The Word: 1 John 2:18-27

“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 have 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. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” (NASB1995)

In this passage, John’s primary focus is between two people whom he describes as “antichrists” and “anointed.” to understand the overall meaning of the passage, we must understand what John has to say about these two people.

The Antichrists

1) Antichrists were proof that “it is the last hour” (2:18). The idea of “the last hour” is associated with anticipation of divine judgment. As John speaks of this coming “hour,” two realities are evident. First, John says “it is the last hour,” meaning he was describing a reality that was present in his day. Second, he says that the presence of “many antichrists” in his day were the evidence that this hour had arrived. In other words, John said that antichrists were a prevalent issue that the early church faced which was evidence that a great time of divine judgment or testing was occurring in John’s day.

2) “Antichrist” refers primarily to a type of person, rather than a specific person. As John began to discuss this topic of antichrist, he seems to almost be quoting a hot topic of his day: “Antichrist is coming!” “Antichrist is coming!” Yet, although he does not reject this idea, he does provide a slight correction by stating “even now many antichrists have appeared” (2:18). In other words, this antichrist concern was not a new issue, nor was it something that Christians and churches were waiting to arrive. John says that they were already here, and more than one person. This point does not negate the fact that the early church wasn’t expecting a central antichrist-type person to arise, but John wanted to remind believers not to overlook the fact that they already had an antichrist problem to overcome.

3) Antichrists had been in the fellowship of the church, but they were not truly in fellowship with God and His people. The whole letter of 1 John is ultimately about distinguishing between those who are in fellowship with God and those who are not. In doing so, he consistently provides assurance for believers that the can know they are truly God’s children and in fellowship with Him, resulting in the promise of eternal life (5:13). As John described these antichrists, he says “They went out from us” (2:19a). In making this statement, he is saying the type of people he is describing are people who used to be in the church, in “the fellowship,” so to speak. Yet, they have now abandoned and left the church. Their abandoning of the fellowship of the church is evidence that “they were not really of us.” Why? “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” (2:19).

As John describes these antichrists as “not really of us,” he is saying that although they were at one time a part of the church, they did not belong to the church. Although they were once in the fellowship of God’s people, they were not actually in fellowship with God and His people. John’s argument is essentially that if they were truly Christians, they would have remained in fellowship with other Christians. But instead, they have forsaken God and His people, a violation of a foremost command to “love your brother” (2:7-11; 3:10b-12). John says that their unwillingness to continue to be in fellowship with Christians “shows” (lit: makes plain, makes it clear) that they are not Christians themselves.

4) Antichrists deny that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. In verse 22, John declares, “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.” This verse describes the essential defining mark of these antichrists. Although they were once a part of the church, they have since rejected Christ as both Messiah and Son, in other words, rejected Christ as Lord, and have walked away from the faith. John continues by stating that whoever denies the Son also denies the Father. In this statement, we see the perfect union of the Trinity as one cannot reject one person of the Godhead while maintaining the others. In other words, one cannot say they reject Jesus’ divinity but still accept the Father. To reject the true person of Jesus is to reject God as a whole, as the Father is not pleased with those who do not acknowledge His beloved Son for who He is.

5) They are “liars” and “deceivers” and must be avoided. In verse 22, John says that Antichrists are liars; then, in verse 26, they are described as deceivers. The point in using strong language to describe them is that since they have rejected the truth of Christ and ultimately of God, they are bought into lies. They have given themselves over to falsehood. At the same time, in their departure from the church, they had abandoned their faith and appear to be trying to convince those who still remained in the church to do the same. They had rejected Christ and now made it their mission to oppose His message and His people.

6) Antichrists fell into the trap of loving the world. This point is not explicit in the present passage but rather is drawn from the context of the letter and the passage that comes immediately before. In other words, I would argue that the context does not completely disconnect this discussion of antichrists from the previous warning against loving the world. Instead, John previous discussion has led into the need to address antichrists, because they seemingly have abandoned the faith and the fellowship of the church primarily because they fell prey to the lure of the world. As a parable of Jesus describes, these are the “thorny soil” people who, “as they go on their way, they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:14). Their commitment to Christ was never genuine because they were overcome by love for the world and failed to “bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15).

Summary of the Anitchrists

The question remains: Who are these antichrists? Considering all that John has said about them in this passage and context, antichrists are apostates: those who once claimed faith in Christ and belonged to the church but have since abandoned their confession of faith and fellowship with God’s people due to love for the world and/or rising persecution. This definition is important because John’s immediate focus is not on unbelievers in general who don’t believe in Jesus, but rather those who once professed faith in Jesus and have not walked away. John warns against these antichrist precisely because their former presence in the church provides a unique opportunity for them to deceive and hurt God’s people through their betrayal.

Next, we will consider the second group of people that John describes: the anointed.

The Anointed

1) The Anointed are completely contrary to the antichrists. When this second group of people are described, they appear as a contrast: “But you…” (2:20). Therefore, as John described the antichrists, he now turns to his readers and assures them that they are not like those people; they stand in contrast to those who have abandoned the faith and the fellowship of the church.

