Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king? " Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. " Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" ... (John 18:37-38 ESV)
It is interesting to see how Pilate responded to what Jesus had said about the Truth - about Himself who is the Truth (He bears witness to the truth, and whoever of the truth surely will listen to Him). But Pilate (in front of the Truth) said "what is truth?"
Many people today has the same unbelieving mind when confronted with the Truth - "What is the truth?" They say. Today, many believes in everything because they believe in nothing, they are persuaded with half truth: faith without fact (blind faith), legalism, God without The Son (Jesus Christ). Today, truth is relative especially in this post-modern era. Who is Jesus? Some may say He is just a good teacher, some says He is just a prophet (a man), or some thought He is God and can't be a man, or Jesus is a man on the other planet, etc.
This is the same problem that apostle John trying to arise in this passage on his letter to the Ephesian church at 1 John 2:18-27. If we read so far his letter from the beginning, we see that this apostle John has been trying to suggest the church to have [or stay in] fellowship with God, and to examine themselves by some tests. First, is the moral test: do we obey Christ’ commandments? do we live according to His rule? Second, is the social test: do we love our brothers and sisters? do we have love as God is love? And now in these passage, he is about to mention the third test namely the truth test or doctrinal test: what do you know about Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is both God and man (1 John 1:1-4)? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the one that God anointed? Do you believe that only through His blood is the salvation?
Now, apostle John had to write these for them and for us to examine whether we are in the faith or whether we are in fellowship with God. For they or we can only be certain of our standing before God if we live rightly, if we love others, and if we continue to believe the truth about Jesus.
Apostle John starts off by saying that they were in last hour. It was indeed about 2000 years ago when John wrote this. But the message of the New Testament is that when Christ came, we entered the "last days," and nobody but God knows how long they will last. The word "last hour" here means that since that day, it is the day of the “last hour”, or it is the "last periods" or "last days" before Jesus Christ came again for the second time - and so we are too in the last days.
Then John continues with some of the characteristics of the last days in this text which are:
1. there is an increasing active spirit of antichrist. (Verse 18)
2. The word antichrist implies that Christ has come. The Son of God has come (verse 18)
3. and The Holy Spirit has been poured out in a new measure. There is anointing from the Holy Spirit for believers (verse 20 and 27)
So the First characteristic is related with the Second characteristic in a way that antichrist is there to fight against Christ Jesus who has come.
The word antichrist appears only 4 times in the bible in two books that John wrote (1 John and 2 John). Here are all the references, for us to see what John had to say about antichrist:
- I John 2:18 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.
- I John 2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
- I John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
- II John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
So who and what is antichrist? The word antichrist means the adversary of Messiah; but the word anti itself in greek (G473) has 2 meanings. It could means:
1. Against, opponent to - eg: antivirus software is used to fight software virus
2. instead of, in place of (something) - eg: antibody does not meant to attack body, but instead it works as a defence mechanism or something that makes a substitute. Another reference on the word anti that uses this meaning can be found in Matthew 5:38 "...an eye for an eye..." The word "for" is using the word antee or anti which means as a substitute or in place of.
With those meanings, who is the adversary of Messiah? It is anyone or anything that is against Christ and also anyone or anything that is replacing or trying to replace Christ (or something else instead of Christ). Now, John's view about the end-times seems to be there is a singular antichrist (v18. as you have heard that antichrist is coming), but the spirit of antichrist is already exist now in this time (last days), and it is many! (v18. So now many antichrists have come). From the four references above, we see that this antichrist (and/or the spirit of antichrist) denies the Son and the Father as well (1 John 2:23 says that whoever denies the Son meaning he also denies the Father); they did not confess that Jesus is God or Christ and is fully incarnate in Jesus that he will be coming again for the second time. They did not believe that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead; They have problem with our christian doctrine of Christology if you want to see it that way: they deny that Jesus is both God and Man. This is the essence of antichrist, and in the world today, it produces many preliminary forms of antichrist - the spirit that denies Jesus is the Christ (either in a frontal way or with a subtle way by trying to replace Christ with something else). Why I said that it also come in a subtle way? John said that this antichrist is a liar, and one who deceives - and many people are deceived. They deceived people by their teaching about who God is or what is the truth, or the way to salvation, they deceived people with their influence to “ignore” God, they deceived people with such phenomena that attract people to rely on him (rather than Christ). Again, we are now in the last hour of deception!
Next John told the Ephesian church of another mark of the antichrist: which is their departure from the church (verse 19). John here didn’t talk about someone who go out from one church and move to another church, no, but someone who depart from the church - someone who depart from the fellowship of the body of christ -> they are “false” christians (John contrast the word by using “them” and “us”). John said that believers (us) belong while deniers (they) depart.
