July 10, 2024 • 33 mins
Are you prepared to recognize the signs of the times and fortify your faith against subtle deceptions? In this enriching episode of Living God's Way in an Ungodly World, we embark on a journey through 1 John 2:18-23, shedding light on the urgent message for "little children" in faith. You'll gain insights into the "last hour" that began with Jesus' resurrection, defining the Church Age we live in today. See how the presence of many antichrists calls for heightened vigilance and spiritual growth among believers. Discover how you can equip yourself to navigate these challenging times with a deeper understanding of Scripture and a commitment to daily engagement with God's Word.
Unlock the spiritual armor needed to identify and resist the deceptions of antichrists, who often mislead through false teachings and deceptive religious practices. We tackle the complex issue of how certain rituals and confessions can stray from the essence of true faith. Gain clarity on why some denominations may falter in their interpretation of scripture, tolerating behaviors contrary to Christian teachings. I pray this episode will help you discern and fortify your faith. Join me for a thought-provoking discussion that prepares you to stand firm in a world rife with spiritual challenges. God bless.
Ask this Bible teacher a question! Just Click HERE
Be a Sponsor! Support our ministry HERE!
New Episodes sent directly to your inbox! Join the Community HERE
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
B.R.Maul (00:08):
Music, music, music, music, music, music, music,
music, music, music, music,music, music, music, music,
music, music, music, music,music, music, music, music,
music, music, music, music,music.
(00:28):
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and you arelistening to Living God's Way in
an Ungodly World.
Thanks for joining me.
Today.
We are in the book of 1 John,we're in chapter 2, and we'll be
studying verses 18 through 23.
(00:48):
As usual, I will read theseverses and then we'll turn right
around and go over them as webreak down the meanings behind
them.
This is the reading, verse 18.
(01:19):
This is the reading.
But they were not of us, for ifthey had been of us they would
have continued with us.
But they went out that theymight be made manifest that none
of them were of us.
But you have an anointing fromthe Holy One and you know all
(01:39):
things.
I have not written to youbecause you do not know the
truth, but because you know itand that no lie is of the truth.
Who is a liar?
But he who denies that Jesus isthe Christ, he is antichrist.
Who denies the Father and theSon?
Whoever denies the Son, doesnot have the Father either.
(02:04):
He who acknowledges the Son hasthe Father also here ends the
reading.
When we go back to verse 18,john starts us out little
children.
Now, this is referring to notlittle children, as in, of
course, a five or six year old,but little children as in, of
(02:25):
course, a five or six year old,but little children spiritually.
And these are, more than likely, even though, baby Christians.
But they have been for quite awhile.
They just haven't moved on.
They haven't moved forward.
And that's what we are allcalled to do as born again
Christians.
We need to move forward inGod's Word.
Coming to the Lord, becoming achild of God by believing in
(02:50):
Jesus Christ, that His bloodshed for our sins and that we
believe in our heart that God,the Father, raised Him from the
grave, does indeed make us achild of God, because we don't
have to jump through any hoops.
There's nothing else that weneed to do.
There's no other name under thesun in which we have to believe
(03:11):
in.
The only name is the name ofJesus Christ.
So, john, when he says littlechildren, then these are
Christians who are stuck in thebasics.
How do we get beyond the basics?
We read God's Word, and notbecause we have to, but we
should read God's Word every day.
So John says little children.
(03:32):
Then he says it is the lasthour.
The last hour?
Now, let's think about this,because he said it is the last
hour.
Wow, well, let's justcomfortably round it to 2,000
years ago.
Hmm, seems like a pretty longhour, doesn't it?
But looking at time itself, weare still in that last hour.
(03:55):
And the reason we're still inthat last hour is because all
other prophecies through the OldTestament that were held unto
the name Jesus, when it comes tohis birth, his death and
resurrection, have all beenfulfilled.
So when Jesus was raised fromthe dead, a new age began, and
(04:15):
we often refer to that age asthe Church Age, because God, the
Father, through his Son, JesusChrist, focuses on the body of
Christ, that is, the church.
And the church is made up ofthe saints, those who are born
again.
The next thing to happen whenit comes to prophecies, then
(04:40):
would be the rapture.
And there's nothing that needsto be fulfilled in order for the
rapture to take place, becausethat will be the rapture.
And there's nothing that needsto be fulfilled in order for the
rapture to take place, becausethat will be the removal of the
church.
And do you see how that beginsnow.
A new period after that,because we are in the church age
where right now, god's peopleare still here on earth.
We are living out.
(05:01):
We should be living out whatour Lord told us to do go out to
all nations and make disciples,and in doing that we are
fulfilling the church age.
But it's still the last hourbecause once the church is
raptured, the tribulation begins.
(05:22):
So John goes on to say, still inverse 18, little children, it
is the last hour and, as youhave heard that the Antichrist
is coming, even now, manyAntichrists have come, by which
we know that it is the last hour.
So we have two differentreferences.
(05:43):
Here is the last hour.
So we have two differentreferences.
Here we have the Antichrist andin this case capital A
Antichrist.
Even now, many Antichristsplural, lowercase a have come.
So we have yet to see theAntichrist come into the picture
, and when that happens, thatwill be after the church is gone
(06:04):
.
The church, god's people, willnot be present into the picture,
and when that happens, thatwill be after the church is gone
.
The church, god's people, willnot be present on the earth.
However, even now John saysmany Antichrists have come, so
they're already here.
They were present during thetime that John was alive and
walking on this earth andthey're still present today.
In fact, they're growing innumber.
(06:26):
There are many of them and thatnumber, I'm sure, will just
continue to grow until Christhimself returns and rules.
Okay.
Now it's interesting because wecan use the very fact that
there are many Antichrists tounderstand that it is the last
hour.
So, because there are manyantichrists to understand that
it is the last hour, so becausethere are many antichrists, that
(06:49):
tells us John is saying thatwe're in that last hour.
