Smoodock's Blog

John seems to coin a word in 1John 2:18, which he calls antichrist. The term antichrist is never used in ancient Jewish literature or any other literature, of which I am aware, that predates Jesus and the first century Church. The word antichrist is found five times in the New Covenant text, and only in John’s first and second epistles.[1] The Greek word is antichristos (G500) and is made up of two other Greek words: anti (G473), which is a particle meaning ‘opposite’ or ‘instead of;’ and christos (G5547), meaning anointed one, Messiah, i.e. Christ. In other words antichrist is someone or something that is opposed to or is the rival of Christ, and the appearance of antichrist is proof that the time in which John wrote his epistle was the last time, or as I concluded in my previous study, the last hour (G5610).

So, the appearance of antichrist and antichrist’s relationship with the last time or hour is noted in 1John 2:18. Antichrist is someone or something that denies Jesus is the Christ. Years ago, I perused the religious discussion boards and found myself in discussions with Jews on the subject of our respective faiths. My favorite Jew was one who went by the name Howiedds, which I interpreted as a Jew named Howie (Howard), who happened to be a doctor of dental science (DDS). Anyway, he said this in one of our really informative discussions:

“More Jewish history and practice that you probably won’t pick up elsewhere. It is distilled from many sources and repackaged by me. There was a pharisaic triad of the 1st century. (It’s a phrase that was coined by Ellis Rivkin, professor emeritus of Hebrew Union College):

1. You have a personal relationship with God as you would have with a parent. He cares about you, wants you to live successfully, and towards that end…
2. He gives you the oral and written Laws/Teachings, a prescription for life. Internalize and believe in that prescription and…
3. You will find resurrection and everlasting life.

…So the Jewish triad was that your father God gave you the oral and written law, which if followed would bring you resurrection and everlasting life.

…Paul changed the triad and, in a sense, created a new religion. Father God loves you, and gave his son in sacrifice for your sins. If you internalize and believe in that sacrifice, you will find resurrection and everlasting life. The beginning and the end are the same. The middle piece changes. For Jews it’s their oral and written teachings; for Christians it’s the sacrifice of Jesus. We make hay and worse over the differences, but the beginning and the end are the same.”

So, notice that Judaism, as defined by my friend, Howie, substituted the need for the promised Messiah with the Oral and the Mosaic Law. If one practiced these, there is no need for Jesus (the Messiah), and such a person could achieve resurrection through the works of the Law(s). What need would there be for any messiah, Jewish or otherwise, according to such reasoning? It seems perfectly logical, at least to me, that this doctrine did not exist prior to Jesus in the first century AD, because at the time of Jesus’ birth faithful Jews had been looking for their redemption (Isaiah 25:9; 26:8-9; 30:18-19; Lamentations 3:25-26; Micah 7:7; Mark 15:43; Luke 2:25, 38; 23:51; 24:21). Redemption from what? Well, Jews in the first century AD interpreted that to mean a Messiah who would come and defeat their enemies (John 12:32-34), nothing more than an anointed general whose military expertise would save the Jews out of their trouble. He was nothing like how Moses described him in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

So, were the Jews destroyed in 70 AD for their faith, i.e. for believing in error about God? No, of course not! Look at what the gentiles regurgitated as truth. They worshiped half naked gods who ran around Mount Olympus raping one another and even beautiful human women. Who would want their advice about righteousness and justice? Yet, the Lord didn’t destroy them for their errors in how they understood who he was. The Lord never judged or destroyed anyone for believing error, but he always judged violence. He judged human sacrifice and the violence that wouldn’t tolerate a different religious understanding of God, and this is what brought the judgment of God upon the Jews in 70 AD, not because they rejected Christ and the Father who sent him, but for the violent intolerance they expressed toward their brethren who did receive Jesus as the Messiah sent by God (cp Matthew 23:31-36). A hate crime is evil and needs to be punished whether today or any other time. So, logically speaking, it needed to be judged in the first century AD, as well.

It is interesting to note that the Samaritan woman, to whom Jesus spoke, understood that Christ, when he came, would teach the people all things (John 4:25). The Samaritans accepted only the books of the Law for Scripture. They neither believed in the Oral Law nor did they accept Judaism as their faith, and because of this, they had a pure, unadulterated understanding of what the Messiah would be like when he came (compare John 4:25 with Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

Although many messianic figures arose in Judea during the first century AD in an effort to get the Jewish people out from under the Roman yoke, all failed miserably, and the Jewish state was ultimately destroyed with its Temple. Nevertheless, Israel became a nation once more in 1948, arising out of the destruction and dispersion of 70 AD. Yet, all this was done in unbelief and without a messianic figure, military or otherwise. Thus, once again, the Jews demonstrated to the world that they don’t need a messiah of any kind. All that is needed for them is to be faithful to the second point of the triad mentioned above by my Jewish friend Howie; namely, obey the Oral and the Mosaic Law. If this is done, all things will be fulfilled, including obtaining the resurrection. Thus, Christ was and still is rejected, and both he and his sacrifice on the cross have been replaced with obedience to the Law(s). This is antichrist, and, although this prescription failed in the first century AD, it is still the hope of the Jews for eternal life.

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[1] See: 1John 2:18 (twice); 1John 2:22; 1John 4:3 and 2John 1:7