1 João 2
Arthur Pink · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 2:16
Pink writes that worldly lusts "are those affections and appetites which dominate and regulate the man of the world. It is the heart craving worldly objects, pleasures, honors, riches. It is an undue absorption with those things which serve only a temporary purpose and use. "Worldly lusts" cause the things of Heaven to be crowded out by the interests and concerns of earth. This may be done by things which are quite lawful in themselves—but through an immoderate use they gain possession of the heart. "Worldly lusts" are "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). (Grace Preparing for Glory) THE STRONG DESIRES FOR EVIL WITHIN US Paul reminds us this battle is one that we will wage every day -- it is a battle we cannot win on our own but only as we begin each morning surrendering our will to the sweet, perfect will of the all-powerful Holy Spirit of God! Why… (see the "for" = a term of explanation). (Gal 5:17+) For the flesh sets its desire (present tense = continually!) against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for (another term of explanation!) these are in opposition to one another, so that (another term of explanation!) you may not do the things that you please. (Gal 5:24+) Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Marvin
1 João 2:17
Pink - The World Doomed 1 John 2:17 "And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he who does the will of God abides forever." "Love not the world" (1 John 2:15): either its policies or its pleasures, its maxims or its methods, its trends or its ends. Refuse all intimacy with its subjects. That prohibition is enforced, first, by the solemn consideration, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." The great Searcher of hearts cannot be deceived: if I am living for the enjoyment of the world and seeking to win its favor, then I am waging warfare against Heaven, bidding open defiance to the Lord of hosts (Jam 4:4). Anyone who makes the world his portion or supreme good is dead in sin. It is impossible to keep God's commandments and to be on good terms with His open enemies. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). This is the second reason why we are not to love the world: because the principles, which operate therein, and the food which it provides for them to feed upon, are essentially evil. We are forbidden to set our affection upon things, which gratify the carnal nature, which pander to a disordered imagination, and which minister unto pride. The world supplies an elaborate menu for its subjects. There are stalls and shows in Vanity Fair designed by its prince to appeal unto all tastes and temperaments. It should be pointed out that those three propensities of fallen human nature have had a corporate embodiment in that monstrous system which God has suffered for so long to devour both the souls and bodies of millions of mankind. We refer to "the mother of harlots," which for the last thousand years has had the effrontery to term herself "The Holy Catholic Church" and "The Bride of Christ." If there has been any religious organization outstandingly characterized by these three evils, it is undoubtedly the Papacy. What but "the lust of the flesh," in its grossest form, has marked her gluttonous prelates, the "indulgences" which they sell to their poor dupes, and the moral filth which has obtained in her convents and monasteries—as converted nuns and monks have frequently testified? What are her imposing cathedrals, her elaborate ritual, her gorgeous vestments and her spectacular processions but so many alluring appeals to the "lust of the eyes"? And what are the flattering titles assumed by her dignitaries, the Pope's usurpation of the alone prerogatives of Christ, and his claim to rule over kings, but clear evidences of "the pride of life"? And the worldlier other allegedly "Christian" denominations become, and the closer they draw to Rome, the more conspicuous are the same elements and features in them. In glorious contrast with what has been before us above, let the child of God ponder and feast upon the blessed ways of Immanuel, and bow in admiration and adoration before Him who differed as much from them as does the light from darkness. When about to descend to this earth, He "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant" (Phi 2:7). He was born not in a palace, but in a cattle shed. During the years that He remained in this scene, He disdained its pomp, and sought not His happiness in it. Yet the unworldliness of Christ was not that of the hermit, but of One whose ministry was upon the stage of public action, among all classes of people. When He selected the twelve apostles, who were to be His most intimate companions, and later His ambassadors, He chose not the mighty, the noble, or the wise of this world, but humble fishermen and a despised tax-gatherer. So far was He from seeking the limelight that, after