John letters

1. Lesson 6 REJECTING ANTICHRISTS WALKING IN THE LIGHT:

2. THE ANTICHRIST

3. When will he come? “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” 1 John, 2: 18

4. When will he come? IN THE LAST HOUR According to the Bible, the expression “the last hour” or “in the last days” covers the time between Jesus’ death and his Second Coming. “God… en has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews, 1: 1-2) “He [Christ] was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter, 1: 20)

5. When will he come? IN THE LAST HOUR For every believer, his time is “the last hour” and he has to live it preaching and hastening Christ’s Coming. “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter, 3: 12)

6. Who is he? “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which 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 they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us” 1 John, 2: 18-19

7. anti Anti: “Against” or “instead” Who is he? cristoV Christ anticristoV Antichrist Antichrists are those who oppose and/or try to take Christ’s place. According to this definition, the Antichrist par excellence is Satan.

8. Who is he? THOSE WHO OPPOSE OR TRY TO TAKE CHRIST’S PLACE Nevertheless, John worries about warning his readers about the existence of many antichrists: people who oppose Christ teaching wrong doctrines or taking Christ’s place (false christs) They already existed in John’s time -Docets, Gnostics-, they existed during the whole Christian history and they still exist nowadays.

9. “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” What does he teach? 1 John, 2: 22-23 1 John, 4: 2-3

10. What does he teach? “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. y covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” 2 Peter, 2: 1-3

11. “There are those who claim to have great light, who say that they have communication with the spirits of the dead, who deny the divinity of Christ, and in so doing deny the Father whom Christ represented on earth… The classes who deny the Father and the Son are rapidly increasing in the world, and the name given to this class by the Bible is antichrist. There are many who have their names upon the church records, who claim to possess superior piety; and yet should Christ appear among them, they would rebuke the Son of God. There are men who profess to be ministers of the gospelwho are teaching heresy, and deceivingmany, and leading thousands in the way of apostasy.” E.G.W. (The Youth’s Instructor, September 27, 1894)

12. “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth… And this is the promise that He has promised us -- eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” How can we recognize him? 1 John, 2: 20, 21, 25-27

13. How can we recognize him?

14. The ANOINTING John is talking about means when the believer receives the Holy Spirit. Having an anointing of the Holy Spirit. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel, 16: 13) How can we recognize him? “Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me” (Isaiah, 61: 1) “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians, 1: 21-22)

15. Knowing the truth. God prepared a main method to know the truth in our days: through his Word. If anyone preaches a different truth than the Scriptures, he is an antichrist, even if he says he has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit won’t reveal anything against everything revealed to those who were inspired to write the Bible. How can we recognize him? “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians, 1: 13)

16. Following the received teaching. Having an anointing of the Holy Spirit and accepting the truth at one point in our lives isn’t enough. We’re invited to walk every day deepening the truth through personal study and a life that is consistent with the received truth. How can we recognize him? “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians, 1: 9-10)

17. “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” How can we resist him? 1 John, 2: 28

18. The only security we have for resisting antichrists is to live a close relationship with Jesus, surrendering our will to His daily. Abiding in Him as the branches abide in the vine. ABIDING IN JESUS How can we resist him? “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John, 15: 5)

19. TEST ABOUT THE ANTICHRIST

20. JESUS OF NAZARETH

21. ADAPT it!Teaching Approach Effective for SMALL GROUPS ASSOCIATE truth – Why should I study this lesson?DISCOVER truth – What does the Bible say about this truth?APPLY truth – How can this truth affect my life today?PLAN using the truth – How can I use this truth today?TRANSFER truth to life – What changes do I need in my life? Slideshare.net/chucho1943