First John 2:18-20: God is Light

Warning: Walking in the Light is Not Compatible with Denying the Son!

^2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many have become antichrists. From this we know that it is the last hour. ^2:19 They separated from us, but they were not part of us. For if they had really been part of us, they would have remained among us. But they separated, in order that they might be revealed for what they are – that none of them are part of us. ^2:20 You have an anointing from the Holy One and you all understand this.

^2:21 I did not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and you know that absolutely no lie comes from the truth. ^2:22 Who is the liar? Unquestionably the one who denies, saying, “Jesus is not the Christ.” This one is the antichrist – the one who denies the Father and the Son. ^2:23 Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The one who acknowledges the Son, also has the Father.

^2:24 As for you, see to it that what you heard from the beginning abides in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. ^2:25 And this is the promise that He Himself promised us – eternal life.

^2:26 I wrote these things to you about those who are trying to mislead you. ^2:27 Now as for you – the anointing you received from ˹Jesus Christ˺ abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you about these things. But as His anointing teaches you about all these things (and it is true and is not a lie), indeed, just as it taught you – abide in Him.

^2:28 And so, little children, abide in Him so that when He is revealed we may have confidence, and not turn away from Him in shame when He returns.

Translation by the author from the SBL Greek New Testament.

Summary of Verses 2:18-28

In this unit, John directs a warning against the disruptors who appear to claim that Christ is not central for having fellowship with God.

Click here to open a PDF document that explains and illustrates the structure of verses 2:18-28 in more detail.

Click here for a full outline of First John.

Structure of Verses 2:18-28

Verses 2:18-28 are the last unit in the section about God is Light (1:5-2:28). It naturally follows from Unit D (2:15-17) that notes in the closing verse that “the world is passing away” (2:17). This unit picks up this thought by stating that, in fact, “it is the last hour” (2:18). Evidence for the last hour is the appearance of many antichrists, some of whom were the disruptors who separated from John’s community of believers. Verses 2:18-28 are directed against the disruptors who appear to have claimed that Christ is not central for having fellowship with God. Thus, they are “anti” – “christ”. John encourages the remaining members of the community to abide in the truth and abide in Christ.

Verses 2:18-28 are loosely structured around a chiasmus based on both similar and contrasting ideas. Some mirrored parts (such as A and A’) have identical key words in the Greek. The structure of the chiasmus look like this:

A Separation and Antichrists Revealed (2:19)
    B Anointing Provides Understanding (2:20)
        C Why John did not Write (2:21)
            D The Lie – Jesus is not the Christ (2:22)
                E Denying the Son (2:23a)
                E’ Acknowledging the Son (2:23b)
            D’ The Truth – The Promise of Eternal Life (2:24-25)
        C’ Why John did Write (2:26)
    B’ Anointing Teaches (2:27)
A’ Abiding and Christ Revealed (2:28)

The focus of the chiasmus is the set of contrasting statements in verse 2:23 focused on denying and acknowledging the Son:

^23a Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either.
^23b The one who acknowledges the Son, also has the Father.

These contrasting statements also have parallel syntactical structures in the Greek.

Verse 2:24 has a chiasmic phrase embedded in it in the Greek. However, it cannot be translated into good English that preserves the chiasm. A chiasmic phrase is a short phrase where the second part mirrors the first.

Click here to open a PDF document that explains and illustrates the structural items mentioned above in more detail

Verse 2:18

Children,

“children” expresses John’s affection for the readers with whom he has a pastoral relationship, expresses his position of spiritual oversight, and also acts as a grammatical marker for the beginning of a new unit. Thus verse 2:18 serves as the introduction to this unit.

it is the last hour,

In verse 2:17, John noted that the “world is passing away“. Now he informs the readers that, in fact, already “it is the last hour“.

and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many have become antichrists. From this we know that it is the last hour.

The appearance of many antichrists confirms that it is the last hour. The fact that this is occurring “just as you heard” indicates that this was something the readers had been taught previously.

Antichrists are those who deny Christ – those opposed to Christ and the true teachings about Christ. They are forerunners of the end-time figure known as the Antichrist who have strayed from the truth about Christ. They try to deceive others through their false teachings about Christ.

These is an important distinction between the false antichrists and the true Christ – they “have become antichrists“, but He was “from the beginning” (1 John 1:1).

Note: Last Hour

The phrase “last hour” (ἐσχάτη ὥρα / eschatē hōra) appears only here in the New Testament, and probably has the general sense of “the last days”, rather than referring to a very short period of time. Thus John is not predicting an immediately immanent time frame for the world passing away, but is stressing the urgency of the situation – the readers should live like any hour is the last hour. The phrase probably has eschatological overtones. As Karen Jobes explains in her commentary:

“The use of ‘hour’ invokes the eschatological concept of the final stage of God’s dealings with the world, a stage inaugurated with the death of Jesus, extending through a period of the world’s hostility toward followers of Jesus, and to be consummated on the day of resurrection and judgment at the end of history as we know it.” [JOBES p. 123]

Note: Antichrist

Interestingly, though most Christians talk frequently about the Antichrist when they talk about the end times, the word Antichrist only appears four times in the New Testament. All four occurrences are in the letters of John – three times in First John (1 John 2:18; 1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3), and one time in Second John (2 John 1:7). From these four passages we learn that:

Many people will appear who have the character of an antichrist.
An antichrist lies, deceives, and denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Their appearance confirms that it is the “last hour” (see above).
Many antichrists are already present in the world and have a negative influence in it.
There is one preeminent Antichrist that is still to appear.

