The end is near. How many times have we encountered the doom and gloom message that the end of the world as we know it is upon us? Some years ago, people spoke about the end of time when the Mayan calendar ended in 2012. In 1843, a New York state man, William Miller, predicted that Jesus would come, and time would end. It did not. Miller concluded his calculations were off. He revised his calculations to a new end time date of October 22, 1844. People gathered on that date at Ascension Rock and waited, but the end did not come. Is there anything Biblical about describing the end as near? The answer is yes, but perhaps not in our context.
From our reading today from 1 John 2, John said to his church, “This is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). Did that mean John thought the end was about to happen? The answer is no. The apostles did believe that Jesus would return soon, but they did not know what soon meant. The way we should understand the phrase “This is the last hour” is that they were living in the time between Jesus’ ascension and Jesus’ return. This means that they, and now we, are moving closer to the end and Jesus’ return. And because we are in that “in between” time, we need to be acutely aware of some dangers. The primary threat to the Christian believer in the “in-between” time is from the persuasive deceivers who John calls the “antichrists.”
In our context, when we hear the word “antichrist,” we are prone to consider the Book of Revelation, the mark of the beast, and the beast himself. But that is not at all what John was speaking about. The only time the word “antichrist” is used in the Bible is by John in this, his first letter, and then once again in John’s second letter. Nowhere else will you hear the word “antichrist.” We should understand, then, what John meant. The word “antichrist” comes from the combination of two Greek words, anti (ἀντί) from which we get the English word, anti, and christos (Χριστός) from which we get the English word, Christ or anointed one. So, an antichrist is anyone who is “anti-Christ,” or who opposes Christ. That is the true meaning of the word antichrist. We will also find that John aims this word at people who are corrupt and hostile to Christian interests, coming from the church as false teachers engaged in heresy. John’s use of this word is consistent with John's many sharp contrasting images in his gospel and his letters. John used such contrasts as “light and darkness, believers of the truth and liars, and now followers of Christ and the antichrists.” We need to keep in mind that the antichrists John concerns himself with are people who were once part of the church but left the church to preach and to teach something other than the Christ of Scripture.
Why does John even write about antichrists, and why should we care? John wrote about the antichrists, and we should care because antichrists are persuasive people, often very friendly people, who lead people from faith, from the road to salvation, to a dark end. We should care to know who these people are because they are so effective at leading people astray. We should care to know because, in knowing, we become closer to God. We should care to know because, in knowing, we become more discerning. In knowing, we thrive as Christians. Don’t we want to thrive and not just exist?
What then did John share about the antichrists to help his church thrive? John said, “18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard, the antichrist is coming, and even now, many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:18-19). John addressed this portion of his letter to his “Dear children,” as a pastor concerned for his church. John felt a personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of those who were part of the church community in Ephesus. “Dear children, this is the last hour,” meaning we are between Christ’s ascension to heaven and his return to earth. When will Jesus return? John did not know. None of us knows. But among us now are many antichrists, people who are saying things that oppose the teachings of Jesus about himself and righteousness. These antichrists were not strangers who moved in from another place. They were not ugly or sinister-looking people. These antichrists worshipped in the church, were part of a Christian fellowship, and, likely, were part of the community and neighborhood in which John’s church members lived. They were known to John’s readers; they may have been family members or friends. But they broke bonds of spiritual fellowship with the church because they opposed Christ and what he stood for. John went so far as to say that the departure of these people from the church was done to expose them and their beliefs, thus protecting the church.
John’s words gave a lot to consider. People had left the church and organized themselves with a message different from the one the apostles had experienced and taught. For example, we spoke last week about how people left the church and taught that Jesus was divine but never human and never died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin. John’s words were intended to instruct and comfort his church that these people never genuinely believed in Jesus, and their departure from the church was necessary to protect the church.
