Gradualism: The Stealth of Antichrist

A while back, I read the book Gradualism: The Stealth of Antichrist by Wayne Williams, a “Bible teacher,” as he is described on the back cover. The title intrigued me; whatever else the book was, it wouldn’t be boring.

The War

The story of the world, after all, is a story about the war. What war? Why, the one we’re always alluding to: the war between good and evil. How is the war going? Surprisingly, no one seems to know, and few people seem to care. But Williams does. He emphasizes that we have to understand this conflict in order to understand how the world works. Even more specifically, he understands that spiritual warfare is real and that we must guard against attack.

So far, I agree with him. Past this, however, I didn’t find too much to sink my teeth into. I think the best way to go through this is to break down his title: Gradualism: The Stealth of Antichrist.

Antichrist

First let’s focus on Antichrist. Williams uses this term simply to mean an antichristian attitude or tendency. He does not think it is helpful to speak of a future arrival of antichrist; rather, we need to realize that this tendency or temptation is already here and at work. While I don’t disagree that there is an antichristian tendency at work in the world, I think it is unnecessary to conflate this with the Antichrist of Revelation, whom I think is a specific, still-unknown individual.

Gradualism

Next, let’s look at the idea of Gradualism and Stealth. Williams focuses in on how these antichristian tendencies – specifically, immorality, corruption, and false doctrine – arise in the church. Williams terms this growing tendency “Gradualism” because its poison spreads slowly, inch by inch, not dramatically or obviously. His overarching argument is that, through these stealthily-growing antichristian tendencies, Satan seeks to weaken the church. We must, then, recognize and resist these tendencies when they appear.

Now, I don’t disagree with anything that’s been said here. I have no doubt that the argument I’ve just described is true. However, it is hardly specific enough to sink one’s teeth into, and it contains little original insight other than its conflation of the Antichrist in Revelation and the spirit of the antichrist in 1 John. I do, however, think that this conflation points to a very important insight too often overlooked nowadays.

Our Story

This insight might be termed ‘a plot perspective.’ It is a worldview that sees our modern-day time and place as located inside a cosmic storyline, but one where we the characters may choose how the story proceeds. I have spoken of this briefly before, but Williams brings an important connection to the table. If we are part of the story, we are also a part of the war, and we do indeed have a say in how it goes.

This means that, when we talk about corruption or false doctrine in the church, we are not just talking about isolated problems in individual lives. We are talking about the course of history – more than that, we are affecting it (or failing to affect it, which is in itself an affect).

We can either help to bring the entire world back into reconciliation and hope, or we can sit back and watch “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavily places” bring it down into death and destruction. The choice is ours. And this story cannot be paused by simply closing the book. It cannot be escaped. A path must be chosen.