Bumby Bible Questions 1

Introduction

Ta da. Good morning and welcome to the first Bumby Bible question and answer session. Can I both come prepared with our own clickers? So we’ll see. That’s probably dangerous. As you can see, very dangerous. What we’re doing, beginning this Sunday and at the each at each last Sunday of the month, Lord willing, we are going to be taking questions and then taking some time and answering them in a more uh casual format, you might say, but certainly still anchored in the Bible text, and kind of going back and forth and discussing ideas and questions that might be quick and questions that might take a little bit longer, and with Ken and I probably will take a little bit longer. So please submit your questions. We received several, and we’re thankful for those.

1. Can We Know Who the Antichrist Is?

Some will be better answered in a full-length sermon, some might be better answered on an individual basis. But please continue to send on your questions. And with that said, we’re just going to go ahead and begin this morning. Alright, our first question is simply can we know who the Antichrist is? That’s a good question, not just so that we might know for our own personal knowledge, but a lot of your friends and neighbors, particularly denominational friends and neighbors, may have some concept of the Antichrist that they’ve heard, uh, in the sense that we need to be looking for some historical figure, either present or in the future, who is the Antichrist, and this Antichrist is going to usher in some kind of a battle of Armageddon or other end time things.

So it’s a good question. Who is the Antichrist? So what we want to do is begin by reading. There’s primarily just three passages that the Antichrist is truly mentioned in. So we’re just going to read through those quickly and then kind of go through and see what we can glean from them. Beginning in 1 John 2 and verse 18 down through 23. First John 2, beginning in verse 18. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they are all they all are not of us.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist. He who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father, and whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. So the Antichrist is mentioned in 1 John 2. It’s also mentioned in 1 John 4. Let’s look at verses 1, 2, and 3 of 1 John 4. Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. And just like that, two thirds of the way through our passages, 2 John 7, 2 John 7, through verse 11. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Watch yourself so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting. For whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. Those are the three passages, in fact, the only three passages that mention the Antichrist. All three of them are in the writings of John, 1 John and 2 John. So everything we can know about the Antichrist are contained in those three passages of Scripture. And what’s interesting is that when we approach those three passages, if we do those, do so without prejudice or bias, it’s actually pretty simple.

He spells out for us who or what this Antichrist is. The first thing that he says about the Antichrist that’s important to note is that he said there were many of them. Look at those two texts again. In 1 John 2, verse 18, he says, Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many, many Antichrist, plural, have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. And then in 2 John verse 7 says, For many deceivers, many deceivers have gone out into the world, who do not confess Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. So the first thing that we see that debunks much of the false notion about the Antichrist is that it’s not going to be just one person, not just one historical figure, whether past, present, or future.

He says there will be many of them. And so this is not describing a singular person, it’s describing a movement or a teaching. And so the first thing the text says is that they will be many antichrist. The second thing that we learn from the text is that this antichrist, these antichrist plural, he says, came out from us. Look at 1 John 2, verse 19. They, speaking of this Antichrist, and again there’s the plural pronoun, they went out from us. But they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us. And so he says of these antichrists, that they went out from us.

Who’s the us? Well, I think it would be safe to assume that the us were a Christians, the church. And so these antichrists, those who were teaching that Jesus Christ had not come in the flesh, had come out from among the faithful. Now, what we don’t know is whether these had truly been Christians and converted to Christ and have now been swayed by some false teaching themselves, or whether they, like the Judaizing teachers, snuck in privately to sow the seeds of this false doctrine. But John says of them, they were a part of us, and they’ve now gone out from us. And so the third thing that he says is that they were from us, but they’re not of us. Let’s look at 1 John 2 19 again, says, they went out from us, but they were not of us.

For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out, that it might be made manifest that none of them were of us. A couple things about that. They had been with them, and John says they’re no longer with us. They have, to use a modern day expression, he’d say they’ve gone off the reservation. They have strayed from the truth. And this teaching is evident that they are not of us. A side warning here is that we can fall away, that we can be with the faithful, and because of maybe even the teaching that we teach and promote, that we can cease to be a part of the faithful. So John says they were many of them. They were from us, but they were not of us, because they didn’t continue in the truth.

They went out teaching some other doctrine.

For example, in 1 John 2, 23, no one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. That’s important for the bedrock of our faith. And of course, if you look at verse 22, you’ll see one of the keys about the Antichrist. If you were to try to figure out how to figure out who they were, yes, they were among the disciples, but they were not really with them, the faithful Christians there. But how would we recognize them? Well, verse 22, who is the liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. In 1 John 4 and verse 3, every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come into the flesh is not of God.

