[QT] 1 John 2:18 ~ 2:29 18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. 20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us. 26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. 28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. ***** Here John talks about antichrist. There are multiple definitions about antichrist. In the context of revelation, there is the Antichrist. He is like the head of antichrist. But in todays verses, it is not about the Antichrist. John says anyone who denies Father and Son is anti-christ. In contrast, the one who knows Father and Son will enjoy eternal life. When you hear or read a message like this, you may have a question. The one God chose receives His message, and the one who is not chosen cant believe God. It is called predestination. Many people believe that theory. But I think it doesnt have any practical meaning, because no one knows who is chosen or not. I believe God selects everybody and He arranges a pre-destiny for each one. So you see predestination when you look back, not when you look ahead. I started to attend church when I was 11. Since then, for last 35 years, there were couple of times that I could turn away from God. But every time, God hold me to stand next to him. Sometimes He came to me very logically. Sometimes He came to me emotionally. Even though I was deep in the valley of death, He always stayed with me. That is predestination. So lets not forget that He is always with us. He guards us as you would guard your own eyes. He hides me in the shadow of your wings. (Psalms 17:8)
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 04:43:41 +0000
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