In our context today, it can be difficult to accept someone leaving the church who had worshipped with us. When someone leaves, we might be inclined to think, “Did I say something to offend them? Did we not meet their needs? What is wrong with us that these people left us?” These might have been some of the thoughts John’s readers experienced when family or friends left the church. But John’s point was “19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19). Sometimes, God moves people to leave the church to protect the church.
Let me give you an example to consider. A pastor of a progressive Christian group was recently asked, “Did Jesus die for anyone?” This pastor said, “Jesus didn’t die for anyone. Religious leaders killed Jesus because they did not like Jesus’ preaching that we must love one another and welcome the marginalized people of society. Jesus died because Jesus was a social activist.” Using John’s words, this pastor is an antichrist because this pastor preaches against Christ. Please understand me. Jesus did preach to love one another, and Jesus did seek the lost. But Jesus did not die because he was a social activist. This pastor has left the church's teachings that Jesus died for our salvation, for the forgiveness of our sins. Scripture says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the older Jewish leaders, the leading priests, and teachers of the law. And he will be killed. But after three days he will be raised from death” (Luke 9:22). This pastor meets the definition of an antichrist, and if you had a pastor who believed and preached such things, it would be good for you if that person left the church because they are an antichrist. For us to thrive as Christians, we must be able to hear the Word of God proclaimed without alteration.
John continued, “20 You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist, denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:20-25). If your faith in Jesus Christ is genuine, then you have been anointed by Him, the Holy One, and you know the truth. If you know the truth of Jesus through the explicit instruction of the Bible, then you can and must tell the truth about Jesus. John said those who deny the nature and teachings of Christ are antichrists because they don’t know the truth, and will not have eternal life with God. Some may think John was being extreme here. But that is not the case. The apostle Paul said, “3 The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching. But people will find more and more teachers who please them. They will find teachers who say what they want to hear. 4 People will stop listening to the truth. They will begin to follow the teaching in false stories. 5 But you should control yourself at all times. When troubles come, accept them. Do the work of telling the Good News. Do all the duties of a servant of God” (2 Timothy 4:3-5). Paul foresaw a time when people would willingly, even joyfully, listen to people who preached against Christ, or antichrists.
I read some other commentaries recently by pastors of mainline denomination churches. One said, “Jesus died for everyone and not just for those who would believe in him.” That is false. We know from John’s Gospel that the good news is limited to those who follow Jesus. “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Another pastor said, “Satanists, as satanists, should be affirmed because satanists are in the world to make it more just.” This pastor is an antichrist because he preaches that there is redeeming value in following Satan. What I find deeply troubling about some of these pastors is that they remain part of mainline churches, giving legitimacy to what they say. This is why it is vital for each person who claims Christ to speak the truth about Christ and challenge teachings that seem or are against Christ.
What then are we to do in response to God’s word found in John’s letter concerning antichrists? I think there are three things for us to consider.
First, we must accept that there are many antichrists among us today. The idea of antichrists is not just some end-times consideration. The idea that there are antichrists among us today is a reality. Many people left the Church and now preach seductively against the person of Jesus Christ, trying to turn him into something he never was. Too often now, these people masquerade as pastors, church leaders, and congregants. We do not need to be living in the days prophesied in the Book of Revelation to see antichrists at work. The antichrists exist today, and we need to be aware of their allure.
Second, Jesus told us there would be consequences for people who preached against him. Jesus expressed these consequences in a parable. The king had invited many people to a wedding banquet for his son. Those invited had gathered. “11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 22:11-13). The false disciples will be identified and cast out from the kingdom of heaven. We want to dress in the wedding clothes that Christ gave us so that we are prepared to be in the presence of God.
Finally, you know the truth. Jesus said, “31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” You who follow Christ are free. Free to speak the truth that you know. And speak the truth we must, for it is the truth that will bring joy and fellowship, not just for ourselves but for those who hear the message of truth and respond.
Knowing God and avoiding the antichrists are essential to our thriving as Christians and being a beacon of light and hope to a world that is so otherwise dark. Amen and Amen.