He had healed the sick, again and again He bade one and another, "See you tell no man" (Mat 8:4; 9:30; 12:16). When His brethren after the flesh said, "If you do these things, show yourself to the world," He refused their request, and later went up to the feast at Jerusalem "not openly, but as it were in secret" (John 7:4, 10)—unannounced, unobtrusively. After the Lord Jesus Christ had performed many mighty works, and the same had been noised abroad, Simon and his fellows said unto Him, "All men seek for you," but He replied, "Let us go into the next towns" (Mar 1:37-38): rather than receive the plaudits of the crowd, He moved on. Instead of courting popularity, He ever shunned it. Said He, "I receive not honor from men" (John 5:41). In Mark 7:17, we are told, "And when he was entered into the house from the people" (and cf. 3:19; 9:28, 33)—He went about doing His Father's business quietly and unostentatiously. Upon His transfiguration, He charged those who beheld it, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead" (Mat 17:9). When it became necessary to make a public presentation of His royal claims, He entered Jerusalem not in a chariot, but seated upon an ass—the King of meekness. He averred, "the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me" (John 14:30). There was no lust of the flesh, no lust of the eyes, no pride of life working within the Lord Jesus; and therefore naught to which the corrupt things of the world could appeal. Not only so, but positively there was everything in Him to repel them, for He was "the Holy One," against whom all the shafts of the devil were aimed in vain. Having explained at some length what is signified by the three evils announced in verse 16, let us return to the apostle's principal designs in our passage, which were to warn the Lord's people, and to expose graceless professors, for in neither the Old Testament nor the New does God own anyone as a lover of Him save he who keeps His commandments and walks in separation from the world. The Church and the world are sharply distinguished entities, their members two opposing companies. Therefore does God say to the former, "Walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind" (Eph 4:17): instead, they are required to keep themselves "unspotted from the world" (Jam 1:27), "hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 23), witnessing against the world (Heb 11:7). The world makes its appeals to all of the bodily senses, but its main object is to capture the heart, for until that citadel be won all its arts and devices have failed; but the moment the heart is taken, man becomes the world's captive, even though (to borrow the language of another) "he be bound in the silken fetters of love." Hence the supreme importance of our complying with the precept, "Keep your heart with all diligence" (Pro 4:23), for it is the throne where either Christ or Satan rules. Solomon tells us that "a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecc 4:12), nevertheless the grace of God can and does effectually deliver from the love of pleasure, riches, honors, as appears with more or less clearness among the regenerate. A striking case in point is that of Moses, for we read of his "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin [the lust of the flesh] for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt [the lust of the eyes]...By faith he forsook Egypt," abandoning his position there as "the son of Pharaoh's daughter," thereby disdaining the pride of life (Heb 11:24-27). Note well, my reader, the repeated "by faith" in those verses, for only so far as that grace be healthy and active will the saint be impervious to both the delights and the terrors of the world: "this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4). Faith occupies the soul with invisible and eternal realities, and as we are engaged with them the things of time and sense lose their hold upon the heart. A sight of "the King in His beauty" and a sense of His dying love are the surest means of breaking their power. "I thirst, but not as once I did, The vain delights of earth to share: Your wounds, Emmanuel, all forbid That I should seek my pleasures there." As the Christian desires to ascertain whether or not he is growing in grace, let him frequently measure himself by this standard: Am I becoming less worldly? He may be innocent of all forms of intemperance and of a spirit of covetousness, he may not envy the prosperity of the wicked or join with them in their vanities, but is he indifferent to their opinion, caring not whether they smile or frown upon him? Is the reader afraid of being called "peculiar" because he ignores its fashions and defies its conventions? Nothing is more pitiful than to see a citizen of Heaven in bondage to the whims of Satan's children: certain it is that if his daily life does not offend them, he is not being faithful to his Master. We shall become less worldly only as our love for God in