The First Epistle of John: Lesson Seventeen

"Then many false prophets will rise

up and deceive many. And

because lawlessness will abound,

the love of many will grow cold.

But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

Matt 24:11-13

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Let's begin today with prayer....

"Oh God, our holy Father, I come to You today to bless You and worship You for You alone are worthy. Lord, we will look at the antichrists who are among us and those who are coming and as we do, let us never forsake You and all that You have given us in Your word. May we endure to the end. May we always turn to Your word and treasure it in our hearts.

I seek the forgiveness of my sins. I know I have not treasured Your word in my heart and I have sinned against You. I pray that You will wash me, justify me, and make me new again. Guard my tongue, and prevent me from causing harm against those I love.

I pray for each lady reading this study today. May she learn more about You and Your word. May she have an understanding of who is a true believer by their actions and not just their words. I pray that You will walk along side her and give her encouragement and strength to get through each day.

In Jesus' name....amen."

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In today' s portion of 1 John, we will be reading about his warnings regarding the antichrists that are among us and those that are coming. But let's briefly review what we have already read...

Please read 1 John 1:1-2:17

As you read these verses again, pray over them and ask the Lord to help you memorize them.

1 John 2:18-19

"Little children, it is the last hour; and 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 among 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."

These are powerful words the Lord gave to John. In the first chapter of John, we are told of his credentials and then we are told about the God we worship. In the first part of chapter two, John is telling Christians how to behave.

Now he seems to be warning us.....

"Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming..."

Please read:

Matt 24:5 & 24

John heard Christ utter these words about the last days. Now he was living it as he watched many believers walk away from the faith as Jesus said. John knew that this was a sign of the coming of the Antichrist.

John went from telling us how to behave to telling us what to believe and why. It is most important for us Christians to have a Biblical worldview and know how to defend it.

How to you know what your world view is? Easy, ask yourself these questions:

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  Where did all matter come from?

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  What went wrong in the world?

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  How is the problem fixed?

How you answer these questions will reveal to you what your world view is. For example, an atheist might answer this way:

-The Big Bang happened and sparked the beginning of all matter.

-Religion and morality is what went wrong with the world.

-Get rid of all religion and morality and the world is fixed.

A Christian might answer this way:

-God created the world from nothing.

-Sin entered into God's creation.

-Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to defeat death and sin, so by believing on Him, the world is fixed.

So, you can see how important it is to know what one believes. Our son, Nathan, attends a public charter school. Some people we know believe we are sinning by not homeschooling our son and allowing him to attend a public school.

But we know that we are not sinning because the Lord has called us not to be isolationists, but to go out into the world and be witnesses of His glory. So, we have taught Nathan how to defend his world view. And that is what he did last week.

Many of his friends are of different religions: Jehovah's witness, Hindu, Mulsim, Catholic, and Mormon.

Nathan has often asked us questions about what each of these faiths teaches since the 4th grade. Now that he is older, he is beginning to understand more of what he believes. So, one day last week he asked some of his friends what they believe and then he told them what his faith is. Of course, he argued alot with the Mormon girl, but most of the others listened to what he had to say.

We were very impressed that he felt he could talk about his knowledge of Christ with his friends. He even told his Jehovah's Witness friend that he is not a "real Christian" because he does not believe Jesus is God. Praise God that Nathan stood up for Christ. Jesus will remember this.

Had he been homeschooled, none of this could have happened. So, some kids should be out there as a witness to the Lord in the public arena.

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"..they went out from us, but they were not of us..."

Scary words! Who are these antichrists? John tells us that they are among us.

Please read:

Acts 20:29-31

Savage wolves from among us! Paul warned believers that the antichrists won't be on the outside waiting for us, they will be sitting among us in the churches. A sobering thought.

Matt 7:15

Jer 23:16

Micah 3:5

They will be in "sheep's clothing". What an interesting term. Jesus warned that these people will appear harmless, innocent, and peaceful....but then reveal who they really are. How will we know them?

Matt 7:16-20

Matt 12:33

Remember, it is not what a person says that makes them a believer....but what they do:

1 John 2:3

God is more interested in our obedience than by our sacrifices. Remember Saul?? (1 Sam 15:22)

John tells us that these antichrists were among the believers, but then they left. But he assures the readers of his letter that if these people had truly been followers of Christ, then they would have continued with them.

Please read:

John 13:30

Jesus identified His betrayer that night. And Judas left....and did not return. Had he been one of the believers, he would have returned.

Jesus clearly warns us in Matt 7 that we are to beware of false prophets who are inwardly ravenous wolves. John warns us that these gospel-hating people are among us right now. It is by their fruits that we will know who they are.

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Life Application

Sheep's clothing. I can't get that analogy out of my mind, I think, because Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd so many times....so He would know who is and who is not part of His flock.

How can we know if we truly are a part of His flock? I think more Christians face moments of doubt of their salvation more than anything else during their walk. First John was written that you may know....

I John 2:6

Remember when we studied how Jesus walked? He walked on the water! That is how we are to walk. Without fear or trembling....without hesitation....just obey and trust in the Lord. We can know we are believers by our fruit. What we do is more important than what we say.

I learned this from running that darned marathon.

So many times during that race I thought for sure I wouldn't make it. Especially after my husband had to slow down and I found myself alone. It was scary. I saw so many people cheering on the racers with signs and waves. Yet I saw no one I knew on the sidelines. It was a lonely time.

But I knew I had to finish. A little girl was depending on me. It was so humbling. But my body was giving up, I could feel it. So, I began to talk myself out of it....."just stop" I told myself over and over again. And I was so close to listening to that voice.

Then, believe it or not, I went to pray in a port-a-potty. Yucky, I know. But it was the only "private" place I had at the moment. I sat there and begged the Lord, I mean I BEGGED the Lord to help me finish the race. My foot was bloody and my broken toe ached. I was sick to my stomach and my legs were shaky. You see, I still had 10 more miles to go, but I knew I could not do it. Yet, I knew He could.

So, I got up and finished that darn race. And the next day, the mother of that little girl told me how they cheered for me from home as they watched my progress on the internet. Little Hana was inspired by my performance. She was inspired to keep going inspite of the pain.

Imagine if I had quit at mile 16.

I claim to know the Lord, so I had to obey His commandments. I had to walk as He walked. I had to get out of that boat and step onto those waves and trust. I had to face that giant with only my 5 little stones and trust. I had to walk into that furnace....and trust.

And boy was it hard!! But I listened to the voice of Truth and not that voice in my head telling me to quit.

So, when things get hard and you want to just stop....just quit, just take the easy route. DON'T! Obey His voice and keep going. Remember that He is the Good Shepher and He knows His sheep. He will empower you. He will encourage you to keep going.

First John was written that you may know.....

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Until next time....

"But the voice of Truth tells me a different story. And the voice of Truth says, 'Do not be afraid.' And the voice of Truth says, "this is for My glory.'

Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the voice of Truth...."

-Casting Crowns, "The Voice of Truth" song. 2003, Reunion Records, Inc.

Blessings,

Ruth