1 00:00:00,870 --> 00:00:03,250 Welcome to From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons. 2 00:00:03,510 --> 00:00:05,130 Each week we bring you a different message 3 00:00:05,130 --> 00:00:07,230 from some of history's greatest speakers in the 4 00:00:07,230 --> 00:00:09,670 Christian faith, and powerful sermons for modern preachers 5 00:00:09,670 --> 00:00:09,890 too. 6 00:00:10,130 --> 00:00:11,150 This week we have J. 7 00:00:11,230 --> 00:00:11,650 Glenn Owen. 8 00:00:11,890 --> 00:00:13,970 With his message, it is The Last Hour. 9 00:00:14,210 --> 00:00:16,990 Will you turn prayerfully with me, if you 10 00:00:16,990 --> 00:00:21,610 please, to 1 John, chapter 2, and to 11 00:00:21,610 --> 00:00:24,530 the passage that begins with verse 18, which 12 00:00:24,530 --> 00:00:26,870 we have already read this morning as our 13 00:00:26,870 --> 00:00:27,210 lesson. 14 00:00:28,710 --> 00:00:31,470 You might find it helpful to keep the 15 00:00:31,470 --> 00:00:33,590 Bible open before you as we proceed. 16 00:00:36,710 --> 00:00:39,290 We have already seen how the Apostle John 17 00:00:39,290 --> 00:00:44,690 would apply certain tests to those in Asia 18 00:00:44,690 --> 00:00:48,510 of old, who, whilst professing to be Christian, 19 00:00:50,270 --> 00:00:55,190 have broken with the Christian church, have withdrawn 20 00:00:55,190 --> 00:01:00,090 from Christian fellowship, and have gone on one 21 00:01:00,090 --> 00:01:02,190 side and started a little group of their 22 00:01:02,190 --> 00:01:05,670 own, with their own emphases and their own 23 00:01:05,670 --> 00:01:08,510 alleged insights into truth. 24 00:01:09,630 --> 00:01:12,750 The Apostle is concerned that the Christian community 25 00:01:12,750 --> 00:01:15,970 should be able to discern whether or not 26 00:01:15,970 --> 00:01:17,230 they are Christian. 27 00:01:18,050 --> 00:01:20,610 And the inference running right through here, of 28 00:01:20,610 --> 00:01:21,750 course, is that they are not. 29 00:01:22,790 --> 00:01:24,770 We shall see that very especially as we 30 00:01:24,770 --> 00:01:26,430 proceed with the passage before us. 31 00:01:28,660 --> 00:01:30,680 One test which John has been applying has 32 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:32,980 been the test of obedience. 33 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:35,920 Obedience to God's commandments. 34 00:01:38,190 --> 00:01:40,150 It is the insistence of the Apostle that 35 00:01:40,150 --> 00:01:43,350 love for God can only come to full 36 00:01:43,350 --> 00:01:48,090 bloom within the orbit of obedience to the 37 00:01:48,090 --> 00:01:49,610 commandments that God has given. 38 00:01:51,930 --> 00:01:53,830 So that if we really love Him, we 39 00:01:53,830 --> 00:01:55,870 will keep His commandments, as Jesus said. 40 00:01:56,790 --> 00:01:58,130 And that's the first test. 41 00:01:59,350 --> 00:02:00,910 If a man says that he is in 42 00:02:00,910 --> 00:02:02,950 fellowship with God, that he is right with 43 00:02:02,950 --> 00:02:05,910 God, that he knows God, this is one 44 00:02:05,910 --> 00:02:07,530 test always to apply. 45 00:02:07,530 --> 00:02:13,830 Does he so love God that he keeps 46 00:02:13,830 --> 00:02:14,470 His commandments? 47 00:02:15,050 --> 00:02:19,840 Or are they very grievous to him, irksome, 48 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:23,760 against the grain of things? 49 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,000 If the law of the Lord is against 50 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,760 the grain of my total nature, then that 51 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,280 means that I need to be born again. 52 00:02:34,850 --> 00:02:36,830 Not just to have a reformation, that will 53 00:02:36,830 --> 00:02:37,290 not do. 54 00:02:38,630 --> 00:02:42,910 If the commandments of the Lord are irksome 55 00:02:42,910 --> 00:02:45,850 to me and against the grain of my 56 00:02:45,850 --> 00:02:50,110 total nature, then I need a new and 57 00:02:50,110 --> 00:02:52,290 a radical birth from above. 