88 [2:18] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two

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1 88 [2:18] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Rev 21:23) And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. (Rev 22:5) but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Note how John describes the person who possesses eternal life: the one who does the will of God. This echoes the words of Yeshua: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (Matt 7:21) Once again, the litmus test of genuine, saving faith, is a life characterized by obedience to God, walking in His righteous ways. This is not sinless perfectionism! For, as John has already taught us, to walk in God s ways means to confess one s sin, to acknowledge the forgiveness God has promised and made secure through the work of His Son, Yeshua. It is in the process of repentance and forgiveness that we grow in our faith and ability to stand against sin and to walk in this world in such a way as to give glory to God in all aspects of our lives. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:40) The reality of eternal life for all who are believers in Yeshua is an important topic for John in this epistle, for he will speak to it five times in the remainder of the book: 2:25; 3:15; 5:11, 13, 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. Once again, John address the community of believers to whom he is writing as children. In 2:1, 12, however, he uses the Greek τεκνίον (teknion) which usually refers to young children or little children. Here, in v. 18, he uses the Greek word παιδίον (paidion) as he did in v. 13 [14] which can refer to infants but is also used of children at the age to be educated. 1 Whether John was intentionally indicating a difference in meaning when he used one term or the other is not certain. It may well be that he refers to his readers both as little children and children simply as terms of endearment. This perspective is reflected in the NIV translation which opens verse 18 with Dear children. But if there is a nuance of difference between the two Greek words, it would make sense that he would address his readers in this pericope as paidion since he states that they know the truth, and thus are those who have attained some level of maturity in the spiritual education of the truth. 1 See the comments above on 2:1.

2 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two [2:18] 89 But there is another emphasis that John may be making in referring to his readers as children. John writes as an elder (2John 1:1) as one of the apostles who was discipled by Yeshua Himself, and who therefore commands the authority of one who has been directly commissioned by the Messiah to make known His teaching and to make disciples who follow in His footsteps. The very purpose for writing this epistle was that those to whom he writes would grow in their understanding and in their resolve to be valiant disciples of Yeshua and to invest themselves in also carrying on the commission of making disciples of Yeshua. it is the last hour The expression last hour (ἐσχάτη ὥρα, eschatē hōra) is found only here in the Apostolic Scriptures. Obviously, the word hour is not to be taken literally, but is used as a near equivalent to last days or these last times, as found in other texts of the Apostolic Scriptures. Note the following: In the last days (ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις), God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17) but in these last days (σχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων) he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. (Heb 1:2) Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days (ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις). (James 5:3) He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times (ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων) for your sake. (1Pet 1:20) The metaphoric use of the Greek word hour (ὥρα, hōra) to refer to a future period occurs in the Lxx translation of Dan 8:19. Note how the Lxx translates the Hebrew text (MT): ו יּ אמ ר ה נ נ י מ וד יע ך א ת א שׁ ר י ה י ה בּ אַח ר ית ה זּ ע ם כּ י ל מ וע ד ק ץ Then he said, I am going to inform you about what will happen in the latter time of wrath, for the vision pertains to the appointed time of the end. (Dan 8:19) But the Lxx translates: καὶ εἶπέ μοι Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀπαγγέλλω σοι ἃ ἔσται ἐπ ἐσχάτου τῆς ὀργῆς τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ λαοῦ σου ἔτι γὰρ εἰς ὥρας καιροῦ συντελείας μενεῖ. And he said to me, Behold I am announcing to you that which will be regarding the final time of wrath to the sons of your people. For there remains yet an hour of a time of consummation. (Dan 8:19, Lxx) This use of hour (ὥρα, hōra) as a designation for a specific era of time is found a number of times in the Apostolic Scriptures, and used regularly by John in his Gospel in reference to Yeshua s own statements regarding His crucifixion, the period following His ascension, and the time of His return.

3 90 [2:18] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. (Matt 10:19, cf. Mk 13:11; Lk 12:12) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (Matt 24:36, cf. Mk 13:32, cp. Lk 12:40) As note above, we find Yeshua regularly using the word hour to refer to primarily three periods of time: (1) the giving of His life to effect atonement for His people, (2) the time when, through the sending of the Spirit (cf. Jn 14:26), He would confirm to His disciples the meaning of His life and work for the commission to which He had sent them, enabling them to write the Gospels and Epistles, and thus to establish the making of disciples from generation to generation through the inspired word, and (3) the time when He would appear and the final judgment would take place. (1) And Yeshua said to her, Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come. (John 2:4, cf. 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 12:2; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1) (2) They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father. (John 16:4, 25) (3) Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice. (John 5:25, 28) Therefore, John s use of the phrase the last hour means that span of time which begins with the ascension of Yeshua to the Father and the sending of the Ruach for making disciples of all the nations, and ends with the return of Yeshua and the final judgment. This reckoning of the last hour as beginning with the victorious resurrection and ascension of Yeshua and concluding with His triumphant return as reigning King, is in concert with the general voice of the Apostles. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1Cor 10:11) The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. (1Pet 4:7) Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Heb 9:26)

