How to Understand: “The Last Time” and “Antichrists”

Paired Concepts: “The Last Time” and “Antichrists”

1^st John 2:18-29

¹⁸Little children [paidia], it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist [singular] shall come, even now are there many antichrists [plural]; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Introduction to The Last Times…“the Final Hour.”

We often think of the “end times” as something that begins after the Rapture of the Church; And in one sense, that is accurate. The “Day of the Lord” does begin with the rapture of the church. And it runs through to the Great White Throne Judgment after the Millennial kingdom.

It is important to remember that John was speaking to the Church at large, around AD 90, not AD 2025. So, we have been living in “the Last Days” ever since Acts chapter two, when the Church Age fully began. It has been nearly 2000 years! The first century Church understood that they were living in the last days, just as fully as we are today. They did not have all the modern fulfillments of prophecy that we have. They simply had the Word of God on the matter, and they believed Him.

Greek Roots

The Greek words “eskaté ōra” are translated as “last time.” (The words literally mean, “last hour.”)

The word “eskaté” is the root of the theological term “eschatology.”

Eschatology means the “study of last things.” Or, the “study of the end times.” But we usually mean “the study of the end times beginning at the rapture!” But John meant the entire Church age and everything to follow.

So, we know that we are already living in the “last hour.” Our behavior and priorities and choices should reflect that knowledge. The Greek word “eskaté” appears 54 times in the New Testament. But 46 of those times, it is translated “last:” Not always referring to the end times, either…it was used just as we use the English adjective “last.”

A Clue about the Last Times

One “clue” John gave us that we truly are in the end times, is that the world is full of the “spirit of antichrist.” (1^st John 4:3 “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”)

Many deny the deity of Christ and even deny the Incarnation, at one level or another. Some deny that He ever existed, though most do not. The secular historians of that time wrote about Jesus, but condemned him as a troublemaker and as a false messiah. No one in that time denied that Jesus had existed: they just rejected Him wholesale. This seems to be part of what John calls the “spirit of antichrist.” But more specifically, perhaps he means those in religious circles who deny that Jesus is “God in the Flesh.” He is the Creator God, incarnate. The Judge of all the Earth.

Who is Jesus, Really?

I heard a pastor say, “I don’t want people praying to Jesus!” But in Hebrews 1:6, God the Father commanded all the angels to worship God the Son, at the moment of His birth. The angels, of all beings, know to worship ONLY God: So, if they worship Jesus, how much more should we, who, for the moment are lower than the angels, also worship Him?

In John 5:22, 23, Jesus said He is the ONLY Judge of all the earth. “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: ²³That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

God the Father said Jesus is the Creator, in Hebrews 1:8-12 “⁸But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ⁹Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

¹⁰And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: ¹¹They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; ¹²And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”

Some people—even some claiming to be Christians—hotly deny that Jesus is the Creator: This response reveals the “spirit of antichrist.” True believers are filled with Joy and Wonder to realize that their Savior is actually the Creator and Judge as well.

**Doctrine (And How We Respond to It) Truly Matters!**

Eventually, those who deny His Deity and His Authority will separate themselves from those who believe He to be as He reveals Himself in His Word. They leave, calling us deluded fools. They think we are “idolizing” Jesus. No! He is the true God of the Old Testament and He concludes the New Testament. Jesus is the exact opposite of an idol. He received worship from humans during His earthly life, and from the Angels even before He created the world. But His detractors eventually throw up their hands in disgust, and they leave.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

It is a mistake to use verse 19 to condemn anyone who leaves a local assembly as being “an unbeliever in disguise.” A person might drift away, or even suddenly leave, for many reasons. Some are drawn away by the “priorities of work and family:” They fail to see God’s priorities encompassing all their needs, including work and family.

Some were hurt by other people in the flock: That wound has not been healed. That disunity has not been mended. They left to escape trauma! Ezekiel 34:4 says some of the flock have been “driven away.” We do not condemn such a person as if they were somehow lacking when the truth is that the oversight of the shepherds is lacking. The flock is sinning (Ezekiel 34:17-22.) The flock is scattered “…because there is no shepherd.” (Ezekiel 34:8)

The Holy Spirit Rules in Truth

²⁰But ye have an unction [an anointing] from the Holy One, and ye know all things. ²¹I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

All believers have the same Holy Spirit: He dwells in us. If we allow Him to do so, He produces Biblical unity…not forced conformity, but rather consensus: two or more coming to precisely the same conclusion, because they are guided by the same Spirit. (Two genuine believers may come to slightly different conclusions regarding the interpretation of some given passage of scripture, and there is no disunity implied.)

