“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.”

The Call to War

Among His many titles and names, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6. 2 Corinthians 1:3 refers to God as the “God of all comfort.” In Christ, we are assured salvation, deliverance, the redemption of our souls, and victory over the world and sin. The peace of Christ is real, the comfort of God is moving and profound, and our eternity is claimed and held, imperishable treasure stored up in heaven. Sometimes in contemplating the glory of God and the miracle of His provision, we can lose sight of the fact that we are currently at war. It is a war where the victor was determined before the conflict began, yet it is a war all the same. In this, as with all things, we have to have an awareness of who we are in Christ, what our role and position is in this conflict. 2 Timothy 2:3–4 tells us,

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

Something that John has done throughout his gospel, and so far as we’ve worked our way through the letter of 1 John, is to consistently provide a dividing line – Light and dark, Truth and lies, what is holy and divine, contrasted against what is corrupt and worldly. We see this theme continue in today’s passage, as we look at the conflict of those redeemed in Christ against the spirit that opposes us, and understand what it means for our lives on earth, and how deep the assurance of our eternal victory runs.

1. Who is the Enemy

“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.”

The figure of the antichrist is one typically associated with the book of Revelation. I’ve written on this previously, but I had a tense and fearful relationship with Revelation growing up. This stemmed partly from the intensity of the book, but also because much of the teaching I heard around it as a child was almost hyper-literal. Revelation is a deep, relevant, powerful section of Scripture, but a hyper-literal approach does us no favors. I remember being taught with great certainty that a pre-tribulation rapture was going to occur – that before the world’s destruction, there would be a “snatching away” as I remember it being described, where all those saved in Christ would be removed from the world in the Second Coming, in a way that very much mirrored the “Left Behind” films. As an adult with more God-given perspective, I’m not sold on this presentation of the Second Coming, or a pre-tribulation return. There are events that Revelation doesn’t give a crystal-clear picture of – there’s symbolism, and there’s plenty of prophetic vision that John relays that, much like parts of the book of Daniel, don’t completely make sense to mortal minds with a flesh and blood perspective on the world. I don’t say this as a critique against Revelation – it is exactly what it’s supposed to be. My critique is against those who teach it with an absolute certainty regarding parts that aren’t written with that degree of clarity. I know that Jesus lived, and died, and rose again. I know that He ascended into heaven, and that he will return again. What I don’t know is exactly when He’s coming back. I know that we’re in the last days, but I also know that we’ve been in the last days for roughly 2,000 years, which to a man, is quite a long time. This doesn’t mean we should lose our zeal or eagerness, it doesn’t mean we should lose a sense of urgency in sharing the gospel – but it also means that preaching through end of times scare tactics often misrepresents the Word. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus explicitly says,

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

I make these distinctions, firstly because the Bible is deserving and worthy of honest and accurate treatment in all things at all times, but also because as we begin today’s passage with the mention of the antichrist and so many minds (mine included) drift toward Revelation, it’s worth noting that the term “antichrist” isn’t actually found anywhere in Revelation. I didn’t realize this until I began the process of writing this outline, and it’s a fair point of confusion, as this singular figure of the antichrist is certainly addressed in Revelation, but the term “antichrist” is never used – we only see that in 1 and 2 John. It’s also not entirely clear who the antichrist is, in that Revelation 13 addresses two beasts, whose roles and powers are often intertwined with one another, along with the dragon from Revelation 12. This idea of the antichrist as a singular entity doesn’t come from Revelation alone. 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12 says,

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

There’s also connections drawn between the figure of the antichrist and the “little horn” and the “Abomination of Desolation,” in the book of Daniel the latter referenced by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14, however theories surround both of these prophecies, pertaining to certain historical figures. Regardless, there is Biblical precedent for this image of a single figure as the one waging war against the saints, the one who opposes and blasphemes the name of God. This information is contained within the Word of God for a reason – it’s worth study, worth attention and consideration. But it seems there is a tendency to fixate on the antichrist for the sensation of the single figure, and ignore the work that this spirit is already doing in the world. It would be a critical mistake for us to focus entirely on the climactic enemy we see in the distance, the great dragon on the horizon, and fail to notice the army of serpents that surrounds us at present. Revelation does not show us something new as the spirit of the antichrist develops and asserts power in new ways on the earth, but rather an intensification of what is already present. Jesus refers to Satan as, “The ruler of this world,” in John 12:31. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us,

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Ephesians 2:1–2 addresses sin and the influence of Satanic worldliness, saying,

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”

John writes in 1 John 4:2–3,

“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

Satan has been opposing God since before the fall of man, and this is the spirit that endures and persists in the world today

Matthew 24:4–5, 23–28 Jesus says,

“… See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”… “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

The spirit of the enemy is shadowy and deceptive in its opposition to God, and it’s desire that we should perish. The Spirit of God is singular, holy, and clearly undeniable. Jesus’ return is not some vague flash on the edge of our vision, but is obvious as a bolt of lightning streaking from horizon to horizon. I feel like the statement, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather,” throws people, because it’s not the prettiest imagery, but this again attests to undeniable evidence. Vultures do not gather to feed around boulders, or fallen trees – they collect around something that is dead, their presence gives evidence to what has brought them together. The spirit of the antichrist pervades the world, the voice of the antichrists sounds from many directions, saying many things, all of which lean on deception, and lead to death. But our calling as children of the Living God is singular, and the voice of our Shepherd is singular and undeniable.

“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.”