58 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,700 You cannot patch up human nature at that 59 00:02:56,700 --> 00:02:56,840 point. 60 00:02:57,100 --> 00:03:00,300 It must be changed radically and effectively. 61 00:03:01,700 --> 00:03:03,140 And God alone can do that. 62 00:03:03,540 --> 00:03:05,220 The other test that John has been applying 63 00:03:05,220 --> 00:03:05,980 has been this. 64 00:03:05,980 --> 00:03:09,840 It's the test of love for Christian men 65 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:10,320 and women. 66 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:12,820 Loving one another, as he puts it. 67 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:15,300 Again, this is vital. 68 00:03:16,140 --> 00:03:18,380 If we find that we have no kinship 69 00:03:18,380 --> 00:03:20,900 with the people of God, who love Him 70 00:03:20,900 --> 00:03:24,500 and obey His commandments, then we're out of 71 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:26,620 step with the family of God and with 72 00:03:26,620 --> 00:03:27,260 God Himself. 73 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,680 If we found ourselves in heaven, we would 74 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:31,780 be very lonely there. 75 00:03:33,410 --> 00:03:36,270 If we found ourselves in the courts of 76 00:03:36,270 --> 00:03:39,170 the New Jerusalem, we'd want to leave. 77 00:03:41,510 --> 00:03:44,030 The most miserable man would be the man 78 00:03:44,030 --> 00:03:47,770 who, unregenerate, without love for the saints in 79 00:03:47,770 --> 00:03:50,910 his heart, or love for God, found himself 80 00:03:50,910 --> 00:03:51,670 in heaven. 81 00:03:57,870 --> 00:03:59,970 Now John comes to the third test. 82 00:04:00,670 --> 00:04:03,130 And he will be applying these three times 83 00:04:03,130 --> 00:04:04,270 in the course of his epistle. 84 00:04:05,030 --> 00:04:08,850 And the third test is as vital, if 85 00:04:08,850 --> 00:04:10,430 not more so, than the other two. 86 00:04:10,650 --> 00:04:12,170 It's the test of truth. 87 00:04:13,910 --> 00:04:15,750 Or, if you like, it's the test of 88 00:04:15,750 --> 00:04:17,149 right belief. 89 00:04:18,390 --> 00:04:19,070 It is this. 90 00:04:19,269 --> 00:04:20,890 What do I think of Jesus Christ? 91 00:04:21,270 --> 00:04:23,410 Or, to put it in its context here, 92 00:04:24,290 --> 00:04:27,010 what do these people that have broken away 93 00:04:27,010 --> 00:04:29,830 from the Christian community establish their own little 94 00:04:29,830 --> 00:04:30,070 group? 95 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:33,910 What do they think of Jesus Christ? 96 00:04:35,410 --> 00:04:39,350 Do they accept His deity, His sonship, His 97 00:04:39,350 --> 00:04:42,530 Messiahship, in the terms that are specified here? 98 00:04:43,510 --> 00:04:46,630 Or, have they wandered away from the Son 99 00:04:46,630 --> 00:04:48,590 of God and the revelation of the Father 100 00:04:48,590 --> 00:04:49,450 in the Son? 101 00:04:49,730 --> 00:04:52,310 What think ye of Christ is the crucial 102 00:04:52,310 --> 00:04:54,330 and all-revealing question. 103 00:04:55,650 --> 00:04:58,430 Now, there are three main divisions in this 104 00:04:58,430 --> 00:04:58,810 section. 105 00:04:58,810 --> 00:05:00,170 We're not going to take them all today. 106 00:05:00,270 --> 00:05:01,790 But I think I will enumerate the way 107 00:05:01,790 --> 00:05:04,330 we're going to go over the next two 108 00:05:04,330 --> 00:05:05,850 or three Sundays, God willing. 109 00:05:06,770 --> 00:05:09,210 John deals with many things at once here. 110 00:05:09,810 --> 00:05:12,590 First of all, we have the apostles' understanding 111 00:05:12,590 --> 00:05:13,350 of the times. 112 00:05:13,810 --> 00:05:14,990 That's our subject this morning. 113 00:05:15,870 --> 00:05:18,030 Then, when we've gone through that, we shall 114 00:05:18,030 --> 00:05:20,850 look at John's unmasking of the heretics. 115 00:05:21,690 --> 00:05:26,330 And thirdly, John's undergirding of the believers. 