We see here, how easy it is for people to be deceived! So how about us, the believer? How can we survive against this deception? verse 20-21 give us hope on this matter: “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” Probably this is the most important thing to see in this passage: how Holy Spirit and the WORD protect us from such deception. Now, maybe for many of us, we tend to take this thing for granted. I mean the truth itself is actually a gift from God (from the Holy Spirit). Have we ever praise God and thanks God because of knowing the truth? If we know what is true, about God’s revelation, that is really something. Not all people may have such knowledge, or to have God’s wisdom to see His way; and so i can say that it is a grace to know the truth. Another reason why it is a gift is because it depends on the anointing (see verse 20, that we believers have been anointed by the Spirit, and we all know) - so in other words we all know, or we have knowledge because the Spirit anointed us. Therefore, verse 27, it is said that because Holy Spirit anointed us with the truth, and that truth abides in us, then we don’t need anyone to teach us. Meaning, we don’t need any new prophet, who claims “new” things (about Christ) to deceive us with their teaching, because God’s truth is in us - we could discern which is of the truth, and which is false.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1 John 4:1-3, ESV)
The verse above, plainly told us to discern if it is coming from God, or if it is a false spirit. So 1 John 2:24 is the key here on the work of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to know which one is of the truth by testing it with the teaching of the apostle. “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.” (1 John 2:24, ESV). Thus, when we face many teachings (spirits) in this world, we should always check with the WORD (what is written in the Bible) - The Holy Spirit will keeps/protects us, the church from such deceit. We shouldn’t believe any such new claims about the truth, because the truth always delivered from what christian’s have heard from the beginning. See also what John had commanded the church on previous passage (1 John 2:7): “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.” John was saying that this is not a new revelation, but the one from old.
To conclude, yes we have seen that this is the last days, and many antichrists have come with their liars, but we as believer is protected by the Holy Spirit. Some of us has departed from the Church to proof that they actually don’t belong. This passage gives us one imperative of what we should do (on verse 27), “...But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him” - that is to abide in Him. In one side, Holy Spirit protects us with the WORD, on another side we are asked to abide in Him. So do we love the WORD? do we meditate on His Word? do we keep in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Church? If we remember again the theme of this letter of John was that John suggested us to be in fellowship with God; and so again this command is consistent, and a repetition to what John was intended to for the church: abide in Him (be in fellowship with God)!
in Christ,
Paul Hartono
It is interesting to see how Pilate responded to what Jesus had said about the Truth - about Himself who is the Truth (He bears witness to the truth, and whoever of the truth surely will listen to Him). But Pilate (in front of the Truth) said "what is truth?"
Many people today has the same unbelieving mind when confronted with the Truth - "What is the truth?" They say. Today, many believes in everything because they believe in nothing, they are persuaded with half truth: faith without fact (blind faith), legalism, God without The Son (Jesus Christ). Today, truth is relative especially in this post-modern era. Who is Jesus? Some may say He is just a good teacher, some says He is just a prophet (a man), or some thought He is God and can't be a man, or Jesus is a man on the other planet, etc.
This is the same problem that apostle John trying to arise in this passage on his letter to the Ephesian church at 1 John 2:18-27. If we read so far his letter from the beginning, we see that this apostle John has been trying to suggest the church to have [or stay in] fellowship with God, and to examine themselves by some tests. First, is the moral test: do we obey Christ’ commandments? do we live according to His rule? Second, is the social test: do we love our brothers and sisters? do we have love as God is love? And now in these passage, he is about to mention the third test namely the truth test or doctrinal test: what do you know about Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is both God and man (1 John 1:1-4)? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the one that God anointed? Do you believe that only through His blood is the salvation?
Now, apostle John had to write these for them and for us to examine whether we are in the faith or whether we are in fellowship with God. For they or we can only be certain of our standing before God if we live rightly, if we love others, and if we continue to believe the truth about Jesus.
Apostle John starts off by saying that they were in last hour. It was indeed about 2000 years ago when John wrote this. But the message of the New Testament is that when Christ came, we entered the "last days," and nobody but God knows how long they will last. The word "last hour" here means that since that day, it is the day of the “last hour”, or it is the "last periods" or "last days" before Jesus Christ came again for the second time - and so we are too in the last days.
Then John continues with some of the characteristics of the last days in this text which are:
1. there is an increasing active spirit of antichrist. (Verse 18)
2. The word antichrist implies that Christ has come. The Son of God has come (verse 18)
3. and The Holy Spirit has been poured out in a new measure. There is anointing from the Holy Spirit for believers (verse 20 and 27)
So the First characteristic is related with the Second characteristic in a way that antichrist is there to fight against Christ Jesus who has come.
