I John 2:18

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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.

THE STUDY:

           Again, John addresses the reader in an intimate way by calling them “Children.” This is also referring to John as a pastor leading his flock. The phrase, “the last hour” is something that is viewed in many different ways. The dominant sense of the expression last days, in the New Testament, is that of a period of suffering and struggle preceding a divine victory. Hence the phrase here does not refer to the end of the world, but to the period preceding a crisis in the advance of Christ’s kingdom, a changeful and troublous period, marked by the appearance of “many antichrists.”^[1]

          Antichrist refers to someone who stands against Christ, or one who stands instead of Christ.^[2] While the false Christ is merely a pretender to the Messianic office, the Antichrist “assails Christ by proposing to do or to preserve what he did, while denying Him.” Antichrist, then, is one who opposes Christ in the appearance of Christ.^[3]

          To bring this into our world today, we face difficulties each and every day. We know, as believers, that during these periods of suffering and struggles there is a divine victory coming. We can rest assured that as a follower of Jesus we have VICTORY! But with this understanding, we need to be warned to the fact that there will be attacks by the antichrist.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We can walk away with the understanding that in this day and time we will have sufferings and struggles. But VICTORY is ours! We have read the end of the Bible, Jesus wins!

CONCLUSION:

          The cocoon of the emperor moth is flask-shaped. In order for the perfect insect to appear it must force its way through the neck of the cocoon in hours of intense struggling. It is believed that the pressure to which the moth’s body is subjected is a provision of nature for forcing the juices into the vessels of the wings.

          A person was witnessing this struggle once, and out of pity took the point of some scissors and snipped the confining threads to make the exit easier, but the moth’s wings never developed, and it spent its brief span of life crawling instead of flying through the air on rainbow wings.

          Look not with false pity on God’s children who suffer. As men we are inclined to be shortsighted. God would have us inspire their courage in the midst of it by remembering His love, and then looking for the glory to come out of it. ^[4]Let us look at the struggles of life as a time for building up instead of ripping down. The antichrist in the world wants to take the credit for the victory but the one who gets the praises for the victory in our lives should be Jesus.

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (1 Jn 2:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[2] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (1 Jn 2:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (1 Jn 2:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[4] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.