1 John 2:18-27

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 John 2:18-19

Here is, I. A moral prognostication of the time; the end is coming: Little children, it is the last time, 1 John 2:18. Some may suppose that the apostle here addresses the first rank of Christians again; the juniors are most apt to be seduced, and therefore, ?Little children, you that are young in religion, take heed to yourselves that you be not corrupted.? But it may be, as elsewhere, a universal appellation, introductive of an alarm to all Christians: ?Little children, it is the last time;... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 John 2:20-27

Here, I. The apostle encourages the disciples (to whom he writes) in these dangerous times, in this hour of seducers; he encourages them in the assurance of their stability in this day of apostasy: But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. We see, 1. The blessing wherewith they were enriched?an unguent from heaven: You have an unction. True Christians are anointed ones, their name intimates as much. They are anointed with the oil of grace, with gifts and spiritual... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:18

2:18 Little children, it is the time of the last hour; and now many antichrists have risen, just as you heard that Antichrist was to come. That is how we know that it is the time of the last hour. It is important that we should understand what John means when he speaks of the time of the last hour. The idea of the last days and of the last hour runs all through the Bible; but there is a most interesting development in its meaning. (i) The phrase occurs frequently in the very early books... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:18

In this verse we meet the conception of Antichrist. Antichrist is a word which occurs only in John's letters in the New Testament ( 1 John 2:22 ; 1 John 4:3 ; 2 John 1:7 ); but it is the expression of an idea which is as old as religion itself. From its derivation Antichrist can have two meanings. Anti ( Greek #473 ) is a Greek preposition which can mean either against or in place of. Strategos ( Greek #4755 ) is the Greek word for a commander, and antistrategos can mean either... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:18

John has a view of Antichrist which is characteristically his own. To him the sign that Antichrist is in the world is the false belief and the dangerous teaching of the heretics. The Church had been well forewarned that in the last days false teachers would come. Jesus had said, "Many will come in my name, saying, I am he; and they will lead many astray" ( Mark 13:6 ; compare Matthew 24:5 ). Before he left them, Paul had warned his Ephesian friends: "After my departure fierce wolves will... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:19-21

2:19-21 They have gone out from among us but they are not of our number. If they had been of our number, they would have remained with us. But things have happened as they have happened, that it may be clearly demonstrated that all of them are not of us. But you have received anointing from the Holy One and you all possess knowledge. I have not written this letter to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. As things have... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:22-23

2:22-23 Who is the liar but the man who denies that Jesus is the Anointed One of God? Antichrist is he who denies the Father and the Son. Anyone who denies the Son does not even have the Father; and everyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. As someone has put it, to deny that Jesus is the Christ is the master lie, the lie par excellence; the lie of all lies. John says that he who denies the Son has not the Father either. What lies behind that saying is this. The false... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:24-29

2:24-29 If that which you have heard from the beginning remains within you, you too will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise which he made to you eternal life. I am writing these things to you to warn you about those who are seeking to lead you astray. As for you, if that anointing which you have received from him remains in you, you have no need for anyone to teach you. But, as his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is no lie, and as he has taught... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:24-29

Before we leave this passage we must note two great and practical things in it. (i) In 1 John 2:28 , John urges his people to abide continually in Christ so that, when he does come back in power and glory, they may not shrink from him in shame. By far the best way to be ready for the coming of Christ is to live with him every day. If we do that, his coming will be no shock to us but simply the entry into the nearer presence of one with whom we have lived for long. Even if we have doubts... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 John 2:18

Little children, it is the last time ,.... Or hour; not of the Jewish civil and church state, for that had been at an end for some time; this epistle was written some years after the destruction of Jerusalem; nor the last hour of the Gospel dispensation, or world to come, for this was but the first age of that; and much less the last hour of time, or of the present world itself, for that has been many hundreds of years since; but the last hour of the apostolic age. All the apostles were now... read more

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