Satan’s lies are to turn us away from faith in The Lord Jesus, and to cause us to believe some other voice, in His place. The Holy Spirit never disagrees with the Bible. He is the Author of it. He agrees with the Living Word, Jesus, because He is God. There is no disunity in the Godhead!

Denying the Messiah

So, from the very beginning of the Gospels, some have rejected Jesus with great animosity. His own neighbors in Nazareth attempted to kill Him, intending to throw Him off a cliff. The enemies in John chapter 11 watched Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, and immediately plotted to kill both Lazarus and Jesus, to suppress the truth that Jesus was the Messiah.

²²Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. ²³Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

Jesus addressed this dichotomy, in John 5:22, 23, saying “He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which sent Him.”

Not everyone who “claims the Name of Jesus” has actually received Him as Savior. Maybe they simply do not see themselves as a lost sinner, needing a Savior. Maybe they have never understood that Jesus claimed to be anything more than just a man. I have met people who did not seem to be rejecting Jesus, but simply had no idea that Jesus was God in the Flesh.

“Antichrists” (Plural) or “THE Antichrist” (Singular)?

But those who do understand His claim and who openly reject it, seem to be the people John labels as being “antichrists” in the plural sense, as opposed to the Antichrist (singular,) who is clearly described and predicted in 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3-12.

So, John warns us, here, against those who desire to subvert believers and to render them ineffective. We are to stay in the teaching of God’s Word and not allow ourselves to be diverted to some other belief, no matter how attractive it may sound.

Abiding in Christ, and in His Word

²⁴Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

Jesus taught on this idea in John 15:5-8, saying for us to abide in Him and abide in His Word (also see John 8:31 “If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed.”)

In 2^nd Peter 1:19-21, He warns that we are to see His Written Word as our only source of Light in a dark world: We are to focus our attention on His light as we would focus our eyes on a physical light in a physically dark place.

²⁵And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

Each of us, individually, entered into our relationship with him, as we heard the portion of His Word that we call the Gospel of Salvation: It is the Good News of Jesus’s Death, Burial and Resurrection for our sake.

It is the fact that His blood fully paid for our sins…my sin, personally! He paid for Your sin, personally! And, having entered that relationship through faith in His promise of eternal life by His Grace, we continue therein through continued faith in His Promises and Obedience to His Word.

**So, Why is This Passage Included in the Bible?**

²⁶These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

This is another “purpose clause:” John knew that Satan, the enemy of our souls, will use whatever means he can, to deceive us and to “seduce us” away from our walk with Jesus. That enemy has done the same things to the entire human race, ever since the Creation of the World.

²⁷But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

As people sometimes say, “We have an Edge!” We have the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is guarding our hearts. We are not entirely dependent upon human teachers: Rather, we each have an indwelling teacher who quietly warns us when a deceiver speaks. I think each of you have experienced something of this sort: someone was expounding on a subject, and you suddenly felt a warning in your mind, that “Something is very wrong with this message!”

A Built-in Warning System

Bank employees are carefully trained to recognize counterfeits: How? By intense study of real currency and of real identification, etc. They may not even know “precisely” what is wrong about a bill or an ID card…they just know immediately that “something is wrong:” They can take it to their supervisor who will confirm their suspicion, and point out exactly what is wrong.

We have the Author of Truth living in us, as our constant supervisor and Protector. He warns us in the same way. We study the “Real Currency” of God’s Word, to prepare ourselves to clearly see the world. When we hear teaching that just…sounds “off,” to us, we go back to the Written Word, to check and see precisely what is wrong. That is the practice for which the people in Berea were commended, in Acts 17:11. “They received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Perfect! Do that!)

So, What’s The “Conclusion?”

²⁸And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. ²⁹If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

We “abide in Him,” ourselves, by continuing in His Word, and by striving to walk with Him in the Light, as we saw in the previous chapter. That ongoing experiential relationship gives us a growing confidence in the joy of His return, as opposed to our fearing His return.

But He also gave us a way to “look around us” and spot bad teachers and false brethren. We are not “judging others” in a negative sense: We simply apply the standard God has given, so as to have godly discernment in our dealings with people.

Lord Jesus, teach us what it means to walk in the light, and to recognize the many false teachers in the world today, as we compare their teaching with the precepts in Your Written Word. Help us to apply Your Wisdom in every area of our lives.

March 8, 2025March 8, 2025

What Does “Walking as Children of Light” Look Like?

What Does it mean, to “Walk as Children of Light?”