That's why we know that.
It surprises me in no way thatantichrists here on earth
continue to become abundant,because I believe that's the
closer we get to the tribulation, the closer we get to Christ's
(07:10):
coming.
Satan himself and his army offallen angels are doing
everything possible to detourpeople from either becoming born
again, which means they aresaved for all eternity, or, if
they are saved, well then theyhave a target on their back to
make them as useless as possibleto the kingdom of God.
(07:31):
In verse 22, he defines what isan antichrist.
He is antichrist who denies theFather and the Son.
Okay, so anybody who isteaching and preaching God's
Word, but they all deny thatJesus is the Son of God.
That makes them an Antichrist.
(07:54):
We need to wipe out of our minds, beloved, this image that an
Antichrist is somebody who isphysically, or maybe I should
say visibly, seen as anAntichrist, somebody who looks
evil, somebody who theirbehavior is atrocious and easily
identifiable as somebody who isagainst God.
(08:16):
Because, for starters,antichrist that is one meaning
is to be against.
Anti can mean against, so inthis case, using it as
antichrist, being against Christ.
Those, I believe, may be easierfor us to spot, because if they
are against Christ, well thenthey're the ones who are easily
(08:41):
identifiable, in the sense ofnot necessarily their outward
appearance, which that could betoo, but in all honesty, their
practices.
Now, the most noticeableSatanism comes right on out and
opposes, is against Christ.
So, instead of working tobetter the kingdom of God, so
(09:03):
instead of working to better thekingdom of God, Satanists work
to better their own selves,their own individual.
And that's because, well, Satan, who cares nothing about those
who follow him, who areSatanists.
Satan and the fallen angelsalready know that that's an easy
(09:25):
way to destroy the lives ofpeople is to get them to follow
their own ways, to do everythingpossible to better their own
life.
That would be labeled asanti-Christ or against.
But anti can also mean insteadof.
Okay, that's a little differentand that's going to be more
difficult for us to identify,but it's still an antichrist.
(09:46):
So there's those who areagainst Christ, but there's also
those who put themselves inplace of, instead of.
So they look the part very much.
They look like a Christian,they will act like a Christian,
they will do all kinds of stuffthat is Christian-like in nature
(10:06):
, but like Judas Iscariot, theone apostle who betrays Jesus,
he would be a prime example ofAntichrist.
Judas did not oppose Christ.
We know that.
He wasn't against Jesus.
On the contrary, he followedJesus.
In fact, according to God'sword, he was also doing miracles
(10:31):
in the name of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus sent out hisapostles, two by two, well,
Judas was among those at thetime, if you recall.
So Judas was out doing themiracles, like the other
apostles, but his heart wasnever with Jesus.
He never loved Jesus for whoJesus is, but he would have
(10:54):
wanted to be with Jesus for whatJesus gave and that's sad,
because we see that a lot in theNew Testament People who were
following Jesus.
They were able to see him walkthe earth.
They were able to hug him orshake his hand.
They were able to see him wouldfollow him.
Many after the feeding of the5,000, wanted to see more
(11:17):
miracles.
So Judas is among those whowould fall into the instead of
Christ.
So he was an antichrist and whenwe read through the Bible,
there's no way of us easilypicking that out of Judas.
There's telltale signs and theonly reason I believe that we
can truly even identify those isbecause, well, we know how the
(11:41):
story ends.
We know Judas is the one whobetrays Jesus.
If we didn't know that, I thinkvery few people would even pick
up on some of the signs thatJudas would eventually betray
Jesus.
Why is that?
Well, because he's followinghim.
And not only that, but Judaswas the treasurer in the group
of apostles.
(12:01):
They trusted him with the money.
The group of apostles theytrusted him with the money.
So John here is identifying thefact that there are many of
these antichrists out there.
Are you seeing a theme belovedin a lot of the scripture that
we are studying together, as youread through the New Testament
in particular?
(12:22):
There are so many verses likethese here that continue to
point out the fact that thereare many people who look like
they're followers of Christ butare not.
So this is very dangerousbecause for those of you who are
indeed born again, you knowthat you love the Lord, you have
no doubt in your mind that youare heaven bound because your
(12:46):
spirit is sealed.
So, with that said, it's thosepeople who are questioning.
They are listening to thisprogram and other programs and
hopefully reading God's word,searching to know for sure.
If you don't know for sure,there's a very good reason.
You're not born again, butyou've been living a
(13:08):
Christian-like existence throughyour family, maybe growing up.
I was brought up that way in aLutheran family, so for me our
family looked veryChristian-like and in America
that's often the case.
Now there are many who aredeparting from their faith, so
it's becoming more evident andpeople are speaking out more and
(13:32):
more against Christianity.
But there was a time in Americawhere it was the other way
around.
If you didn't go to church, ifyou didn't call yourself a
Christian, then you were theoutsider and people kind of
looked at you like well, what'swrong with you?
Why are you not going to church?
But that's where the enemy onceagain played his card so smart
(13:55):
because he has convinced andcontinues to convince millions
of people in denominationsaround the world that are
Christian-like in their demeanor, christian-like in their
doctrine and even Christian-likein the sense that they follow
much of God's word.
And I say much because, in thecase of Antichrist, they always
(14:19):
leave information out, and themost important information they
leave out, as John says here, ishe is Antichrist, who denies
the Father and the Son.
That there needs to be more.
Now, some are very savvy,because they don't completely
deny the Father and the Son.
They deny Jesus as the Son inthe sense of yes, he did die for
(14:45):
our sins.
In other words, that was verynice of him.
He went through thatpainstaking situation of hanging
on a cross, and you do need tobelieve that.
But and then that three-letterword right there negates
everything else, and they becomean antichrist at that point,
because they'll say you need toworship this way, though, or you
(15:08):
need to renew your faith.
You need to take communion.
That way you can continue togrow in your faith.
