Contending for the faith | Making Disciples | Equipping the Saints for Ministry

  (The Antichrist Spirit behind the Five-Fold Ministry)
  by Rayola Kelley

I met Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 1976. At that period of time eschatology was the main subject used to get people excited about the scriptures. Sadly, some of the people from that generation of born-again Christians have never graduated from the end days to the present day.

The present-day reality is that we need to know Jesus and grow into a more intimate relationship with Him. We need to understand everything; doctrines, events and subjects, in light of Him to gain a proper perspective. As I look back to the fundamental teachings I received concerning this subject, I rejoice. The subject of eschatology is being brought to the forefront once again, but the present presentation is far from the fundamental teachings I first received.

The face of eschatology that is now being presented is not in the form of a warning to be ready, but is rather deliberate preparation to accept the very substitutes that the fundamental presentations actually warned against over two decades ago.

The teachings coming forth surrounding this vital subject are frightening to my fundamental taste buds. Instead of people watching for Jesus to come back, they are now trying to usher in His kingdom by attempting to take over the political and religious systems. This is so they can set up their own hierarchy in which to govern both the church and nations of the world. There is a militant attitude that makes them feel justified in killing those (in the name of God) that fail to go along with their plan to usher in this future kingdom.

If unhindered, these end-days teachings that are infiltrating the church will actually be a fulfillment of prophecy. These erroneous doctrines have the potential to usher in the events surrounding the end days.

The vision of this movement is worldwide; therefore, they are pushing for a one-world government and religious system under their guidance. They have managed to subtly plant these dangerous seeds into much of the religious world. These seeds are growing like cancer and will consume unsuspecting Christians if not rooted out by the real church with the pure Word of God, integrity and love for the truth.

The question is how are they accomplishing this feat? The answer is simple; they are cleverly making an exchange of that which is real with a religious substitute.

The Word of God reveals the name of this substitute: the Antichrist. We must determine who the antichrist is and how can we recognize its face.

This entity is mentioned in two different ways. First of all, there is a spirit of the antichrist. Secondly, there are individuals who are antichrists (1 John 2:18).

The spirit of the antichrist will deny two things: 1) that Jesus is the only Messiah or Anointed One, setting an individual up to accept another person as the Anointed One (I John 2:22-23); 2) that Jesus is God in the flesh; therefore, denying the doctrine of the Godhead (1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7).

It is important to understand why the antichrist will attack these two doctrinal areas concerning the identity of Jesus Christ. Denying that there is only one true Messiah opens you up to accept another deliverer. As the only, true Messiah, Jesus is able to set an individual free from all spiritual bondage, from a broken heart, oppression and a bruised spirit.

People who claim they have a greater anointing or who are striving to obtain a greater degree of anointing are actually placing themselves in the position of being a Messiah, claiming the capacity to deliver an individual from various spiritual oppressions.

We know that these false messiahs operate under a counterfeit anointing and with demonic power. In fact, there is one who will come on the scene of the world who will be the ultimate and final antichrist. He will deceive many with false signs and wonders (Matthew 24:23-25).

The second attack against Jesus as God in the flesh is an outright attack against His authority as Lord in a person’s life. As God, Jesus is Lord of lords, King of kings and only Savior. He is our Judge and final authority. By attacking this area of His identity, Christ is cleverly being dethroned with the intent of exalting another to the throne as lord, judge and final authority in people’s lives.

This is already being accomplished through the Five-Fold Ministry teaching. Jesus has subtly been replaced with apostles, prophets and pastors serving as people’s lords. These men may claim Jesus is Lord but in the next sentence they demand blind loyalty from their devoted, deluded followers.

This teaching has exalted self-appointed, arrogant, men into positions where they not only determine what people believe and how they must act but how they are to “interpret” the Word of God.

These self-appointed leaders come across as genuine ministers of righteousness. (See 2 Corinthians 11.) They preach on subjects such as repentance and holiness. They back these messages up with prophecies or miracles. But, if one gets beyond their religious rhetoric, they will find Jesus conspicuously missing or conveniently tacked on to their teachings or writings. A person will eventually discern that the pure Gospel is missing or defiled with confusing nonsense and/or additions.

Finally, one will discover that the light behind them is as false as their claims and that it is the false light of Satan and of the New Age Movement.

Today the spirit of the antichrist is being presented as a spirit of lawlessness. This is a grave misrepresentation because the spirit of the antichrist serves as a counterfeit Holy Spirit. It is religious in nature and not lawless in action. It will counterfeit righteousness and goodness; therefore, it will come across as Christian. It will promote godly things such as the Law while steering people away from the best, Jesus Christ. It will advocate works over grace, outward conformity rather than inward transformation and blind obedience to the ‘apostle’ or ‘prophet’ rather than a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

I asked myself why these imposters would present the antichrist spirit as a spirit of lawlessness. The answer came quickly. If we think of the counterfeit spirit in terms of lawlessness rather than a clever religious counterfeit, we will be more apt to accept it as our substitute spirit and will end up receiving another Christ and accepting another Gospel. We must not forget the fundamental doctrines that were established in the Word of God by the first Apostles. One of those precious doctrines is our Blessed Hope.

What is our Blessed Hope? That Jesus is physically coming back in the clouds in glory for His church. We can debate about the events we will see or will not see based on our particular view of the tribulation period, but one truth remains consistent, Jesus is coming back for His church. I am thankful that this hope is not based on events or man setting up His kingdom first, but on the person of Jesus.

Events and man’s actions may give us a sense of the time in which we live but it is vital we quit putting our hope in events or man but in Jesus Christ. The instructions we were given concerning the end days establish the fact that oureyes must be on Jesus alone. We were given three main instructions:

1) to watch;

2) to pray we would be spared from such an hour, and

3) to be ready (Matthew 24:42-51; Luke 21:34-36).

Let me ask you, are you ready for this blessed event to occur? If you are not, it is time to put your faith in Jesus and believe what God has said about Him. He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world and God in the flesh. He became a substitute on the cross for each of us in order to redeem us from the consequences of our sin. It is faith in God’s provision of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that will save you, nothing else!

Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior than look up for your redemption draws nigh!

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