Living In The Last Hour – Part 1
1 John 2:18-29 (18-19)
March 13, 2022
This morning I actually want to begin our study of this text by first bringing to your mind an even that occurred during the ministry of Jesus.
TURN TO: JOHN 6
John 6 reveals a busy couple of days in the ministry of Jesus.
It begins with the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000
(6:9-10) “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.”
• And of course you remember the story how Jesus took those 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed the 5,000.
• You also remember from the other gospels that 5,000 was just the men, not counting the women or the children.
• The number could have easily been 20,000 in that crowd.
• It is a massive scene.
• Of course you also remember that the people wanted to make Him king
So Jesus would cross back over the sea of Galilee to Capernaum,
And He did so by walking on the water.
But when THE CROWD who ate the bread saw that Jesus was gone,
They then DECIDED TO CROSS THE SEA as well to look for Him.
(6:24) “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.”
• I don’t know if all 20,000 went, but you can be assured it was a significant number of them because they were all headed that direction anyway in order to go to Jerusalem for the Passover.
• Coupled with that you have the new crowd of people who would have been already in Capernaum that would have greeted Jesus.
The point is that the following of Jesus was huge at this point.
What follows however is a confrontation from Jesus
• Where He exposes that their desire for Him is purely fleshly. They just want a 24/7 bread provider.
• Jesus preaches that famous sermon that He is the bread from heaven and that man must eat His flesh and drink His blood so that they will be saved.
• He also mentioned that He came from heaven in order to save men and that He will ascend back there.
And then the part I want you to see.
(6:60-66) “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
A couple of things there.
1) These were “disciples” who “withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
2) Jesus pointed out that the reason they actually had no life is because life only comes from the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who gives life”
So we have here a group of professing disciples
Who were in reality void of the Holy Spirit
And when they were confronted with the truth of the gospel
And the person of Jesus they withdrew.
I want you to imagine what they must have looked like
And what it must have felt like if you were on of the 12.
• Would you second guess?
• Would you wonder if you had simply been hood-winked by this Jesus
character?
• Would you start to question such outlandish claims that Jesus came from
heaven and was returning?
• Would you wonder if you should go join that departing crowd?
It was clearly an issue of consideration for notice what Jesus says next.
(6:67) “So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
Well there it is.
• Do you want to go?
• Do you think I’m out of My mind?
• Do you think they’re on to something?
LISTEN, THAT’S A REAL ISSUE.
If you follow Christ you can bet that more than once in your life
You’re going to be confronted with the reality of someone
Who once claimed to follow Jesus
Determining that they are no longer going to follow Him.
I shared with you a couple of Sunday nights ago about a couple who several years ago were members of our church, and how recently on Facebook the wife announced that she had “Deconstructed her Christianity” and no longer believed the Christian message.
You’re going to see it.
You may even see it on a massive scale like the disciples did on this day.
And you are faced with a dilemma.
• What do you do?
• Who is right?
Well, Peter steps up and answers the question.
(6:68-69) “Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
So Peter says, “We’re sticking with You because only You have answers regarding eternal life.”
It is reminiscent of the moment in Caesarea Philippi:
Matthew 16:16-17 “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Peter there confessed Christ as well and Jesus was clear that
This confession was NOT based on human logic or reason
But was in fact a revelation of truth that came from God.
And if you’ll notice here in John 6 that is still the case.
For after Peter again confesses Christ, Jesus says:
(6:70) “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
So again, the reason you know and the reason you are here
And the reason you remain is because I have chosen you.
Your faith and your understanding and your endurance
Is the result of the supernatural work of God in your life.
DO YOU SEE THAT?
AND WHEN PEOPLE DEFECT FROM CHRIST
It is because that supernatural work has not occurred.
IT CAN BE DISHEARTENING to see people who once professed Christ depart from Him, but it SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSING.
• People who stick to Christ do so because God has done a supernatural work in
their life.
• People who leave do so because that work has not occurred.
You see that in John 6 very clearly.
That is also the issue that is John is addressing now in 1 John 2:18-29
• John now is somewhere around 90 years old.
• In his lifetime he has seen it all.