You need to confess your sinsto another person and a person
who is in authority.
That way they can forgive you,of course, through God himself,
(15:29):
through the power of God,through the power of Jesus.
No one's that stupid toactually say well, just on our
own ability, we can forgive.
No, these antichrists are verybrilliant, very smart, and I
truly feel that many antichriststhemselves are fooled and they
(15:50):
do believe that they arefollowing the way.
Do we truly believe that Satanis going to make it that easy to
identify false religion?
Is Satan going to make it thateasy to identify Antichrists?
Because Antichrists are doinghis work.
They are keeping many away frombeing saved.
(16:13):
They're keeping many coming tochurches in the name of Jesus.
They're keeping many coming tochurches in the name of Jesus.
But, as we have read andlearned in the past, jesus even
said many will come to me and onthat day say Lord, lord, did we
not prophesy in your name,which isn't like making
prophecies, but preaching,teaching, speaking God's word in
(16:36):
your name?
Did we not cast out demons inyour name?
Did we not do great works, allin your name?
These are people who could evenbe running missionary work,
collecting money to supportmissions, feeding the poor,
helping the widows, thepowerless, the widows, the
(17:02):
powerless all in the name ofJesus.
But Antichrist will go out oftheir way to make sure that,
even though it is in the name ofJesus that these people do not
come to love Jesus, that theydon't confess to Jesus Christ
himself, that they need him as asavior and denounce their own
sinful ways and they don'tbelieve in their heart that he
(17:23):
truly is raised from the dead.
How do we know that?
Because there are religions outthere now, tens of thousands of
denominations, that are underthe cloak of Christianity, but
they pick and choose what theywant in God's word.
They want to accept peoplesinning because they don't want
to tell another person that youare stuck in sin.
(17:47):
So, whether it's LGBT, whetherit is addiction to drugs,
whether it is alcoholism,whether it is addicted to
pornography, whether it ischasing the almighty dollar,
that's a huge one that in manycountries around the world,
including America, if you'rechasing success, if you're
(18:07):
chasing to become wealthy,that's good, that's really good,
and the world cheers the peopleon.
But to truly know Jesus Christis to know him, and that isn't
the life that we pursue.
That in and of itself is sin.
We cannot worship God and moneyor, as the Bible says, mammon,
(18:32):
which isn't necessarily justmoney, but belongings, things
that can get us what we want.
Okay, verse 19,.
They went out from us but theywere not of us, for if they had
been of us that's theAntichrists they would have
continued with us, but they wentout that they might be made
(18:54):
manifest that none of them wereof us.
Antichrists love gettingattention.
They do it because they wantattention and more so the
popularity and the money.
They want all this stuff andit's for them.
It might not be that obvious.
It may be subtle enough.
(19:15):
Remember, beloved Antichristsare not walking around wearing
black garb and all those who arerighteous wearing white garb,
because Satan himself can appearan angel of light.
Demons are not what Hollywoodmakes them out to be.
Our enemy.
Satan would love for us tobelieve that he has a long tail
(19:40):
and horns on his head, redglowing eyes and his demons look
similar and that theAntichrists who are out here are
the same way.
They're very shady looking.
He would love that, becausethen people would walk around,
and I should say people arewalking around thinking that he
loves that.
People think that, but becausethey are among us, it doesn't
(20:04):
mean that they are with us,because John says they went out
from us, out from us.
Eventually, antichrists leavetheir faith Now.
Did you catch that Antichristwill eventually leave their
(20:28):
faith, which means they werenever born again, because you
cannot be unborn.
You cannot be unborn physically, you cannot be unborn
spiritually.
You cannot be unborn physically, you cannot be unborn
spiritually.
So if somebody leaves theirfaith, it's their faith, their
way of drawing up what God issupposed to be like.
(20:48):
And you hear it quite often ohGod would never condemn somebody
because they're gay.
He would never condemn thembecause they're pursuing success
and money.
Well, when people say thatthey're not talking about Yahweh
, they're not talking about theGod of the Bible, they're
talking about their own God.
(21:09):
Denomination upon denominationhelps to write all this stuff in
.
So these antichrists that lookjust like us eventually depart
from us because they are not ofus, they are not a child of God
Verse 20,.
But you have an anointing fromthe Holy One and you know all
(21:32):
things To have an anointing fromthe Holy One.
Every born-again believer issecured by the Holy Spirit.
So when truly born again, theBible way not what one's church
says or what one believes,because they just want to
believe.
This is how it can be done.
(21:52):
Infant baptism is a huge one.
Just because people believe ininfant baptism doesn't mean it's
biblical, it just means theyhave incorporated it into their
religion.
But John is saying you have ananointing from the Holy One and
you know all things.
That's from the Holy Spirit.
(22:13):
And he's not saying we know allthings, like now we know
everything.
That would be nice, but that'snot the case.
Once the Holy Spirit seals us,we are given the ability to go
ahead and as we read God's word,the Holy Spirit, as our
counselor and our guide, willdecipher the meaning and speak
(22:37):
through God's Word to our spirit, as our spirit continues to
grow and learn through God'sWord.
That's two different things.
Here we have the Holy Spiritand we have God's Word beloved.
Going back to verse 18, littlechildren.
The little children are thosewho, yes, they have the Holy
Spirit dwelling in them, butthey are not regularly or at all
(23:00):
reading God's Word, pursuingthat relationship, and so
they're not growing, they don'tunderstand and they are easily
deceived by the enemy.
And especially as we get closerto the Day capital D, we are
told by Jesus himself to be verymindful and let no one deceive
(23:20):
us.
And if you are a baby Christian, if you have been born again
but you are not in God's word,if you are not reading it for
yourself, even if you struggle.
Maybe you don't read well, butdo it and remember.
Over the ages, many people byhearing God's word.
Faith comes by hearing andhearing by the word of God.
(23:42):
Well, in ancient times fewpeople could read, and even if
they could read, few people hadscripture to actually read.
