“First John 2:18-24”

Sunday, October 15, 2017

“Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, 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.”

--- End of Scripture verses---

The appearance of “many antichrists” indicated to John that “the last hour” had come upon the church. Similar terms had been used to describe God’s final dispensation of time in His dealing with humanity through covenant with Jesus Christ (Acts 2:17; Hebrews 1:2), and also to signify the Lord’s return and Final Judgment (John 11:24). But “the last hour” of verse 18 seems to mark a turning point that was taking place in the church of Christ at the time that John wrote his letter. A very definitive division was occurring among God’s people and the church would never be the same. The last true apostle of Christ was nearing the end of his earthly life, and a new, insidious brand of false teachers, who even went as far as to deny that Christ had come in the flesh, was wreaking havoc upon the sanctity of His blood-bought body.

Daniel H. King, Sr. wrote in his Truth Commentary on “The Three Epistles of John” the following: The Apostle John “considered the appearance of the many antichrists, their depraved and perverse doctrines, widespread apostasy, and the consequent division, alienation and strife which had come about as a direct result of these things. Such factors most assuredly pointed toward the end of the age of innocence for the church and the ‘last hour’ for that period of unity and consistent fellowship among the congregations which made up the first-century apostolic church.” (page 70) The old apostle was quick to point out that it was the false teachers who “went out from us” (verse 19), and not vice versa. They had changed and not the Apostles or the Lord’s true people. The truth had not been altered in the slightest, but certain corrupt men were willing to pervert the doctrine of Christ for personal gain.

Believers and practitioners of Truth “have an anointing from the Holy One” that allows them to “know” God’s will (verse 20). But what is this anointing and how is it acquired? Many people see this as a “proof text” that the miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit has been promised to all believers to equip them with perfect knowledge of the Truth. But Jesus (“the Holy One” – John 6:69) only promised to send the Holy Spirit and His perfect inspiration to His Apostles to guide them “into all the truth” (John 14:16-17; 15:26-27; 16:13), so they could reveal His will and record it for posterity’s sake (Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:3). The only way to know if a teacher is speaking truth is to “test” it by comparing what they teach to what has already been revealed by inspiration from the Apostles (1 John 4:1-6).

It seems obvious that the “anointing” John writes of is figurative terminology referring to the word of truth that dwells in the hearts and minds of believers through exposure to and study of the inspired, written and spoken word of God (Acts 17:11; Ephesians 3:4; 1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:2; Hebrews 10:16). The Apostle John also likely dabbled in a bit of wordplay since the words “anointing” (“chrisma”) and “Christ” (“Christos”) both derive from the same Greek verb “chrio” which means “to anoint”. In direct opposition to and distinction from the “antichrists,” true disciples of Christ have a “chrisma” that assures them of the truth dwelling within them. The “liar” is the one “denies that Jesus is the Christ” (verse 22). The “anointed” are those who “know Him who has been from the beginning” (1 John 2:14), and the word which they “have had from the beginning” (1 John 2:7, 24), given by apostolic inspiration (1 John 4:6).

“No lie is of the truth” (verse 21). Any deviation from the truth is apostacy from the Lord and His will and incurs His condemnation. The sacred canon of Holy Scripture is inviolable and cannot be broken (John 10:35) without despoiling the truth and jeopardizing our souls. We must be careful to not add to or take away from the inspired, revealed word of God (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:19). “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9).

Please read 1 John 2:25-29 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

-Louie Taylor

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