Day 7 - 3 Signs of the Antichrists
Part 1: 1 John 2:18-23
Scripture Passage: 1 John 2:18-23
Focal Verse(s): Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. ~ 1 John 2:18 (CSB)
We are, Ladies and Gentlemen, living in the End Times. Don’t get too excited. Truth is, we’ve been living in the End Times for the last two thousand years or so. In fact, the End Times, from a biblical perspective is pretty much defined as the time period between the first coming of Christ and His second coming.
Jesus told his disciples as he prepared to ascend into heaven while on the Mount of Olives that it was not for us to know the day and hour of His return (Acts 1:7), and so, while we know it’s sometime between his ascension and the next tick of the clock, we have no idea exactly when that return will be. That being said, we’re definitely closer today than the disciples were when Christ ascended.
But one thing we’ve had to guide us are the signs. Prophecy. Little clues sprinkled throughout Scripture to give us some type of roadmap. And among the various markers along that roadmap are the antichrists. From 1 John 2:18-23, we know that John recognized that many antichrists were already among them, sewing their seeds of discontent among the Christians of that era. These antichrists have only multiplied in number throughout the millennia, and amplified their message. As Christians, it’s imperative that we know what to be on the lookout for in regards to such people and teachings. Fortunately, the same passage gives us hope that God has given us a helper to deal with such things (we’ll discuss that next post), but for now, John also gives us three signs of the antichrists I think are important to identify to help us down the road.
Before we talk about the signs, you might be asking, “Why are you making the ‘Antichrist’ plural (fun fact: this is the first time the word ‘Antichrist’ is used in Scripture. In fact, only the Apostle John uses this term.)? Why are you using lower case ‘a’ instead of the capital ‘A’ of a proper noun? Well, there will be one big Antichrist in the future (or maybe even today), but the fact is that there are many who have come with the spirit of ‘antichrist’ through the centuries. It are they we’re discussing today.
Come from the Church
First thing John shares about the spirit of antichrist is that it/they usually come out of the Church itself. Look at verse 19:
‘They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.’
The false teaching of the antichrists will begin within the Church itself. It might start out as reasonable sounding. Might even sound orthodox. But slowly, new ideas will be tossed into the mix to see how it tastes to certain Christians. More and more false teachings will be mixed into stew until before long, it’s no longer food that nourishes the Christian at all, but rather poisons us. From there, the antichrists tend to leave the confines of the Church and into the world to hawk their falsehoods to others and to a lost world.
They Are Liars
The second sign according to this passage should come as no surprise to any of us. John tells us they are liars.
Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. ~ verse 2:22.
The spirit of antichrist has one big lie among a plethora of many. In the context of 1 John, who is combating the influence of the Gnostics (“salvation through secret knowledge”), the lie is evident: Jesus is not the ‘way’ to salvation. He might point the way, certainly, but He wasn’t the means to the end, according to the Gnostics. That could only be obtained through cracking the mysteries of creation. The discovery of the ‘secret.’
In modern times, it might come down to the humanist view that mankind is god and that salvation is a state of mind. Or that science and advancement is the key to eternal life, and not some carpenter from Nazareth that might or might not have existed.
The spirit of antichrist will do anything and everything in its power to negate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and its greatest weapon is doubt.
They Deny the Son
22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well. ~ verses 22-23.
“Jesus was a good man. A good teacher. A healer, philosopher, humanitarian. Jesus was all about love. But he really didn’t care about sin. And he didn’t really care what you did as long as you love others. And he most definitely wasn’t the living embodiment of a mean, judgmental god.”
Sound familiar? It should. It permeates almost every aspect of the secular and academic philosophies of the modern age. It can even be found in a number of churches and denominations.
The antichrists lie about Jesus and His relationship with God. His power and might. His holiness. And most of all His power over Sin and death.
Of course, these are only a few signs of the spirit of antichrist to look out for, but I think they encompass all the minutia the spirit espouses.
Fortunately, as we’ll discover next time (in the same passage), we’re not left defenseless. We’ve been given a Helper who will reveal all truth to us when we need it. We must learn to listen during such times. Be aware. And be ready for spiritual battle when such tests of our faith arise. Are you ready?
Father God, I pray now for the Church and those who call upon your name. Protect us in the coming days. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes open to the deceit of the enemy. Help us, Lord, to guide others to the truth as we, ourselves, gravitate toward it.