We all start out in the same place. We are all born with the stain of sin upon us, and as we grow, become aware in some capacity of God’s profound existence. The sense develops that, despite the comforts we feel in our flesh, something is missing. During Luke’s account of the Triumphal Entry, as the people cry out and praise Jesus, He says in response to the Pharisees’ insistence that He quiet the crowd, in Luke 19:40,

“… I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Romans 1:20 says of God, and those who do not believe,

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

The earth attests to its creator, yet there will be those who go in the opposite direction, denying His existence altogether. The more common middle ground is the vague belief in a higher power, the acknowledgement of an undefined overseer, and a generalized moral code that lacks any true foundation. Still others drift toward Truth, but rather than viewing the world through the lens of Christ, they view Christ through the lens of the world. What should be service to God, ends up being service to self, and a kind of imitation Christianity is adopted. This is the spirit of the antichrist – this is that which opposes God through trying to co opt and steal the Truth instead of surrendering to it. Galatians 1:6–10 says,

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Peter spoke of these same people in 2 Peter 2:1, saying,

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.”

I’ve often heard, “Hate the sin, not the sinner,” and this raises a valid point. Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:43–44,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

2 Peter 3:9 says,

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

But loving our enemies does not mean loving their actions or conduct. In the war between Light and dark, we make no concession for darkness, but rather pray earnestly that those in the darkness would be liberated and made new in the Light. There is a difference between our enemies in our fellow man, who courts disaster in opposing God, and the enemy, who is the spirit of all disobedience and rebellion.

2. Who are our Allies?

“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.”

In times of battle, there is a standard – a singular point of focus, a rallying ideal. The position of the enemy is one of lies, of denying Jesus the Son, and God the Father through Him. We, as children of God are joined together, brothers and sisters, standing in Truth. As John continues, he makes us confront, not who we are goingto be, but who we already are in Christ. We, who still stumble in the limitations of our flesh, have been anointed by God, and in Him we have all knowledge. We are freed from lies and delivered into Truth. We have Light to see, to know the darkness when it comes forward, trying to pass off what is evil as what is good. The process of sanctification continues as we develop in Christ, but from the time of our salvation we are not who we once were, and we are joined to our brothers and sisters through the Spirit that indwells each of us – joined in our confession. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:26–33,

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

There can be nuance to Christianity, there are mysteries of the faith, to be discussed with patience in Spiritual maturity – but the dividing line is simple, uncompromising, and easy to understand. There is no Light mixed into the darkness, no darkness in the Light. There is no compromise for lies within the Truth, and no Truth to be found in the misdirection of lies. Either we proclaim and confess Jesus as Lord, or we deny that He is the Christ – those are the battle lines, and there is no mixing them. As Jesus continues in Matthew 10:34–39, He further clarifies this point, saying,

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our war is not with flesh and blood, and John 1:13 drives home that it is not by flesh and blood that we are born as children of God, but by His will. Salvation and the individual relationship we’re each invited to with Christ is deeply personal. In the war that we take part in, standing in Light and opposing dark, it is God who moves forward to victory, and it is in Him alone that we take heart. But we are also blessed to share in this victory with others who are our family and allies, not by the perishable flesh and blood of mortal bonds, but through the Spirit that endures eternally.

3. Who is our Foundation?

“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.”

As I’ve mentioned, there is endless depth to explore, discuss, and cherish within the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says,

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Word is to be learned from, delighted in, revered, and studied – but as we delve deeper, or reach higher in our understanding, it is crucial that we maintain a firm grasp of our foundation. There is no Biblical teaching that has any authority if removed from the Truth of the authority of God, and of Jesus as the Christ. The Bible calls us not to remain on the spiritual milk of basic doctrine, but to mature to solid food, but this doesn’t mean abandoning what we were first told, but rather growing in that. An acorn doesn’t grow from the ground to produce roses. A puppy doesn’t grow to become a horse. We who begin as little ones in Christ, are called to grow into mature Christians, founded in what established us from the beginning. Jesus is addressed in Isaiah 11:1, which says,

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

He’s addressed again in the same passage, where Isaiah 11:10 says,

“In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”

Jesse, being the father of David, Jesus as the Christ being prophesied to come from David’s line. But note that Jesus is not just the shoot that comes forth, which makes sense from a genealogical standpoint, but that He’s also the root. Jesus is where you start, and He’s where you end up – if you do not remain rooted in Him, then you’re growing in the wrong direction. John 3:16, called the gospel in miniature by Martin Luther, is almost indisputably the most popular, and heavily quoted Bible verse,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

While this shouldn’t be the limit of our understanding or relationship with Christ, if this isn’t what lies at the foundation, then we’re lost. Jesus tells the disciples in John 15:4,

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

In Matthew 7:24–27, He gives a parable during the Sermon on the Mount,

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

In conflict, you have to know who you’re opposing, you have to know who is aligned with you in fighting for the same cause, but if you lose sight in principle of what you’re fighting for, or logistically where you’re fighting from, the rest will quickly cease to matter. At the start of 2 Peter, we’re given a list of qualities that stack upon one another to supplement faith – virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. 2 Peter 1:8–11 further clarifies,

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

And there again is the divide – either we grow in the Truth in which we’re founded, we build up on the foundation of the rock, we fight the fight against the world, where we are destined for victory – or we forsake the Truth, we chase the world, we forget who we ever were in Christ, so nearsighted that we forget our salvation. Salvation is blessedly simple, while sanctification grows in complexity, but we’re built and sustained by the Spirit to grow. The path to victory, toward eternal triumph is lost in the sand, but is founded forever in the Rock of Christ.

Pastor Jake’s sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccevXc5wQ60