We’re glad you’re with us today. We’re currently in a series on the book of First John. The topic we get to discuss today is a deep one. As we were talking as a staff, we thought it would be appropriate to have someone read the passage we’re looking at. So I’m going to ask my friend Sai to come up and share God’s word with us from 1 John chapter 2, verses 18 through 27. Feel free to read along in your own Bible, follow along on the screen, or just listen — whatever way you best hear God’s word.

“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. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie — just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

Thanks, Sai. Give him a hand. That’s not always easy to do. Sai, along with a few others, leads our small group geared toward young adults between the ages of 25 and 35 — they meet on Sunday nights right here in the lobby area. Grateful for him and who God allows us to rub shoulders with.

Every time I hear those phrases — antichrist, many antichrists, the last hour — I get a little nervous. It makes me uneasy. As long as I’ve been a believer, whenever I hear those words and start thinking about the end, I get a little freaked out. And for a while I just decided I was going to act like it’s not there, because that’s always worked well in my life, right? If I close my eyes, it’s not so scary anymore.

But God is always saying, “Ben, that’s not the way to live your life.” And for some reason he allows me to face the things I’m afraid of. He even enlists my wife in this process. So rather than avoiding this topic, I get to talk about it and present it to the church.

I have a lot of fears that seem to compound as I get older. I thought I’d become less afraid of things over time, but now I’m afraid for my kids, afraid of heights, afraid of flying, afraid of small spaces — it goes on and on. About three years ago my wife and I decided to take our kids to New York. We get there, and — remembering that I think Aim and the Lord are in on things together — she says, “I think we should go to this building called the Edge.” I’m like, “Come on, the Edge? What are you talking about?”

The Edge is in Manhattan. On the hundredth floor there’s an observation deck, and all the outside walls are thick plexiglass so you can see out. I thought, okay, this is fine — not too bad. But what’s unique is that on one side there’s a huge triangular section that’s completely see-through. All the way to the ground. 1,131 feet down. I said, “This is not happening. This is not me.”

I actually have video of it. You can see it on the screen. But fair warning — it’s not high quality, because I couldn’t look down. The only way I could walk across it was with my eyes closed or looking up. So I’m walking and filming like this. Aim thought it would be funny to take a picture of me in the middle of it — the only way I could do it was looking up. Ridiculous.

But here’s the thing. Just like on that glass floor, when it comes to the topic of the antichrist and the many antichrists — I can’t keep walking around with my eyes closed, pretending it’s not there. And neither can we as a church. Because we face these realities every single day. If you’re living for Jesus Christ, I guarantee you will experience these attacks. And this is what John is doing — making us aware of the way the enemy attacks us.

Let’s start in verse 18: “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.”

First, we need to understand that antichrists attack Christ. Even in the name — the prefix “anti” means against or in opposition to. The Antichrist singular is against or opposed to Jesus, and everything and everyone associated with him. Revelation 13 tells us that near the end of the earth’s timeline, the devil will give his power to the Antichrist singular — and he is going to cause enormous disruption and lead many people astray.

2 Thessalonians 2 says: “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ… 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 — that’s the antichrist — 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.” There will be a moment in time when the Antichrist singular will show up on the scene. It will not be a fun time at all.

But what we need to remember — as we talked about last week — is that the battle between good and evil is an unfair fight. Because Jesus always wins. Verse 8 says: “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.”

John also mentions another phrase: “Children, it is the last hour.” The last hour speaks of the time between the ascension of Christ and his return. Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect sinless life, died on a cross for our sins, was buried in a tomb, rose from the dead three days later, appeared to many people, and ascended to be with the Father. And he will come again. The period between those two events is the last hour. At the end of that last hour, the Antichrist singular will show up. But within that period — right now — we have what John calls the many antichrists.

When I first heard “many antichrists,” I was like — many? Now there’s plural? I’ll be honest, it made me think of Super Mario Brothers, the game I played as a kid. You always had to fight the main villain, Bowser, at the end of every world. But before you got to him, you had to fight all his minions. And that’s what John is describing. There will be an Antichrist who shows up for a season near the end. But until then, we will experience many antichrists. And ultimately, the Antichrist singular and these many antichrists all stand in opposition to Jesus. They are all instruments of the devil.

1 John 2:22–23: “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.”

When John says the antichrist is ultimately a principle of spiritual error, he goes on in chapter 4 to say that the spirit of the antichrist rests in people. Anyone who seeks to deceive the church, to deceive believers and people — these are the many antichrists. Antichrist is a person of deception.

Verse 26: “I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.” At the time John was writing, people were trying to deceive the church specifically about who Jesus is — denying his full humanity, denying his full deity. And John very bluntly says: these are the many antichrists. They have the spirit of the antichrist within them and they are trying to deceive you.

But John makes things even more interesting in the next few verses. He talks about how antichrists abandon the church — and they do it in two ways.

First, they abandon the church physically. Verse 19: “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.”

