Verses 18-23:
"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. 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. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 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. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also."
Once again similar to verses 12-14 when John refers to "little children" he is not referring to actual little children in the church, but to the whole church (just figured I'd get the obvious out of the way).
"It is the last hour" This last hour is not specified as to an amount of time, no matter how long this hour extends to it is the time between Christ's 1st and 2nd coming. So then John is not writing to them because they were living in the last days (though they could have been), at least knowing what we do in this day Christ obviously didn't come again in their life time. But John did intend that Christ's coming was imminent, there was chance of it happening at any moment. John's warning here is that in this "last hour" Satan would be attempting to cause confusion with "antichrists", and to not be distracted by this and to always be looking attentively for Christ in the case He should come upon them(us) suddenly.
"...the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come..." This is seen by many as many "antichrists" throughout history followed by a final "Antichrist". Though it would be better to assume that John was already referring to the "Antichrist" of that time and of the times to come (cf. vv.22 and 4:3). 1 John 4:3 states, " and every spirit that does not confess thatJesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." So then,"Antichrist" may be more of a title or a name and better understood as anyone who fits these descriptions.
In any case it is a clear warning from all of the apostles that there will indeed be "antichrists" in the last hour, and so there is no room for ignorance for any who go astray and follow these "antichrists" and their teachings.
Verse 19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us." Visible membership in the Church doesn't guarantee salvation. False teachers and converts reveal their hostility towards the gospel not just by leaving the church, but by how they leave. Because they go out to oppose the gospel and to teach a false one. "They went out from" the Church because they were never of the Church, so then these that go out are not believers to begin with.
From verse 20 to 21, the apostle explains to them that "you have an anointing" so that these believers may not think that John was speaking of them, but to instruct them of the way to discipline thier church and reprove. They are "anointed" by Christ for this duty to be on watch for false christs.
Verse 22, "who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" This is the "antichrist", and this is not just someone just outright says it but someone who leaves out certain details, such as Christ being fully God and fully man. Those who deny His offices of Prophet, Priest and Prince.
Verse 23 makes it abundantly clear that those who "deny the Son does not have the Father either," and so the Jew and the Muslim and others all worship a god but it is in vain apart from the knowledge of Jesus the Christ Son of God. As Jesus says himself in John 14:6 states, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
And with that I'll leave you with a good quote by a good man,
"As the light of the sun comes to us by its rays, so the knowledge of God has been communicated through Christ." -John Calvin-
1 comment:
I think it would be correct to say they were living in the last days. Though we are living in the last days, 1Pe 1:20 and Heb 1:2 clearly intimate that they were living in the last days too. And if it was the last "hour" for them, it certainly is for us. The point being that these are the final days, there has been and will be no further revelation, we have nothing to expect but Christ's return.
The annointing that we have received, almost certainly refers the the Holy Spirit. Or you might say that Christ, by returning and sending the Spirit, has anointed us Himself with the Spirit. The Spirit is sometimes referred to as oil that anoints believers, working in their lives. By saying that they have been anointed and have all knowledge, I believe that John is saying that we have the Spirit's guidance in our lives so that we know how we ought to live and what we should do, what is true, and what is false, because the Spirit leads us.
Your comment on verse 22 is very good. It's not just bad to not teach Christ at all, or preach against Him, but it is likewise dishonouring and sinful to preach a half-Christ, who is not Christ at all! By saying He was merely a good teacher, for example, men try to take away belief in His deity and by so doing, take away all possibility of hope. If Christ did not rise from the dead, if He was merely a man like us, then He was really not much better than us and would have no power to save anyone but would Himself have been reliant upon God for his own salvation.
Good quote too. Jesus is the Word and as the opening words of Hebrews states, God has revealed Himself through that Word in these last times. We should listen!
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