So they would have to go to thesynagogues and they would
listen to those read and that ishow they grew in their faith.
But it must be a reading thatis directly from God's Word, so
(24:02):
be mindful of that.
Another fun way of doing thatwould be, if you struggle to
read, open up your Bible andstart up an app that reads that
same version of the Bible andfollow along.
It's a great way to absorbGod's Word and to help become a
better reader.
Verse 21, I have not written toyou because you do not know the
(24:24):
truth, but because you know itand that no lie is of the truth.
So no lie is of the truth.
Why does he even mention that?
That's because of theantichrists.
Remember the antichrists,especially those that are very
savvy, are not going to openlyoppose God's word.
No, they are going to agreewith a big percentage of God's
(24:49):
word Deceiving.
They will take out theimportant parts, the parts of
salvation and their teachings.
If you look carefully, some arevery obvious, but some you have
to look very careful that itstill undermines the blood of
Christ, and I see it in manydenominations that they just add
to it.
They don't take and say it'snot the blood of Christ, no,
(25:13):
that would be too obvious.
But no, no, it's the blood ofChrist.
And and then of course, theyput that on there.
Why?
Because they want theirfollowers to keep coming to
church as often as possible andput money in the plates Beloved.
I am not against Christianscoming together to worship, but
I am fully convinced these daysthat there is a huge difference
(25:37):
between those who go to churchand those who are the church,
and the Antichrist have beenusing going to church to their
advantage for hundreds of years.
We are told we are the church,we are the temple of God, not
(25:57):
just any human being.
No, those who are born againare the temple.
So we don't go to church toworship our Heavenly Father.
We have access to him anywhere,anytime we come together as the
church to worship.
That's the difference.
You may be thinking sounds likethe same thing to me, but it's
(26:20):
not Because, to come togetherfirst of all, where we come
together, there's nothing inGod's word that says we have to
have it set up a certain way.
The building must look likethis, or have crosses in it, or
have stained glass windows.
There's nowhere in God's wordthat we are told this is how
(26:41):
you're going to take communionand this is how you're going to
worship.
This is the kind of music thatyou need to have.
No, these are denominations.
These are people in robes wholove having their control and
tell people how to do things.
And there are some of those,I'm sure anyway, that truly are
(27:03):
born again and love the Lord.
And if they do, I know frompersonal experience that those
things they are doing, thattheir denomination, their
leadership, is telling them onsome level, makes them
uncomfortable.
But many are not born again.
They themselves have beendeceived by the great lie from
(27:23):
the great liar himself.
And my heart goes out to all ofthese people, including
antichrists, who are obliviousto what they are doing because
they themselves are deceived.
Now, verse 22,.
Who is a liar, but he whodenies that Jesus is the Christ?
(27:44):
Seems so obvious, doesn't it?
Who is a liar, but he whodenies that Jesus is the Christ.
Think of the Pharisees in theNew Testament.
Beloved the Pharisees.
They weren't walking aroundthinking, oh yeah, we are
anti-Christ, we are opposing, weare either against or putting
ourselves instead of Jesus, butthat is what they were doing.
(28:06):
It is exactly what they weredoing.
And for those Pharisees andSaducees, those people who spent
years studying God's Word,their life was dedicated to
God's Word, but they neverbecame dedicated to God's Son,
the Word, capital W, and so theyare in hell.
(28:29):
They are not among those thatwere born again.
Why?
Because they denied that Jesusis the Christ.
Think of the apostles how theywere martyred.
I mean, they were killed, theywere slaughtered, and it wasn't
by just a bunch of peoplerunning around black cloaks, red
eyes, and people were sayingthere goes another Antichrist.
(28:52):
No, these are people who lookedvery godly in nature.
In fact, many people followthem to this day.
The second part of verse 22,.
He is Antichrist who denies theFather and the Son.
So I spoke on that because Ijumped ahead so we could get the
definition of what anAntichrist is who denies the
(29:13):
Father and the Son.
Now, it's denies the Father andthe Son, because let's take a
look at verse 23.
Whoever denies the Son does nothave the Father either.
He who acknowledges the Son hasthe Father also.
So for all these religions outthere Christian-like religions
(29:37):
that are out there that, oh,they have the Father, they have
God.
They agree that he createdeverything, he spoke everything
into existence, but there arereligions out there that say
there's no way God has a sonNope.
Well then, verse 23,.
Whoever denies the son, whoeverdenies Jesus, does not have the
(29:59):
Father either.
They may think they do, andthat's where they're deceived.
Antichrists.
There are those who are againstChrist, but many of them are
putting themselves instead of inplace of Christ.
So they're not trying to denythat God, the Father, exists,
but they either want to denyaltogether that Jesus is the Son
(30:22):
of God, or they admit thatJesus is the Son of God.
But you still have to do this,or you have to do that, or you
have to go to purgatory and youhave to be washed clean.
You have to have people prayfor you and pay for you, and
that'll usher you into thekingdom.
All of this blasphemy, and noneof it is true, and I'm horrified
(30:44):
at the fact that so many peopleeverywhere buy into this stuff.
They read these very samepassages but don't see that it
is the Antichrist, not theAntichrist.
It is an Antichrist that isteaching them the wrong messages
, that are deceiving them whenit comes to Catholicism, for
(31:04):
example.
Catholicism in and of itself isnot Christianity.
Why is that?
Because, again, they deny thefull power of Jesus Christ, his
blood.
They only want to give himpartial recognition for our sins
.
Because, look at it, you canpray to a saint.
If you want help with something,you can pray to Mother Mary,
(31:27):
because apparently, mother Mary,she's a little more
understanding, she's morepassionate and caring.
Where, if you're looking forrighteousness, then pray to
Jesus, but if you're looking forforgiveness on your own part,
then well, mother Mary's a goodway to go.
