Imagining Fighting Against Jesus Christ
The concept of imagining fighting against Jesus Christ is closely tied to the biblical notion of "antichrist." The term "antichrist" is derived from the Greek words "anti," meaning "against" or "opposite," and "Christos," meaning "Christ" or "anointed one" [1]. In the New Testament, the term is used by the apostle John to describe false teachers who oppose Christ [3].
In Acts 26:9, the apostle Paul recounts his pre-conversion zeal against the name of Jesus, stating that he "imagined to himself, that, against the name of Jesus the Nazarene, it was needful, many hostile things, to bring about" [2]. This passage illustrates the idea that one can imagine or devise hostile actions against Christ, highlighting the intense opposition that early Christians faced.
The biblical concept of antichrist is further developed in 1 John 2:18, where John writes that "even now are there many antichrists" [3]. According to Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, this passage indicates that each successive age has had signs of "the last time" preceding Christ's coming, keeping the Church in a state of continual waiting [10]. The antichrist is not just a single figure but can refer to any entity or individual that opposes Christ.
In the view of John Calvin, the devil and his minions are constantly at work, opposing God's will and seeking to harm believers. Calvin notes that Satan is "forced and servile fear" that divine judgment extorts, and that those who are at variance with God's justice dread and hate His tribunal [9]. This understanding highlights the spiritual warfare that underlies the concept of imagining fighting against Jesus Christ.
The early Church Fathers also grappled with the idea of opposing Christ. Tertullian, for example, wrote about the opposing powers that Christians face, citing Ephesians 6:12, which states that the struggle is "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world" [6]. This passage emphasizes the spiritual nature of the conflict against Christ.
In the Reformed tradition, Charles Hodge notes that the sufferings of Christ were not just physical pain but also judicially inflicted in satisfaction of justice. This understanding underscores the gravity of opposing Christ, as it involves not just human hostility but also divine judgment [8].
The Catholic tradition, as represented by Thomas Aquinas, also acknowledges the reality of spiritual warfare. Aquinas discusses the ways in which Christ is present in the sacrament, even when miraculous apparitions occur, highlighting the complex relationship between the divine and human realms [5].
The biblical and theological traditions converge to portray imagining fighting against Jesus Christ as a serious and multifaceted issue. It involves not just human opposition but also spiritual forces that seek to undermine God's will. As Augustine notes, the temptation of Christ is a lesson for believers, providing a model for resisting the tempter [7].
The idea of imagining evil against others is also addressed in Zechariah 7:10 and Lamentations 3:60, where it is associated with devising harm against one's neighbors [11, 4]. These passages suggest that the concept of imagining fighting against Jesus Christ is linked to a broader biblical concern with the nature of human thought and behavior.
Sources
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Antichrist — an adversary to Christ”
- Acts “Acts 26:9 (Rotherham) — I, therefore, imagined to myself, that, against the name of Jesus the Nazarene, it was needful, many hostile things, to bring about,—”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Antichrist — Against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7), "Even now are there many antichrists." (1.) This name has been applied to the "little horn" of the "king of fierce countenance" (Dan. 7:24, 25; 8:23-25). (2.) It has been applied also to the "false Christs" spoken of by our Lord (Matt. 24:5, 23, 24). (3.) To the "man of sin" described by Paul (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8-10). (4.) And to the "beast from the sea" (Rev. 13:1; 17:1-18).”
- Lamentations (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Lamentations 3:60: imaginations--devices (Jer 11:19). Their vengeance--means their malice. Jeremiah gives his conduct, when plotted against by his foes, as an example how the Jews should bring their wrongs at the hands of the Chaldeans before God.”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Way in Which Christ Is in This Sacrament, Art. 8: Article: Whether Christ's body is truly there when flesh or a child appears miraculously in this sacrament? I answer that, Such apparition comes about in two ways, when occasionally in this sacrament flesh, or blood, or a child, is seen. Sometimes it happens on the part of the beholders, whose eyes are so affected as if they outwardly saw flesh, or blood, or a child, while no change takes place in the sacrament. And this seems to happen when to one person it is seen under the species o”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. II.--ON' THE OPPOSING POWERS. (part 10): place where they may wound, i.e., when one is covered by the strong and mighty shield of faith. The declaration, indeed, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, "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,"[13] must be so understood as if "we" meant, "I Paul, and you Ephesians, and all who have not to wrestle against flesh and blood:" for such have to struggle ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM XCI.(3) (part 1): 1. This Psalm is that from which the Devil dared to tempt our Lord Jesus Christ: let us therefore attend to it, that thus armed, we may be enabled to resist the tempter, not presuming in ourselves, but in Him who before us was tempted, that we might not be overcome when tempted. Temptation to Him was not necessary: the temptation of Christ is our learning, but if we listen to His answers to the devil, in order that, when ourselves are tempted, we may answer in like manner, we are then entering through the gate, as ye have ”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 129: dread in the prospect of death, so it was consistent with the feeling of depression and anguish under the obscuration of the favour of God. As the sufferings of Christ were not merely the pains of martyrdom, but were judicially inflicted in satisfaction of justice, they produced the effect due to their specific character. This of course does not imply that our Lord suffered as the finally impenitent suffer. Their sufferings are determined by their subjective state. The loss of the divine favour produces in them hatred, venting itself in ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 20: forced and servile fear which divine Judgment extorts Judgment which, from the impossibility of escape, they are compelled to dread, but which, while they dread, they at the same time also hate. To impiety, and to it alone, the saying of Statius properly applies: “Fear first brought gods into the world,” ( Theb. lib. 1). Those whose inclinations are at variance with the justice of God, knowing that his tribunal has been erected for the punishment of transgression, earnestly wish that that tribunal were overthrown. Under the influen”
- 1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 2:18: Little children--same Greek as Jo1 2:13; children in age. After the fathers and young men were gone, "the last time" with its "many Antichrists" was about to come suddenly on the children. "In this last hour we all even still live" [BENGEL]. Each successive age has had in it some of the signs of "the last time" which precedes Christ's coming, in order to keep the Church in continual waiting for the Lord. The connection with Jo1 2:15-17 is: There are coming those seducers who are of the world (Jo1 4:5), and would tempt you to go out from us (Jo1 2:19) a”
- Zechariah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Zechariah 7:10: imagine evil--that is, devise evil. The Septuagint takes it, Harbor not the desire of revenge (Lev 19:18). "Devise evil against one another" is simpler (Psa 36:4; Mic 2:1).”