2) The Anointed have the Holy Spirit (while the Antichrists do not). John states that those he was writing to have “an anointing from the Holy One” (2:20). Thus, the identity of being “Anointed” comes from this reality. But what is this anointing? This anointing is a metaphorical way of speaking of the Holy Spirit, but just as “fellowship” (1:1-4) and “God’s seed” (3:9) are. As noted above, John refers to the Trinity in reference to the Father and the Son. Yet, the Spirit was not mentioned in that particular verse. Nonetheless, the Spirit was not absent from John’s discussion in this passage; the Spirit was present in the reality of this divine anointing that his readers had. Since John is stating that the believers of his day have this anointing in contrast to the antichrists, he is stating that the main difference between the two groups is that the antichrists were devoid of the spirit, of this anointing. This is ultimately why they failed to persevere.

3) The Anointed know the truth of Jesus and embrace the fulness of the Triune God. Continuing on in 2:20b-21, John assures these anointed believers that they know the truth of the gospel, they know the truth of Christ and of the Triune God, and they have truly embraced it. In contrast to the antichrists, they do not “deny,” but rather “confess” the Son (2:23). The validity of their confession of Jesus is that in the face of the world’s pleasure, rising persecution/times of testing, and the abandonment by many they once knew and loved who proved to be antichrists, they have continued and persevered in their faith rather than wavering (2:24).

4) The Anointed have the assurance of God’s promise, namely eternal life. “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.” With this statement, John is assuring his readers that the genuineness and perseverance of their faith is evidence of the Spirit’s anointing in their lives and the guarantee that they are inheritors of eternal life! As they face the difficulties of this life, one of these difficulties being these antichrists that oppose them, they can rest assured that God is with them and His promises are secure! These antichrists may have abandoned them, but God hasn’t!

5) The Anointed have God’s protection in the face of opposition. In verses 26, John concluded this section with a comment about the antichrists attempts to “deceive” them. Yet, verse 27 further reassures these believers that they have God’s anointing, God’s Spirit, and He will sustain them in the truth of the gospel and protect them from falling prey to the antichrist’s schemes! As they continue in the faith and in fellowship with God and His people, they have nothing to fear!

Summary of the Anointed

From John’s description in this passage, the anointed are genuine Christians! In contrast to the antichrists (apostates who once confessed Jesus and were in the fellowship of the church but have since abandoned both Christ and His people), these genuine Christians have persevered through the trials, temptations, and deceits and have been proven to truly be the people of God! The evidence of the Spirit ‘s work to sustain and protect them is present and is their assurance of their inheritance – eternal life!

Summary of 1 John 2:18-27

In short, John defines a reality in churches: There are those who are truly “in” Christ, and those who are not, who are “anti” Christ. As churches face times of great trials and temptations, God will make evident who is for Christ, and who is not.

The Confrontation

1) Some people act Christian, and some people are Christian. The reality of antichrists, or apostates as concluded from John’s description, reveals that churches are often filled with people who are good at “acting” Christian. For whatever reasons, people may be drawn to the fellowship of the church although they do not truly desire to know God and be in genuine fellowship with His people. God, in His various acts of providence, eventually reveals who these people are as trials and temptations drive them away from Christ and His people. On the other hand, genuine Christians are sustained by the grace of God and His Spirit and are drawn ever closer to Him and His people and persevere. Just like the believers in John’s day, we must recognize the evidences of both true and false confessors of faith, with humility.

2) Be mindful of the context of this passage before applying its truths to our day. This application comes as a word of caution because the familiar phrase, “they went out from us because they were not really of us,” (2:19) is too carelessly applied today. As John is describing apostates who abandoned the truth of Christ and fellowship with His people, this description does not apply to everyone who leaves a church, Bible study, Sunday School class, etc. Sometimes, I fear this verse is used to avoid accountability for churches that are not healthy, and so genuine Christian flee to healthier churches where they can truly find refuge in God.

Certainly, if you belong to a healthy, faithful church and people flee because they don’t want to hear truth, they prefer to be entertained with worldly means, they fear persecution (minor or major) for being associated with Christian, or any other related reason, then this passage is more relevant in such cases. This application challenges us to examine ourselves as churches: Are people fleeing because we are faithful, or because we are unfaithful? Do people leave because God is truly with us and they are fleeing from His presence, or is it because His Spirit is quenched and grieved with us and genuine believers are fleeing to find faithful community? If the honest reality is the latter in either case, then we should hold off on sheltering ourselves in the defense of this verse.

3) Beware of the lies and deceptions of apostates/antichrists. A part of this passage is warning against the falsehood and deception of those who have abandoned Jesus and His people. This passage is relevant for churches today, especially in the modern, progressive societies of the West. There are pages, groups, forums, etc. on social media dedicated to “deconstructionists” or “ex-vangelicals,” people who are proud to have abandoned plain truths of Scripture to garner clout and sympathy from the world. Although many of these people justify themselves under the guise of “church hurt,” what is often evident is that their biggest issue is they did not want a gospel that called for repentance of sin. Although the reality of genuine church hurt should not be downplayed, for many of these apostates (call them what they are), they ultimately were hurt because they loved their sin and were offended by the call of Christ to die to their sin. So as many of these people give testimonies that promote falsehoods about Christ and His people, beware of deceit, especially in the desire to empathize/sympathize with such people.

4) Rejoice in the evidence of the Spirit’s work in you and the promise of eternal life. If the evidences of God’s Spirit that are set forth in Scripture, such as perseverance in faith and fellowship, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5), and other realities are present in your life and in your church, rejoice! They are the assurance of your salvation, His work in you and your church, and the assurance of eternal life. Rejoice in this assurance!