The antichrists are the same as the false christs that Jesus warned against who will attempt to lead people astray (see Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22). They are opposed to the true teachings about Christ and His work.

The preeminent Antichrist is identified elsewhere in the New Testament as the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) who opposes God and proclaims himself to be God. He is probably a human representative or incarnation of Satan, and so has his character. The Antichrist is possibly identified as “the abomination of desolation” mentioned in Mark 13:14. Many preachers and teachers associate the Antichrist with the beast mentioned numerous times in the Book of Revelation – a future world ruler who violently opposes Christ and his followers and is associated with the number 666 (see Revelation 13:18).

Structure

Note that there is a chiasmic structure to verse 2:18:

Children, it is the last hour,
  and just as you heard
    that Antichrist is coming,
      even now
    many have become antichrists.
  From this we know
that it is the last hour.

Verse 2:19

They separated from us, but they were not part of us. For if they had really been part of us, they would have remained among us.

John now makes it clear that some of the antichrists who appeared were those who separated from the community of believers that John is writing to that he oversaw. The antichrists who separated were the disruptors. This was a significant event for the church, based on an understanding of First, Second, and Third John.

Though John provides few details about the antichrist disruptors, it is clear that they were spreading a new teaching where Jesus Christ was not central to knowing God and were trying to mislead other members with this teaching (2:26). Specifically, they denied that Jesus was the Christ (2:22; see also 4:2-3).

But they separated, in order that they might be revealed for what they are – that none of them are part of us.

It appears that the separation was voluntary – they were not expelled. They separated because they held beliefs that were contrary to those of the community of believers.

According to John, their separation “revealed” that they were never really part of the community, implying that they were never really true believers. If they had been true believers, they would have remained.

The word “revealed” runs as a thread through First John, occurring nine times: 1:2 (x2); 2:19; 2:28; 3:2 (x2); 3:5; 3:8; 4:9. In this unit it appears at the beginning and the end describing the antichrists whose true nature was revealed by their separation (2:19) and the true Christ who will be revealed when the world has passed away (2:28).

The departure of disruptors, antichrists, or false teachers from a community of faith is not a bad thing because:

It reveals the true nature of those who depart.
It reveals who are the true followers of Christ.
It brings doctrinal integrity to the community.
It creates a more cohesive community. [See YARBROUGH p. 148]

Verse 2:20

You have an anointing from the Holy One and you all understand this.

The antichrist disruptors probably claimed that they had a superior knowledge. But John assures the readers that they are protected from being deceived by the disruptor’s false teachings about Christ because they “have an anointing from the Holy One” that provides understanding (2:20) and teaches them (2:27). As long as the truth that they heard from the beginning abides in them, they will abide in the Son and in the Father (2:24).

“Holy One” (ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου / apo tou hagiou) is most likely a reference to the Holy Spirit, though many commentators think it refers to Jesus Christ, who promised to send a Helper who is the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17). In either case the result is the same. The role of the Holy Spirit is to confirm the truth of what the readers have been taught – truth that was handed down to them from Jesus Christ through the teaching of the disciples, like John.

The noun “anointing” (χρῖσμα / chrisma) is used only two times in the New Testament, and only in First John – in verses 2:20 and 2:27 of this unit. In this context, it appears that the idea of anointing is to be understood in terms of teaching that is comprehended and confirmed through the work of the Holy Spirit. As I. Howard Marshall explains in his commentary:

“The antidote to false teaching is the inward reception of the Word of God, administered and confirmed by the work of the Spirit.” [MARSHALL p. 155]

This provides steadfastness so that the believer is not deceived and led astray by false teaching.

Go back to Verses 2:15-17
Go forward to Verses 2:21-25

Your Personal Study

Read First John 2:21-25 below and answer the questions.

1. What does John assume is true about those to whom he sent his letter?

2. What was the lie that the disruptors were spreading through their false teaching?

3. According to John, what makes a person an antichrist?

4. What do you think it means to “have” the Father in verse 2:23?

5. Why does the one who denies the Son not have the Father?

6. What do you think it means to “abide” in the Son and in the Father in verse 2:24?

7. What has God promised? Do you have what God promised?

First John Translation.

First John Translation with Outline and Notes.

Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.

Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.

How you can have eternal life.

Koine Foundations

First John 2:18-20: God is Light

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First John 2:18-20: God is Light

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