Christ increases and becomes more vigorous, and therefore, as it is more important to act grace than to be assured that we have it, we should set ourselves with all our might to strengthen our love to the Lord, and then shall we know that we love Him. The example which Christ has left us should make it easier to deny ungodly and worldly lusts. How fully did He manifest His contempt of the world and all the glory thereof! Let us not affect a greater eminence in it than He had. If He was "a Man of sorrows" in this scene, does it become any follower of His to be addicted to its pleasures? If they called Him "Beelzebub" should we compromise in order to escape "bearing His reproach"? "Is not of the Father, but is of the world." This is the third dissuasive against setting our affections thereon. Observe, first, that the apostle did not say "is not of God," but "is not of the Father," just as in the foregoing verse he had said, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." As the devil is opposed to Christ, the flesh hostile to the Spirit, so the world is antagonistic to the Father and hates His children (3:13). "All that is in the world...is not of the Father." The things of the world are termed "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" because they are the objects of them: just as the "doctrine of Christ" (2Jo 9) is called "the faith" (Gal 1:23; Jude 3), because it is the object of faith. Those three principles are the springs of action in its citizens; all that takes place in this mundane sphere (as considered apart from the Church and the operations of the Spirit) issues from them: every motive-power at work within the ungodly may be traced thereto. In its turn, the world caters fully for and to them. For the first there are carnal delights to entice the soul from the strictness and severity of the Christian profession. For the second there are all kinds of material profits and illicit gains to allure. For the third there are preferments and applause, which the natural man is so fond of. Those sensible objects to which the old nature is so inclined are ever present, seeking to divert the heart from God and heavenly-mindedness. "All that is in the world...is not of the Father." They are not of His creation, for at the beginning He pronounced all things, including our first parents, "very good." No, as Christ declared of the field wherein tares were sown after He had sown it with wheat, "an enemy has done this." The idolatrous desire after its objects attached not nor pertained to them originally, but resulted from the fall. Nor are they of His infusion: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away [from the path of rectitude] of his own lusts" (Jam 1:13-14). All such evil lusting is the outcome of indwelling sin. Nor are they of His preceptive will. He has not provided them for any such purposes, nor prescribed them to be so misused. And certainly such perversity of them is not of His approbation. No, rather are they "of the world" as it "lies in the wicked one" (5:19), which does not, in either its prince or its subjects, respect God's laws, acknowledge His claims, or seek to glorify Him. Such unlawful cravings are the effects of man's apostasy and subjection to Satan, who now makes whatever is in the world to be his baits to seduce men into further sin. Thus, loyalty to God and regard for the welfare of our souls require that such a world be renounced by us, and every inordinate longing after it mortified. "And the world passes away, and the lust thereof" (verse 17). Here is still another reason why God's people are not to love the world, an argument drawn from the vain and vanishing state of mundane things and man's enjoyment of them. Those words may be understood two ways: relatively and absolutely, in regard both to ourselves and itself. In themselves, and in the pleasure which the ungodly derive from them, the things of the world are only transitory and can afford no lasting satisfaction. "The fashion of this world passes away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). There is a "fashion" or outward form, which in its incidentals alters in each age and generation, after which its deluded votaries order their lives, being carried along hither and thither by the ebb and flow of its tides. Its customs and habits, its styles and modes, its pleasures and amusements, are ever varying. Yet it is by this very means that the multitudes are more and more deceived. The objects they sought so eagerly yesterday fulfilled not their expectations, so with equal earnestness they pursue the same or other objects today, assured that the attaining of them will rejoice them; only to find them broken cisterns which hold no water. "And the world passes away." It is but an amusing pageant: its alluring shows and sights are like a revolving stage, with its scenes changing rapidly, one set of actors soon following another. How frequently do houses and estates change hands. How many