SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST
1 JOHN 2:18-27
John used the term antichrist (1 Jn. 2:18-22, 4:3; 2 Jn. 7) to describe the one who opposed Christ or falsely imitated Christ. Antichrist not only will appear in the future as a man (2 Th. 2:3), but many antichrists also operate with a spirit of error in the present (1 Jn. 4:3).
I. Apostasy (2:18-19)
Lk. 18:8. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
2 Th. 2:3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
1 Tim. 4:1. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Tim. 4:3-4. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4. And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
A. Arrival (18; shall come)
1. Last hour (Acts 2:17; 2 Tim. 3:1; 2 Pet. 3:3; Jude 18)
2 Pet. 3:3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2. Lying spirits (Mt. 24:5-24)
Mt. 24:5. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
2 Cor. 11:4. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him].
2 Cor. 11:13. For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
B. Departure (19; went out)
1. Refining (1 Cor. 3:13; gold from the stubble)
2. Revealing (Mt. 13:30; Rom. 9:6; 1 Cor. 4:5; wheat from the tares)
II. Anointing (2:20, 26-27)
The term anointing comes from the same root word as the name Christ (Lk. 4:18; Acts 10:38; 2 Cor. 1:21). The anointing enables believers to avoid the spirit of error.
A. Discernment from the Holy Spirit (20, 27)
Jesus, the Holy One, gave the Spirit to believers to abide within and guide (Jn. 14:16). Robertson wrote, “They receive this anointing of the Holy Spirit from the Anointed One, Jesus Christ (the Holy One).”
1. Indwells (confirmation of the Spirit; Ezek. 36:27; Jn. 14:17; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 3:16)
1 Cor. 3:16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
2. Instructs (consistent with the Word; Lk. 12:12; Jn. 14:26, 16:13)
Jn. 16:13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The Holy Spirit, resident within, will not bear witness with any false teaching.
a. Sufficiency (all; Jn. 14:26)
Jn. 14:26. But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
b. Accuracy
(1) Infallible (true–1 Jn. 2:8-21)
(2) Inerrant (no lie–Jn. 8:44; 2 Th. 2:9-11; 1 Jn. 2:21-27)
B. Deception against the written Word (26; 1 Jn. 1:8, 2:26, 3:7; Mt. 24:4-5-11-24; 2 Tim. 3:13; Rev. 12:9)
III. Affirmation (2:21-25)
The only way to come to the Father is through the Son (Jn. 14:6). A person must affirm this truth to go to heaven.
A. Lie (22-23; liar–Jn. 8:44; Rom. 1:25; Eph. 4:25; 1 Jn. 2:21)
1. Denial (Mt. 10:33; Acts 3:13-14; 1 Jn. 2:22-23; Jude 4)
a. Son
b. Father
Those who deny the Son do not know the Father. Those who know the Father confess the Son.
2. Confession (Mt. 10:32; Jn. 5:23, 9:22, 15:23; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Jn. 4:15, 5:1; 2 Jn. 9)
a. Son (Mt. 16:16; Jn. 6:69, 20:31; Acts 8:37; Phil. 2:11; 1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2 Jn. 7)
2 Jn. 1:7. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
b. Father
Jn. 5:23. That 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.
B. Truth (21, 24-25; you all know)
1. Theology (know the truth–Jn. 8:32; 1 Jn. 2:21)
a. Read the Word
b. Hear the Word
2. Orthodoxy (beginning–Lk. 1:2; Jn. 16:4; Heb. 2:3, 5:12; 1 Jn. 2:7-24, 3:11)
New heretics only re-invent old errors. James M. Gray called it “Old Foes in New Forms.” Like the old Gnostics or Arians, who denied the incarnation and ascension of Christ with a fully divine and fully human nature, modern sects always err concerning the deity of Jesus Christ and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
a. Christology (life in Christ–1 Jn. 5:12)
False teachers, liberals, and cults depart from the apostolic, orthodox teaching of historic biblical Christianity concerning the deity of Jesus Christ. Their Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. The early councils of the church did not formulate new doctrine but interpreted by the Scripture with the confirmation of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is God.
Jesus came into the world as fully man (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 2:14-18; 1 Jn. 1:1) and fully God (two natures in one person). The Nicene Creed of A.D. 325 described Jesus as “very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made.” The New Testament writers and early councils did not read back into the life of Jesus a fanciful story of Messiahship and delusion as suggested by the Da Vinci Code.
b. Eschatology (life in heaven–Tit. 1:2)
False teacher also err by teaching another way to heaven except by grace through faith. John reminded the readers that the gift of eternal life came by faith in Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 5:1).