So even just those parts rightthere, but the fact that they
also believe that Christ iscrucified every time they have
(31:49):
communion, that is taking awayfrom the power of Jesus once and
for all, for all sin hanging onthe cross, all sin of all time
before he hung on the cross,during he was hanging on the
cross and until the end of timeitself, which can't come fast
(32:11):
enough.
So John does a good job here ofopening up our eyes and I hope
he has opened your eyes to thetruth that we have antichrists
all around us, and they areabundant.
But the day is coming where theantichrist will come onto the
(32:31):
scene and I fully believe thechurch won't be here for that.
But that is for another day.
Thank you so much for joining man until next time, God bless.
Than yo.
Music, music, music, music, music, music, music,
music, music, music, music,music, music, music, music,
music, music, music, music,music, music, music, music,
music, music, music, music,music.
(00:28):
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and you arelistening to Living God's Way in
an Ungodly World.
Thanks for joining me.
Today.
We are in the book of 1 John,we're in chapter 2, and we'll be
studying verses 18 through 23.
(00:48):
As usual, I will read theseverses and then we'll turn right
around and go over them as webreak down the meanings behind
them.
This is the reading, verse 18.
(01:19):
This is the reading.
But they were not of us, for ifthey had been of us they would
have continued with us.
But they went out that theymight be made manifest that none
of them were of us.
But you have an anointing fromthe Holy One and you know all
(01:39):
things.
I have not written to youbecause you do not know the
truth, but because you know itand that no lie is of the truth.
Who is a liar?
But he who denies that Jesus isthe Christ, he is antichrist.
Who denies the Father and theSon?
Whoever denies the Son, doesnot have the Father either.
(02:04):
He who acknowledges the Son hasthe Father also here ends the
reading.
When we go back to verse 18,john starts us out little
children.
Now, this is referring to notlittle children, as in, of
course, a five or six year old,but little children as in, of
(02:25):
course, a five or six year old,but little children spiritually.
And these are, more than likely, even though, baby Christians.
But they have been for quite awhile.
They just haven't moved on.
They haven't moved forward.
And that's what we are allcalled to do as born again
Christians.
We need to move forward inGod's Word.
Coming to the Lord, becoming achild of God by believing in
(02:50):
Jesus Christ, that His bloodshed for our sins and that we
believe in our heart that God,the Father, raised Him from the
grave, does indeed make us achild of God, because we don't
have to jump through any hoops.
There's nothing else that weneed to do.
There's no other name under thesun in which we have to believe
(03:11):
in.
The only name is the name ofJesus Christ.
So, john, when he says littlechildren, then these are
Christians who are stuck in thebasics.
How do we get beyond the basics?
We read God's Word, and notbecause we have to, but we
should read God's Word every day.
So John says little children.
(03:32):
Then he says it is the lasthour.
The last hour?
Now, let's think about this,because he said it is the last
hour.
Wow, well, let's justcomfortably round it to 2,000
years ago.
Hmm, seems like a pretty longhour, doesn't it?
But looking at time itself, weare still in that last hour.
(03:55):
And the reason we're still inthat last hour is because all
other prophecies through the OldTestament that were held unto
the name Jesus, when it comes tohis birth, his death and
resurrection, have all beenfulfilled.
So when Jesus was raised fromthe dead, a new age began, and
(04:15):
we often refer to that age asthe Church Age, because God, the
Father, through his Son, JesusChrist, focuses on the body of
Christ, that is, the church.
And the church is made up ofthe saints, those who are born
again.
The next thing to happen whenit comes to prophecies, then
(04:40):
would be the rapture.
And there's nothing that needsto be fulfilled in order for the
rapture to take place, becausethat will be the rapture.
And there's nothing that needsto be fulfilled in order for the
rapture to take place, becausethat will be the removal of the
church.
And do you see how that beginsnow.
A new period after that,because we are in the church age
where right now, god's peopleare still here on earth.
We are living out.
(05:01):
We should be living out whatour Lord told us to do go out to
all nations and make disciples,and in doing that we are
fulfilling the church age.
But it's still the last hourbecause once the church is
raptured, the tribulation begins.
(05:22):
So John goes on to say, still inverse 18, little children, it
is the last hour and, as youhave heard that the Antichrist
is coming, even now, manyAntichrists have come, by which
we know that it is the last hour.
So we have two differentreferences.
(05:43):
Here is the last hour.
So we have two differentreferences.
Here we have the Antichrist andin this case capital A
Antichrist.
Even now, many Antichristsplural, lowercase a have come.
So we have yet to see theAntichrist come into the picture
, and when that happens, thatwill be after the church is gone
(06:04):
.
The church, god's people, willnot be present into the picture,
and when that happens, thatwill be after the church is gone
.
The church, god's people, willnot be present on the earth.
However, even now John saysmany Antichrists have come, so
they're already here.
They were present during thetime that John was alive and
walking on this earth andthey're still present today.
In fact, they're growing innumber.
(06:26):
There are many of them and thatnumber, I'm sure, will just
continue to grow until Christhimself returns and rules.
Okay.
Now it's interesting because wecan use the very fact that
there are many Antichrists tounderstand that it is the last
hour.
So, because there are manyantichrists to understand that
it is the last hour, so becausethere are many antichrists, that
(06:49):
tells us John is saying thatwe're in that last hour.
That's why we know that.
It surprises me in no way thatantichrists here on earth
continue to become abundant,because I believe that's the
closer we get to the tribulation, the closer we get to Christ's
(07:10):
coming.
Satan himself and his army offallen angels are doing
everything possible to detourpeople from either becoming born
again, which means they aresaved for all eternity, or, if
they are saved, well then theyhave a target on their back to
make them as useless as possibleto the kingdom of God.
(07:31):
In verse 22, he defines what isan antichrist.
He is antichrist who denies theFather and the Son.
Okay, so anybody who isteaching and preaching God's
Word, but they all deny thatJesus is the Son of God.