a monarchy has been overturned in this century, how many a kingdom had its boundaries altered, how many of its proud cities reduced to rubble. How frequently do riches take to themselves wings and fly away. "Change and decay in all around I see." Its beauty is only transient, vanishing almost as soon as it appears. Its "fashion" is but an appearance, for there is nothing substantial in it. Its pleasures soon pall: the laughter of fools is compared to "the crackling of thorns under a pot" (Ecc 7:6)—a momentary blaze which disappears in smoke. Its honors are evanescent and disappointing. Its smiles are artificial and fickle. "And the lust thereof" Calvin pointed out that "lust" is here used metonymically, as signifying the objects coveted, or the things which captivate the desires of men; the things they deem most precious are but a shadowy phantom, which fails them in the hour of need. The carnal joys of the wicked are like the present sufferings of the saints—relatively "but for a moment," but instead of working for them "a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory" they issue in everlasting shame and woe. "The world passes away" also has reference to its citizens, for "all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass" (1 Peter 1:24). All mankind is in a perishing condition, hastening to the grave. The tombstones in our cemeteries bear solemn witness to the brevity of life: far more die in infancy and childhood than in old age. No class is exempt, the wealthy equally with the poor being often cut off in the prime of life. "For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass...so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways" (Jam 1:11). The uncertainty and transiency of mortal life is something which worldlings desire to forget, and therefore do they "put far away the evil day" (Amos 6:3), death being feared by them because it will summon them into the presence of their righteous Judge. The shortness and instability of life are set forth in the Scriptures by many comparisons: the wind (Job 7:7), a leaf before the wind (Job 13:25), a shadow (Job 14:2), the flower of the field (Isa 40:6), "vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away" (Jam 4:14), so unsubstantial and unreal, so impermanent and soon over, is human life, and all the prosperity, magnificence and enjoyment that may have attended it. "But he who does the will of God abides forever." It is not, as might be expected from verse 15, "he who loves God," but the fruit and proof thereof which is here named, for obedience to God is love in action. Nor is it simply "he who knows and [theoretically] approves the divine will," but rather the one who actually performs it. This is the grand design and end of God's work of grace in the soul: to make its subject the doer of His Word. The saint is here viewed not as an object of God's everlasting love, nor as one for whom Christ purchased redemption, but rather as one who has been transformed by the renewing of his mind and made an obedient child. This is very searching. As Peter declared, "God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he who fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him," (Act 10:35-36). And as his Master taught, "For whoever shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the same is my brother" (Mat 12:50); "blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it" (Luke 11:28); "they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life" (John 5:29). "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life" (Rev 22:14). Such passages as those are almost universally ignored by Antinomians, who are forever crying up grace at the expense of holiness. "He who does the will of God": not grudgingly but heartily; not bits of it, but the whole. Such is the character and conduct of Wisdom's children—the very opposite of the worldling's. They willingly submit to God's authority, seek to please Him in their daily lives, walk in the Law of the Lord. Not flawlessly so, but evangelically, sincerely, so that of his deviations therefrom the believer can honestly say, "That which I do I allow not" (Rom 7:15), condemning himself for, mourning over and penitently confessing the same. There is no such thing as sinless perfection in this life, either in being entirely rid of love for the things of the world or in doing the will of God. But "he who does the will of God" is characteristic of a Christian. And such a one "abides forever," which imports far more than personal continuance (for such will be the case with all the unregenerate), namely in the favor of God and shall be eternally blessed. He shall abide forever in the possession of that substantial good which he has been enabled to make choice of. Such a one is the heir of eternal life, a member of that kingdom which cannot be shaken. Durable riches are his, a crown of glory awaits him, fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore at God's right hand.
