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🌾 DAILY BREAD | INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY | FALSE DOCTRINE vs. THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST—SERIES PART 7 OF 7 | THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST WHEN DECEPTION STRIKES AT THE IDENTITY OF JESUS CHRIST We have reached the final and most serious distinction in this series. Not every false doctrine is a false gospel. Not everyone caught in false doctrine is a false believer. Not everyone teaching something incorrect should automatically be labeled a false teacher. But Scripture also gives us another distinct and especially serious category: THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST. John does not use this language for every theological disagreement. He connects antichrist deception directly to what is believed and taught concerning JESUS CHRIST. “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come…” 1 John 2:18 NKJV John makes an important distinction. THE Antichrist is coming. But MANY antichrists were already present in John’s day. And John tells us what marks this deception: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22 NKJV Again: “Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist…” 1 John 4:3 NKJV And: “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.” 2 John 7 NKJV This is not merely about using the NAME Jesus. It is about WHO JESUS IS. That distinction is critical because Paul warned that people could preach “another Jesus whom we have not preached…” 2 Corinthians 11:4 NKJV A religious system can talk constantly about Jesus and still redefine Him. A preacher can say “Jesus.” A church can have “Jesus Christ” in its name. A movement can speak about His death, resurrection, teachings, miracles, and Second Coming. But none of that answers the fundamental question: WHICH JESUS? WHO IS THE BIBLICAL JESUS? Scripture reveals Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NKJV The Word did not begin existing at Bethlehem. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” John 1:14 NKJV The eternal Word BECAME flesh. He is THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD who truly became man without ceasing to be God. JESUS IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS! “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3 NKJV “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth… All things were created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 NKJV Jesus does not belong within the category of created things. He belongs on the CREATOR side of the Creator-creature distinction. That truth gives us a biblical standard by which every religious claim concerning Jesus must be tested. But before we examine the religious systems themselves, we need to understand something else very important: USING THE NAME OF JESUS DOES NOT PROVE THAT SOMEONE KNOWS THE TRUE JESUS. Jesus Himself gave one of the most sobering warnings in Scripture: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven…” Matthew 7:21 NKJV He then describes MANY who appeal to what they did IN HIS NAME. They prophesied in His name. They cast out demons in His name. They performed mighty works in His name. Yet His response is devastating: “I never knew you…” Matthew 7:23 NKJV Notice what Jesus does NOT say. He does not say, “I once knew you and then stopped knowing you.” He says: I NEVER KNEW YOU. These people are not standing before Him claiming atheism. They are not saying they rejected Jesus. They call Him LORD. They appeal to prophecy, spiritual power, supernatural works, and repeatedly appeal to HIS NAME. Yet they never belonged to Him. That matters tremendously. THE NAME “JESUS” BY ITSELF IS NOT THE TEST. Supernatural manifestations are not the test. Prophecy is not the test. Casting out demons is not the test. Miraculous works are not the test. Religious activity is not the test. The question remains: WHO IS THE JESUS BEING PROCLAIMED? And what GOSPEL is being presented concerning Him? A FALSE GOSPEL, ANOTHER JESUS, and THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST are closely related and can overlap, but Scripture does not treat them as automatically identical categories. That distinction matters. So let us become very specific about the religious organizations and systems we are testing. The main examples below focus on several prominent Christian-identified religious organizations whose doctrines directly redefine Jesus Christ, deny His eternal deity, alter the biblical Father-Son relationship, or otherwise strike at His biblical identity. THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST. There are other movements teaching similar Christological error. I will identify several of those briefly later in this study, and many of these systems will be examined individually and in much greater detail in the upcoming series: TEST THE SYSTEM. WHAT DO THESE RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS ACTUALLY TEACH ABOUT JESUS CHRIST? 