These people were in the gatherings with believers. They rubbed shoulders with people who loved Jesus, who were singing praise, talking about what God had done. They heard the stories, the miracles, the commands Jesus gave. And yet they left. Their leaving proved they were not truly part of the body of Christ. They weren’t true believers.

It shouldn’t be too surprising when you think about it — because there’s a person in the Bible who actually rubbed shoulders with Jesus himself. Who walked with Jesus, lived with Jesus for over three years. He saw Jesus feed the 5,000. He saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. He saw Jesus walk on water. And yet the Bible records that Satan entered Judas, and Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Second, they spiritually deny the faith. 1 John 2:22–23: “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.” They began and continue to deny who Jesus is and what he’s done. Even today we hear: was Jesus really born of a virgin? Did Jesus really die on the cross? Did he really live a sinless life? Did he really rise from the dead? Did he really ascend to be with God? Is he really coming again? Yes. And anyone who says otherwise — this is the deception of the evil one.

I think of the Parable of the Sower in Mark chapter 4. A farmer plants seed in different areas — some on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, some in good soil. When Jesus explained it to his disciples, he said the seed represents the good news, the truth of the gospel, and the soil represents the hearts of people. When the seed fell on the path, birds came and ate it up — and the birds represent the evil one, Satan. Before the truth of the gospel could take root, the enemy snatched it away. That is exactly what happened with the people who were in the fellowship but were not truly part of it.

Now John also says these antichrists assault the Christian and the church. Verse 26: “I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.” The antichrist, the people we come into contact with, the little whispers we hear — they don’t just attack Jesus. They attack those who follow Jesus.

Why? I think it’s because we are living proof that Jesus is who he says he is. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you’ve surrendered your life to him, you are living proof that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Think about Lazarus. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus didn’t do anything — he just lay there breathless and lifeless. When Jesus said “Come out,” Lazarus came out. He didn’t earn it. But look at what happens afterward. In John 12:9–11: “When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.”

Jesus did a miracle in Lazarus’s life and people wanted to see him — to see if Jesus truly is who he says he is. And if you live for Jesus, people are going to want to see you to see if Jesus truly is who he says he is. If Jesus can change Ben’s life, surely he can change mine.

We will experience attacks from the evil one. We will experience attacks in the form of deception. Others may say: are these really God’s commands or just suggestions? Do you really have to follow all of this? And when I read it — yes, I think so.

One of the things John talks about in this passage is that those who abandoned the fellowship showed they really didn’t believe. One thing God commands is to meet together regularly — you can find this in Hebrews 10:24–25. Some may say you don’t have to do it on a regular basis. But this is an important place to be. There’s no other place like it on the planet. We’re all so different — so many different backgrounds, hang-ups, hurts, and habits — but there’s one thing that draws us together. Jesus Christ. In this place we find hope. We hear about life change. We hear that God can change my life. We find out we’re not the only one going through something — and that’s a relief.

Deception shows up in other ways too. Some may say: is salvation really only found in Jesus? Isn’t being a good person enough? But that’s not what Jesus says. He says he is the only way, the truth, and the life. Any teaching that focuses on you rather than Jesus. Any teaching that’s about your good fortune rather than the will of God. Any teaching that prioritizes relevance over Scripture. Any teaching that prioritizes tradition over Scripture. Any teaching that uses legalism to treat people harshly. Any teaching that causes doubt or division. These are tools of the enemy. This is how deception creeps in.

And when I was studying all of this, I wanted to close my eyes again — just like on that glass floor on the hundredth floor. If I don’t deal with it, it’s not there. But John doesn’t do that. John is clear about what we should do in response to these attacks.

And the answer is this: we need to abide.

Let me read again. “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. 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. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and is no lie — just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

We are to abide — to stay within, to continue within, to have a permanent connection with the truth of Christ, the truth of the gospel, the good news. We can be fearful at times that we might be led astray or deceived. But if we are led by the Spirit, we will not be led astray.

John talks about the anointing we have. This anointing speaks of the entirety of the gospel, the entirety of the good news. Because we understand that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again — conquering death and sin and the eternal separation from God that sin causes — if I believe in him as the way, the truth, and the life, I receive salvation and the Holy Spirit, who guarantees that salvation within me. He abides in me so that we can abide in the truth. To abide means we will not be led astray.

John says, “You know the truth.” And that knowing is not something we were born with — it’s something we were born again with. Because the Spirit lives in you, you will recognize falsehood when it shows up. You will know it because the Spirit resides within you.

I think back to when I was early in my faith, early in understanding who Jesus was. When I was in high school, I had some friends — really kind and caring people. The more we were together, they said, “Ben, we want to talk to you.” They told me they enjoyed being around me and they wanted to invite me to be part of what they believed. They gave me a book and invited me to join them. And even as a young man — I wasn’t the most intelligent guy, I’m not sure how much I’ve progressed since — God gave me some great understanding in that moment. I told them, “Let me think about it.” I went home that night, sat on my bed in my room with the light green walls, and I told God: “Lord, this doesn’t feel right. These are nice, kind people, but this doesn’t feel right.” And I went back and said, “I really appreciate it, but I don’t think this is the right thing for me.”

