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This week in Love and Light, we explored one of the most misunderstood and emotionally charged ideas in Scripture: antichrist.

For many of us, hearing that word immediately brings to mind end-times movies, conspiracy theories, prophecy charts, political leaders, or social media predictions. And honestly, that makes sense. Last fall social media exploded with what many people jokingly called “RaptureTok.” Videos about blood moons, AI, wars, dreams, visions, and predictions about Jesus’ return flooded TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

But when John uses the word antichrist in his letter, he seems less interested in helping us identify “the future bad guy” and more interested in helping followers of Jesus ask a deeper and more uncomfortable question:

How do people who are supposed to represent God become opposed to His purposes?

That question matters because John says there are already “many antichrists” in the world.

To understand what he means, we slowed down and talked about the word Christ itself. Christ is not Jesus’ last name. It is a title. It means Anointed One.

Throughout the Old Testament, people, places, and objects were anointed with oil as symbols that heaven and earth were meeting there in some unique way. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed to represent God to the people and the people to God.

Jesus is the Christ — the true Anointed One. The One who perfectly reveals the character of God and brings heaven and earth together.

Which means antichrist is not merely about some future villain. It is anything — or anyone — opposed to Jesus, His character, His purposes, and His way of life.

Toward the end of the sermon we looked at Saul, Israel’s first king. Saul begins well. He is chosen, anointed, empowered by God’s Spirit, and entrusted with leadership. But slowly fear, insecurity, pride, image, and control begin to shape him more than trust in God. Eventually, the one meant to represent God becomes someone resisting what God is doing.

And honestly, that possibility should humble all of us.

Because eventually we all have to grapple with who we really believe Jesus is.

  • Do we really believe Jesus reveals the character of God?
  • Do we really trust His way of humility, love, truth, holiness, forgiveness, and enemy-love?
  • And do we trust Him enough to actually live that way?

Because if we are not careful, we can slowly begin resisting the very Christ we claim to follow.

Here are some questions to walk through this week:

  • When you hear the word antichrist, what emotions or assumptions immediately come to mind? Where do you think those ideas came from?
  • Why do you think people throughout history become drawn to end-times predictions and certainty about the future?
  • What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ — the true Anointed One?
  • In what ways do fear, insecurity, pride, power, or control tempt people away from trusting God’s way?
  • Where do you see the temptation to follow a version of Jesus shaped more by fear, politics, power, or culture than by the actual character of Christ?
  • Do you truly believe Jesus reveals what God is like? What makes that difficult at times?
  • What would it look like this week not just to believe in Jesus, but to trust His way enough to live it?