The Last Hour Series

A little over a year ago (February 2018), Bruce Grubb, a farmer in Scotland, placed a frantic call to the police. He had seen a loose tiger on his property on his way to check on his pregnant cows. “I got the fright of my life,” he said, adding later: “I was worried it was going to eat all my cows before police managed to shoot it.”

Grubbs’ call prompted authorities to send armed officers. They also checked in with a local wildlife agency, who assured them there had been no recent tiger escapes. When the officers arrived at Grubbs’ farm, they engaged in a 45-minute standoff before they realized that the life-size tiger was, in fact, stuffed. They later returned with the tiger in tow, to be used as a workplace mascot.

The farmer endured some teasing on social media, but he took the incident in stride. “I drove up to it with my truck, and that’s when I knew it was a toy,” he said. “I feel a bit silly for calling the police, but I thought it was a real emergency.” (Kristine Phillips, “A frantic call about a loose tiger sent armed police to a Scotland farm. It was a stuffed toy,” The Washington Post, 2-7-18; www.PreachingToday.com)

In times of stress, it’s easy to be fooled, isn’t it? When you’re sick, it’s easy to fall prey to the charlatans, who promise an easy cure for your money. When you’re in debt, it’s easy to fall prey to the “get-rich-quick” schemes, which always leave you further in debt. When you’re in trouble, somebody always seems to have an easy solution, which ends up only getting you into further trouble.

So what do you do in times of distress? What do you do to keep from being fooled? What do you do to find real answers in troubling times? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 John 2, 1 John 2, where the Bible shows us what to do in times of distress.

1 John 2:18 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. (ESV)

The “last hour” is a reference to the time just before Jesus comes again. You see, those First Century believers expected Jesus to come at any moment to rescue them from their distress. But Jesus didn’t come in the First Century. Now, it’s the 21st Century, and still Jesus hasn’t come yet. So “the last hour” has come to describe a kind of time more than a duration of time. The “last hour” is a time of crisis, a dangerous time, a time of great risk.

That’s the way it is going to be right before Jesus comes again. The Antichrist will come – a world ruler, who will oppose the reign of Christ and cause a lot of pain. But before he comes, even now, “many antichrists have come,” i.e., many false teachers who oppose Christ and are also causing a lot of pain. So watch out for those people in your times of distress.

STAY AWAY FROM FALSE TEACHERS.

Avoid imposters and frauds. Steer clear of the charlatans and deceivers, who only want to exploit you when you’re afraid.

Sometime ago, people passed around a series of three photos on the internet. In the first photo, a mother duck is walking towards a grate with six small, downy ducklings close behind her.

In the second photo, the mother duck has walked onto the grate. One of the ducklings has followed her there, four others are still on the pavement, but one of the six ducklings is missing.

In the third photo, the mother duck has crossed the grate with one duckling standing beneath her. She has turned around and is peering through the holes in the grate wondering where the other five ducklings went. The caption on the photo read, “Bad Parenting.” (Craig Brian Larson, Arlington Heights, Illinois, www.PreachingToday.com)

That’s the way it is with false teachers, as well. They lead you astray into places you don’t want to go. The question is: How do you recognize these “antichrists? How do you recognize the deceivers and charlatans?

1 John 2:19 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. (ESV)

You recognize those who oppose Christ, because they oppose the church; they leave the fellowship of believers.

Warren Wiersbe notes, “If you will investigate the history of the false cults and antichristian religious systems in today’s world, you will find that in most cases their founders started out in a local church! They were ‘with us’ but not ‘of us,’ so they went out ‘from us’ and started their own groups” (Warren Wiersbe, “1 John,” Bible Exposition Commentary). So…