Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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I read this week that mules are some of the hardest working creatures on many farms. Mules often have the best of characteristics of their parents: horses and donkeys. Mules are quite strong, being able to carry between 200 and 350 pounds, and can carry this load for up to 15 miles without resting. Wikipedia claims that they are “more patient, sure-footed, hardy and long-lived than horses, and they are considered less obstinate, faster, and more intelligent than donkeys.” So if mules are so great, how did the saying “stubborn as a mule” come from? Well, it just so happens that mules are stubborn when it comes to avoiding danger. We ought to stubbornly embrace the gospel at all costs, because to fail to do so it slippery slope that Satan wants us to be on, which for many will lead to eternal damnation.

“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. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 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. 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. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 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. And this is the promise that he made to us–eternal life.” (1 John 2:18-25)

The verses in this passage weave together so perfectly that it might be helpful to visually see how the verses connect with each other. Verse 18 is fairly straightforward with one linear argument which loops back to the give support to the first statement. Verse 19, then, goes on to explain one characteristic of those antichrists he mentioned in verse 19. Verses 20-21 contrast us with those he calls antichrists, saying that we have been anointed by the Holy One, that we have knowledge, and that we know the truth. Then verse 22 tells us very concretely who these antichrists are: they are those who deny that Jesus is the Christ. Verses 23-24 explain this a bit further, and instructs us in how to make sure we do not become antichrists ourselves: we must confess the Son of God and abide in Him and His Word.

Then verse 25 tells us the reward of all who abide in Christ: eternal life. So the promise of eternal life is the hope in the face of the idea of this being the last hour. We don’t have to worry about what will happen! We may be persecuted, but it won’t last forever. We may not know the day or the hour when Christ will return, but He will return. And when he does, we who confess Christ as Savior will spend eternity with Him

So John’s goal in this passage is to encourage us to persevere in the last hour (v. 18). So let’s look at what John means by the last hour. This is the only time in the New Testament where this phrase is used. It seems as though John is taking the whole of time and comparing it to a single day. When we do this, we find ourselves in the last hour of that day.

But we also have to take into account how they counted time in those days. They didn’t recognize midnight as the beginning of a new day. They began counting the hours from sunrise. So the last hour would actually be the hour before sunrise. It’s the time when we should be most sure that the new day will soon begin. So this is the time when Satan is most actively trying to deceive us.

If we truly believe that Christ is returning soon, that it is the last hour before the dawn of a new day, we will hold even more tightly to the gospel (v. 23b-24). It’s kind of like running the last leg of a race. For most of the race, you set your pace and stick to it, including the very beginning. But from the moment you see the finish line, you begin to run fast and faster until you’re at a sprint.

In the same way, we need to stubbornly hold onto the message of the gospel now more than ever. Many are trying to deceive us, telling us that Jesus is not the Christ (v. 22). Whoever is not for Christ, is against Christ. Even if they don’t know they are lying, anything that is not true is a lie. So anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ is a liar.

But what about all the people who believe in a god, but not in Jesus? The Bible talks about them, too (v. 23a). They do not truly know the Father. They cannot be saved unless they put their faith in Jesus, because salvation is in Jesus Christ alone.

This text points out that many of these antichrists are people who have spent some time in our churches (v. 19). There are many places in Scripture which tell us to gather together regularly for worship. Jesus made it His practice to worship at the Temple. The early church set an example for us of meeting together daily at first, then weekly, but no less often than that. Hebrews 10:25 tells us very straightforward, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

But 1 John 2:19 is one of the most sobering verses regarding church attendance in all of the Bible. It is essentially saying that anyone who stops going to church is an antichrist. Church attendance is important. But I should note that ceasing to come to church is not the only habit which defines an antichrist. They must also deny that Jesus is the Savior (v. 22). So the Bible certainly is not saying that if you stop going to church, you’re an unbeliever. Yet at the same time, we should not diminish the importance of worshiping here together. Church attendance is one indication that we’re continuing to follow Christ. But there’s an even more important indicator that we need to make sure is true of ourselves.

If we are truly embracing Christ, then we have been anointed by God, and we are growing in the knowledge of God’s Word (v. 20-21). God’s anointing shows itself in the way we live. God’s anointing shows itself in the way we think. God’s anointing shows itself in where we spend eternity (v. 25). If you know Jesus Christ, you have been anointed by His blood. The blood of Jesus cleanses of you all sin, and you will receive the promise that He made to you: eternal life.