Friday, September 4- 1 John 2:18-23

18Dear 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.
-John shifts gears to talk about the end times. He's speaking to people that are dear to him and that he must care about a lot. He wants them to realize something important.
-It doesn't seem like I think much about the anti christ. When I was younger it seemed like a very popular topic. Now it doesn't seem to be brought up to often. its unfortunate because it is important.

19They 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.
-This is how we should look at those who apparently were part of the body of believers but leave. They appeared to be part of us, but really weren't. It's sad, but they make their choices.

20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
-Anointing in the holy spirit. Know the truth. These are two marks of the true believer. We should know.

21I 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.
-He's not writing to non believers, but to those that do believe. The people that do believe know the truth. The truth is evident to them and they believe it. We who know it know that there is no lie in it. We should be completely convinced of its truth.

22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.
-Simple to identify the liar.

23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
-More simplicity. Very bare and real. Acknowledge is more than just saying, but its really knowing from the heart. His actions will reveal his acknowledgment.

-We're in a battle at the end of the war. We have to remain on guard. Even against those who seem to be on our side. Many will fall, but we must persevere. We forget to think like this sometimes and take life to easy. Christ didn't die so we could just take it easy. He died so others could live. We have to fight for this as well.