1 João 2:18-23
Pink notes above, there is also a striking contrast between the “seed of the woman” and the “seed of the serpent” in various passages. Fruchtenbaum notes his ascent from the bottomless pit and suggests a connection with fallen angels which are also associated with the Abyss: “[The Abyss] is never associated with human beings; it is always associated with fallen angels with the exception of the Antichrist. Since the Antichrist will be conceived by the power of Satan, he is connected with angelic beings and therefore also with the Abyss.”20 The nature of the Antichrist’s connection with Satan, his origin, and his supernatural powers, have led some to conclude his origin will mimic21 the incarnation of Christ.22 Perhaps the most radical view concerning his emergence from the abyss is that it denotes the possible reincarnation of Judas Iscariot or Nero.23 The Timing of His Ascent - Although the previous views are provocative, it seems more likely that the ascent of the beast from the Abyss denotes his revival rather than his conception. His ascent from the Abyss (Rev. 11:7; 17:8) is related as one of a series of events concerning His life history (Rev. 17:8): The beast was. The beast is not. The beast will ascend out of the bottomless pit. The beast will go into perdition (Rev. 17:11; 19:20; 20:10). If the grammatical sequence of Revelation 17:8 reflects his actual history, it implies that the beast comes into existence, receives a deadly wound, ascends from the Abyss, and is finally destroyed. His ascent from the Abyss may be connected with his reappearance upon the stage of history rather than his initial origin. Scripture indicates that the beast will receive a serious wound which results in his death. His miraculous revival from the wound contributes to his worship: Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye; his arm shall completely wither, and his right eye shall be totally blinded. (Zec. 11:17) And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. (Rev. 13:3) And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. (Rev. 13:14) The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Rev. 17:8) It seems best to understand the ascent of the beast from the Abyss as denoting the demonic supernatural means by which he returns from the dead. His restoration from a fatal wound will parallel the resurrection of Christ from the dead and result in even greater worship: “So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ ” (Rev. 13:4) After his death he will come to life again. When he does, he will come back in a demonic rather than a purely human form to establish his world domination. This explains why the abyss, the abode of demons (Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:1, 2, 11) is his origin.24 If the restoration of the beast is to result in the greatest impression upon the global population, then it seems his fatal wound must have also been witnessed by these same individuals and that both his initial appearance on the stage of history and his subsequent peril and restoration must take place during the last time. This would preclude the idea that his personal restoration involves the resurrection (or even reincarnation) of the likes of Judas or Nero who both died many centuries ago and whose restoration would be difficult, if not impossible, to validate. Preterist interpreters connect the beast’s recovery with the Nero Redivivus Myth which arose some time after the suicide of Caesar Nero in A.D. 68, but this connection is problematic. See Revival Myth. The mystery surrounding his origin, the nature of his ministry and works, and the extent to which Satan is a Great Imitator will all play a factor in how the beast comes upon the scene. Only time will tell if the imitation will extend to matters of the conception or resurrection of Antichrist. Relation to the Pope - If the identity of the Antichrist were established by popular vote throughout history, the reigning Pope of any given time would undoubtedly be the most popular candidate: Following Augustine’s lead the Reformers took the Scriptures pertaining to the antichrist and the mark of the beast as an allegory of either the Pope, Islam (Constantinople had fallen to the Turks in A.D. 1412), or both. The Waldenses held the Pope to be the antichrist. Wycliffe also was of this opinion as was Tyndale. Luther regarded the Pope and the Turks both as antichrist, … Calvin took the Antichrist’s desecration of the Temple to be an allegory of the Church and the Pope to be the desecrator, … Arminius also held “that the Roman pontiff, who calls himself the head and spouse, though under Christ, is Antichrist.”25 Although the Papal system is an ever-popular candidate for the beast, we believe that this view falls short of serious consideration on at least two counts: 1 The Antichrist is an individual and not a position or system (Dan. 7:8; 7:11, 20-26; 8:23-25; 9:26-27; 11:36-45; John 5:43; 2Th. 2:3-9; 1Jn. 2:18; Rev. 11:7; 13:1-8, 12-18; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2, 10, 13; 17:8-13; 19:19-20; 20:4, 10). 