That makes them an Antichrist.
(07:54):
We need to wipe out of our minds, beloved, this image that an
Antichrist is somebody who isphysically, or maybe I should
say visibly, seen as anAntichrist, somebody who looks
evil, somebody who theirbehavior is atrocious and easily
identifiable as somebody who isagainst God.
(08:16):
Because, for starters,antichrist that is one meaning
is to be against.
Anti can mean against, so inthis case, using it as
antichrist, being against Christ.
Those, I believe, may be easierfor us to spot, because if they
are against Christ, well thenthey're the ones who are easily
(08:41):
identifiable, in the sense ofnot necessarily their outward
appearance, which that could betoo, but in all honesty, their
practices.
Now, the most noticeableSatanism comes right on out and
opposes, is against Christ.
So, instead of working tobetter the kingdom of God, so
(09:03):
instead of working to better thekingdom of God, Satanists work
to better their own selves,their own individual.
And that's because, well, Satan, who cares nothing about those
who follow him, who areSatanists.
Satan and the fallen angelsalready know that that's an easy
(09:25):
way to destroy the lives ofpeople is to get them to follow
their own ways, to do everythingpossible to better their own
life.
That would be labeled asanti-Christ or against.
But anti can also mean insteadof.
Okay, that's a little differentand that's going to be more
difficult for us to identify,but it's still an antichrist.
(09:46):
So there's those who areagainst Christ, but there's also
those who put themselves inplace of, instead of.
So they look the part very much.
They look like a Christian,they will act like a Christian,
they will do all kinds of stuffthat is Christian-like in nature
(10:06):
, but like Judas Iscariot, theone apostle who betrays Jesus,
he would be a prime example ofAntichrist.
Judas did not oppose Christ.
We know that.
He wasn't against Jesus.
On the contrary, he followedJesus.
In fact, according to God'sword, he was also doing miracles
(10:31):
in the name of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus sent out hisapostles, two by two, well,
Judas was among those at thetime, if you recall.
So Judas was out doing themiracles, like the other
apostles, but his heart wasnever with Jesus.
He never loved Jesus for whoJesus is, but he would have
(10:54):
wanted to be with Jesus for whatJesus gave and that's sad,
because we see that a lot in theNew Testament People who were
following Jesus.
They were able to see him walkthe earth.
They were able to hug him orshake his hand.
They were able to see him wouldfollow him.
Many after the feeding of the5,000, wanted to see more
(11:17):
miracles.
So Judas is among those whowould fall into the instead of
Christ.
So he was an antichrist and whenwe read through the Bible,
there's no way of us easilypicking that out of Judas.
There's telltale signs and theonly reason I believe that we
can truly even identify those isbecause, well, we know how the
(11:41):
story ends.
We know Judas is the one whobetrays Jesus.
If we didn't know that, I thinkvery few people would even pick
up on some of the signs thatJudas would eventually betray
Jesus.
Why is that?
Well, because he's followinghim.
And not only that, but Judaswas the treasurer in the group
of apostles.
(12:01):
They trusted him with the money.
The group of apostles theytrusted him with the money.
So John here is identifying thefact that there are many of
these antichrists out there.
Are you seeing a theme belovedin a lot of the scripture that
we are studying together, as youread through the New Testament
in particular?
(12:22):
There are so many verses likethese here that continue to
point out the fact that thereare many people who look like
they're followers of Christ butare not.
So this is very dangerousbecause for those of you who are
indeed born again, you knowthat you love the Lord, you have
no doubt in your mind that youare heaven bound because your
(12:46):
spirit is sealed.
So, with that said, it's thosepeople who are questioning.
They are listening to thisprogram and other programs and
hopefully reading God's word,searching to know for sure.
If you don't know for sure,there's a very good reason.
You're not born again, butyou've been living a
(13:08):
Christian-like existence throughyour family, maybe growing up.
I was brought up that way in aLutheran family, so for me our
family looked veryChristian-like and in America
that's often the case.
Now there are many who aredeparting from their faith, so
it's becoming more evident andpeople are speaking out more and
(13:32):
more against Christianity.
But there was a time in Americawhere it was the other way
around.
If you didn't go to church, ifyou didn't call yourself a
Christian, then you were theoutsider and people kind of
looked at you like well, what'swrong with you?
Why are you not going to church?
But that's where the enemy onceagain played his card so smart
(13:55):
because he has convinced andcontinues to convince millions
of people in denominationsaround the world that are
Christian-like in their demeanor, christian-like in their
doctrine and even Christian-likein the sense that they follow
much of God's word.
And I say much because, in thecase of Antichrist, they always
(14:19):
leave information out, and themost important information they
leave out, as John says here, ishe is Antichrist, who denies
the Father and the Son.
That there needs to be more.
Now, some are very savvy,because they don't completely
deny the Father and the Son.
They deny Jesus as the Son inthe sense of yes, he did die for
(14:45):
our sins.
In other words, that was verynice of him.
He went through thatpainstaking situation of hanging
on a cross, and you do need tobelieve that.
But and then that three-letterword right there negates
everything else, and they becomean antichrist at that point,
because they'll say you need toworship this way, though, or you
(15:08):
need to renew your faith.
You need to take communion.
That way you can continue togrow in your faith.
You need to confess your sinsto another person and a person
who is in authority.
That way they can forgive you,of course, through God himself,
(15:29):
through the power of God,through the power of Jesus.
No one's that stupid toactually say well, just on our
own ability, we can forgive.
No, these antichrists are verybrilliant, very smart, and I
truly feel that many antichriststhemselves are fooled and they
(15:50):
do believe that they arefollowing the way.
Do we truly believe that Satanis going to make it that easy to
identify false religion?
Is Satan going to make it thateasy to identify Antichrists?
Because Antichrists are doinghis work.
They are keeping many away frombeing saved.
(16:13):
They're keeping many coming tochurches in the name of Jesus.
