Lesson 7: The Spirit of Antichrist

1 John 2:18-23 · The Third Test — Sound Doctrine

John has given two tests of genuine faith: the moral test (obedience) and the love test (brotherly love). Now comes the third: the doctrinal test. Not all spiritual claims are true. Not everyone who speaks about Jesus actually knows Him. In one of the most urgent passages in the letter, John warns that the last hour is here, antichrists have appeared, and the defining issue is what you confess about Jesus Christ.

Read the Text

¹⁸Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹They 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 it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. ²¹I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²²Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ²³No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
— 1 John 2:18-23 (ESV)

The Last Hour

John's opening is urgent: "Little children, it is the last hour."

The phrase "last hour" (eschatē hōra) does not mean the final sixty minutes before the end of the world. In New Testament thinking, the "last days" began with Christ's first coming and will be consummated at His return (Acts 2:17; Hebrews 1:2). John is saying: We are living in the period the prophets spoke about. This is it.

And the evidence? The promised antichrist — the great end-times opponent of Christ — has not appeared yet, but his forerunners are already here. John calls them "many antichrists." Their presence is itself a sign of the times.

Antichrist in ScriptureThe word antichristos appears only in 1 John (2:18, 22; 4:3) and 2 John 7. It means "against Christ" or "instead of Christ." The prefix anti can mean either opposition or substitution. False teachers are antichrists because they oppose the true Christ and offer a substitute Christ — a Jesus who is not the real Jesus. The "coming antichrist" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) will be the ultimate embodiment of this spirit.

They Went Out From Us

Verse 19 is one of the most pastorally important verses in the letter: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us."

These antichrists were not outsiders attacking the church — they were insiders who left. They had been part of the fellowship, part of the community. They professed faith, participated in the life of the church, and then walked away.

John's analysis is sobering: their departure revealed what was true all along. They were never genuinely saved. If they had been, they would have stayed. The key word is menō — "continued" or "abided." Real faith abides. Fake faith falls away.

This does not mean a true Christian can never struggle with doubt or drift temporarily. But it means that a final, permanent abandonment of Christ and His truth is evidence that the faith was never genuine. Perseverance is not the condition of salvation — it's the proof of it.

ReflectionAdrian Rogers said: "If you could lose your salvation, you would. If you could keep it, you couldn't. The reason we persevere is not our grip on God but His grip on us." The same John who says "they went out from us because they were not of us" also wrote: "He who began a good work in you will complete it" (Philippians 1:6). The departure proves the absence of genuine faith, not the loss of it.

You Have an Anointing

Verse 20 contrasts the false teachers with John's readers: "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things."

The word chrisma (anointing) refers to the Holy Spirit's work of teaching and illuminating believers. The "Holy One" is likely Christ (cf. John 6:69), and the anointing is the Spirit given by Christ to all believers (John 14:26; 16:13).

John is not saying every Christian knows everything. He's saying that because the Spirit dwells in every believer, you don't need secret knowledge or special teachers to know the truth about Christ. The same Spirit who inspired the Word illuminates the Word in your heart. The false teachers claimed hidden knowledge (the Gnostics' claim); John says: the truth is not hidden — it's been given to you.

The Defining Denial

Verses 22-23 cut to the heart of the matter. John asks a rhetorical question and answers it: "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?"

The antichrist's defining mark is not immorality (though that may follow) but false doctrine about Jesus. Specifically:

Denying that Jesus is the Christ — Jesus of Nazareth is not the promised Messiah, the Anointed One of God
Denying the Son — Refusing to acknowledge Jesus as the eternal Son of God come in the flesh

Verse 23 states the consequence with absolute clarity: "No one who denies the Son has the Father." You cannot have God while rejecting His Son. There is no access to the Father apart from Jesus Christ (John 14:6). The reverse is also true: "He who confesses the Son has the Father also." To acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, is to have God Himself.

The Doctrinal Test in ContextSome Christians react against "doctrine" as dry or divisive. John would disagree. Doctrine is the content of our faith, and false doctrine about Jesus is spiritually deadly. The doctrinal test is not about minor theological disagreements — it's about the identity of Jesus Christ. A wrong answer here invalidates everything else. A person can be moral and loving but if they deny the Son, they do not have the Father. That is why John places the doctrinal test alongside the moral and love tests.

The Three Tests: A Summary So Far

With this passage, John has now introduced all three tests of genuine faith:

Test	Passage	Question
Moral	2:3-6	Do you obey God's commands?
Love	2:9-11	Do you love your brother?
Doctrinal	2:22-23	Do you confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God?

A true child of God will exhibit all three. Not perfectly, but genuinely. And each test serves as a diagnostic: when one is missing, the profession of faith should be examined.

Key Terms to Remember

Last hour (eschatē hōra) — The period between Christ's first and second coming; the "last days" characterized by the appearing of antichrists
Antichrist (antichristos) — One who opposes Christ or substitutes a false Christ; used of both the coming ultimate opponent and the many false teachers already active
Anointing (chrisma) — The Holy Spirit's work of teaching and illuminating believers, given by Christ to all who are born of God
Abide / Continue (menō) — To remain, dwell, stay; the mark of genuine faith is that it perseveres

Check Your Understanding

1. What does John mean by "it is the last hour" (2:18)?

a) The world will end within a few hours or days

b) We are living in the final period of history that began with Christ's first coming

c) John is writing late in the day

d) Only the apostle John would be alive to see the end

b) We are living in the final period of history that began with Christ's first coming — "Last hour" in New Testament terms refers to the entire inter-advent age, which began at Pentecost and will conclude at Christ's return. The presence of "many antichrists" is evidence that this is indeed the period the prophets spoke about.

2. What does verse 19 teach us about those who leave the faith?

Their departure reveals they were never genuinely saved. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us." A Final, permanent abandonment of Christ proves the faith was never real. Perseverance is not the condition of salvation but the proof of it. This gives both warning (examine your faith) and assurance (God keeps His own).

3. According to verses 22-23, what is the defining mark of an antichrist?

Denying that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The antichrist spirit is defined by false doctrine about Jesus' identity — specifically denying His true humanity (Jesus of Nazareth) and His true deity (the Christ, the Son of God). This is the doctrinal test: a person's confession about Jesus reveals their spiritual condition.

4. How do the three tests (moral, love, doctrinal) work together as diagnostics of genuine faith?

They function like three legs of a stool. The moral test asks: Is your life marked by obedience to God? The love test asks: Do you love God's people? The doctrinal test asks: Do you confess the true Jesus? A genuine believer will exhibit all three — not perfectly, but genuinely. If one is missing, the profession of faith should be examined. They are not the basis of salvation but the evidence of it.

Primary Resource

Read: Adrian Rogers, "The Spirit of Antichrist" — the sermon covering 1 John 2:18-23. Rogers emphasizes that the most dangerous false teachers are not those who attack the church from outside but those who rise up from within, twisting the truth about Jesus.

Read: 1 John 2:18-23 in at least two translations (e.g., ESV and NIV or KJV). Compare how each version handles "the last time" / "the last hour" and "unction" / "anointing."

Before Next Lesson

Read 1 John 2:24-27. Ask: What does it mean to "let what you heard from the beginning abide in you" — and how does that protect you from deception?

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