The Antichrists Come

The Apostle John begins this section with a time reference – the " last hour" had arrived because many antichrists had come on the scene. These antichrists were people who had been associated with the church, but they had departed from the fellowship of believers because they adhered to doctrines that denied the reality of the incarnation. They denied the fact that the eternal Son of God had taken upon himself our human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. These antichrist people denied that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. By denying the truth of who the Son is, they also denied the Father and demonstrated that they did not belong to the body of believers. The indwelling Holy Spirit confirms to the believer the truth of the Lord Jesus' incarnation. Thus the believer should continually abide in Christ.