At a home Bible study a self proclaimed pastor spoke about the end times. He among other statement alleged that fear was not a spirit, the antichrist was not a person (spirit only) and that the Rapture would not occur until the Satan was under the church’s feet. I’d appreciate your usual insights.
Depending on how you define the terms, some of what this person says could be correct. Fear is not a spirit in the sense of being a spiritual being, like an angel or demon. Fear is an attitude or state of mind. Paul was referring to this state of mind when he told Timothy, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim.1:7 KJV).
Likewise John spoke of the spirit of anti-Christ as being the state of mind of those who do not acknowledge that Jesus has come in the flesh (1 John 4:3). But both Paul (2 Thes. 2:3-4) and John (Rev. 13:5-8) describe the anti-Christ as a physical being.
As for the idea that the rapture can’t happen until Satan is under the church’s feet, this is a total misquote of the Scriptures. Although Satan cannot defeat the church (Matt. 16:18) it is the Lord who will defeat Satan. This was determined as early as Genesis 3:15 when God told the serpent that the “seed of the woman”, a Messianic reference, would crush his head. All of the Lord’s enemies, of which Satan is premier, will be put under the Lord’s feet (Psalm 110:1) not the Church’s feet, and this does not need to happen before the rapture can come, but will take place at the end of the Lord’s Millennial reign (1 Cor. 15:24-28, Rev. 20:7-10).