The Anointed and the Antichrists

Introduction

There are many that have set themselves up against the church. Emperor Nero accused Christians of burning down Rome and persecuted them severely. The USSR sent many Christians into solitary confinement and execution. Bloody Mary had many protestant Bishops burned at the stake for their faith. And today many Christians find themselves painted as enemies and bear persecution for the sake of Christ.

But there is an enemy of the church much worse than these persecutors. An group of enemies, we find in our text, that tears churches apart, brings confusion to the saints, twists the Scriptures, and leads many away from Christ. Thousands upon thousands have been led away from the truth, thinking they were following the truth. These people use manipulation and deception to lead people to pursue their own false ideas and Satan uses them to take as many people with them as possible to hell.

They do not know the truth of God and they use the little bit of truth they know to make their lies more believable. Many of them know their Bibles well, but they are dishonest with it and blinded to its true message. These people are antichrists.

Antichrists

The readers have heard of a figure called the antichrist.

Antichrists are only talked about in John’s letters, never mentioned in the book of revelation.

The Last Hour

He is speaking of the last step of history. People like to talk about the end times coming soon, and John was saying that to these early Christians.

The coming of antichrist a sign of the last hour

The chief evidence that the end times had come is the presence of antichrist. In the age where the Gospel is sent forward to all the nations with power and authority, those who oppose the truth of the Gospel in false doctrine are a bigger threat than the forces of the world. When John speaks of antiChrist, he is not speaking about an individual at the very end of time, he is speaking specifically of those who have a wrong view of Jesus Christ and oppose the truth of his person and work.

Antichrists have come

They have come in those who teach wrong things about Christ.

They will keep coming.

Antichrist: A description

John goes on to give us an even fuller description of what these antichrists look like.

They Went out from us because they were never of us

Those who left the truth to believe a lie

Those who left the true community of God to begin a community based on a lie. Fellowship with the church and fellowship with God are linked, and they have neither so they must create their own “church”

Left for false teaching

It is clear that false teaching is at the root of what makes an antichrist.

Lying about Jesus

specifically false teaching and lying about Christ

His divinity

his humanity

his work on the cross

his work in the lives of believers

Out because they were never in

Never knew God

Were never part of the church

Anointed

The contrast to the antichrist is the anointed. The picture of a priest anointed with holy oil for the service in the temple, in the very presence of God.

Anointed probably refers to the Holy Spirit, given to those who have believed the truth message of the Gospel and have borne fruit of conversion.

All have knowledge

You know the truth

You have not lied about Christ

If you have truly been converted and truly know Christ, than you are not lying about who he is, unlike the false teachers. No matter what experience or insight they claim to have, they lie about Christ and everything else is secondary.

You do not need anyone to teach you

This is not a denial of the need for teaching in Scripture. The early church thrived on teaching, had gifts of the Holy Spirit centred on teaching, and John is teaching them himself in this very letter. What he’s saying is that they don’t need the basics of how to know God taught over to them by these false teachers because they already have the anointing of the truth and the Spirit abiding in them. These false teachers want to change the very nature of the Gospel, the foundational truths of who Jesus is. What John is saying is that they don’t have to listen to anyone who would preach something other than what they heard from the beginning because what they hear from the beginning was the message that saved them.

Imagine going to a show and getting in with a ticket only to have someone else tell you that your ticket is not valid. You know they cannot be right because you were saved, you do know the Gospel that the Scriptures teach, why would you need anything else? False teachers try to add to a Gospel that is already complete or take away doctrines that were always essential.

Conclusion

Be wary of those who offer a “deeper” look into the things of salvation.

Don’t despair when you see people leave the church.

Those who lie about Christ are not part of the people of God. They are not free to have another opinion about these things.

Feel familiar and safe in the Gospel. Remind yourself of it often and make it the centre of all your worship.