Later on as a believer, someone told me: “Ben, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you should be able to pray a certain way. In fact, you need to pray this way.” After thinking about it and wrestling with it, I said: “That’s not true. That cheapens what Jesus accomplished for me on the cross. It makes salvation based on what I do rather than what he does.” When error comes our way, when deception takes place — we will recognize it because the Spirit abides within us.

Deception also comes in other ways. It may be a whisper — from someone in your life or from the evil one — about conversations you’re not supposed to have. You don’t need to bring that up with your spouse. You don’t need to talk to your kids about that. You know what’s going to happen if you do — it’s just going to get more difficult before it gets better. Sweep it under the rug. That always helps. Just don’t deal with it. That’s the lie of the evil one — don’t deal with it.

It may come in the form of a habit you need to stop — drinking, drugs, what you look at, how you enable people. The whisper says: it’s not really that big of a deal. You can stop anytime you want. I’ve heard those lies before. That’s just not the case. We need the intervention of God. We need to come clean, be honest, stop associating with certain activities.

It might sound like: it’s okay to keep having those playful conversations, those flirting comments. You’re at work or the gym — it’s not hurting anybody. No one else sees it. Or: as long as you’re with believers, a little sarcasm and gossip is fine. No, it’s not. These are the lies, the deception that creeps in from others and from the evil one.

Or those hobbies that say it’s okay to have them and it’s okay to miss church. And again — I’m not saying never miss church. Go on vacation with your family, be with people. But recognize the importance of being with the body of Christ.

I kept thinking about it and asked Aim: is there another word besides abide that I should use? She and I went back and forth — could it be this? Could it be that? And I thought: no. John says abide. That’s what we’re supposed to do.

Here’s the thing. The Antichrist singular and the antichrists plural — they are counterfeits. A counterfeit Christ. And the enemy uses the things of this world to make us think we’ll find fulfillment there. But these are counterfeit promises. The deception that comes through others assaulting us. But John says the promise of God is eternal life. John is propelling us forward — listen, the real promise is that you will one day experience God in all his glory, wonder, and splendor.

So while we may be fearful when we think about these attacks and the enemy and the earth’s timeline coming to an end — on the other hand, it should bring excitement. Because we are that much closer to being with the Lord. We will not be caught off guard when we experience these deceptions and these battles.

It makes me think of one of my other fears — flying. We seem to fly more and more these days, and the more we fly, the less I enjoy it. This last time, my least favorite thing happened. We sit down, buckle up, pull the seatbelt tight, and the pilot comes on and says: “Great to have you here, folks. We’re looking forward to taking you to your destination. Just want to let you know — we’re going to experience quite a bit of turbulence on this flight.” In that moment my face goes white, I start sweating, and I’m basically trying to climb into Aim’s lap.

And Aim — always cool and calm — says, “Babe, wouldn’t you rather have the pilot tell you to expect turbulence, and then you have turbulence, rather than all of a sudden just dropping 2,000 feet out of the sky?” Neither option is exactly inviting to me. But when I’m not in a metal tube hurtling through the sky at 600 miles an hour, it actually makes sense. Because what she’s saying is: we will not be surprised when the turbulence comes on our way to the destination where we’re going.

And the same is true in our life. On our way to the destination we are headed — the promise of eternal life — when the bumps come, we know they’re going to come. Because God says so. He uses John to tell us. So we’re not surprised. Instead we say: okay, we knew this was coming. Let’s pull the seatbelt a little tighter and we’re going to make it through this. Because our pilot knows the direction we are heading.

Living for Jesus sometimes is like walking on the hundredth floor of a building, looking through see-through glass. At some point that day, I finally had to trust that the glass was going to hold me so I could walk across it. And in the same way — as we sang just before I came up — we trust in God. We trust that he is going to lead us the way he desires of us to go. Our job, our role, is to abide in him.

John says at the end: “You have no need that anyone should teach you.” That means you have the Spirit within you. He is going to show you error. He is going to show you truth. And our role is to abide.

So I’d encourage you — challenge you — to think deeply about what that means for you today. What does it mean for me to abide in the truth? If you’ve been in church for any amount of time and heard different people speak, there’s probably a topic or issue — something you need to start or something you need to stop — that keeps coming up and keeps resonating in your heart. That’s because the truth of God’s word is interacting with the Spirit who abides within you. And it creates what you might call a holy discontent — until you do something about it.

Abide in the truth. It is a privilege that God has given us to understand his greatness and his glory.

Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that you have given us the truth and that it abides within us. Lord, we cannot be led astray if we are seeking you. I pray for the people here — that you would encourage them, keep them safe, that they would experience your goodness and your blessings. But most importantly, Lord, that your will would unfold in their lives and they would experience the fullness you promised. I know that is not always pleasant — some days it’s difficult. But it far outweighs the alternative of not knowing you. Lord, we long to be with you one day. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.