This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. That second part’s going to be really important again. But in all three texts, we see how would you define who the Antichrist is? Well, 2 John 7, many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and the Antichrist. So there’s been a lot of ideas throughout history over who the Antichrist is, what their mission would be, when really all three texts that talk about the Antichrist are very clear. Who is it? Those who in that time denied Jesus as coming in the flesh. Over and again they would be defined that way. In fact, we’re not only defined who they are, but even when they would be.

If you look at verse 18, you see, little children, it is the last hour. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, but note this next part. Even now many have come, by which we can now know that it is the last days. And again, in 1 John 4, same idea. Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, again, which you have heard was coming, and yet that last line is so important. And is now already in the world. Now, when you look at some applications of that, you see verse 23 again, no one who denies the Son has the Father. But if you confess the Son, you have the Father also. And then in 2 John 9, a passage we’re probably more familiar with, everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God.

But whoever abides in the teaching has both, the Father and the Son. So it’s obvious to us that teaching Jesus as coming in the flesh and being the child of God is critical. But without Jesus, this entire principle falls apart. And what is the Antichrist? Those who deny God. When were they? Well, they had been foretold of, and when did they first start manifesting themselves? In John’s day. So I hate to break it to everyone, but that means that it can’t be President Obama or President Trump. The Antichrist had already come. They had an explicit definition of who they were and of where they came from and in what time they would come. So as long as it fits these boxes, it’s fair game. But neither Trump nor Obama fit that qualification, and nobody else, who’s a modern day icon who gets this wonderful definition.

2. Wearing a Cross Necklace or Other Symbols

Okay. So there’s our first question. Who is the Antichrist? We go to the three texts in 1 and 2 John to see that. A second question here, that this is a little bit more fun, you might say. Is it okay for a Christian to wear a cross necklace or other symbols? You’re going to break down, is it okay for a Christian to take part in these Christian symbols as they’re often made and sold today? So a couple things about this, about crosswearing in particular. We’re going to use this as our example. Couple things. First of all, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone. But if you look there, 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 14, idolatry is forbidden. We’re not saying the cross is yet, but we’ve got to build this case here a little bit.

In 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 14, Paul says very succinctly, therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. So we know idolatry is wrong. The question becomes then, what becomes an idol? I think what’s interesting about this is if you look in the Old Testament, you see an interesting precedent for something that was given by God that then became worshipped later. So how do we identify something that has good intentions but is worshipped wrongly? And does that itself prove it wrong? Let’s first look at what God did. In Numbers 21. If you turn your Old Testament to Numbers 21, I bet you didn’t think the question and answer would find ourselves in Numbers. Numbers 21. Of course, the people have been complaining, again, a hallmark of as they were out walking around doing anything that they would do.

In Numbers 21 and verse 4. From Mount Horror they set out by the way to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. So that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.

So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he could look at the bronze servant and live. Now it’s interesting about this is this was given by whom? By God. In fact, this was given by God for an explicit purpose that those who had been bitten could be healed, that they wouldn’t die. This was in response to Moses’ prayer, which was in response to the people’s repentance. This is a God-given item or relic, you might say. And certainly the Old Testament’s full of those. But look in 2 Kings 18. This was given by God, so you’d say, well, this is certainly fine. God didn’t give them something He didn’t want them to use. In fact, we see they did use it successfully.

They were healed. But you fast forward hundreds of years, and even you come into the reign of good King Hezekiah, hundreds of years later, in 2 Kings 18, and in describing some of the good that Hezekiah did, notice verse 4 really carefully. He Hezekiah removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made. For until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it. So you see, the problem was not at Numbers 21. When God sent the bronze serpent, was that the problem? When he told Moses to erect this altar, you might say, or this bronze serpent on the pole. Well, no. That was God given. That was fine.

So what happened over time? Well, by the time we come to 2 Kings 18 and verse 4, Hezekiah had to destroy it because what were the people doing? Taking this thing that was given by the instruction of God, and they were told to do what? Well, they were told to just look at it and be healed, but what they were doing was hundreds of years later, offering sacrifices to it, offering offerings before it. So you see, what’s happened was you have something that might be okay, that certainly was given with a great intention. It was God instructed. But over time it had come to the point in which they were worshipping it or treating it in an idolatrous way. So that sets the stage. It’s not as black and white always as you would think.

This certainly fits on both sides of that spectrum. If we think about particularly like a cross necklace, that crawl, I think it’s important to kind of back up and see what the cross, what we mean when we say the cross. You know, we sing psalms, the old rugged cross. If we talk about that cross of Christ. But we understand that we’re not talking about that image, the emblem itself. In fact, look over in the book of Galatians, chapter 6. The Apostle Paul uses this, and this is actually a figure of speech, to where you reference one thing, but you’re actually talking about something else. And so in Galatians chapter 6, and in verse 14, he says, But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world was crucified to me, and I to the world.

