FRIDAY 17th
1 John 2:18-25
‘Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.’
If you were to take the time to read through John’s letter in one sitting, you will see one of the reasons in his heart to write to the believers is to remind them of the importance of abiding in Christ and not to be allured by the attraction of the world’s pleasure, and not be deceived by those who would come, or in fact had already come into the world who were antichrists. (Notice the four words beginning with a! – a sermon for the future! abide, allured, attraction, antichrist)
He makes the statement ‘it is the last hour’ (v18) by using this phrase, he is describing the period of time that would elapse between the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus right up until the time of his second coming. Time wise so far, this last hour has already been around two thousand years. But being aware that it is the last hour, reminds us of the urgency of being ready for the coming of the Lord.
John says that the antichrist is coming, this is reference to the one who will set himself up as the end time ruler and will oppose God, but John also says that many antichrists have come already. Who are these antichrists? In the context of John’s letter they are those who seemed at first to be a part of the Christian community but went out from them, left them, but in a much wider sense, antichrists are all those who oppose the truth concerning who Jesus really is, and they set themselves up against him, or in opposition against him. John would call them liars (v22) because they deny that Jesus is the Christ, they deny the Father and the Son, this is a reference to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is the Word who was with God and was God. (John 1:1)
History or as we would call it ‘the last hour’, the two thousand years of the Churches existence has witnessed many who are antichrists or antichrist. Today there are many antichrists in the world as well as those who are anti-Christ.
I don’t want to get into detail which will lead to having to stretch these verses over a number of devotions, but would prefer instead to see what John says as he sums this small section up, v24 ‘Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.’
I will introduce another word beginning with ‘a’, AWARE. In the midst of this anti-God and anti-Christ world in which we are living we need to be aware, we need to ensure that we are not only abiding in the Son and in the Father, but also abiding in his word, the truth which has been revealed to us not only through who Jesus really is, but also the written word. Be aware of the rising evil and rising tide that is coming against us who are truly followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and abide in, dwell in the truth of who he is and of what is contained in his word. We need to be aware, we need to abide, for this is what will lead us to the promise of eternal life.
The next verses we read in John’s letter are verses 26-27, here they are, ‘I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.’