One of Us?

"Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the anti-christ is coming, even now many anti-christs have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."

1 John 2:18-19.

Note. This post was originally composed on August 24, 2015.

As I write this, the stock market has tumbled. In the overnight session the Dow and the S&P have plummeted dramatically. Once again, on social media, I see postings declaring that this is The Big One. The end of the world is now in full swing.

Several months will transpire before you read this. Perhaps the U.S. and everyone else will be in turmoil (I have no advanced knowledge as I write this). Maybe what has just occurred is a much needed and long overdue correction. Either way, I believe the events that took place today, Monday August 24, and going forward are based on market cyclicality coupled with poor economic policy and financial decisions of individuals, businesses, corporations and governments and not blood moons and shemitah cycles.

In the midst of this financial hiccup/meltdown (which ever plays out) the verses in First John caught my attention. John not only expected the anti-christ to appear but also matter-of-factly stated that several had already come and gone. Contrary to the frenzy generated by some end-time teachings today, John's unfazed. He reminds his readers that this was inevitable, so don't panic.

Intriguing was the source of these flash-in-the-pan impostors, none of whom John mentions by name. He wasn't talking about the Roman rulers of his day but believers who'd gone rogue. The political power brokers didn't come out from the church; they were never in it.

Can we expect anything different from what happened in John's time to happen in ours? Will more anti-christs emerge from the rank and file of the church? (To clarify, as a former Catholic, I'm not nominating the pope!)

So what's my point? The hysteria generated by the market's drop had some believers calling for the rise of the anti-christ, suggestions included our sitting president and some others. I wonder if people are looking in the wrong place? Just a thought.

These scriptures in John don't get much end-times airplay and that's good. If they did Christian bookstores would be stocked with how-to manuals providing sure-fire litmus tests to be applied to any Christian one believed was suspect. Schisms would widen even more and the existing war of words would be amplified. Non-believers would shake their heads. "Hey, if that's Christianity, who needs it?"

How about you? Did the market's decline in August cause you to panic and to adopt a sky is falling attitude? If so, what impact did this have on unbelievers who themselves were in turmoil? What did this say to them about your Jesus whom you insist they need to know? How could you have demonstrated His ability to care for you when under pressure? If what they saw was someone as frightened or even more so than themselves, do you think they'd want what you have?