We understand there in other places in the New Testament where it talks about the cross, that it’s not talking about some wooden image that was to be adored or to be worshipped, but that the cross stands for what happened on the cross. So when we sing the old rugged cross, we’re not worshiping or adoring some wooden image or some gold image that we might wear around our neck. We’re talking about the death of Jesus Christ. Paul gloried in the cross of Christ. He gloried in his death. And so we understand that that cross, whether it’s in a song or whether it’s in a piece of jewelry, is standing for the death of Jesus Christ. I don’t know that Greg or I either one have a good solid answer for this question to say, here’s a verse that says, don’t do it.

Or here’s a verse that says it’s okay to do it. I have the warnings. We have the warnings, as Greg talked about the idea of idolatry, the warnings of relic worship in the bronze serpent. That’s certain that we can cross the line to take an image, to take an item, even an item that has been given by God and misuse it. And so if that cross becomes idolatrous, if that cross becomes something that we’re worshiping that image rather than adoring the one who died upon that image, then certainly it crosses the line and we should be leery of it. But I want to add this warning also as well that we need to be cautious in how we treat others who might view these things differently.

Look over in the book of Romans, chapter 14. In Romans 14, he wasn’t talking about the idea of wearing a necklace or not wearing a necklace, but he was talking about the idea of eating meats or not eating meats. My opinion, this would maybe fall into that category, that I may have an opinion, but you may not share that opinion.

Romans chapter 14, verse 13, let us therefore not judge one another anymore. But rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. So if we differ on this issue, then we’re going to differ on that issue. And I’m not going to judge you harshly and condemn you because you view this maybe differently than I do. In fact, skip down to chapter 14, verse 19. Therefore, let us pursue the things that make for peace, and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. Could we paraphrase that in saying, do not destroy the work of God for the sake of a piece of jewelry? All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

It is neither good to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor to do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. And so I guess that’s how I would end this question simply saying that we may differ on these matters of opinion. But unity must be our goal. Love and peace must be our goal. And so that’s where we’re going to, I think, end up on this. Making sure that we don’t turn these items, whether they be items of jewelry or even the church building itself, into something holy and sacred or something that we would worship in the sense of relic worship or idolatry. And so I think two cautions would be issued there.

Go on to our final question that is structured this way, at least, and we have some discussion questions at the end.

3. Where Did Establishing Authority Come From?

So the question is where did the idea of establishing authority come from, and how can we rightly do so? When you see the phrase or hear the phrase from a preacher, we’re going to have a lesson on establishing Bible authority. I think there’s a couple different replies. One is usually some sort of audible or inaudible sigh or groan, you know, here we go again. But at the same time, other people are wondering what does that mean? Right? And of course, you grow accustomed to the lesson. You think about words like command, example, necessary inference. Where does that come from? I want us to talk about that a little bit first. Where does it come from and is that right? Because even among Christians today, this is becoming a divisive issue, something that should be relatively agreed upon by all that God has to communicate his will somehow, is becoming now a little bit more splintered.

And the question would be then is this something made up, or is this something we can learn from the scriptures on how to reason, how to understand what God’s will is. I think the first thing is rather than putting it in kind of these church speak or preacher talk saying how to establish authority, the question is really, can we understand how God communicates his will to us? Because if you establish authority, you’re trying to do what? Figure out what you are and are not supposed to do. Figure out how to please God, how not to sin, right? How to be a good, faithful Christian. So of course, if we if we figure it out that way, that’s going to help shape how we understand this. And you see, really, there’s only three ways to communicate.

God will tell us what he wants, he will show us what he wants, or he’ll imply to us what he wants. I’ll give you a quick test on this. If you think that this is made up, right? Tell, command, show, example, implying necessary inference. That becomes a little bit of a sticking point, what is necessary? You say, okay, well, that sounds made up to me. Well, first of all, we’re going to show you in just a moment a Bible passage in which they go through all three of those decision-making ways of communication. But also, if this is not how we communicate, then please express to me right now how that is wrong without telling me, showing me, or implying anything to me. See, the truth of the matter is you can’t.

That’s how we communicate. So if that’s how we communicate and express ideas and express thoughts, then why would we expect God in his written word to express them any differently? I was traveling, Kashk and I were traveling on vacation, and we were worshiping with the church, and a very good Bible class teacher was teaching, and he came to the idea of Bible authority, and it kind of troubled me because he stopped and he said, Well, he said, you know, this idea of telling, showing, implying, it’s really good, and I’ll explain why it’s right, but we have to admit that it’s it’s kind of made up. Somebody kind of made this up, and we’ve all kind of run with it. And I’m I don’t like bothering people at theme parks.

I make Koshka go and talk to people. I don’t like asking really anything. But even I had to stop and talk to this man a little bit afterwards and just say, you know, this isn’t made up. This is first of all how we reason, and secondly, this is how Christ’s followers reason. And that’s an important distinction. If we begin to think that this is some sort of optional or man-made way of understanding Scripture, then it becomes subjective rather than objective. And then our faith becomes a subjective one rather than objective. And it’s not surprising then that when you remove God’s authority and the way God communicates from his will, that you have the kind of pleas for coexistence that we can all just serve God however we feel like, and as long as you acknowledge Jesus and you’re not one of the antichrists, then it’s all good.

