¹⁸ Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. ¹⁹ These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.²⁰ But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. ²¹ So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. ²² And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. ²³ Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

²⁴ So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. ²⁵ And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

²⁶ I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

²⁸ And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.²⁹ Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

Antichrists

I think the whole “antichrist” thing is far too often misunderstood. In part, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Over the years, Christian theology on the end times has caused people to try and guess who “the antichrist might be.” Hitler, Jim Jones, Mikhail Gorbachev, and even Obama have been labelled the antichrist by some.

Now, I’ll let theologians debate the description of an antichrist found in the book of Revelation. However, one thing that is clear when you read the New Testament is that there were many, many people who claimed to be The Christ. Jesus wasn’t the only one who claimed to be the Messiah. Every other day there was someone showing up and claiming the title. The problem was, they couldn’t live up to the claim. Jesus did.

The biblical writers called these people antichrists. False Christ. Phonies. That’s what the word meant. Someone who claimed to be Christ. Or, someone who tried to point to anyone other than Jesus being the Christ. They were antichrists.

There are still people today claiming to be the Messiah. The saviour of the world. Jim Jones was one of them. David Koresh another. I have no doubt that there will be antichrists in every generation.

The key is being wise and not allowing yourself to be fooled by those who claim to be someone they are not. And that kind of wisdom only comes from being in relationship with Jesus – the true Christ.

My prayer: Lord, help me to always know the truth. Keep my eyes focused on you so that when others come along who claim to be the “answer,” I will not be fooled. You are the only one who can save this world. May I never lose sight of that. Amen.

Until tomorrow