1 John 2:18 -19

This morning we will be talking about some issues regarding the Last Days. First we need to consider that John was writing 2,000 years ago and he was calling “then” the last hour. It really speaks to the doctrine of the eminent return of Christ in view of the fact that its 2019.

Let’s read our text:

18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 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 they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

John begins with the familiar,  Little children, but here he uses the term paidion, the more general term for children. From new born to adolescence.

Next, he says, It is the last hour. Last is eschatos and is where we get the word eschatology or eschatological. The study of the last things.

But what does “last” mean?

extreme

last in time or in place

last in a series of places

last in a temporal succession

the last

last, referring to time

of space, the uttermost part, the end, of the earth

of rank, grade of worth, last i.e. lowest

So for our purposes “the last hour” is really all time after the resurrection and before the second coming.

He continues. and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

We have all heard the term the Antichrist, in Greek it means something different than what we might think in English. The word in Greek is antichristos. In English “anti” means against but in Greek it indicates - instead of or in place of and can also mean opposed to.

ii. Most people have focused on the idea of the “opposite Jesus.” This has made them think that the Antichrist will appear as a supremely evilperson. They think that as much as Jesus went around doing good, the Antichrist will go around doing bad. As much as Jesus’ character and personality was beautiful and attractive, the Antichrist’s character and personality will be ugly and repulsive. As much as Jesus spoke only truth, the Antichrist will speak only lies. This emphasizes the idea of the “opposite Jesus” too much. The Antichrist will instead be more of an “instead of Jesus.” He will look wonderful, be charming and successful. He will be the ultimate winner, and appear as an angel of light.

So, who is the Antichrist? In fact according to our text there have been many. Satan has always had someone on the scene to fulfill that roll as he does not know the exact time of the end, but he does know his time is short.

Our verse make it clear that John is speaking of the ultimate AC by use of the definite article.

Hand out -

This Antichrist goes by many titles:

· He is the little horn in .· He is the king of fierce countenance in .· He is the Prince that shall come in .· He is the willful king in .· He is the one who comes in his own name in .· He is the son of perdition, the man of sin, and the lawless one in and 2:8.

- 12

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[fn] is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God[fn] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He[fn] who now restrains will do so until He[fn] is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

John says, even now many antichrists have come, the word many is polys. Where we get our prefix poly. You may have heard the term “hoi polloi” meaning the masses or the common people.

Now John says something very interesting in verse 19;

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 they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

They went out from us: This shows that many of these antichrists at one time or another identified themselves with Christian communities. The fact that they left the body of Christ demonstrated that they were not of us to begin with.

John wasn’t talking about someone who leaves one church to begin attending another good church. He meant those who leave the community of God’s people all together. This reveals that they were never really part of God’s people to begin with.

So how do we know who is really is with us?

“And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

they would have continued with us; meaning no doubt or with certainty they would have remained or continued with us.

So what does that say about those who accept Christ but fall away? It’s a difficult question but certainly it is hard to find assurance or eternal security for those who fall away.