In 1 John, correct Christology is not limited to theoretical ideas; belief always leads to action. The Christians who left community no longer value the embodied community of the church.
They no longer value the reality of the incarnation. They do not live according to love. Instead of being deceived by those who have left, this community is called to remember that God is love. Jesus brings true life to those who believe and follow after him. Following Jesus always requires genuine believers to love one another 1 John The love of God is self-giving and communal, wanting the best for humanity: life through Jesus 1 John The truth of who Jesus is comes through divine anointing 1 John , The genuine believers who have remained in community have this anointing; they know who Jesus is and are reminded to let this truth live in them.
It is easy to grab on to caricatures like the fictional Carpathia, but that leaves us looking for someone resembling a Marvel comic villain. The reality is more subtle: the antichrists come from within our church community. Their teaching devalues the reality of Jesus full humanity and full divinity joined together. They devalue community. They do not live in a way that gives love. In our own context, a lack of love within the Christian community should give us pause.
A church where Christ is not central should make us reflect and take stock of what is central. A community without self-giving does not truly live as community. If the center of a church is not love, it is not Christ. Reflecting the embodied life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most essential work for a community of love.
This work notices those around them and recognizes the needs, hopes, and fears within the community. It moves though belief into action. Meditating on the meaning of the incarnation is fundamental. The all-encompassing love of God is not a cheap grace where all are welcome, and none are changed. It is a costly, extravagant, precious grace where all are welcome, and all are changed.
To know Christ is to live as Christ. To be a people called by God, the church must reflect God, and God is love. Clark-Soles, Jaime. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, Now he was no longer the tyrant outside of the Church but the deceiver within it.
In short, he was the Pope or even the institution of the papacy and the Church themselves. As the English religious radical John Wycliffe c.
This was the position on the Antichrist adopted by Protestants at the time of the 16th century Reformation. Martin Luther was convinced that he was living in the last days. For him, the Pope fitted all the criteria for the Antichrist. Read more: Apocalypse Now: why the movies want the world to end every year.
Within conservative Christianity over the last century, Antichrists have multiplied. Generally, predictions of a tyrant outside the church now dominate the idea of a deceiver within it.
American presidents are well represented. When it comes to accusations of being the Antichrist, usually from the conservative religious right, Ronald Reagan, John F.
Kennedy, and Barack Obama have all been mentioned. Donald Trump is gaining popularity as a worthy candidate with ethics scholar D. Hilary Clinton is, to the best of my knowledge, the only female candidate. Osama bin Laden was a favourite until his death, as was Saddam Hussein.
Marks of the beast have even been discerned by some in supermarket barcodes and pet microchips. Read more: Fact over fiction on the 'apocalyptic' super blood moon. According to the Christian tradition, the Antichrist will finally be defeated by the armies of God under the leadership of Christ with the Kingdom of God on earth or in heaven to follow.
So, in spite of current appearances, Christianity holds firmly to the hope that evil will be finally overcome and that goodness will ultimately prevail. The core idea of the Antichrist — of evil at the depths of things — lays upon all of us the ethical imperative to take evil seriously.
Whether the end is nigh or not, we should work to minimise harm and maximise the good in the here and now. Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in.
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