2 It appears the Antichrist will be an emerging political leader rather than the existing leader of an established system of religion (Dan. 7:20-25; 8:25; 11:36-39; 2Th. 2:8; Rev. 13:4-5). Although the last Pope will undoubtedly play an important role—along with all other false religions—in helping to establish the Antichrist and his political system, it is unlikely that the Pope himself will occupy the role of Antichrist. If anything, the last Pope will more likely be related to the False Prophet (Rev. 13:11), although there are reasons for questioning this association too.26 Throughout history, the Scriptural teaching regarding Antichrist has continually suffered perversion in service of near-term political or polemic motivations of Christian interpreters of the day who have readily filled the shoes of Antichrist with their opponents. Not mindful of the fact that the church will not be present to watch for the Antichrist (see Rapture), this trend continues to our own day. If we learn anything from the history of interpretation, we learn that great patience is necessary in relation to prophetic passages. Rather than attempting to shoe-horn prophecy into our own near-term experience, we must patiently wait for God’s timing which alone is sure: Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Hab. 2:2-3) A Statesmen’s Dream - When the Beast finally appears on the world stage, he will present an irresistible solution to the troubles of his age. So much so that he will be worshiped by those whose names are not written in the Book of Life (Rev. 13:4, 8, 12, 15; 14:9, 11; 19:20). One cannot assert that the “beast” is finally to be equated with any single person or power that has yet appeared. Expositors have identified him with almost every sinister figure known, from Nero to Mussolini… But as the concept of world government becomes more popular, and as world powers gain more territorial influence in every succeeding generation, it is easy to see that the Revelation points the way in which civilization is traveling. One government, materialistic in philosophy and absolutist in character, ruled by a single political and economic genius, is predicted in Revelation. Such a government, unthinkable a generation or two ago, now seems not too remote a possibility. The dictatorship of one man over the world might be welcomed if he could offer some assurance of universal peace and prosperity. What seemed like a dream to statesmen of yesterday is prophesied in this book, and as the years roll by it comes closer and closer to fulfillment.27 For additional information on the Beast and his relationship to other kings and kingdoms, see Beasts, Heads, and Horns and #16 - Beast. Notes 1 Randall Price, “Antichrist,” in Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 43. 2 Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, rev ed. (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2003), 207. 3 Ibid. 4 Randall Price, “Jewish Views of the Antichrist,” in Mal Couch, ed., Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996), 47. 5 Ibid., 48. 6 Geoffrey Wigoder, ed., Encyclopedia Judaica CDROM Edition Version 1.0 (Keter Publishing House, Ltd., 1997), s.v. “Armilus.” 7 Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts (Detroit, MI: Wayne Statue University Press, 1979), 156. 8 “Remarkable in the statement of one version of the Midrash that he is called ‘Antichrist.’ ”—Ibid., 157. 9 Ibid., 158-159. 10 Ibid., 163. 11 Price, Jewish Views of the Antichrist, 49. 12 “That man will be of the Children of Ephraim… who says, ‘I am the Messiah your king and your prince… (Ma’ase Daniel, pp. 222-25)’.”—Patai, The Messiah Texts, 163. 13 “Hippolytus (Commentary on the Benedictions of Isaac and Jacob [Gen. 49:14]) … began the Christian tradition that the Antichrist originates from the Israelite tribe of Dan … [He] apparently made this connection from the Jewish Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs … which states that evil spirits would be active in the tribe … that Satan was their prince … and that they would be hostile in the future to the tribes of Levi and Judah.”—Price, Jewish Views of the Antichrist, 49. 