(1 John 4:3) but every inspired expression that does not confess Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the antichrist’s [inspired expression] which YOU have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world. (2 John 7) For many deceivers have gone forth into the world, persons not confessing Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. John was the only one to use the term antichrist. From what he wrote we learn it existed in his day and there were many of them. Gnostics combined apostate Christianity with Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism. For instance, they held that all physical matter is evil, and for that reason, Jesus did not come in the flesh but only seemed to have a human body—a belief called Docetism. As we have seen, this is precisely what the apostle John had warned against.—1 John 4:2, 3; 2 John 7. Another fabrication, concocted centuries later, is the doctrine of the so-called holy Trinity, which makes the assertion that Jesus is both Almighty God and the Son of God. In his book The Church of the First Three Centuries, Dr. Alvan Lamson states that the doctrine of the Trinity “had its origin in a source entirely foreign from that of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures; that it grew up, and was ingrafted on Christianity, through the hands of the Platonizing Fathers.” Who were these “Platonizing Fathers”? They were apostate clerics who were infatuated with the teachings of pagan Greek philosopher Plato. The engrafting of the Trinity was a masterstroke of the antichrist, for this doctrine shrouded God in mystery and blurred his relationship with the Son. (John 14:28; 15:10; Colossians 1:15) Just think, how can one “draw close to God,” as encouraged by the Scriptures, if God is a mystery?—James 4:8. Adding to the confusion, many Bible translators have taken God’s name, Jehovah, out of their translations, even though it occurs over 7,000 times in the original text! Clearly, attempting to turn the Almighty into not just a mystery but a nameless mystery is an act of gross disrespect for our Creator and his inspired Word. (Revelation 22:18, 19) Furthermore, replacing the divine name with such titles as Lord and God is a violation of Jesus’ model prayer, which says in part: “Thy name be hallowed [or, made holy].”—Matthew 6:9, The New English Bible.
