Warnings For the Last Days
Text: 1Jn. 2:18-27
Introduction
1. Illustrations: The movie world seems to be obsessed with the end of the world. There has been a steady stream of films coming out of Hollywood around the theme of end time events and takeoffs on the book of Revelation. Films like “End of Days,” “Armageddon,” “Deep Impact,” and “Independence Day” are just some examples.
2. However, Hollywood is not the only segment of our society that is obsessed with the End Times and the Antichrist.
a. Books
b. Media
c. Magazines
d. Even the Church
3. What all of these people do not realize is how they will know the antichrist, and in fact, many antichrists are already here.
4. Read 1 Jn. 2:18-27
Proposition: There are many antichrists and we protect ourselves from they by hold to the teachings of Scripture.
Transition: First, we must realize that...
I. "The Antichrist" is Coming, But Many Antichrists Are Already Here (18-19).
A. The Last Hour
1. The first thing that John tells us is "Little children, it is the last hour..."
a. We see John’s care and concern for the church in referring to us as his children, and as a loving parent he wants to warn us about what is coming.
b. The first warning that he gives us is that it is the "last hour."
c. Now we see the term last days often in the New Testament, but this is the only place in the New Testament that the term "last hour" appears. What exactly did John mean?
d. In his framework, the last times formed a last hour in which the struggle with evil and the unveiling of God’s power would intensify (Burge, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: The Letters of John, 126).
e. As we see the events of human history unfold, we can see that we are living in that last hour, and we must be watching and waiting for Christ’s return.
2. He also reminds us that "as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming..."
a. The word is a combination of two Greek words. Anti, meaning "the opposite or oppossed to," and Christos meaning "anointed one."
b. It refers to "one who is opposed to Christ, in the sense of usurping the role of Christ —Louw & Nida: NT Greek-English Lexicon
3. There are tremendous differences between Christ and antichrist.
a. Christ came from above. Antichrist will ascend from the pit.
b. Christ came in His Father’s name. Antichrist will come in his own name.
c. Christ humbled Himself. Antichrist will exalt himself.
d. Christ was despised. Antichrist will be admired.
e. Christ will be exalted. Antichrist will be cast down to hell.
f. Christ came to do His Father’s will. Antichrist will do his own will.
g. Christ came to save. Antichrist will come to destroy.
h. Christ is the Good Shepherd. Antichrist is the evil shepherd.
i. Christ is the “truth”. Antichrist is the “lie”.
j. Christ is the “Holy One”. Antichrist is the “lawless one”.
4. John tells us that the antichrist is coming, but "even now many antichrists have come..."
a. From the earliest days of the church in and around Ephesus, false teachers had been a problem.
b. When Paul bid his final farewell to the elders of the Ephesian church, he warned, "I know full well that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you" (Acts 20:29).
c. These are merely precursors to the one Antichrist. Throughout history there have been individuals who epitomized evil and who were hostile to everything for which Christ stands.
d. These antichrists have lived in every generation and will continue to work their evil.
e. There are many cult leaders today who, through their teachings, draw people away from true faith.
5. Some are more notorious like Jim Jones and David Koresh, but still others are more subtle.
a. Mormons
b. Jehovah’s Witness
c. Because they look nice and clean on the outside, but they teach doctrines that are taught by demons.
6. John tells us that "by which we know that it is the last hour."
a. How do we know that it is the last time, that the world is about to end and Jesus Christ is about to return?
b. Because there are many antichrists now, many who oppose and stand against Christ.
c. The antichrist has his forerunners just as Jesus Christ had His prophets as forerunners.
d. Therefore, we must be on our guard and we must look out for those who are opposed to the truth of the gospel.
B. They Went Out From Us, But They Were Not of Us
1. What John says in the next verse should both shock and sadden us. He says "They went out from us, but they were not of us..."
2. These antichrists came from within their own ranks.
a. These are men and women who once lived as a part of John’s community but have now departed.
b. And no doubt, since he mentioned antichrists in the previous verse, John views these people and their teachers/leaders as bearing the spirit of antichrist (Burge, 127).
3. These false teachers, these antichrists, were not total strangers to the churches; they had been part of the church community, in fellowship with John and the other believers.
4. Then these people left the churches and evidently became promoters of false teachings about Jesus.
5. John said that the proof they were not true Christians was "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."
6. All who attend church may not be true believers.
a. The true believers may not now be able to discern the false believers, but they may in time.
b. It may happen when some leave the churches and the teachings of Christ, proving that they never belonged.
c. Or it may not happen until the Day of Judgment when Christ will separate his true followers from those who never belonged.
d. At that time He will separate the sheep from the goats.
Transition: The next thing that John wants us to know is...
II. How Do We Recongnize Them (20-23)?
A. He Who Denies That Jesus Is the Christ
1. John assures us that true believers are not like these antichrists when he says "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things."
a. The KJV uses the word "unction" which means "anointing."
b. The word being translated comes from the word charisma whose root word means "to anoint."
c. In the Old Testament only prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. They were anointed by pouring oil upon their heads. The oil symbolized the Spirit of God coming upon them for service.
d. It is the same word that Paul uses in 1 Cor. 12-14 for spiritual gifts.
2. John is telling us that we are not like the antichrists who have the spirit of antichrist, but we have instead the spirit of Christ living in us.
3. 2 Cor. 1:21-22 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
4. John tells us "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."
a. Those with the Holy Spirit (2:20) not only know the truth about the Father and the Son but can also detect the difference between truth and falsehood.
b. John wrote, not giving them further teaching; the false teachers were attempting to do that.
c. Instead, he was reaffirming the truth that had already been taught to them and that they had believed.