• He was there that day in Capernaum when the masses left.
• And John has seen such departures many times throughout his life.
• John knows what is going on.
And here he sets out to comfort the church
By giving them understanding of why some leave
As well as giving them assurance why they never will.
It is an important chapter for the church to grasp
• Regarding both the dangerous threats of Satan
• And the perfect assurance of believers.
So THIS MORNING let’s begin looking at this wonderful passage.
We certainly won’t get through all of it,
But it needs to be studied as one complete thought.
John is going to explain the truth about those who abandon Christ.
• He’s going to show you why it’s happening.
• And he’s going to show you the threat they pose to the body.
And John is also going to show you
• How God has worked to protect you from such a mistake
• And what you should do to ensure that you
• Never become one of those who join the crowd and leave.
In fact, it may help you grasp the text better
By first looking at the culminating thought.
Look down at verses 28-29
(28-29) “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
The final command will be “abide in Him”
• You’ve seen it before in that famous John 15
• Where Jesus says that He is the vine and you are the branches
• And as the branch you must “abide” in the vine.
It is the Greek word MENO which means “to remain”.
• Stick with Jesus.
• Remain with Jesus.
• Abide in Jesus.
Despite the departure of the crowd from the faith, you stick with Jesus.
Even though the masses may deny Him…
Even though once professing disciples may abandon Him…
You stick with Jesus.
WHEN THEY LEAVE, let the answer of Peter echo in your mind:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
THAT IS THAT POINT OF THIS TEXT.
That is the main point John is driving toward.
But let’s begin our study.
We’re going to be break these 12 verses down into 3 points.
#1 SATAN’S SINISTER AGENDA
1 John 2:18-19
To best understand where John is coming from
It is best if you first see the implied problem.
• When you read Paul, he’s always good about giving you the hypothetical question he is answer or stating the hypothetical problem he is solving.
• John is doing the same thing, he just doesn’t always state the question or the problem. He simply operates as though you know it.
But clearly the problem John is addressing
Is the departure of once professing Christians from Christianity.
John is referencing those LIKE THE CROWD IN JOHN 6
Who abandoned Christ and were not walking with Him anymore.
And what is also clear is that
Such a departure must have been disheartening and confusing to the church.
• Why were they leaving?
• Why were the departing?
• Should I be going with them?
• Do they know something I don’t?
You get the idea.
And so John immediately sets out to diffuse the situation
BY EXPLAINING WHY SO MANY ARE DEPARTING.
And John’s answer is clear and concise.
“Children, it is the last hour”
• They AREN’T leaving because Jesus isn’t true…
• They AREN’T leaving because your church failed to hold them tight enough…
• They ARE leaving because “it is the last hour”
Many debate what John actually meant by that.
What is this “last hour”?
I read one pastor who says that the last hour means it is the last hour for Judaism and Israel.
• That John was speaking of his actual day and the temple was about to be destroyed and Judaism was coming to an end.
• It was the last hour of Judaism, he says.
• This would be that Amillennial or possibly preterist mindset that says the church has replaced Israel; and all that remains now is the church. (many problems)
Another religious leader said John is clearly talking about the end, as in the return of Christ, whom John expected to return in his own lifetime.
• But John, like guessers of today, was simply wrong about the timing. (That’s obviously a horrifying assumption)
What John IS REFERRING TO when he says “last hour”
Is the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming.
We are in the final chapter of God’s redemptive plan.
• The next event to occur will be return of Christ which usures in the age to come.
And John IS NOT confused or wrong in his prediction.
John ISN’T making a prediction at all about when Christ will come.
He IS merely explaining why some are departing from Christ.
And HIS EXPLANATION as to why there are so many leaving is that
“it is the last hour”.
In other words, Their behavior is precisely the kind of behavior that we should expect in the time in which we live.
People departing from Christ is exactly the type of thing
That Jesus said would occur during “the last hour”
Consider Jesus’ Olivet Discourse.
Matthew 24:4-14 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Even before the end actually comes
• Jesus said that “many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”
• Jesus said that “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”
That’s not the end, but it is characteristic of the times just before the end.
During “the last hour” people are going to depart from Christ.