You see, we can’t lift up our anchor. A boat without its anchor does what? Well, first it stays near the shore, but over time it’s going to drift further and further out to sea, and it’s going to end up somewhere where you don’t even recognize where it began. And without these proper understanding, without this proper understanding of how God communicates his will, we’re going to be like a ship without its anchor down. But beyond all this, even just the logical communication of it, we’re going to see that this is in fact how Jesus’ disciples understood his will. We could go to Jesus’ teaching where he used telling, showing, and implying. But let’s go to the apostles, how they established authority, if you will, or as Greg said, really how they interpreted language, interpreted God’s communication to them.

If we look in Acts chapter 15, there was an issue in Acts chapter 15 that they were trying to resolve, and that was, were Gentile Christians required to be circumcised and keep certain parts of the old law in order to be saved. And they came together to find the truth on this matter. And I think it’s important as we return to Acts chapter 15 to know what they did and what they didn’t do. Number one, they didn’t come together to decide the truth. They came together to determine the truth. That’s very important distinction. They didn’t come together and say, let’s put our heads together and let’s come up with a solution. They said, What does God tell us? What has God shown us? What are some implications here?

And if we go to Acts chapter 15, beginning in verse 7, Peter stands up and says, when there’d been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And you could really argue that that’s number one, that’s an example. God was showing them. And how did he show them? Verse 8, so God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. And so there was an approved example of Peter preaching the gospel to Cornelius. I think you also see in there an implication. The Holy Spirit came upon those Gentiles in the implying that this was God’s approval of that matter.

Skip down to verse 12. Barnabas and Paul speak. When the multitude kept silent, listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through themong the Gentiles. I think again you have two things at work there. Number one is here’s an example. Barnabas and Paul are giving their example of preaching to the Gentiles, with also the implication that the miracles and wonders that were worked among the Gentiles implied that this was God’s stamp of approval. God would not have allowed Barnabas and Paul to work those miracles among the Gentiles if he was not approving of them preaching to the Gentiles. And so there is Peter, Barnabas and Paul showing through an example, showing through implication or a necessary inference that this is what God wants.

And then finally, look in verse 13. After they had become silent, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, listen to me. Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take them out a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written. And he begins there in verse 16 to quote from the book of Amos. And so what does James do after Barnabas and Paul and Peter had given examples and inferences of what God’s will was? James says, I’ve got some scripture. And so he goes to the tell part of it, or the the command or the direct precept part of it. He says, The scriptures say this as well. And so when the apostles were trying to determine the truth, what three methods did they use?

The methods of communication. Tell, show, and imply. I think when we when we think about Acts 15 and we think about the idea of establishing authority, rather than taking it as something to challenge, take it as understanding God’s will. And if we have an individual question, that’s certainly fine and reasonable, but because one issue becomes muddy or difficult to understand, doesn’t mean that that’s all of a sudden not how God communicates. And of course, then this breaks down into generic authority, specific authority, and then how would you go from there? But Adam’s basis, God will tell us what he wants. He’ll show us. He has implied to us what he expects from his people. And we can take great comfort in knowing that our God does communicate his will to us.

Conclusion

That’s a real blessing. So of course, we’re out of time for this morning’s study. In just a moment, I’ll ask him to lead us in a word of prayer. But I’ll just end by saying again, uh, we’re going to try to do this at the end of just about every month for the next three months now. Now this first one is in the books. But please submit your questions to us. You can tell it to us, but we will probably forget. So please write it down and submit it. Email it to Bumby BibleQuestions at gmail.com, Bumby BibleQuestions at gmail.com, or just send it to our emails. We’ve gotten that too, and that’ll work for us. So just submit your questions, and if you put your name on it, we can ask if we don’t understand something.

I can tell you already that that would be helpful. So thank you for the questions that have been submitted. And if we didn’t get to your question yet, hold on. It’ll be next month, I assure you. So we appreciate that. Ken, would you say a prayer for us? Our dear God and Father in heaven, we love you and thank you so much. We love you for the many blessings that you shower upon us. Among those fathers your word, and we’re so thankful that we have the ability and the privilege to study your word. We can have our questions answered by you, Father, that we might know you and your will for our lives. Bless us individually and as a congregation as we seek to know the truth, to know it more deeply and more assuredly.

Help us, Father, to challenge one another in our faith, to challenge one another to be stronger, to grow in our grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Bless us this morning as we worship together. Bless us in our studies, and bless us, Father, as we make our way to you. All these things we humbly pray in Christ’s name. Amen.