Could Thomas Jefferson be AntiChrist? It Depends On How You Define The Term.
A favorite evangelical parlor game is "Where's AntiChrist?" It's like "Where's Waldo?", except that it grows in popularity whenever some new, power-figure emerges on the world scene: Mussolini, Hitler, Kissinger, Reagan, Obama, etc., etc.
Alas, all evangelical predictions have thus far been disappointed. It's too bad they don't take their own Bible literally. The AntiChrist -- more accurately the Beast -- had to be someone whom John's contemporary readers could "calculate the number of" - somebody alive back then (Rev. 13:18). According to Ken Gentry in "The Beast of Revelation," Nero fits the description of the Biblical "Beast" to a "t".
But that's a story for another time. For now we're considering Herb Titus' defense of the Declaration of Independence as a Christian document in his book called, "The Declaration of Independence: The Christian Legacy" (Titus Publications, 1995).
Is a man who believed what Thomas Jefferson believed capable of writing what Mr. Titus says he wrote? Ultimately, we'll leave you to answer that question, gentle reader. But consider the facts.
Jefferson The AntiChrist
Thomas Jefferson may not have been a Deist, but it is quite clear from his writings that he was a unitarian. His letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse of June 26, 1822 contains these words: "...I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die an Unitarian." In other words, he denied the Deity of Christ and thus any universal authority He would possess as "Lord of lords and King of kings."
As noted above, most Christians believe that the AntiChrist will arise in the last days as a supreme dictator. However, the Bible itself tells us that the antichrist is not just one person, but many.
"Children, even now many antichrists have arisen...They went out from us, but they were not really of us... (I John 2: 18, 19). A few verses later (2:22) we read: "This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son."
When we hold the life and writings of Thomas Jefferson up to this standard it is quite obvious that he was an antichrist. He "went out from" or departed from Biblical orthodoxy in denying that Jesus is the Christ. Thus, by definition he is a heretic, or "the holder of an unorthodox position" (Oxford American Dictionary).
Thomas Jefferson was not the AntiChrist that most Christians are looking for but he was an antichrist. He has forsaken orthodoxy and is thus a heretic who has "gone out from us."
Can AntiChrist Write A Christian Document?
If this is true, it leads us to the crux of the matter. How wise is it for Christians to base their doctrine of civil government on the words of a heretic, no matter how beautiful the prose in which those words are presented?
How is it possible for one who denies the Deity of Christ to defend the Lordship of Christ over the realm of the civil magistrate? I suppose anything is possible. God did make a donkey talk one time.
Is it not more likely that Jefferson's Declaration is a humanistic defense of the alleged rights of man, apart from any consideration given to the glory of God and His law. The time has come for Christians to reject this idol and return again to the law of God. - 38623
A favorite evangelical parlor game is "Where's AntiChrist?" It's like "Where's Waldo?", except that it grows in popularity whenever some new, power-figure emerges on the world scene: Mussolini, Hitler, Kissinger, Reagan, Obama, etc., etc.
Alas, all evangelical predictions have thus far been disappointed. It's too bad they don't take their own Bible literally. The AntiChrist -- more accurately the Beast -- had to be someone whom John's contemporary readers could "calculate the number of" - somebody alive back then (Rev. 13:18). According to Ken Gentry in "The Beast of Revelation," Nero fits the description of the Biblical "Beast" to a "t".
But that's a story for another time. For now we're considering Herb Titus' defense of the Declaration of Independence as a Christian document in his book called, "The Declaration of Independence: The Christian Legacy" (Titus Publications, 1995).
Is a man who believed what Thomas Jefferson believed capable of writing what Mr. Titus says he wrote? Ultimately, we'll leave you to answer that question, gentle reader. But consider the facts.
Jefferson The AntiChrist
Thomas Jefferson may not have been a Deist, but it is quite clear from his writings that he was a unitarian. His letter to Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse of June 26, 1822 contains these words: "...I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die an Unitarian." In other words, he denied the Deity of Christ and thus any universal authority He would possess as "Lord of lords and King of kings."
As noted above, most Christians believe that the AntiChrist will arise in the last days as a supreme dictator. However, the Bible itself tells us that the antichrist is not just one person, but many.
"Children, even now many antichrists have arisen...They went out from us, but they were not really of us... (I John 2: 18, 19). A few verses later (2:22) we read: "This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son."
When we hold the life and writings of Thomas Jefferson up to this standard it is quite obvious that he was an antichrist. He "went out from" or departed from Biblical orthodoxy in denying that Jesus is the Christ. Thus, by definition he is a heretic, or "the holder of an unorthodox position" (Oxford American Dictionary).
Thomas Jefferson was not the AntiChrist that most Christians are looking for but he was an antichrist. He has forsaken orthodoxy and is thus a heretic who has "gone out from us."
Can AntiChrist Write A Christian Document?
If this is true, it leads us to the crux of the matter. How wise is it for Christians to base their doctrine of civil government on the words of a heretic, no matter how beautiful the prose in which those words are presented?
How is it possible for one who denies the Deity of Christ to defend the Lordship of Christ over the realm of the civil magistrate? I suppose anything is possible. God did make a donkey talk one time.
Is it not more likely that Jefferson's Declaration is a humanistic defense of the alleged rights of man, apart from any consideration given to the glory of God and His law. The time has come for Christians to reject this idol and return again to the law of God. - 38623
About the Author:
Oliver Woods is a born-again anti-Federalist, whose books and video expose the unbiblical nature of the U S Constitution at the America Betrayed website. He also functions as headmaster at King's Way Classical Academy an online, classical, Christian academy for grades 7-12.
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