AT THIS TIME
You have Satan, the god of this world, whose doom has been settled.
It was actually always settled,
But the resurrection of Jesus from the grave certainly solidified that reality.
Satan’s time is limited.
• Each day his destruction looms closer and closer.
• And he doesn’t know when that day will come.
• No man does, only the Father.
But Satan, like John, knows that it could come any day.
So what do you have occurring in this last hour?
• You have Satan basically running his “hurry-up offense”
• He is in urgency mode.
• He is out to deceive as quickly as he can on as large a scale as he can.
That includes
• Blinding the eyes of the unbelieving from the gospel…
• Planting tares among the wheat…
• Sending false prophets to deceive…
• Sending false brethren into the church…
• Pulling anyone out of the church that he can…
These are the things he is doing because
He is in a last-second panic before Christ comes and crushes him.
So when John sees these false brethren in the church
Depart from Christ it doesn’t surprise John at all.
He in effect says, “What else would you expect from a devil who knows his time is short?”
Paul says:
1 Timothy 4:1 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,”
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
Peter says:
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
This shouldn’t be shocking.
(18) “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.”
John says, “you have heard that antichrist is coming”
So let’s address that for a moment.
Most have heard the term, but it is important you understand who he is.
The antichrist is the coming false savior of the world.
He is Satan’s ultimate puppet of deception.
We are all aware of God’s trinity.
• God the Father
• God the Son (Jesus) who lays down His life as the Savior of men.
• God the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus and glorifies Him.
Well Satan counterfeits the trinity with his own evil trinity.
• Satan
• Antichrist – who proclaims himself savior and God and king by reason of a supposed death and resurrection.
• The false prophet (beast) – who points men to worship the beast.
Revelation 13:1-6 “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”
That is Satan and his puppet antichrist who deceives the world.
Revelation 13:11-14 “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”
That is the false prophet who pushes people to worship the antichrist.
This antichrist was also greatly discussed by the prophet Daniel.
Daniel 9:26-27 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
• He is that “prince who is to come”
• He will promote himself as Israel’s savior.
• He will make a covenant with them.
• But halfway through (3 ½ years) he will break that covenant with something that Daniel refers to as “The Abomination of Desolation”
Jesus drew from that:
Matthew 24:15-22 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
This will be the defining moment when that man, whom Israel thought to be the Messiah, will enter the temple and blaspheme God and declare himself to be God.
SATAN IS DRIVING FOR THAT.
(That is his “Hail Mary” so to speak)
NOW, YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT
• The antichrist, though he is certainly evil,
• Is still under the sovereign prerogative of God
• And will be used of God to perform a specific role.
On one hand,
He is there for the chastisement of Israel meant ultimately to drive them to Jesus.
• If you read Zechariah 11 you read about the coming of Jesus and how he was
rejected by Israel and even betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
And you read how in response God will grant them a false shepherd.
Zechariah 11:15-17 “The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
That is the antichrist.
• He will come to deceive and to seek to destroy Israel.
• God will use him to punish them and ultimately drive Israel to Christ.
But the antichrist will also be used of God
To deceive and destroy those who would not believe the gospel.
TURN TO: 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-12
• There again it is this man who will come and blaspheme God.
And though Satan certainly wants to use him,
The reality is that this man is also under God’s sovereign control.
He can’t come until God allows.
And when he comes he will merely
Fulfill God’s purpose of judgment on an unbelieving world.
His coming has been well-documented in Scripture.
You see why John says “you have heard that antichrist is coming.”
• The church was well-aware of this coming deceiver.
• They all knew that at some point this man will arise to deceive the world.
But what John wants them to know is that
It’s NOT JUST about this one time coming of this one evil man.
“even now many antichrists have appeared”
I find this fascinating to our understanding.
There were those who were convinced that Nero was the antichrist.
• He was certainly blasphemous
• He certainly sought to slaughter God’s people
• He certainly fit the bill
Then there were those who knew that Hitler was the antichrist.
• He again certainly checked the boxes
Then there were those convinced Stalin was the antichrist.
• And again, you can see why.
And there have been way more than just those men.
HERE IS THE POINT.
