It
means “against, opposite, contrary, or in place of.”
The antichrist is against Christ, and at the
same time he seeks to replace Christ. He also seeks to replace the gospel of Christ with a
contrary gospel, an anti-gospel.The Anti-Gospel
Perverting Christ's Gospel of Grace
Edward Hendrie
Author of
Antichrist Conspiracy
Inside the Devil’s Lair
Second Edition
Copyright © 2005, 2006 by Edward Hendrie
The author hereby grants a limited license to copy and disseminate this book in whole or in part, provided that there is no material alteration to the text and any excerpts identify the book and give notice that they are excerpts from the larger work.
All other rights are reserved.
All Scripture references are to the Authorized (King James) Version of the Holy Bible, unless otherwise indicated.
Email: ed[at]antichristconspiracy[dot]com (My email address is written that way in order to defeat spam spiders from obtaining the address online and sending out spam email to the address. To email me simply replace the [at] with @ and the [dot] with .)
Web site: http://www.antichristconspiracy.com
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:10-12.
Table of Contents
1. Paul Explains the Anti-Gospel
7. Chosen Before the Foundation of the World
9. Works are Evidence of Salvation
12. Not Willing that Any Should Perish
13. Salvation Hath Appeared to All Men
17. The Command to Preach the Gospel
22. Free Will - Glory be to Man
27. Arminian Wolves in $heep’s Clothing
33. The Gift of Salvation Manifesto
43. There Can Never be a True Agreement
44. Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth
Introduction
Most people think that when they attend their church services each Sunday they are hearing the gospel. In most nominal Christian churches today, however, what people are hearing is not the gospel, but an anti-gospel.
The English word “anti” is a preposition derived from the same word in Greek.
It
means “against, opposite, contrary, or in place of.”
The antichrist is against Christ, and at the
same time he seeks to replace Christ. He also seeks to replace the gospel of Christ with a
contrary gospel, an anti-gospel.
The anti-gospel has at its core a devilish doctrine of the free will of man. This anti-gospel is inspired by the spirit of the antichrist and is being preached in churches today in place of the true gospel of the sovereign grace of Christ. The devil is a very subtle liar who opposes God and his gospel. See Genesis 3:1; John 8:44. That old serpent has stealthfully introduced his deceptive anti-gospel into the pulpits of churches around the world.
The word gospel literally means God spell (God’s word). In order to recognize and guard against the influence of this anti-gospel, it is important for the reader to be like the noble Bereans and check everything that is said against God’s word found in the Holy Bible. See Acts 17:10-11.
1. Paul Explains the Anti-Gospel
The anti-gospel was manifested by false teachers during the lives of the apostles. Paul wrote to the Galatians regarding his concern for those who would be so soon removed from the gospel of the grace of Christ and follow after “another gospel.” The context of his letter suggests the nature of this new and different anti-gospel.
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) . . . I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:1, 6-12 AV)
Paul starts out stating emphatically that he was an apostle not of or by men but by Jesus Christ and God the Father. He sets the tone at the outset by stating a foundational principle of Christianity, the sovereign grace of God, in order to distinguish it from the theology of the false gospel being followed by the Galatians. The context of Paul’s admonition indicates the nature of the false gospel to which the Galatians were following. Notice that they were being removed from the “grace of Christ” to another gospel. That other gospel would be something other than the grace of Christ. Satan, who is the great adversary of God, can be expected to have theological doctrines which are contrary to the theology of God. The opposite of the sovereign grace of Christ would be the free will of man.
Paul states that if any man preach any other gospel then the one that they have received from him let him be accursed. Paul then asks a rhetorical question: “For do I now persuade men, or God?” That question is a clear reference to the nature of the accursed false gospel. The false gospel involves the persuasion of the free will of man. Paul’s rhetorical question gives us another clue as to the nature of the false gospel, the false gospel involves the persuasion of God. That is, in the false gospel, man by his free will chooses to be saved and thus persuades God to save him. Under the anti-gospel, instead of God sovereignly choosing his elect, the sinner persuades God to save him.
