Hi there,
So there is a lot of mystery surrounding the anti-Christ - who is he, where will he come from, who can war against him - but in reality, it just boils down to one thing: the anti-Christ is a good friend. I'm not saying his behaviour is welcome, all the time. I'm just saying, he is made of flesh and bone, like everyone else. At no point does he set out, to strike down people who have a legitimate place, from which to conduct their affairs. What is scary is that the Devil empowers him, even being a good friend, to do evil in the sight of God - not by way of perpetration, but license. The whole point of license, is that it is the willingness of others to join you in sin, that makes it unlawful. The anti-Christ does not set out, to make people sinners - that's what makes him a good friend.
Ok, so he is a good friend, why is he not a great one? That is the question. In other words, there is a standard higher than the one the anti-Christ lives up to, by which ordinary friendship becomes great: the standard of Love, or perhaps the way of Peace. When you are giving people license and they are joining you in sin, the problem becomes defending yourself, and maintaining integrity. There is no way to trust someone, who doesn't have a perfect example to model themselves on and the anti-Christ is set apart with the rest of the Jews, thinking Jesus has yet to prove that He is that example. In other words, the anti-Christ does not take the example he needs to, but still holds on salvation (because salvation is of the Jews - Jesus, gospels, from memory). There is room for doubt here, because a good friend that can't become great, ultimately can't empower others to lead (which is precisely what the Jews want, from the anti-Christ).
The power of this is both simple and profound: God is making foolish the wisdom of the wise. So how then does the weakness of man become strength? The weakness of man, is not taking the mark of the anti-Christ, for the anti-Christ makes those in his nation strong, in the Law - for which the mark of the anti-Christ is its seal - but the Law is a curse, revealing sin. So the anti-Christ is a good friend, but once he takes his own mark, he will begin to lose his strength to be that good friend. This is where Jesus comes in: Jesus is able to sustain the friendship of others, without taking a mark. As such Jesus is able to become the greatest friend. There is power in understanding this, because it instructs us in the way that people who are good friends, can be redeemed by greater. If He who is greater is in us, who can we not be friends to? We may need to lay down our lives, but the hope remains real!
Do we need to return to the Cross, then? Yes! It is from the Cross, that we see the perfection, that can sustain friends good or great. The Will of God is that Man see his fallen nature, nailed to the Cross and repent. Not that we need to harp on about it, but that, when the time is right, we will consider the Cross within ourselves, that we want that forgiveness, for God to love us, and can say what we need to, to redeem us. The power of God can only grow, if this remains the case. I hope this has been of some encouragement to you.
God bless.
So there is a lot of mystery surrounding the anti-Christ - who is he, where will he come from, who can war against him - but in reality, it just boils down to one thing: the anti-Christ is a good friend. I'm not saying his behaviour is welcome, all the time. I'm just saying, he is made of flesh and bone, like everyone else. At no point does he set out, to strike down people who have a legitimate place, from which to conduct their affairs. What is scary is that the Devil empowers him, even being a good friend, to do evil in the sight of God - not by way of perpetration, but license. The whole point of license, is that it is the willingness of others to join you in sin, that makes it unlawful. The anti-Christ does not set out, to make people sinners - that's what makes him a good friend.
Ok, so he is a good friend, why is he not a great one? That is the question. In other words, there is a standard higher than the one the anti-Christ lives up to, by which ordinary friendship becomes great: the standard of Love, or perhaps the way of Peace. When you are giving people license and they are joining you in sin, the problem becomes defending yourself, and maintaining integrity. There is no way to trust someone, who doesn't have a perfect example to model themselves on and the anti-Christ is set apart with the rest of the Jews, thinking Jesus has yet to prove that He is that example. In other words, the anti-Christ does not take the example he needs to, but still holds on salvation (because salvation is of the Jews - Jesus, gospels, from memory). There is room for doubt here, because a good friend that can't become great, ultimately can't empower others to lead (which is precisely what the Jews want, from the anti-Christ).
The power of this is both simple and profound: God is making foolish the wisdom of the wise. So how then does the weakness of man become strength? The weakness of man, is not taking the mark of the anti-Christ, for the anti-Christ makes those in his nation strong, in the Law - for which the mark of the anti-Christ is its seal - but the Law is a curse, revealing sin. So the anti-Christ is a good friend, but once he takes his own mark, he will begin to lose his strength to be that good friend. This is where Jesus comes in: Jesus is able to sustain the friendship of others, without taking a mark. As such Jesus is able to become the greatest friend. There is power in understanding this, because it instructs us in the way that people who are good friends, can be redeemed by greater. If He who is greater is in us, who can we not be friends to? We may need to lay down our lives, but the hope remains real!
Do we need to return to the Cross, then? Yes! It is from the Cross, that we see the perfection, that can sustain friends good or great. The Will of God is that Man see his fallen nature, nailed to the Cross and repent. Not that we need to harp on about it, but that, when the time is right, we will consider the Cross within ourselves, that we want that forgiveness, for God to love us, and can say what we need to, to redeem us. The power of God can only grow, if this remains the case. I hope this has been of some encouragement to you.
God bless.
