For many deceivers have gone out into the world: 2 John 7

2 John 7 New American Standard Bible

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

The false teachers of John’s day taught that the Spirit was good while the material and physical body were evil. Because of this they concluded that Jesus did not come in an actually physical body. What they were denying was that Jesus is both God and fully man.

John refers to them as deceivers and anti-Christ. This is the spirit behind ultimately the man who is known as the anti-Christ will rise upon the earth. He will be empowered by Satan himself and will lead the world astray through lie and deception. The false teachers of John’s day were doing the same with believers in the church. They were trying to infiltrate the ranks of God’s people and sow seeds of lie and deception.

Those who fail to acknowledge that Jesus has come in the flesh is a false teacher. False teaching is so destructive because when we build our lives on false teaching and doctrine that is not sound it affects the way we live. Our minds are powerful and what we believe to be true has a direct effect on how we will live on a daily basis.

Jesus said that false prophets would come. Satan is not going to merely stand by and watch the kingdom of God advance. We are not to fear the enemy and we are not to be ignorant of his schemes. The apostles spent much time defending the truth because if the enemy can cause a child of God to stray from truth and question truth, he can cripple and paralyze their faith. Daily we must be in the scriptures seeking to not only know them and how to apply them, but coming to know the Lord in a greater way.