There have always been and there will always be men on the earth
Who most certainly could be the antichrist.
Why do they not become the actual antichrist?
• It’s what Paul said. Currently Satan is restrained and not allowed to turn that guy loose.
• Had God lifted the restraint in the first century, Nero would have done it.
• Had God lifted the restraint back in the 40’s, Hitler would have done it.
• If God lifts the restraint today, there are any number who would do it.
One day God will lift the restraint and that man will come to power.
And he will deceive the world.
BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS MEN WHO ARE ANTI-CHRIST.
MAYBE THAT HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND:
When John says, “even now many antichrists have appeared”
• Satan is continually seeking to send deceivers into the world.
• Satan is urgently seeking to infiltrate the church and destroy the church’s mission.
• He’s running his hurry-up offense and relentlessly working.
And John again says, “from this we know that it is the last hour.”
So in a simple sense,
You should not be surprised
• That there is such an antichrist sentiment in the world.
• When unbelievers seek to infiltrate the church.
• When false professors of Christ are led astray.
That is just the work of a satan-devil
Who is frantically working because he knows
At any moment Christ could return and crush his head.
Now, John doesn’t stop there.
He actually, throughout this passage, gives us more insight regarding WHO these antichrists are and WHAT they do.
There’s actually 3 characteristics that define their work and purpose.
(sub points of Satan’s Sinister Agenda)
The first one is listed here in verse 19.
1) DEFECTION (19)
“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.”
This is a great passage and so important to your understanding.
I’ve had used the passage many times in conversations with people regarding security of the believer.
You know that we believe the Bible teaches that if a person is genuinely redeemed, they can never lose that salvation.
Even in a moment John will say (25) “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”
• John DOESN’T SAY Jesus promised “potential life” or “temporary life” or
“unsecured life”.
• John SAYS He promised “eternal life”
Once you get it, you never lose it.
And there are plenty of texts we could go to to make that clear.
But inevitably in the conversation someone will say, “But I know so and so who was saved and walked with Jesus and then they fell away from the faith.”
Well John here explains exactly what is actually happening when that supposed brother or sister denies Christ and defects from Him.
“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.”
IF THEY LEAVE, THEY WERE NEVER REAL.
WHY WERE THEY THERE?
• Well sometimes they are those who grew up in church but were in reality hard-hearted and never actually believed even though they had been there a long time.
• Sometimes they are just that Rocky Soil who had no depth and no endurance, and Satan attacks and they leave.
• Sometimes they are tares purposely sown among the wheat as a sort of spiritual terrorist.
2 Peter and Jude talk extensively about their plans.
Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
They are antichrists whom Satan is using to attack the church.
So why do they leave?
They leave because God appoints to weed some of them out.
• Sometimes it happens through church discipline.
• Sometimes it happens through preaching of the gospel and the antichrist just can’t take it anymore.
• God has various ways in which He at times pulls some of those false brethren out.
But John says that God does that for a reason.
Why?
“so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
In other words God is showing His church that
Not everyone who enters the church is actually redeemed.
THE CHURCH NEEDS TO KNOW THAT.
We live in “the last hour” and there are “many antichrists”
And you should know that there is this constant threat in the church.
Listen to Paul speak to the Corinthian church:
1 Corinthians 11:17-20 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”
He gave a similar warning to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:27-28 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.”
Sometimes there are events that arise that make it obvious
That not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is actually saved.
And to make sure you know this,
• Certainly Satan is all too happy to hear them defect from Christ.
• But God even uses their departure to teach the church a valuable lesson.
BUT THERE DEFECTION IS EVIDENCE
THAT THEY ARE IN FACT, ANTI-CHRIST.
There’s a couple more of their attributes which we’ll look at next time,
BUT THIS MORNING we simply point out that
There is a constant attack on the church.
Satan is always seeking to infiltrate and attack God’s church
Because he knows the clock is ticking.
And that is why John is going to talk to you
• About the importance of making sure that you abide in Christ.
• About the importance of making sure that you let God’s word abide in you.
• About the importance of making sure that you practice righteousness.
Don’t be surprised, but do be prepared.
We’ll talk about more of this next time.
