keep in mind though the anti christ will enter like a sheep, but in the end will be a lion out to devour and destroy - will claim peace, but will just deceive and the final battle will ensue over good and evil. Good will prevail. God is in control.
Daniel 7:8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
The third horn was uprooted in 2011, Muammar Gaddafi. The other two, Hosni Mubarak and Saddam Hussein. And 'uprooted' is the perfect word as these guys had nearly 100 years of combined rule in the ME.
See: Psalm 83 for the list of 10 nations.
The ‘instead of Christ’ is not a flesh human being, and will not be born of woman. Ever heard of that first ‘rebel’, that same one that tempted Christ?
Or the progressive movement has finally achieved what it needed, the demoralization of America so that we don’t spoil World War III for them and it is right on God’s timetable.
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