The Body of Anti-Christ

It became fairly obvious over the 2008 election period that objective reporting has virtually disappeared in America. It's now all about promoting ideology. From newspapers (like the N.Y. Times) to TV networks (like MSNBC) to other news media, only the news that fits their political viewpoint is presented. Stories that don't are just not reported, or slanted until they do fit, either negatively or positively.

And it's not just the news media. The same thing is happening in our educational system, government, judiciary, entertainment, and corporate world. There's a concerted effort to promote only one intolerant, politically-correct viewpoint with no thought for the truth or respect for other points of view. And as I'm sure you've noticed, the biblical world view is the least tolerated of all.

What's going on? I believe I know. It's the distorted mirror image of what's happening in the body of Messiah ("Christ," if you're into Greek).

For centuries the body of Messiah, which is the ecclesia ("Church," if you're into Gallic), has been a divided people. We got sold a bill of goods a long time ago that the body was made up of laity and clergy and that we were the laity. Our lifetime assignment was to go to work Monday to Friday (with Saturday off for good behavior for some) and focus all our attention and energies on our secular calling. It was not expected, nor encouraged, that we apply our Christian faith at our job, much less minister to anyone. We were to leave the ministering to the professionals. Sunday was the time when we could come out of the closet and be Christians.

Well that has been changing. The Holy Spirit is waking up more and more believers to discover that we are all ministers in Messiah. And that our area of calling is whatever occupation or location the Lord puts us in. And that calling is a seven-day affair, not just on Sunday. As a result, we are becoming single-minded, focused on advancing the coming Kingdom of God. And in the process we are "being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2;22). His body is coming together.

But so is the body of anti-christ. The spirit of anti-christ is causing those who are his to become single-minded, and to work together for a common purpose, also. They are not to be divided in their lives any more, either. They are to see their careers, whether newscaster, teacher, judge, bureaucrat, or film star, as opportunities to advance the kingdom of the evil one. They are to passionately promote his agenda and not be side-tracked by personal pursuits or fairness to the other side, which is seen as being counter-productive.

Sadly, they don't even notice they are being manipulated by this evil spirit to walk, talk, and think alike. That they are becoming slaves to a satanic drum beat that is driving them forward faster and faster in their arrogant indignation and purpose, as they slowly surrender their individuality and human dignity for the good of the cause.

"And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness" (2 Thessalonians. 2:11.12).

The tower and the city of Babylon is being rebuilt. And as the Lord observed the last time it was tried, if its inhabitants were allowed to continue to work together, "Then nothing [no evil] which they purpose to do will be impossible for them" (Genesis 11:6). That's why they and all their work will be destroyed again.

"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).