4 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two [2:18] 91 Therefore, when John states that this is the last hour, he, in concert with the voice of the other Apostles, means that we live in that final phase of earth s history, awaiting the return of the Messiah to bring all things to their appointed purpose. Since no one knows the exact time of Yeshua s return which will mark the conclusion of this last hour, we remain vigilant and active in accomplishing the work He has given us to do. Some, of course, charge the Apostle John with a false prophecy, understanding his claim that it is the last hour to mean that John expected the immediate return of Yeshua to bring the conclusion to earth s history. But as we have seen, the symbolic use of hour and the manner in which the final era of earth s history is portrayed by the prophets, Apostles, and Yeshua Himself, makes it clear that John likewise considered the last hour to encompass an unspecified era of time culminating in Yeshua s return. Note Calvin s answer to those who claim John s words offer a false prophecy. But so many ages having passed away since the death of John, seem to prove that this prophecy is not true: to this I answer, that the Apostle, according to the common mode adopted in the Scripture, declares to the faithful, that nothing more now remained but that Christ should appear for the redemption of the world. But as he fixes no time, he did not allure the men of that age by a vain hope, nor did he intend to cut short in future the course of the Church and the many successions of years during which the Church has hitherto remained in the world. And doubtless, if the eternity of God s kingdom be borne in mind, so long a time will appear to us as a moment. We must understand the design of the Apostle, that he calls that the last time, during which all things shall be so completed, that nothing will remain except the last revelation of Christ. 1 and just as you heard that antichrist is coming Note the present tense verb is coming (ἔρχεται, erchetai). For John, the spirit of antichrist is at work in his day and not something that can be pushed off to the distant future. The English word antichrist is actually a transliteration of the Greek ἀντίχριστος (antichristos), 2 made up of the preposition anti and the noun christos. The prefixed anti can have the sense both of against as well as in place of, and the Greek christos, meaning one who is anointed, derives from the verb χρίω (chrō), to anoint. Thus English Christ means the Anointed One, that is, the Messiah, the English word related to the Hebrew מ שׁ ח, māshach, to anoint and מ שׁ י ח, mashiach, one who is anointed. Undoubtedly when John states that they had heard that antichrist is coming, he is referencing the words of Yeshua as recorded in Matt 24:5, 24. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Messiah, and will mislead many. (Matt 24:5) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Matt 24:24) 1 Calvin, 1John, p The Greek term itself is found four times in 1John (2:18[2x], 22; 4:3) and once in 2John 1:7.

5 92 [2:18] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two In the first quote from Matthew, the false messiah seeks to replace the true Messiah, thus putting himself forward in the place of Yeshua. In the second quote the false prophets, endowed with demonic powers and thus performing their own great signs and wonders, speak against Yeshua in hopes of causing His chosen ones to deny Him. Thus both nuances of the preposition anti ( against, in place of ) were prophesied by Yeshua Himself as characterizing the coming antichrist(s). 1 even now many antichrists have appeared Here we find the term antichrist in the plural, and John goes on in the following verses to give the primary characteristic of those who hold the same perspective as will the final and ultimate antichrist. The primary identifying mark is they deny that Yeshua is the Messiah (2:22) and that He, being Messiah, has come in the flesh (4:2 3). Therefore, the spirit of antichrist is the devil himself, and those who deny that Yeshua is the Messiah, or who seek to put themselves forward as the true Messiah and thus seek to displace Yeshua, are acting in the same spirit as that which will empower the final and ultimate antichrist. Paul speaks of a future personage who fits the picture of antichrist. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every socalled god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (2Thess 2:3 4, 9 10) Likewise, John in Revelation writes of an individual, represented in apocalyptic imagery as the beast, who is empowered by Satan and who wages war against Yeshua and His people. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. (Rev 11:7) Further, in Rev 13:11 another beast wields his power to make people worship the first beast. Once again, this apocalyptic imagery paints a picture of an individual who declares himself to be the divine Messiah and seeks to displace Yeshua, to demand that people worship him, and thus to entirely discredit Yeshua as a false Messiah. It seems clear that the prophecy of Daniel (7:7 8, 15 26) gives the prophetic picture of the antichrist, depicted as a beast empowered to do great wickedness upon the earth and to wage war against the followers of Yeshua. It also seems clear that Daniel prophecies the coming of Antiochus Epiphanes as a foreshadow or forerunner of the end-times antichrist. Antiochus desecrated 1 Note also Matt 6:13, And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, where the Greek has ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ, utilizing the definite article, and thus could be understood to mean from the evil one. This may also be a reference to an individual who is the utlimate antichrist foreshadowed by previous antichrists.

6 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two [2:18] 93 the Temple (cf. Dan 7:21 22) and set himself forth as having divine glory (cf. 1Macc 1:10 64). It seems probable that Yeshua references Antiochus Epiphanes as a foreshadow of the final antichrist. Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet (9:27, 11:31, 12:11), standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Matt 24:15 16, cf. Mk 13:14) from this we know that it is the last hour. John is not interested in trying to identify a particular individual who would be this final antichrist. Rather, he is describing a principle characteristic that would mark the very spirit of antichrist, that is, someone who denies either the deity or humanity of Yeshua and who denies that He is the promised Messiah. Here we see that the last hour to which John refers is that period in earth s history in which the words of Yeshua (e.g., Matt 24:5, 24) are to be fulfilled. In a particular sense, whenever someone confesses Yeshua to be the Messiah and claims to receive Him as their Lord and Savior, and then turns from their confession and denies Him, ultimately renouncing Him as a false Messiah, that person participates in the very spirit of antichrist. Therefore John reckons the last hour to be that period of earth s history that culminates in the return of Yeshua. This final hour is the period of history in which the commission given to the Apostles and carried into each generation by those who are true disciples of Yeshua, is fulfilled. Further, the era denoted by the last hour is also marked by those who oppose Yeshua and seek to discredit Him in every possible way. At the end of this period of history, the spirit of antichrist will be epitomized in an individual who obtains significant political and military power in order to wage war against all who confess Yeshua to be the true Messiah and the only Savior of sinners.