“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[e] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 john 2.18-23
“This reads like the Left Behind series from the 1990s, with all the talk of the Antichrist and the last days, or last hour, as mentioned in verse 18. Those who oppose Jesus, who do not believe in Him, are the antichrists, and many have already come.
When I think of the Antichrist, I think of powerful world leaders, like presidents and kings, who hold great sway and power. I’m sure some people view Trump as an antichrist, while others think he is the Messiah! But in truth, “whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ, such a person is the Antichrist—denying the Father and the Son,” (v. 22). For as verse 23 continues, “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
And this is where I want to settle today—if we know the Son, then we know God. If we know God, then we know the Son. Some people think Jesus is holy but not God. He is the Word of God, the Son of God who became flesh. Jesus is God. When we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, we know God, and vice versa. This is good news! We should never deny Jesus, as many, even some in the church, have done in the past. Jesus is God.
Once we recognize that Jesus is God, we are saved from our sins, given the Holy Spirit, and become redeemed people of God. We are the Body, the Church. Yesterday, I spoke with two people at a Global Methodist Church in Bulgaria who clearly knew and loved God. They had hope on their faces. They had surrendered their lives to Christ, and their lives reflected it. It was such a joy to speak with them because I saw the Spirit in their lives. They were different. They echoed the words of 1 John: if you know Jesus, you know God.
Do you know Jesus? Do you know the Father? Have you submitted to the Lord? Have you been filled with His Spirit? Have you been born again? Strive to live for the Lord. Commit your ways to Him and confess your sins. Do not look to the Antichrist(s) to lead your life—look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our lives. He is the one who loves you and will save you.
“O Lord God, You are good. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for Your power and love. Come now, Holy Spirit, fill me with Your strength. Help me walk in Your ways. As I am in this different country, help me bear witness to Your love and be Your hands and feet. For You are good, and Your love endures forever.” Amen.