2 Chronicles 22

“Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.  But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom.  So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.  And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.” 2 Chronicles 22:10-12 (NKJV)

Let’s turn our focus to the future for a moment.  The Bible tells of a time forthcoming when a world ruler will arise and persecute God’s people.  The Bible calls him the “antichrist.” This will be an era immediately following the rapture of the Church yet before the second coming of Messiah Jesus.  During that time, there would be a revival among the remnants of those left behind.  That group of believers would be annihilated by the antichrist and his army were it not for the intervention of the second coming of Messiah.  It is easy to think of the “antichrist” as someone who will arrive in the distant future.  But did you know that the “spirit of the antichrist” is present in the world today?  

“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 has 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.” 1 John 4:1-3 (NKJV)

Yes, the spirit of the antichrist has been present throughout history.  It destroyed ¼ of the world’s population when Cain killed Abel; it attempted to irreparably pollute the human gene pool in the days of Noah; it sought to kill all the Hebrew males around the time that baby Moses floated into the arms of the pharaoh’s daughter; it almost eliminated the Hebrews (and the Messianic hope for the world) during the Egyptian exodus, until the Red Sea closed-in; it tried to destroy the Jewish people in the days of king Ahasuerus before Esther & Mordecai intervened; it almost killed all, the babies in Bethlehem in the days of Herod’s rule, yet baby Jesus was allowed to escape...and so forth.  Must we mention Hitler, Stalin, Arafat, and a host of others who sought to destroy the Jewish people, along with Christians?

“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” 1 John 2:18 (NKJV)

Today’s chapter deals with the spirit of the antichrist, operating through Athaliah to eliminate the Messianic line, yet the Lord prevails!  We praise God, Who preserves His people despite the spirit of the antichrist, which seems to prevail in our culture!