They're keeping many coming tochurches in the name of Jesus.
But, as we have read andlearned in the past, jesus even
said many will come to me and onthat day say Lord, lord, did we
not prophesy in your name,which isn't like making
prophecies, but preaching,teaching, speaking God's word in
(16:36):
your name?
Did we not cast out demons inyour name?
Did we not do great works, allin your name?
These are people who could evenbe running missionary work,
collecting money to supportmissions, feeding the poor,
helping the widows, thepowerless, the widows, the
(17:02):
powerless all in the name ofJesus.
But Antichrist will go out oftheir way to make sure that,
even though it is in the name ofJesus that these people do not
come to love Jesus, that theydon't confess to Jesus Christ
himself, that they need him as asavior and denounce their own
sinful ways and they don'tbelieve in their heart that he
(17:23):
truly is raised from the dead.
How do we know that?
Because there are religions outthere now, tens of thousands of
denominations, that are underthe cloak of Christianity, but
they pick and choose what theywant in God's word.
They want to accept peoplesinning because they don't want
to tell another person that youare stuck in sin.
(17:47):
So, whether it's LGBT, whetherit is addiction to drugs,
whether it is alcoholism,whether it is addicted to
pornography, whether it ischasing the almighty dollar,
that's a huge one that in manycountries around the world,
including America, if you'rechasing success, if you're
(18:07):
chasing to become wealthy,that's good, that's really good,
and the world cheers the peopleon.
But to truly know Jesus Christis to know him, and that isn't
the life that we pursue.
That in and of itself is sin.
We cannot worship God and moneyor, as the Bible says, mammon,
(18:32):
which isn't necessarily justmoney, but belongings, things
that can get us what we want.
Okay, verse 19,.
They went out from us but theywere not of us, for if they had
been of us that's theAntichrists they would have
continued with us, but they wentout that they might be made
(18:54):
manifest that none of them wereof us.
Antichrists love gettingattention.
They do it because they wantattention and more so the
popularity and the money.
They want all this stuff andit's for them.
It might not be that obvious.
It may be subtle enough.
(19:15):
Remember, beloved Antichristsare not walking around wearing
black garb and all those who arerighteous wearing white garb,
because Satan himself can appearan angel of light.
Demons are not what Hollywoodmakes them out to be.
Our enemy.
Satan would love for us tobelieve that he has a long tail
(19:40):
and horns on his head, redglowing eyes and his demons look
similar and that theAntichrists who are out here are
the same way.
They're very shady looking.
He would love that, becausethen people would walk around,
and I should say people arewalking around thinking that he
loves that.
People think that, but becausethey are among us, it doesn't
(20:04):
mean that they are with us,because John says they went out
from us, out from us.
Eventually, antichrists leavetheir faith Now.
Did you catch that Antichristwill eventually leave their
(20:28):
faith, which means they werenever born again, because you
cannot be unborn.
You cannot be unborn physically, you cannot be unborn
spiritually.
You cannot be unborn physically, you cannot be unborn
spiritually.
So if somebody leaves theirfaith, it's their faith, their
way of drawing up what God issupposed to be like.
(20:48):
And you hear it quite often ohGod would never condemn somebody
because they're gay.
He would never condemn thembecause they're pursuing success
and money.
Well, when people say thatthey're not talking about Yahweh
, they're not talking about theGod of the Bible, they're
talking about their own God.
(21:09):
Denomination upon denominationhelps to write all this stuff in
.
So these antichrists that lookjust like us eventually depart
from us because they are not ofus, they are not a child of God
Verse 20,.
But you have an anointing fromthe Holy One and you know all
(21:32):
things To have an anointing fromthe Holy One.
Every born-again believer issecured by the Holy Spirit.
So when truly born again, theBible way not what one's church
says or what one believes,because they just want to
believe.
This is how it can be done.
(21:52):
Infant baptism is a huge one.
Just because people believe ininfant baptism doesn't mean it's
biblical, it just means theyhave incorporated it into their
religion.
But John is saying you have ananointing from the Holy One and
you know all things.
That's from the Holy Spirit.
(22:13):
And he's not saying we know allthings, like now we know
everything.
That would be nice, but that'snot the case.
Once the Holy Spirit seals us,we are given the ability to go
ahead and as we read God's word,the Holy Spirit, as our
counselor and our guide, willdecipher the meaning and speak
(22:37):
through God's Word to our spirit, as our spirit continues to
grow and learn through God'sWord.
That's two different things.
Here we have the Holy Spiritand we have God's Word beloved.
Going back to verse 18, littlechildren.
The little children are thosewho, yes, they have the Holy
Spirit dwelling in them, butthey are not regularly or at all
(23:00):
reading God's Word, pursuingthat relationship, and so
they're not growing, they don'tunderstand and they are easily
deceived by the enemy.
And especially as we get closerto the Day capital D, we are
told by Jesus himself to be verymindful and let no one deceive
(23:20):
us.
And if you are a baby Christian, if you have been born again
but you are not in God's word,if you are not reading it for
yourself, even if you struggle.
Maybe you don't read well, butdo it and remember.
Over the ages, many people byhearing God's word.
Faith comes by hearing andhearing by the word of God.
(23:42):
Well, in ancient times fewpeople could read, and even if
they could read, few people hadscripture to actually read.
So they would have to go to thesynagogues and they would
listen to those read and that ishow they grew in their faith.
But it must be a reading thatis directly from God's Word, so
(24:02):
be mindful of that.
Another fun way of doing thatwould be, if you struggle to
read, open up your Bible andstart up an app that reads that
same version of the Bible andfollow along.
It's a great way to absorbGod's Word and to help become a
better reader.
Verse 21, I have not written toyou because you do not know the
(24:24):
truth, but because you know itand that no lie is of the truth.
So no lie is of the truth.
Why does he even mention that?
That's because of theantichrists.