Ephesians 5:8-17

Introduction:

⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Last week we finished up at Ephesians 5:8. It is God’s command to “Walk as Children of Light.” Logic requires us to ask, “But what does that mean? How does it look, to “walk as Children of light?”

We observed that the character of light is to “dispel darkness.” And (looking ahead) in verse 13, God says that, as light dispels darkness, it also “makes things visible.” It makes known the things that previously were invisible or (at least) obscure.

God Says, Walk as Children of Light

We saw that 1^st John 1:5-7 says, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” He is not speaking of physical light, made of photons, etc. The light in question is Spiritual, Moral light. God is the ultimate source of all light, spiritual, physical, educational, or moral. He is the One who shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never overpower His light (John 1:5). He says that the only way we can have fellowship with Him is to walk in the Light, as He is in the light.

And we choose to walk with Him, because we want to have fellowship with Him. We want to join Him in His work, reaching a lost world. (See John 4:34) We all started out as the children of wrath, according to Ephesians 2:3. We committed ourselves to the works of darkness, even if we did not admit that to ourselves.

Perhaps it was only the “self-will” that characterizes all humans, and we may not even have seen it as sin. But we begin by confessing that we are…lost sinners. When we see our need for a Savior, and when we place our trust in the completed work of Jesus at the Cross, He counts that faith as righteousness, and He permanently claims us as His own!

So, was that true of me? Was I really a lost sinner? Yes! I truly was! But, should that sin be reflected at all, in my life today? No! I am now a child of God, and therefore a child of light.

I desire to walk in the Light, with Him! So… I need to know how to do that.

What Should “Walking as Children of Light” Look Like?
⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; )¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

The true “goodness and righteousness and truth” that God requires of us is only possible as the result of the Holy Spirit working through us. The full description of the nine-fold Fruit (singular) of the Spirit is in Galatians 5:22, 23. God says that all true goodness, and righteousness, and truth emanates from Himself. “Do-it-yourself” righteousness is not what God requires. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing!” And He meant exactly that!

He wants us to experience, and demonstrate God’s will in our lives. We show that His Will does work: That the promises of God are valid and good. The word “proving” means to experientially “test the theory,” so to speak. In Industry, there are certain “proof-tests” technicians apply, to ascertain that structures are safe to use. Those tests give the workers in that shop or on that job-site the confidence to use the tools, cranes, manlifts, etc., knowing they have been tested.

We are the continuing demonstration of the Grace of God, working in our own lives. Others will see that demonstration. They may not understand why we are suffering. But the Grace that they see in that suffering will draw them to Christ.

Our lives are supposed to be “living proof” that the Grace of God is alive and functioning in our lives…so unbelievers around us should see the constant invitation to join us in that Grace.

What Does “Light” Do About Sin?

¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

We don’t like the prospect of “reproving sin”—but our lives will do so, if we are walking in the Light, and, occasionally we will verbally confront evil behavior. If we live the way God says to live, our lives will be demonstrating the shortfalls of the world. (SeeJohn 16:8-11)

And that light will never be popular with people. Other people will accuse you of thinking you are “too good” for them because you have abandoned the life-patterns you once followed. You will be shunned because you no longer fit their pattern.

¹² For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

It is neither desirable nor profitable to describe, discuss, or “repeat news” of the evil deeds that lost people do. There is some sick part of our old sin nature that loves to hear such things and “experience it vicariously:” But this is a shameful thing in our nature: don’t indulge it!

We sometimes see this pattern in gossip, where one believer tells another, “Let me tell you about this so you can pray about it…” Sorry…God warns against that sort of thing. It is an easy trap to fall into, but He specifically says that it is a shame to speak of such things. Besides, it is also an unloving thing. God says that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1^st Peter 4:8), but that it is an evil heart that wants to “tell all.” (Proverbs 11:13)

**Light Does “Make Manifest!”**

¹³ But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

We don’t have to get into a detailed discussion of the evil in the world. But if we walk in the light, we can’t help reflecting that light into a sin-sick world: And some people will see themselves in that light, and they will be ashamed. Then, they will either run from the light, or they will turn to it for salvation. (John 3:19, 20) The way they respond to the light reveals the content of their heart. There is a common saying: “The same warm sunlight that softens wax, hardens potter’s clay: That saying is true… but that metaphor assumes that some of us are “made of different stuff.” (Which is not true….)

We All Have The Same Flaw

God says we were all formed of the same dust, so the difference has to be somewhere else. A rat in a barn, at night, runs for cover when someone walks into the barn with a lantern; but it is because the rat has learned that the farmer doesn’t want him there, and will kill him if possible, as a destructive, filthy, disease-carrying animal: a threat to everything the farmer holds valuable.

