by David J. StewartWhy We are Living in the LAST DAYS!
1st John 2:18, “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.”
The Bible tells us WHY we are living in the Last Days in 1st John
2:18, “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.” How do we know that it is the Last Days?
Because there are MANY ANTICHRISTS!
The Apostle Paul believed that he was living in the Last Days because of the preponderance of Christ-rejecters in his day. This Scriptural principle still applies today. As the world becomes more apostate, so do the number of Christ-rejecters increase. There are over 1,000,000,000 Islamic Muslims in the world who all deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. There are hundreds-of-millions of Buddhists and Hindus that also deny the Lord. Jews who follow Judaism deny that Jesus is the Christ. Over 1,000,000,000 Romans Catholics errantly think that devotion to Mary will get them into Heaven. It is tragic!
Jesus warned that the End Times would be once again as it was in Noah's time, when people only lived to enjoy the cares, riches and pleasures of this life (Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 8:14). Only 8 people survived the flood. I dare say that even one-percent of the world's population are truly born-again Christians (Matthew 7:13-14). Few people will enter into Heaven.
Many religious cults distort the Person, character and nature of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul warned about false prophets who would introduce to us ANOTHER Jesus, ANOTHER Gospel, and ANOTHER spirit (2nd Corinthians 11:4). Galatians 1:9 proclaims a CURSE upon them all, for corrupting the Gospel. These are signs of the Last Days. Everywhere we turn nowadays, we are having false doctrines, false religions, false Christs, false Gospels and false Bibles introduced to us. Satan is working relentlessly to corrupt churches with New Age teachings, diminishing being born-again from a miracle of God (John 1:12) into a mere feeling, experience or commitment to serve God.
Just as God parted the Red Sea to save the Israelites from the wrath of Pharaoh and Egypt's armies; so is salvation only of the Lord. God parted the Red Sea. The Israelites had absolutely nothing to do with parting the sea. Their only requirement was to walk through, and they did, on dry ground. Likewise, God saves a sinner who repents toward God in faith to be forgiven through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
This Scripture is NOT speaking about THE Antichrist, who is coming soon to rule the world as an evil thug dictator (2nd Thessalonians 1:1-10). Rather, the term antichrists (plural) refers to religious fakes (Modernists) and false prophets. A “Modernist” is someone who talks about spiritual matters, but is not a genuine born-again Christian. Some popular Modernists are: The Pope, Oprah Winfrey, John MacArthur, Carter Heyward, John Edward, Benny Hinn, Ellen G. White, Ron Hubbard, Joseph Smith, Charles Russell, Mary Baker Eddy, and thousands more. 1st John 2:19 teaches that many of them began in the Church... “They went out from us, but they were not of us.”
2nd Timothy 3:5 describes these people as, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” That “power” is the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to him that believeth (Romans 1:16). To those who don't believe, it is worthless. Many of the Israelites who wandered in the Wilderness for 40-years, died and went to Hell in their sins, because they heard the Gospel; but it wasn't “mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews 4:2).
Others add self-righteous works to their faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), which is no faith at all in the Lord (Romans 11:6). Dr. John MacArthur requires sinners to try really hard to stop sinning in order to be saved (which he wrongly defines as repentance). MacArthur has it all backwards. You get saved first, and then God makes the changes; You don't make the changes, and then God saves you. Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron and John MacArthur wrongly teach that a person must REFORM as part of being REGENERATED by the Holy Spirit of God; but the Bible teaches that a person cannot REFORM until they've been REGENERATED.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 says that IF ANY MAN BE IN CHRIST he is a new creature. Notice that this is after-the-fact. A man cannot be a new creature until he is already in Christ. In other words, a changed life is the FRUIT of genuine repentance unto salvation; and not a part of the ROOT of saving-faith to be saved (Romans 4:5).
A sure sign according to the Bible of living in the LAST DAYS is the preponderance of false prophets, Christ-rejecters, and religious phonies in the churches. 2nd Timothy 3:1, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” The word “perilous” is the Greek chalepos and means, “hard to endure, difficult, dangerous; through the idea of losing strength.” We are certainly living in trying times of our Christian faith. 2nd Timothy 3:12 teaches that all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall (not possibly or maybe, but shall) suffer persecution. This lost and dying sinful world hates Jesus, hates the Bible, hates Christianity and hates all genuine Christians (John 15:19). You can display anything that is Islamic, Buddhist or Jewish and no one cares; but if you dare display anything Christian, such as a manger at Christmas, all the hordes of Hell will come after you, and everyone has a heart-attack.
There have never been as many religious fakes in churches as today. There have never been as many false prophets as today. There have never been as many Christ-rejecters as today. There have never been as many false Bible as today. There have never been as many corrupted Gospel as today. All around the world, people are turning to a Luciferian type of one-size-fits-all religion, that puts forth the teaching that sincerity is all that matters, and that there are many paths to the light and reincarnation. These New Age philosophies are rooted in demonic Buddhist, Hindu and ancient Egyptian and Babylonian mysticism.
Whether it be the occultist Alice Ann Bailey (1880-1949), Pat Robertson's CBN which promotes New Age psychologists, or the Satanic Pope who says people with no Biblical faith can go to Heaven... New Age is the Luciferian religion of the End Times. Christ-rejecters, Gospel corrupters, Bible perverters, church-infiltrators, and Bible-deniers are everywhere today.
1st John 2:18 proclaims that we are living in the LAST DAYS. And the Bible tells us how we know this truth... because there are many antichrists in the world today. Never before have we seen so many people attacking the Bible, the precious name of Jesus, and Christianity. Every Hollywood movie blasphemes God by cursing in His holy name. Every Hollywood movie uses the precious name of “Jesus” as a curse word. The word “wicked” has been redefined by evil people to mean something good; thus eliminating one of the few words available to describe the awfulness of sin. The King James Bible mentions the word “wicked” 421 times in the Old Testament. Yet Hollywood mocks God, attacks the Bible, and commits a grave sin by misapplying the word “wicked.”
If Jesus didn't really exist, or was not truly the Son of God as the Bible teaches, then why would every nation on the face of the earth be so hateful against Him? If the Bible is not true, then why are so many of the world's leaders, music and movie producers, and Hollywood celebrities, hostile toward the cause of Christ and the Word of God? Christianity is unique! You can belong to any religion and people don't care; but born-again Christians are hated the world over. This is because all false religions are owned by Satan. 1st John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” It is Jesus Christ Who is within the believer (Romans 8:9). Satan is the god of this evil world (2nd Corinthians 4:4).
It is so obvious that we are living in the Last Days. 1st John 2:18 plainly states that antichrists would abound in the Last Days, and we see them everywhere today. From Christ-rejecting Hollywood celebrities, to lewd Country music singers, to degenerate Rock 'N' Roll singers, to criminal Federal Reserve Banksters, to rebellious feminists, to murdering abortionists, to lying evolutionists, to arrogant humanists, to foolish atheists, to the rotten lying newsmedia who mislead the public concerning the truth—they are all antichrists who are the enemies of God (James 4:4).
2nd Peter 3:9 teaches that the only reason the Lord hasn't returned yet is because He is waiting for people to repent. God is long-suffering and patient, not willing for any to perish. When the Gospel is no longer being preached because of Communist Police State oppression, perverted Bibles, corrupted churches and worldwide apostasy; then I think the Lord will return, because that is when the fewest people will be getting saved. There are more people against Jesus Christ today than ever before. Most of the people who claim the name of Jesus today are false prophets, following a works-based false gospel, which is exactly what Catholics follow. Manmade traditions are a road to Hell beneath.
“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