Remember the antichrists,especially those that are very
savvy, are not going to openlyoppose God's word.
No, they are going to agreewith a big percentage of God's
(24:49):
word Deceiving.
They will take out theimportant parts, the parts of
salvation and their teachings.
If you look carefully, some arevery obvious, but some you have
to look very careful that itstill undermines the blood of
Christ, and I see it in manydenominations that they just add
to it.
They don't take and say it'snot the blood of Christ, no,
(25:13):
that would be too obvious.
But no, no, it's the blood ofChrist.
And and then of course, theyput that on there.
Why?
Because they want theirfollowers to keep coming to
church as often as possible andput money in the plates Beloved.
I am not against Christianscoming together to worship, but
I am fully convinced these daysthat there is a huge difference
(25:37):
between those who go to churchand those who are the church,
and the Antichrist have beenusing going to church to their
advantage for hundreds of years.
We are told we are the church,we are the temple of God, not
(25:57):
just any human being.
No, those who are born againare the temple.
So we don't go to church toworship our Heavenly Father.
We have access to him anywhere,anytime we come together as the
church to worship.
That's the difference.
You may be thinking sounds likethe same thing to me, but it's
(26:20):
not Because, to come togetherfirst of all, where we come
together, there's nothing inGod's word that says we have to
have it set up a certain way.
The building must look likethis, or have crosses in it, or
have stained glass windows.
There's nowhere in God's wordthat we are told this is how
(26:41):
you're going to take communionand this is how you're going to
worship.
This is the kind of music thatyou need to have.
No, these are denominations.
These are people in robes wholove having their control and
tell people how to do things.
And there are some of those,I'm sure anyway, that truly are
(27:03):
born again and love the Lord.
And if they do, I know frompersonal experience that those
things they are doing, thattheir denomination, their
leadership, is telling them onsome level, makes them
uncomfortable.
But many are not born again.
They themselves have beendeceived by the great lie from
(27:23):
the great liar himself.
And my heart goes out to all ofthese people, including
antichrists, who are obliviousto what they are doing because
they themselves are deceived.
Now, verse 22,.
Who is a liar, but he whodenies that Jesus is the Christ?
(27:44):
Seems so obvious, doesn't it?
Who is a liar, but he whodenies that Jesus is the Christ.
Think of the Pharisees in theNew Testament.
Beloved the Pharisees.
They weren't walking aroundthinking, oh yeah, we are
anti-Christ, we are opposing, weare either against or putting
ourselves instead of Jesus, butthat is what they were doing.
(28:06):
It is exactly what they weredoing.
And for those Pharisees andSaducees, those people who spent
years studying God's Word,their life was dedicated to
God's Word, but they neverbecame dedicated to God's Son,
the Word, capital W, and so theyare in hell.
(28:29):
They are not among those thatwere born again.
Why?
Because they denied that Jesusis the Christ.
Think of the apostles how theywere martyred.
I mean, they were killed, theywere slaughtered, and it wasn't
by just a bunch of peoplerunning around black cloaks, red
eyes, and people were sayingthere goes another Antichrist.
(28:52):
No, these are people who lookedvery godly in nature.
In fact, many people followthem to this day.
The second part of verse 22,.
He is Antichrist who denies theFather and the Son.
So I spoke on that because Ijumped ahead so we could get the
definition of what anAntichrist is who denies the
(29:13):
Father and the Son.
Now, it's denies the Father andthe Son, because let's take a
look at verse 23.
Whoever denies the Son does nothave the Father either.
He who acknowledges the Son hasthe Father also.
So for all these religions outthere Christian-like religions
(29:37):
that are out there that, oh,they have the Father, they have
God.
They agree that he createdeverything, he spoke everything
into existence, but there arereligions out there that say
there's no way God has a sonNope.
Well then, verse 23,.
Whoever denies the son, whoeverdenies Jesus, does not have the
(29:59):
Father either.
They may think they do, andthat's where they're deceived.
Antichrists.
There are those who are againstChrist, but many of them are
putting themselves instead of inplace of Christ.
So they're not trying to denythat God, the Father, exists,
but they either want to denyaltogether that Jesus is the Son
(30:22):
of God, or they admit thatJesus is the Son of God.
But you still have to do this,or you have to do that, or you
have to go to purgatory and youhave to be washed clean.
You have to have people prayfor you and pay for you, and
that'll usher you into thekingdom.
All of this blasphemy, and noneof it is true, and I'm horrified
(30:44):
at the fact that so many peopleeverywhere buy into this stuff.
They read these very samepassages but don't see that it
is the Antichrist, not theAntichrist.
It is an Antichrist that isteaching them the wrong messages
, that are deceiving them whenit comes to Catholicism, for
(31:04):
example.
Catholicism in and of itself isnot Christianity.
Why is that?
Because, again, they deny thefull power of Jesus Christ, his
blood.
They only want to give himpartial recognition for our sins
.
Because, look at it, you canpray to a saint.
If you want help with something,you can pray to Mother Mary,
(31:27):
because apparently, mother Mary,she's a little more
understanding, she's morepassionate and caring.
Where, if you're looking forrighteousness, then pray to
Jesus, but if you're looking forforgiveness on your own part,
then well, mother Mary's a goodway to go.
So even just those parts rightthere, but the fact that they
also believe that Christ iscrucified every time they have
(31:49):
communion, that is taking awayfrom the power of Jesus once and
for all, for all sin hanging onthe cross, all sin of all time
before he hung on the cross,during he was hanging on the
cross and until the end of timeitself, which can't come fast
(32:11):
enough.
So John does a good job here ofopening up our eyes and I hope
he has opened your eyes to thetruth that we have antichrists
all around us, and they areabundant.
But the day is coming where theantichrist will come onto the
(32:31):
scene and I fully believe thechurch won't be here for that.
But that is for another day.
Thank you so much for joining man until next time, God bless.
Than yo.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.