1 John 2:18-27

2. Resisting the Antichrists 2:18-27

John needed to alert his readers to special deceptions they would encounter to enable them to identify and defend themselves against these temptations. Previously John had been less direct in dealing with false teachers who perverted the truth about intimacy with God. Now he became more direct and labeled them antichrists.

John again used a three-fold structure at the beginning of this section of the text. He described three signs or marks: of the end (1 John 2:18-19), of the believer (1 John 2:20-23), and of living in the light (1 John 2:24-25). 1 John 2:26-27 recapitulate and develop the revelation in 1 John 2:18-25.