The finches, however, and the swallows, living among the rafters of the same barn, will respond quite differently. They may actually mistake the light for sunrise, and they may begin to sing. They would be afraid, too, if the farmer got too close to them, but in general, they do not see him as an enemy, and they always welcome the light.

A tame rat, though, raised as a pet, in clean surroundings, does not fear the light. It does not fear people, and is quite bold, as it sees humans as a source for handouts. The squirrels at a park, for example, begging for treats, demonstrate the same idea.

So, Why Do Some Respond In Faith, and Others In Indifference Or Rebellion?

What Is The Difference?

The difference appears to be relational. Before He created the Earth, God chose to receive those who would respond to Him in faith: Those who would believe His Word, allowing His light to dispel the darkness in their souls. Remember: the “thief on the Cross,” who now is famous for his faith, initially was mocking Jesus along with the crowd and the other thief. He did not initially respond in faith: but he repented, confessing that he was a sinner, and asking that Jesus remember him. He responded to the light he saw in Jesus.

Faith Is An Obedient Response To A Revealed Truth.

Abram (“Abraham”) lived in “Ur of the Chaldees” (modern-day Iraq) when God called him. He was not far from ancient Babylon, a center for idolatrous worship, where they attempted the construction of the Tower of Babel. The confusion of languages occurred there only a generation before.

But, God told Abram to leave ther, and Abram went: He partially obeyed. (God told him to leave his extended family behind, but he brought them along; possibly because his father insisted on it.) Later, God called him again, and he still brought his nephew, Lot. But Abram’s life was beginning to demonstrate faith, and worship. Finally, after God separated Abram from Lot, God made him a promise, and, (Genesis 15:6) Abram believed God, and God credited it to him as righteousness.

This is what God is looking for, both initially, in salvation, and as an ongoing lifestyle. Think about how your own life either reflects this or fails to do so: are you really believing God over your own fears and the constant arguments of the World around you? Are you trusting God, on a day-by-day basis? Hebrews 11:6 says Faith is what pleases God. Obedience (as the result of faith) is the fruit of that relationship.

God Calls for a Change!

¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Since we know that, before we were saved, we were dead in sin; and that when we walk in sin now, we are truly living as “walking dead men,” it is entirely fitting that he would say, “awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”

Do you really want the light of God to rule in your life? Then let go of that old, dead pattern of sin and unbelief, and allow Jesus to fill you with the light of His Word. 2 Peter 1:19 says that the light upon which we are to focus our attention is the written Word of God!

Learning Wisdom

¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Yes, there are many possible “demonstrations of faith and wisdom,” but there seems to be a connection here, when I consider verses 15 and 16 together, and then consider the other parallel passages. Let’s read and compare Proverbs 11:30: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.” Isn’t it interesting that God says a soul-winner is behaving wisely? And, reading on, see what He says about how we use our time:

See Colossians 4:5, 6 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without…” (unbelieving neighbors and friends) “…redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with Grace, seasoned with salt that you may know how you ought to answer every man.”

Compare, also, 1 Corinthians 15:34 “Awake to righteousness and sin not: for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” I really don’t think I can safely overlook these connections in God’s Word, nor can I deny that all of these are in direct reference to practical, relational evangelism.

Choose Wisdom!

Romans 10:17 assures me that Faith does come by hearing, and that hearing comes by the Word of God. We are responsible for those in our daily sphere of contact. We cannot simply shrug, and say, “Well, whatever they believe, it is their business, and I ‘don’t feel called’ to try to persuade them to believe something else.” God says that we are called; and we are His ambassadors, and that our primary task is to persuade men, and reconcile them to God. (2^nd Corinthians 5:18-20.)

¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

How am I going to know God’s will? I am to begin by looking in His Word. Only there will I learn the principles by which He wants me to live. God says I am to learn wisdom there—learn to make good decisions habitually—and to learn to have the same values as God does. (Jesus stated His priorities in John 4:34) Then I can hope to find the life of obedience to be a sweet experience rather than bitter drudgery, and I can learn how to guide my steps.

I want my life to count for eternity. The only way I can hope to see that outcome, is if I allow Jesus to work through me. I cannot achieve eternal re4sults working with temporal tools. Only Jesus, as the Author of our faith, and the only source of eternal life, can achieve eternal results.

Lord Jesus, we desire to see our lives transformed into Your likeness. We desire to be transformed from the inside, out, and sow the seeds of righteousness and peace, and see lives changed by the Gospel. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and allow us to serve.