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Every time a Christian reads the Bible and determines what it says in his/her own carnal mind, the "man of sin" is being revealed. We ARE "the temple of God"....so when the "man of sin" sits in the "temple", this shows EXACTLY where he is....WITHIN OUR OWN MINDS!

I Corinthians 3:16..."Know ye not that YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Yet, carnal-minded Christians show the "man of sin", or "antichrist" WITHIN THEMSELVES when thy look to an ACTUAL, REAL, Jewish Temple being built again....which is blasphemy to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

And why are Christians looking to a FUTURE "antichrist" when God tells us that the "spirit of antichrist has been in this world since the days of the Apostle John...from the beginning of this age. And that "spirit" is within the Christian "body".


I John 4:3..."And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is NOT OF GOD: and this is (that) spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; AND EVEN NOW ALREADY is it in the world."

But, for the Christian with the "mind of Christ", we have the next verse:

I John 4:4..."Ye are of God, little children (immature Christians who have the help of the Holy Spirit of God to grow and mature in Christ), and have overcome them (spirits of antichrist): because greater is He (the Holy Spirit of God) that is in you, that he (the spirit of antichrist) than is in the world (the carnal mind).

It's up to EACH ONE OF US, as Christians, to be sure which "spirit" is leading us...the Spirit of God, or the spirit of antichrist. The Spirit of God leads to the TRUTH; but the spirit of antichrist leads to believing the lies of the world.


Piece of an article by J. Preston Eby:


THE MAN OF SIN

We must understand that the antichrist has never been, and never will be, a real personage. The word comes from a compound Greek word made up of the preposition "anti" and the Greek word for Christ which is "Christos". "Anti" is a Greek word meaning "opposed to" or "instead of". The Greek word "Christos" means "anointed".

Therefore we find that the word "antichrist" properly signifies one who opposes, or one who sets himself up in the place of Christ, by appropriating some of the attributes of Christ. That is, antichrist appears AS Christ and by so doing is actually AGAINST Christ - usurping the place that rightly belongs to Christ alone! Anything that is placed INSTEAD OF Christ, is literally antichrist. Our lives and our Churches have been literally filled with the spirit and system of antichrist!

Now I wish to point out a very important truth concerning the term and tenure of the "man of sin". Note carefully the words of the apostle Paul in II Thes. 2:3-4. "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day SHALL NOT COME, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin BE REVEALED, the son of perdition: who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

I would especially draw your attention to the TENSES of the verbs in verse three: "opposes", "exalts", "sits", "showing", "is" - these are all PRESENT TENSE. They indicate that at the very time the apostle penned these words this man of sin was ALREADY EXISTING AND OPERATING!

Now, let us go back to verse three and notice the difference in the tenses of the verbs in that verse. Paul says that that day "shall not come" except there (shall have) come "a falling away, and that man of sin "(shall have been) revealed". These are all FUTURE PERFECT TENSE - indicating that the actions expressed in verse four have been in operation before the actions expressed in verse three shall operate to completion.

So we see that the tenure of the "man of sin" was already in force in Paul's day and would continue right on until he "shall have been revealed" and subsequently, in verse eight, "consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of His coming."

Today, nineteen hundred years later, the "man of sin" is still not revealed except to a few. Have you noticed, dear one, that Paul does not say of the man of sin that he should be BORN - but that he would be REVEALED. He does not say that he suddenly emerges upon the world scene, nor that he seizes political power, nor that he marshals vast armies - but simply that the one who was already, in his day, sitting in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, opposing and exalting himself above the rule of the Spirit - would be REVEALED.

The whole world has been waiting for the man of sin to be revealed, and now by the grace of God HE IS BEING REVEALED as the Lord makes known to His apprehended ones the awful depths of our own inherent sin, self-will, and carnal minds which ARE ENMITY AGAINST GOD and are not subject to God, neither indeed can be.

This man of sin seated within our very own temple of God will do everything within his power to conceal his identity, for his discovery is his undoing! He is hidden, not to Christ and God, but to the man who is not walking in the Spirit. As our lives become exposed to the life and light of Christ the man of sin IS REVEALED, uncovered, exposed - then to be dealt with, destroyed, consumed by the bright-burning of the arising of the sun of righteousness within our hearts. If the cunning, craftiness, subtleness, deceitfulness, treachery, and wickedness of the self-ego of old Adam's nature is being uncovered, revealed, exposed by the Spirit's dealings, then know, beloved, that THE HOUR OF HIS DESTRUCTION IS AT HAND. The order is: REVEALED... DESTROYED! Praise the name of the Lord!

