p. 53 | The Antichrist by W. H. Edwards

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 26, 1915

The Antichrist

By W. H. Edwards

The Great Original Antichrist Himself Is Back of All Others

By W. H. EDWARDS

In 1 John 2:18 we read, “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.”

From the context, one would be led to conclude that a certain class fulfills this scripture; and commentators likewise lodge the burden of this wickedness on one, and give marginal reference to that one—the “man of sin, . . . who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped.” Be that as it may, whether sect or individual, the part that is seen in the operation, the visible, the human, is but the weak place in the fabric, as potential as it may be, and as cruel as are its persecutions. The motive power, the unseen agent, the power behind the throne, is the great antichrist, the originator of sin—the devil.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. . . . He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Rev. 12:7, 9. The fourth verse would imply that the angels cast out with Satan equaled one third of the whole angelic family: No wonder John wrote that there are many antichrists; for their number is legion, as they told the Saviour when He permitted them to go into the herd of swine.

Not Against Flesh and Blood

So we wrestle not against flesh and blood in reality, only as the church of Christ is brought into contact with the visible, subjugated and manipulated by Satan, the invisible.

The real foe, then, is Satan, Christ’s antagonist, who makes war with the church.

As Christ prosecutes His work through human flesh, in the realm of love, so the adversary works his propaganda through flesh, in his principles of hatred and evil.

Satan can not be converted. He had his opportunity to repent and reform before his eviction from heaven’s courts; so his objective point is man, to cause the destruction, with himself, of as many as possible. But the flesh through which he works is that of our kind, our neighbors, friends, relatives, and acquaintances. So while those who arrogate and assume blasphemous prerogative are counted as antichrist, it is the dogma, and not the person.

Many Antichrists

The scripture says there are many antichrists gone out into the world. While we are prone to lodge the responsibility on the papacy, Mohammedanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, fetish worship, Mormonism, et al., a little further examination of the same chapter of John quoted, will give evidence that

there are as many antichrists as there are objects, principles, or desires that are seated on the throne of the affections and worshiped in the place of the Creator.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. . . . For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Not of the Father! Then it is against the Father, or anti-Father, hence anti-Christ.

By far the most dangerous and the most numerous are the antichrists of the individual heart. In the words of the hymn:

“Of all the foes we have to meet, None so apt to turn our feet, None betray us into sin, Like the foes we have within.”

This, then, dear reader, is the perilous thing to us—the antichrist of our own deceitful hearts controlled by Satan.

The Wily Foe

I wish to strengthen that statement by the following quotation: “Satan is constantly at work; but few have any idea of his activity and subtlety. The people of God must be prepared to withstand the wily foe. It is this resistance that Satan dreads. He knows better than we do the limit of his power, and how easily he can be overcome if we resist and face him. Through divine strength, the weakest saint is more than a match for him and all his angels, and if brought to the test, he would be able to prove his superior power. Therefore Satan’s step is noiseless, his movements stealthy, and his batteries masked. He does not venture to show himself openly, lest he arouse the Christian’s dormant energies, and send him to God in prayer.”

Now we have it. Let antichrists be as many as they may and are, do their work in bringing the Armageddon, hiding the knowledge of Christ, and bringing sorrow and persecution on the world, let us see to it that we are divorced from them all, and ally ourselves to everything Christian, that “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,” may keep our “hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”