Paul makes clear that the gospel that he preached was “not after man.” What does he mean by the term “not after man?” He means that the gospel of Christ is not a gospel which is based on the will of man.
In the next sentence he makes it clear that the gospel of Christ that he preaches is a gospel which he received by “revelation of Jesus Christ.” Just as the gospel was received by revelation of Jesus Christ, so also is the salvation facilitated by revelation, and that revelation comes from Jesus Christ, not man. Paul states clearly in verses 3 and 4 that Jesus came to deliver us from our sins, not according to our will, but rather “according to the will of God and our Father.”
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Galatians 1:3-4 AV)
The anti-gospel is a dethroning of God and enthroning of man. God is no longer sovereign. Man is made the sovereign master of his destiny with God merely a hopeful observer. The anti-gospel rejects the sovereign grace of God in his election of those for salvation. This injection of the Roman Catholic free will theological poison into nominal “Christian” denominations is the result of a satanic conspiracy. This strategy will give rise to an ecumenical movement that will ultimately result in the nominal “Christian” denominations falling under the yoke of the Vatican.
As we have seen the free will anti-gospel took root soon after Jesus founded his New
Tetament church. That anti-gospel has been labeled by theologians as Pelagianism, after a fifth
century A.D. theologian named Pelagius.
Pelagius preached that man was completely free to do
good or evil, and that God’s grace only facilitated what man would choose in his own free will.
Palagius further taught that man had a free will and could choose his own salvation. Pelagius, in
order to remain consistent with his free will view, also taught that man could choose to fall away
and lose his salvation by his own free choice.
Pelagianism was seen by the Christian community
as a false gospel and so it never really took hold.
Less than a century later, a form of Pelagianism rose from the ashes; it was known as
Semi-Pelagianism.
Under Semi-Pelagianism, man was fallen and his will was hindered by sin,
but not totally so. According to Semi-Pelagians, man is not spiritually dead, but only spiritually
sick. They taught that man could utilize his faith to cooperate with God in facilitating his own
salvation. Semi-Pelagians accepted that God was sovereign but at the same time they promoted
the inconsistent view that man had free will in order to choose whether to be saved. Semi-Pelagianism became the generally accepted doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. The
Catholic Church codified this semi-pelagian anti-gospel, with accompanying curses, at the
Council of Trent (circa 1547).
If anyone saith that, since Adam’s sin, the free will of man is lost and extinguished; or that it is a thing with only a name, yea, a name without reality, a figment, in fine, introduced into the Church by Satan; let him be anathema. COUNCIL OF TRENT, SESSION VI, DECREE ON JUSTIFICATION, Canon V, January 13, 1547.
If anyone saith that man’s free will, moved and excited by God, by assenting to God exciting and calling, no wise cooperates towards disposing and preparing itself for obtaining the grace of justification; that it cannot refuse its consent, if it would, but that, as something inanimate, it does nothing whatever and is merely passive; let him be anathema. COUNCIL OF TRENT, SESSION IV, DECREE ON JUSTIFICATION, Canon IV, January 13, 1547.
If anyone saith that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to the obtaining the grace of justification, and that is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema. COUNCIL OF TRENT, SESSION VI, DECREE ON JUSTIFICATION, Canon IX, January 13, 1547.
Semi-Pelagianism was promoted by a Jesuit priest named Luis de Molina. Molina taught
the Semi-Pelagian view that God predestined believers to salvation but at the same time man had
a free will to choose to be saved. This doctrine became popularly known as Molinism.
The
Roman Catholic church knew that Protestant Christians would never adopt Molinism if it were
known to have sprung from a Jesuit priest, so they decided to use a front man in order to
introduce this anti-gospel into the Protestant churches. They used a man named Jacobus
Arminius (1560-1609), who was an admirer of Molina, to popularized the free will doctrine of
Molina among Protestants.
As a result of the successful efforts of Arminius and other Jesuit agents, Molinism has
since become popularized not as Molinism but as Arminianism.
Many view Arminianism as an
orthodox Christian view of Scripture, when in fact it is a corruption of the gospel that has been
injected into the Protestant denominations by Jacobus Arminius. Arminianism is simply
repackaged Roman Catholic doctrine.