🧐 JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES Jehovah’s Witnesses officially teach that Jesus Christ is MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL. They teach that Jesus was GOD’S FIRST CREATION and that God subsequently used Him in creating everything else. That is the specific Christological error. THE BIBLICAL JESUS IS NOT A CREATED ANGEL. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:3 NKJV Hebrews deliberately distinguishes THE SON from THE ANGELS: “For to which of the angels did He ever say: ‘You are My Son…’?” Hebrews 1:5 NKJV And concerning the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” Hebrews 1:8 NKJV Jesus cannot belong to the category of created angelic beings while simultaneously being the Creator through whom created things came into existence. Identifying Jesus as Michael fundamentally changes the biblical identity of Christ and therefore reflects the kind of Christ-denying deception John identifies with THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST. We will examine Jehovah’s Witness theology and doctrine specifically and in more detail in the upcoming series TEST THE SYSTEM. 🧐 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS LDS theology uses many familiar biblical words while placing them inside a fundamentally different doctrine of God, humanity, and Christ. LDS teaching presents Jesus as the firstborn spirit child of Heavenly Father and places Him within a larger framework of premortal spirit children, divine parentage, and human exaltation. It also teaches that human beings possess divine potential and may ultimately become like God through exaltation. That is NOT the Creator-creature distinction revealed in Scripture. Jesus is NOT presented in Scripture as merely the eldest member of a heavenly family of spirit offspring. He is THE CREATOR. “All things were made through Him…” John 1:3 NKJV “For by Him all things were created…” Colossians 1:16 NKJV The biblical Jesus is NOT one being within a larger order of divine progression. He IS THE ETERNAL SON through whom creation itself came into existence. Using the names JESUS CHRIST, HEAVENLY FATHER, SALVATION, ATONEMENT, and RESURRECTION does not make two theological systems equivalent. We must ask: WHAT DO THOSE WORDS MEAN WITHIN THE SYSTEM? When Jesus is placed inside an entirely different doctrine of God and divine beings, His very identity has been redefined. That is exactly the kind of Christological deception we are testing in this study. We will examine Latter-day Saint theology and doctrine specifically and in more detail in the upcoming series TEST THE SYSTEM. 🧐 IGLESIA NI CRISTO Here the denial is exceptionally explicit. Iglesia Ni Cristo teaches that Jesus is NOT God but man. That directly contradicts the biblical revelation of Jesus Christ. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NKJV “And the Word became flesh…” John 1:14 NKJV Thomas addressed the risen Christ: “My Lord and my God!” John 20:28 NKJV And concerning the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…” Hebrews 1:8 NKJV The incarnation does not mean an ordinary man became extraordinarily important. It means the ETERNAL SON truly BECAME MAN. Therefore, a doctrine explicitly declaring that JESUS IS NOT GOD strikes directly at the BIBLICAL IDENTITY OF CHRIST. We will examine IGLESIA NI CRISTO theology and doctrine specifically and in more detail in the upcoming series TEST THE SYSTEM. 🧐 BIBLICAL UNITARIANISM They call it Biblical, so let’s TEST it. Biblical Unitarianism teaches that THE FATHER ALONE is the one true God and that Jesus is a uniquely appointed HUMAN MESSIAH. Scripture absolutely teaches the true humanity of Jesus Christ. But Scripture does NOT teach that He is merely human. John does not say that a man named Jesus eventually became the Word. He says: “In the BEGINNING WAS THE WORD…” “And the Word WAS GOD.” Then: “And THE WORD BECAME FLESH…” John 1:1, 14 NKJV The One who BECAME flesh already existed. Therefore, reducing Jesus to an exclusively human Messiah DENIES His eternal divine identity. That reaches directly into the kind of denial John identifies with THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST. 