Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come.
1 john 2:18
The “antichrist” (singular) is a person who will oppose Christ and all that He stands for. This person will be an embodiment of evil, and he will arise in the future. But even in the first century, there were many antichrists.
When John speaks about “antichrists” (plural), he is talking about ordinary people who once were in the church but then left the church. “They went out from us, but they were not of us” (2:19).
These people believed that Jesus was born and died like anyone else. They denied the virgin birth. They saw Jesus as a man blessed with special powers and a special ministry. They saw Him as an inspiration and as an example of what is possible for a person possessed by heavenly powers.
But John is clear: Any teaching that reduces Jesus to a man with special powers is a lie that reflects the spirit of antichrist. “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” (2:22).
Notice the two denials: 1) Jesus is not the Christ, and 2) Jesus is not the Son of God. Robert Law says, “There are many lies and many liars; but he who utters this lie is the liar.”
This is the lie that in some form will be repeated again and again throughout the course of history, and whenever you hear it, you are hearing the voice of antichrist.
Which of these two lies about Jesus do you need to fight against?