116 00:05:27,150 --> 00:05:30,490 Passing through the last hour, as John tells 117 00:05:30,490 --> 00:05:30,770 us. 118 00:05:31,310 --> 00:05:34,170 Facing heretical people all around us and not 119 00:05:34,170 --> 00:05:35,970 quite sure what they are. 120 00:05:37,890 --> 00:05:40,630 He undergirds the faith of the people of 121 00:05:40,630 --> 00:05:43,750 God, telling them and assuring them that they 122 00:05:43,750 --> 00:05:44,910 need not flounder. 123 00:05:44,910 --> 00:05:49,150 There is a way right through the morass 124 00:05:49,150 --> 00:05:52,950 of unbelief and of false beliefs. 125 00:05:53,650 --> 00:05:55,650 We come then to our subject today. 126 00:05:55,870 --> 00:05:57,350 It is the last hour. 127 00:05:59,790 --> 00:06:02,550 John's understanding of the times. 128 00:06:05,350 --> 00:06:08,930 Now, it has been cryptically said that all 129 00:06:08,930 --> 00:06:12,290 history is his story. 130 00:06:12,610 --> 00:06:14,130 That is God's story. 131 00:06:15,290 --> 00:06:16,290 And so it is. 132 00:06:17,690 --> 00:06:24,150 History is not a hodgepodge of meaningless events 133 00:06:24,150 --> 00:06:27,810 all mixed up together into a stew. 134 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,880 History is God's story. 135 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:37,920 The story of God's doings. 136 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,660 Now, it is true that we can't at 137 00:06:42,660 --> 00:06:45,300 any given moment in the course of history 138 00:06:47,610 --> 00:06:50,690 look at any part of the whole affair 139 00:06:50,690 --> 00:06:53,910 and ourselves understand everything about it. 140 00:06:57,670 --> 00:06:58,890 You can't do that when you read a 141 00:06:58,890 --> 00:06:59,590 book, can you? 142 00:07:00,750 --> 00:07:02,270 Whilst you are half way through the book, 143 00:07:02,390 --> 00:07:04,570 you may not be quite sure unless you 144 00:07:04,570 --> 00:07:06,670 have read the last chapter before you read 145 00:07:06,670 --> 00:07:07,130 the first. 146 00:07:07,810 --> 00:07:09,450 You are not quite sure how it is 147 00:07:09,450 --> 00:07:11,530 all going to end up. 148 00:07:11,790 --> 00:07:13,190 The meaning of the whole thing is not 149 00:07:13,190 --> 00:07:13,450 clear. 150 00:07:13,550 --> 00:07:14,590 The plan is not clear. 151 00:07:17,940 --> 00:07:20,360 How much more difficult it is for us 152 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,640 feeble men and women to be able to 153 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,540 understand the divine pattern at any given point 154 00:07:26,540 --> 00:07:28,360 in the outworking of God's purposes. 155 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:30,840 But what we are assured is this. 156 00:07:31,900 --> 00:07:35,040 Running through all the events of history there 157 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,860 is a white thread. 158 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,780 A thread of divine purpose. 159 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,680 God is working his purposes out as year 160 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:49,840 succeeds year. 161 00:07:51,620 --> 00:07:53,580 And when at last the whole thing is 162 00:07:53,580 --> 00:07:55,220 over we shall be able to see that 163 00:07:55,220 --> 00:07:58,480 out of this apparent jumble of events God 164 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,840 has worked a perfect tapestry of his own 165 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:03,280 perfect will. 166 00:08:04,020 --> 00:08:06,620 And that is the confidence of Christian people. 167 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,280 That is the faith that undergirds the saints. 168 00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:12,180 That is the belief of the Bible. 