The word antichrist appears only 4 times in the bible in two books that John wrote (1 John and 2 John). Here are all the references, for us to see what John had to say about antichrist:
- I John 2:18 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.
- I John 2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
- I John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
- II John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
So who and what is antichrist? The word antichrist means the adversary of Messiah; but the word anti itself in greek (G473) has 2 meanings. It could means:
1. Against, opponent to - eg: antivirus software is used to fight software virus
2. instead of, in place of (something) - eg: antibody does not meant to attack body, but instead it works as a defence mechanism or something that makes a substitute. Another reference on the word anti that uses this meaning can be found in Matthew 5:38 "...an eye for an eye..." The word "for" is using the word antee or anti which means as a substitute or in place of.
With those meanings, who is the adversary of Messiah? It is anyone or anything that is against Christ and also anyone or anything that is replacing or trying to replace Christ (or something else instead of Christ). Now, John's view about the end-times seems to be there is a singular antichrist (v18. as you have heard that antichrist is coming), but the spirit of antichrist is already exist now in this time (last days), and it is many! (v18. So now many antichrists have come). From the four references above, we see that this antichrist (and/or the spirit of antichrist) denies the Son and the Father as well (1 John 2:23 says that whoever denies the Son meaning he also denies the Father); they did not confess that Jesus is God or Christ and is fully incarnate in Jesus that he will be coming again for the second time. They did not believe that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead; They have problem with our christian doctrine of Christology if you want to see it that way: they deny that Jesus is both God and Man. This is the essence of antichrist, and in the world today, it produces many preliminary forms of antichrist - the spirit that denies Jesus is the Christ (either in a frontal way or with a subtle way by trying to replace Christ with something else). Why I said that it also come in a subtle way? John said that this antichrist is a liar, and one who deceives - and many people are deceived. They deceived people by their teaching about who God is or what is the truth, or the way to salvation, they deceived people with their influence to “ignore” God, they deceived people with such phenomena that attract people to rely on him (rather than Christ). Again, we are now in the last hour of deception!
Next John told the Ephesian church of another mark of the antichrist: which is their departure from the church (verse 19). John here didn’t talk about someone who go out from one church and move to another church, no, but someone who depart from the church - someone who depart from the fellowship of the body of christ -> they are “false” christians (John contrast the word by using “them” and “us”). John said that believers (us) belong while deniers (they) depart.
We see here, how easy it is for people to be deceived! So how about us, the believer? How can we survive against this deception? verse 20-21 give us hope on this matter: “But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” Probably this is the most important thing to see in this passage: how Holy Spirit and the WORD protect us from such deception. Now, maybe for many of us, we tend to take this thing for granted. I mean the truth itself is actually a gift from God (from the Holy Spirit). Have we ever praise God and thanks God because of knowing the truth? If we know what is true, about God’s revelation, that is really something. Not all people may have such knowledge, or to have God’s wisdom to see His way; and so i can say that it is a grace to know the truth. Another reason why it is a gift is because it depends on the anointing (see verse 20, that we believers have been anointed by the Spirit, and we all know) - so in other words we all know, or we have knowledge because the Spirit anointed us. Therefore, verse 27, it is said that because Holy Spirit anointed us with the truth, and that truth abides in us, then we don’t need anyone to teach us. Meaning, we don’t need any new prophet, who claims “new” things (about Christ) to deceive us with their teaching, because God’s truth is in us - we could discern which is of the truth, and which is false.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1 John 4:1-3, ESV)
The verse above, plainly told us to discern if it is coming from God, or if it is a false spirit. So 1 John 2:24 is the key here on the work of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to know which one is of the truth by testing it with the teaching of the apostle. “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.” (1 John 2:24, ESV). Thus, when we face many teachings (spirits) in this world, we should always check with the WORD (what is written in the Bible) - The Holy Spirit will keeps/protects us, the church from such deceit. We shouldn’t believe any such new claims about the truth, because the truth always delivered from what christian’s have heard from the beginning. See also what John had commanded the church on previous passage (1 John 2:7): “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.” John was saying that this is not a new revelation, but the one from old.
To conclude, yes we have seen that this is the last days, and many antichrists have come with their liars, but we as believer is protected by the Holy Spirit. Some of us has departed from the Church to proof that they actually don’t belong. This passage gives us one imperative of what we should do (on verse 27), “...But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him” - that is to abide in Him. In one side, Holy Spirit protects us with the WORD, on another side we are asked to abide in Him. So do we love the WORD? do we meditate on His Word? do we keep in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Church? If we remember again the theme of this letter of John was that John suggested us to be in fellowship with God; and so again this command is consistent, and a repetition to what John was intended to for the church: abide in Him (be in fellowship with God)!
in Christ,
Paul Hartono
Comments