I John 2:18

I John 2:18: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

John’s point in this verse is that we are living in the final days. The “last time” started when the Church was born on the day of Pentecost, and it has gone on until this present day. John is not saying that the Antichrist has already arrived, or that the Millennium has already begun, or that the end-times prophecies were all symbolic or allegorical. That is not his point at all.

It may seem that way at first glance, but go back and look at the verse again. What it says is that, in this present age, there are many antichrists. The word he uses is plural, not singular. John does not say that the Antichrist himself has already arrived. The verse does not say “The antichrist is here, now.” The Bible (Old and New Testament) has a lot of specific prophecies regarding what the Antichrist is going to do, and so far no one has arisen who has fulfilled those prophecies.

What we are seeing in this age is the rise of people who oppose (or claim to be) Christ – in other words, the appearance of people who are anti-Christ. John is saying that this is evidence that these are the final days.

The final days have been going on for quite some time. They will not go on forever, though. The Old World waited a century while Noah built the ark. He warned them, but they did not listen, and when the Flood finally happened they were caught off-guard – and all of them perished. The Second Coming will be the same. John warned people two thousand years ago that the last days were at hand, and that message is still true today. The world has had a great deal more than a single century to prepare for the end, but when the Lord does return they will still be caught off-guard, and a great many will perish.

This is how Jesus put it:

Matthew 24:37: “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

You have been warned. Don’t disregard the warning.