14 Randall Price, The Coming Last Days Temple (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1999), 477-480. 15 Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 212-213. 16 “In Dan. 7:20 he is represented as ‘A horn that had eyes.’ It is a double symbol. The ‘horn’ prefigures strength; ‘eyes’ speak of intelligence. Again, in Dan. 8:23 he is referred to as ‘A King of fierce countenance.’ who shall ‘understand dark sentences.’ That which baffles others shall be simple to him. The Hebrew word here translated ‘dark sentences’ is the same as the one rendered ‘hard questions’ in 1 Kings 10:1, where we read of the Queen of Sheba coming to Solomon with her ‘hard questions’ in order to test his wisdom. It is also the word that is used in Samson’s riddle in Judges 14. It indicates that the Antichrist will be master of all the secrets of occult science. Eze. 28:3 declares of him ‘Beholding, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee.’ This will be one of his most alluring attractions. His master mind will captivate the educated world. His marvelous store of knowledge, his acquaintance with the secrets of nature, his superhuman powers of perception, will stamp him as an intellectual genius of the first magnitude.”—Arthur Walkington Pink, The Antichrist (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1999, 1923), s.v. “The Genius and Character of the Antichrist.” 17 Ibid., s.v. “The Antichrist Will be the Son of Satan.” 18 Ibid. 19 [Pink, The Antichrist, s.v. “Comparisons between Christ and the Antichrist”] (We do not necessarily agree with every Scriptural identification of the Antichrist made by Pink.) 20 Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 749. 21 The word mimic is supremely important in this statement. For it appears that only the Creator has the necessary power to bring forth creatures. God alone has true life-giving power: Job 27:3; 33:4; Eze. 37:9, 14; John 6:63; Rev. 11:11. Whatever Satan achieves will not be the true creation of life, but the perversion of that which God has already established as part of the system of life. “Satan does not have the power to give life. Since Christ alone has the power of resurrection, Satan could not bring one back to life.”—J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), 335. However, “The question of whether Satan has the power to restore a dead person to life (Walvoord) requires no answer here. Whether the beast performs this marvelous feat through deception or through power permitted by God, it still brings him into the limelight as never before.”—Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995), Rev. 13:3. 22 “If the Seed of the Woman is Messiah, the seed of Satan can only be the Antichrist. From this passage [Gen. 3:15], then, it can be deduced that Satan will counterfeit the virgin conception and will some day impregnate a Roman woman who will give birth to Satan’s seed who is going to be the Antichrist. The woman herself may not be a virgin, but the conception of Antichrist will be through the supernatural power of Satan. By this means, the Antichrist will have a supernatural origin. Another passage dealing with this is II Thessalonians 2:9… The Greek word translated working is the word energeo, which means ‘to energize.’ His coming, then, will be brought about by the energizing of Satan… A time is coming when the situation of Genesis six [Gen. 6:4] will be repeated. A fallen angelic being, this time Satan himself, will impregnate a Gentile woman of Roman origin who will then give birth to Satan’s son. The end-product will be a counterfeit god-man.”—Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of Messiah, 215-216. We would depart from Dr. Fruchtenbaum’s interpretation here. It is our view that one simply cannot make a clear case for this provocative idea on the basis of Scripture. There is much one could say, but for one thing, the “seed of Satan” need not refer to physical offspring, but rather spiritual children (Mat. 13:38; John 8:41-43; Acts 13:10; 1Jn. 3:10). 23 “We have the first reference to ‘the Beast’ in the Apocalypse: ‘The Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit.’ Here the Antichrist is seen issuing forth from the Abyss. What is the Abyss? It is the abode of lost spirits, the place of their incarceration and torment - see Rev. 20:1-3, and Luke 8:31, ‘deep’ is the ‘abyss’ and cf. Mat. 9:28. The question naturally arises, How did he get there? and when was he sent there? We answer, When Judas Iscariot died! The Antichrist will be Judas Iscariot reincarnated. In proof of this we appeal to Acts 1:25 where we are told, ‘that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.’ Of no one else in all the Bible is it said that at death he went ‘to his own place.’ Put these two scriptures together: Judas went ‘to his own place,’ the Beast ascends out of the Abyss.”—Pink, The Antichrist, s.v. “The Antichrist Will Be Judas Reincarnated.” “Some have held that the Beast will be the reincarnation of Nero.”—Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, 335. “But there would be little point in a resurrected Judas; how would anyone recognize him, since no one would know what he looked like?”—John MacArthur, Revelation 12-22 : The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 2000), Rev. 13:2. “Victorinus, voicing an impression that was very common in early Christian centuries, says, ‘Nero will be raised from the dead, appear again at Rome and persecute the Church once more, and finally be destroyed by the Messiah.’ Augustine first mentioned this idea concerning Nero. Even Tacitus, the Roman historian, spoke of many believing rumors about Nero’s possible return … Sulpicius Severus said, ‘It is current opinion of many that he (Nero) is yet to come as Antichrist.’ Note carefully, we are not insisting at all that Nero will be the Antichrist, but that the early Christians believed that a Roman imperial persecutor, possibly Nero, would be the Antichrist.”—William R. Newell, Revelation: Chapter by Chapter (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1994,c1935), 200. 24 Thomas, Revelation 8-22, Rev. 17:8. 25 Hal Harless, “666: The Beast and His Mark in Revelation 13,” in The Conservative Theological Journal, vol. 7 no. 22 (Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Theological Seminary, December 2003), 347. 26 “The second beast which is described, Rev. 13:11-17, as coming out of the earth, and having two horns like unto a lamb, and speaking as a dragon, and exercising all the authority of the first beast in his sight, is referred to the papacy. The false prophet receives a similar application. So Luther, Vitringa, Bengel, Auberlen, Hengstenberg, Ebrard, and many English divines.”—Philip Schaff and David Schley Schaff, History of the Christian Church (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997, 1916), 1.xii.101. Some commentators interpret the reference to the false prophet “coming up out of the earth [or land]” (Rev. 13:11) as a possible reference to his Jewish origin. If the last Pope were to be the false prophet, then a Jewish Pope is always a possibility. (Dr Garland's discussion of the Beast) Bruce Barton (SEE 1, 2, & 3 John - Page 52) - 1 JOHN - A BOOK OF CONTRASTS One of the distinct features of John’s writing style was his habit of noting both sides of a conflict. He wrote to show the difference between real Christianity and anything else. Here are some of his favorite contrasts. The new command and the old command 2:7–8 Loving the Father and loving the world. 2:15–16 Truth and lies. 2:20–21 Children of God and children of the devil 3:1–10 Love and hatred 3:15–16 True teaching and false teaching 4:1–3 Love and fear 4:18–19 Having life and not having life 5:11–12 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (NASB: Lockman) Greek: εξ ημων εξηλθαν αλλ ουκ ησαν εξ ημων ει γαρ ησαν εξ ημων μεμενηκεισαν αν μεθ ημων αλλ ινα φανερωθωσιν οτι ουκ εισιν παντες εξ ημων Amplified: They went out from our number, but they did not [really] belong to us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But [they withdrew] that it might be plain that they all are not of us. (Lockman)
1 João 2:25-27
Pink explains no need of anyone to teach this way - "Some ignorant souls who fail to understand the sense have been misled by its sound. Certain fanatics suppose it means that the Christian is independent of all preachers, and therefore have contended for the exclusion of oral ministry from the churches. Now it is obvious that John wrote not to promote a spirit of presumption and unwillingness to be taught by others--his own example contradicted any such idea, for he was often engaged in instructing these very persons. Nor was there any inconsistency between his statement and his practice. He taught the disciples and they were grateful and much edified. Yet supposing him to be withdrawn from them and his pen silenced, it did not follow that they must remain ignorant. The Spirit would teach them, by him (John) and without him as He pleased. The child of God, with the Bible in his hand and the Holy Spirit in his heart, is capable of all spiritual knowledge (ED: I WOULD ADD "AND IN AN ATTITUDE OF PRAYER" - Col 1:9). Whereas Divine teaching does not supersede (cause to be set aside) ministerial instruction, it does surpass (exceeds) the same." (Scroll down to page 11) Steven