This long tenure of operation of the man of sin is, then, at least 1900 years, the totality of the Church age. This definitely precludes the possibility of the man of sin being a single man upon the earth in one specific time period. The active period of any human being's dominating influence is generally limited to a decade or a quarter century. Surely it is evident that the man of sin is not an individual human being!

But who will argue with the fact that the CHURCH WORLD has been dominated by the self-ego and carnal mindedness of MAN throughout the nineteen long centuries of Church history! Ah, the man of sin has RULED in the temple of God, but thank God! the day for the CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE has come and for all who are apprehended of God to be a part of this great work the Spirit is faithfully and relentlessly purging, refining, crushing, and stripping these of all that pertains to the wickedness and power of the carnal mind.

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A great example of the "revealing" of this "man of sin" is when you have believed a wrong doctrine for many years....and suddenly you understand your error!! This is "revealing" that part in you that is of a "LIE" which was once believed. But the Holy Spirit shed LIGHT upon this lie, and completely destroyed it.

Many "antichrists" are within all of us. But the Holy Spirit of God, Who is also within us is MUCH GREATER than any "antichrist spirit"...and all will soon be defeated.

This is HEAVY-DUTY spiritual understanding...and all may not be ready for it. But I hope the "lightening" has illuminated this truth in some who are ready to hear it.

Arlene

Hi Arlene!

Good article! I thoroughly enjoyed it and heartily agree with what you put forth. Christ tells us, if we are not for Him, we are against Him. God judges our hearts, not our minds, as that is where we resort to our own devises, and the mind is where Satan attacks, and where Satan tempts us, after all we are told that Satan is the prince of the air....mind. Also, that is why John tells us that there are many antichrist already in the world, back in his day.

Yet, I would like to add some thoughts on the other aspects of the antichrist that the Bible shows us. To me it is rather like an onion and has many layers, or at least three. Possibly a body, mind, spirit type of thing. What you wrote about is the personal layer, the temple of God that is our mind and personal body. But, we must remember that the Bible calls the antichrist a beast...and we have learned that a beast is a kingdom, a kingdom in the world made up of many people, a collective body and mind, if you will. Therefore, I think that there has to be a worldly fulfillment of this beast, not just a personal one.

Not only that, I think there will be a spiritual fulfillment as well, in that a world leader will be directly in dwelt by Satan, himself.

Personally I am convinced that the Beast that rises out of the sea of people, is the Pope, not any particular pope, but any pope who is in office and the Vicar of Christ (which means in place of Christ) is a beast and has the spirit of antichrist and is a man who could be in dwelt by Satan. Another beast comes out of the earth, and this beast, comes out of the wilderness, or a place that started out to be a wilderness area but became a kingdom that would rule the earth.

This kingdom is America, and the little horn could easily come from here. Now, as to which beast becomes the fulfillment on a worldly scale as the antichrist I would have to go with the Pope, as he is doing exactly what the Bible tells us the antichrist will do. Yet many see the antichrist as a political figure as well.

Anyway, lots to ponder and research as we wait for our Lord's Glorious appearing!! I am working on a post about the Pope and maybe that will explain better what I am trying to convey.

I so believe that we can become personal antichrist and that is where the worldly begins. Thanks again for sharing that great article!

Bless you dear lady!!

Patti C.

Hi Patti....

We all are allowed comments to everything posted....

And, as a divided "church" we will all have our "pet" theories at one time or another. At one time, I strongly believed the Pope was the "biggie" with St. Malachi prophecies...and that whole gambit.

But, as happens, when the Holy Spirit of God tugs at our heart and points to something other than previous beliefs....well, the Holy Spirit of God always wins out with me!

But, Praise God, one day in the not too distant future, we will ALL (saints as well as sinners) come to the TRUTH...and all will be settled then....

Thanks for your kind words...and it's good that with you I don't feel like I have to "battle it out"!!!

Arlene