5. Then John makes it clear how we will know these antichrists when he says "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."
a. The great truth is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who came in the flesh to die for sin.
b. To deny this amounts to blatant heresy--John battled this as the central focus of the false teaching.
6. This is how we know who are the antichrists. They are those who deny Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Savior of the world.
a. Jn. 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
b. There is only one name given by which we must be saved and that name is Jesus Christ.
c. Anyone who denies this is believing a lie and they are controlled by the spirit of anitchrist.
B. Those Who Deny Jesus
1. Illustration: Police in Radnor, Pa., interrogated a suspect by placing a metal Colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. The Message "He’s lying" was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy Button each time they thought the suspect wasn’t telling the truth. Believing the "lie detector" was working, the suspect confessed.
2. The spirit of antichrist is alive and well in America today.
3. Recently it was brought to my attention that the discovery channel was airing a documentary that strikes at the heart of the gospel.
The documentary claims that the tombs of Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene and a supposed son of Jesus —Judah— have been found, thus making the Bible and two thousand years of history a lie.
According to the Discovery Channel’s documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" airing Sunday, March 4, the bones of Jesus-- buried with His family -- have been found. In addition, the documentary says that Mary Magdalene and Jesus might have had a son named Judah.
Here is what The Discovery Channel says about the program and the Christian faith: "All leading epigraphers agree about the inscriptions. All archaeologists confirm the nature of the find. It comes down to a matter of statistics. A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters (Discovery Channel/Vision Canada/C4 UK) concludes that the probability factor is 600 to 1 in favor of this tomb being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family."
Having watched how Hollywood portrays Christians and Christian values for the past 30 years, it is clear that Hollywood considers Christianity its greatest enemy.
4. This follows in the footsteps of movies like the Da Vinci Code which seeks to show that Christianity is a lie.
5. Can you tell me why Hollywood finds it necessary to attack Christianity but never Islam, Buhdism, or Hinduism?
a. I believe that it is the spirit of antichrist!
b. They are opposed to Christ and His church because they cannot accept the teachings of Jesus.
c. They have joined Satan and the antichrist in open rebellion against the Holy Son of God
6. However, this is nothing new. Those controlled by the spirit of antichrist have attempted to disprove the gospel since the days of the early church.
a. But the gospel has not lost its power.
b. The name of Jesus has not lost its power.
c. The blood of Jesus has not lost its power.
d. I’ve read the book, and it says in the end we win!!
Transition: Next, John shows us...
III. How Can We Protect Ourselves Against Antichrists (24-27)?
A. Which You Heard From the Beginning
1. John tells us that they way we protect ourselves from the antichrists is to "let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father."
2. "From the beginning" refers to what they had been taught from the early days of their Christian lives (Marshall, NICNT: The Epistles of John, 160).
a. Eph. 4:14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.
b. We don’t need to chase after the latest "new revelation" that comes down the pike.
c. We don’t need to seek some new revelation that only a select few know about.
d. We need to stick to the teachings of Scripture, taught by Christ and passed down by the apostles.
3. The use of the word, unique to John, "abide," gives weight to the warning. - Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:1 John
a. The Word of the gospel must not only be heard but it must be given a vital place in one’s life.
b. "It is not enough merely to have heard it and assented to the message in time past.
c. The message must continue to be present and active in the lives of those who have heard it. They must continually call it to mind and let it affect their lives (Marshall, 161).
4. Illustration: "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper, but if we and our posterity ignore its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity." - Robert E. Lee
5. John also says that if we continue to abide in the truth we will receive "the promise that He has promised us--eternal life."
a. By clinging to the truth about God the Father and Christ his Son, believers can be sure they will never be separated from fellowship with God.
b. That fellowship will literally continue forever, for Jesus promised that his followers would be given eternal life.
B. The Anointing Which You Received
1. The other thing that John tells us will protect us from antichrists is discernment.
2. He says "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."
3. Again he is referring to the anointing that comes from the Holy Spirit.
a. The true believers had received the Holy Spirit and he lived within them.
b. This means that believers can place their total trust in him, rely on him for guidance and strength, and live as he directs.
c. It implies a personal, life-giving relationship.
4. You don’t need anyone to teach you means that Christians can tell the lying antichrists, "We do not need another teacher because the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, teaches us, so we will continue in what he has taught us, and continue to live in Christ."
a. This does not mean that Christians should turn away from the counsel of faithful ministers and attempt to make it on their own--in fact, that often will lead them astray.
b. Instead, it means that Christians can discern truth and reject falsehood.
c. The better believers know the truth, the more easily they will be able to identify a lie.
5. We can trust the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us when it comes to discerning false teachers.
a. If the Holy Spirit inside of us is at peace about it, we will be at peace.
b. If the Holy Spirit rejects it, we will know and be able to reject it.
Transition: Abide in the word, trust the discernment of the Holy Spirit and antichrists will not lead us astray.
Conclusion
1. There is coming an antichrist.
a. He will be the exact opposite of Christ.
b. He will be against all that stands for Christ.
2. There are many antichrists today.
a. They oppose the truth of the gospel.
b. They claim that Jesus is not the Christ.
3. We can protect ourselves against them by:
a. Abiding in the word
b. Trusting the discernment of the Holy Spirit
4. Let us stand firm in the truth and not be taken in by the spirit of antichrist.