🧐 ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM Here we must be especially precise because the error is different. Oneness Pentecostalism DOES affirm that Jesus is God. It DOES affirm His genuine humanity. It DOES affirm His incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection. The error lies elsewhere. Oneness theology denies the ETERNAL PERSONAL DISTINCTION between the Father and the Son. It teaches one divine Person manifesting as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rather than the eternal interpersonal distinction Scripture reveals. But Scripture says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God.” John 1:1 NKJV Jesus prayed: “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had WITH YOU before the world was.” John 17:5 NKJV And: “…You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24 NKJV The Father LOVES the Son. The Father SENDS the Son. The Son PRAYS to the Father. The Son possesses glory WITH the Father before the world existed. Scripture reveals genuine personal distinction without dividing God into competing gods. ONE GOD. FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. Therefore, the Oneness error must be stated accurately: IT DOES NOT DENY THAT JESUS IS GOD. IT DENIES THE ETERNAL PERSONAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON. And John specifically warns concerning doctrine that denies “the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22 NKJV DIFFERENT SYSTEMS. DIFFERENT ERRORS. THE SAME CENTRAL QUESTION: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? This is why we must distinguish these issues from secondary doctrinal disagreements. This is not disagreement about the timing of the Rapture. This is not disagreement about spiritual gifts. This is not disagreement about church government. This is not disagreement about worship style. THIS CONCERNS THE IDENTITY OF JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF! We will examine ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM theology and doctrine specifically and in more detail in the upcoming series TEST THE SYSTEM. And now… WHAT ABOUT ROMAN CATHOLICISM? The distinctions we have made throughout this series remain important here. Historic Roman Catholic doctrine formally affirms the Trinity, the eternal deity of the Son, His true incarnation, His death, bodily resurrection, and His full deity and humanity. Therefore, Roman Catholicism should NOT be placed in the identical Christological category as Jehovah’s Witnesses, LDS theology, Iglesia Ni Cristo, or Biblical Unitarianism. But that does NOT make its errors harmless. Roman Catholicism SERIOUSLY distorts the saving work and unique sufficiency of Jesus Christ through its sacramental system, merit, purgatory, and doctrines that obscure justification by grace through faith. It also developed devotional practices surrounding Mary, the Christ Child, saints, images, relics, feast days, and religious customs that must be tested carefully against Scripture. While Roman Catholicism officially distinguishes “veneration” from the worship owed to God alone, practices involving prayer to Mary and the saints, religious images, and exalted Marian titles can redirect devotion toward created beings and OBSCURE CHRIST’S UNIQUE ROLE AS MEDIATOR. “For there is one God and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS.” 1 Timothy 2:5 NKJV We will also examine in the upcoming TEST THE SYSTEM series how pagan religious customs and imagery entered the developing church over time and were increasingly absorbed, reinterpreted, or Christianized. That historical development matters because religious practices can retain Christian names while taking on forms Scripture NEVER authorized. A system does not have to deny the words “Jesus is God” in order to distort who He is in practice. When His finished work is supplemented, His unique mediation is shared with others, or devotion is redirected toward created beings and religious images, the biblical presentation of Christ is being obscured. So Roman Catholicism belongs in a DIFFERENT category from systems that explicitly deny Christ’s deity. But it still contains grave doctrinal distortions concerning THE GOSPEL, WORSHIP, and THE UNIQUE SUFFICIENCY OF JESUS CHRIST. Biblical precision requires us to make BOTH truths clear. ARE WE CALLING EVERY PERSON IN THESE SYSTEMS “ANTICHRIST”? NO. We are testing DOCTRINE. That distinction matters tremendously. A person may belong to a religious organization without understanding everything that organization officially teaches. Some were born into it. Some have never examined its theology. Some may already be questioning what they have been taught. Some may encounter enough biblical truth despite the system surrounding them to believe the true Gospel. And God is COMPLETELY SOVEREIGN over salvation. The Gospel is not imprisoned by any religious institution. The Word of God is living and powerful. God can reach someone sitting in a Kingdom Hall. He can reach someone inside an LDS congregation. He can reach someone inside Iglesia Ni Cristo. He can reach someone in a Oneness congregation. He can reach someone inside Roman Catholicism. He can reach someone ANYWHERE. BUT GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY DOES NOT MAKE FALSE DOCTRINE SAFE. Trusting God’s sovereign providence should NEVER PRODUCE INDIFFERENCE toward DECEPTION. Quite the opposite! The sovereign God who saves is also the God who commanded us: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God…” 1 John 4:1 NKJV God tells us to TEST because truth matters! He warns us about deception because deception is real! He warns about another Jesus because another Jesus cannot save simply because someone attaches the name JESUS to him. He warns about false gospels because sincerity cannot transform falsehood into truth. And He warns about the spirit of antichrist because deception does not always arrive openly opposing Jesus. Sometimes it uses His name while redefining WHO He is. THAT MAY BE THE GREATER DANGER. A person hearing someone openly say, “I reject Jesus Christ,” knows immediately where that person stands. But what happens when someone says, “I believe in Jesus,” and then defines Him as a created angel? Or as a spirit child? Or merely a man? Or merely a human Messiah? Or denies the eternal distinction between the Father and the Son? OR FORMALLY AFFIRMS HIS DEITY while surrounding Him with a system that OBSCURES His finished work, His UNIQUE MEDIATION, and HIS SOLE SUFFICIENCY? ANSWER: The name remains. BUT: The identity and saving work are distorted. THIS IS WHY SCRIPTURE COMMANDS DISCERNMENT. TEST THE CLAIM. TEST THE GOSPEL BEING PRESENTED. TEST THE DOCTRINE BEING TAUGHT. TEST THE JESUS BEING PRESENTED. Ask: WHO IS THE JESUS THEY ARE TEACHING? Is He eternal? Is He God? Is He the Son? Is He Creator rather than creation? Did He truly come in the flesh? Did He exist with the Father before the world existed? Did He die for our sins? Did He bodily rise from the dead? Is salvation grounded in HIS finished work? Is THIS the Christ being preached by the religious system? If not: GET OUT OF THAT SYSTEM! Because THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST IS REAL! We should neither sensationalize it nor soften it. We should define it according to Scripture. “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:23 NKJV That is extraordinarily serious. And yet the answer is not fear. God has not lost control. False religions do not threaten His throne. Satan does not operate outside God’s sovereign authority. Christ will accomplish everything He has promised. The Gospel remains “the power of God to salvation FOR EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES…” Romans 1:16 NKJV So we expose deception without panic. We identify false doctrine without hatred. We speak truth without pretending that WE determine someone’s eternal destiny. We warn because Scripture warns. We test because Scripture commands us to test. And we point people back to the ONE PERSON deception continually seeks to redefine: JESUS CHRIST. Do not surrender your discernment to a denomination. Do not surrender it to a pastor. Do not surrender it to a prophet. Do not surrender it to a pope. Do not surrender it to an apostle. Do not surrender it to a church organization. Do not surrender it to tradition. Do not surrender it to visions, dreams, supernatural experiences, signs, wonders, or supposed revelations. RETURN TO THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD. Scripture interprets Scripture. And when every claim has been tested, the question at the center remains beautifully simple: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT JESUS IS? There is ONE biblical Jesus Christ. The eternal Son. God the Son who came in the flesh. Creator, not creation. Crucified for our sins. Buried. Bodily risen. Coming again. And salvation is found ONLY in HIM. TEST EVERYTHING. HOLD FAST WHAT IS GOOD. NEVER SURRENDER THE BIBLICAL JESUS CHRIST. 🙏🏻🙌🏻🕊️ Note about the upcoming TEST THE SYSTEM series: THIS LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE. Other Christian-identified movements we will examine in TEST THE SYSTEM include CHRISTADELPHIANS, CHURCH OF GOD GENERAL CONFERENCE / ABRAHAMIC FAITH, THE WAY INTERNATIONAL, SWEDENBORGIAN / NEW CHURCH THEOLOGY, and CHRISTIAN SCIENCE. These groups do not all make the same error, but each raises serious questions concerning the biblical identity of Jesus Christ, His deity, His eternal preexistence, the Father-Son relationship, and His saving work. TEST THE SYSTEM will go beyond the major examples covered here and test each system’s doctrine against THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD. We are not testing labels. We are testing DOCTRINE. #JesusChrist #BibleStudy #Christianity #BiblicalTruth #ChristianApologetics #Discernment #FalseDoctrine #TestTheSpirits #SoundDoctrine #Scripture #WordOfGod #GospelTruth #BibleTeaching #ChristianFaith #WhoIsJesus

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