169 00:08:13,740 --> 00:08:18,180 Addressing the harassed Christians of Ephesus and its 170 00:08:18,180 --> 00:08:20,360 environs here. 171 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,820 Nearly two thousand years ago then. 172 00:08:23,540 --> 00:08:27,180 The apostle John says that the world is 173 00:08:27,180 --> 00:08:33,700 now leading up to their vital climactic hour. 174 00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:37,419 When we shall see the meaning of it 175 00:08:37,419 --> 00:08:37,940 all. 176 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,460 When God will consummate his purposes. 177 00:08:43,140 --> 00:08:48,640 And when the order will appear even to 178 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,380 us human beings. 179 00:08:50,540 --> 00:08:54,560 Because God will reveal his glory running through 180 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:56,740 the whole course of human history. 181 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,440 Now that brings us to our theme. 182 00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:02,480 I want to say three things about this. 183 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,520 We start off with the solemn proclamation that 184 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:07,400 we have here. 185 00:09:07,700 --> 00:09:09,960 Children says John it is the last hour. 186 00:09:11,620 --> 00:09:15,080 Then we look at the accompanying explanation that 187 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,960 John gives and tells us how he knows 188 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:18,900 it is the last hour. 189 00:09:19,900 --> 00:09:22,860 And then lastly we are going to look 190 00:09:22,860 --> 00:09:26,380 at John's pastoral exhortation to the saints as 191 00:09:26,380 --> 00:09:27,920 they face this last hour. 192 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,060 Now first of all then this solemn proclamation. 193 00:09:33,740 --> 00:09:37,760 Children says John, little children, it is the 194 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:39,380 last hour. 195 00:09:42,010 --> 00:09:44,770 We do well to give some serious consideration 196 00:09:44,770 --> 00:09:47,210 to this statement and indeed to the entire 197 00:09:47,210 --> 00:09:48,330 biblical language. 198 00:09:48,810 --> 00:09:51,510 That refers to the consummation of the age 199 00:09:51,510 --> 00:09:52,250 in which we live. 200 00:09:54,340 --> 00:09:56,260 Now the first thing to grasp is that 201 00:09:56,260 --> 00:09:58,800 in speaking of the last hour or elsewhere 202 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,260 of the last days. 203 00:10:00,260 --> 00:10:05,060 Or of kindred notions as we encounter them 204 00:10:05,060 --> 00:10:05,600 in scripture. 205 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:12,420 Bible writers are speaking theologically rather than chronologically. 206 00:10:12,660 --> 00:10:13,940 Now let me explain what I mean by 207 00:10:13,940 --> 00:10:14,240 that. 208 00:10:17,550 --> 00:10:21,030 They are not measuring time according to our 209 00:10:21,030 --> 00:10:22,990 calendars or our clocks. 210 00:10:27,590 --> 00:10:29,390 When the Bible speaks of the last hour 211 00:10:29,390 --> 00:10:32,790 it doesn't mean the hour which comprises 60 212 00:10:32,790 --> 00:10:35,110 minutes and so many seconds. 213 00:10:36,490 --> 00:10:40,730 Bible language is entirely different. 214 00:10:40,950 --> 00:10:44,130 It is theological rather than chronological. 215 00:10:44,890 --> 00:10:47,030 Now this is always difficult for us to 216 00:10:47,030 --> 00:10:47,390 appreciate. 217 00:10:48,310 --> 00:10:50,350 You see God is not subject to our 218 00:10:50,350 --> 00:10:51,570 clocks and calendars. 219 00:10:52,390 --> 00:10:53,270 God is eternal. 220 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:57,640 He is outside of the realm which is 221 00:10:57,640 --> 00:10:59,040 bounded by day and night. 222 00:10:59,140 --> 00:11:00,820 He neither slumbers nor sleeps. 223 00:11:01,340 --> 00:11:02,560 He is eternally the same. 224 00:11:02,620 --> 00:11:03,940 He is outside of this. 225 00:11:05,220 --> 00:11:08,400 And he therefore in his experience if we 226 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,240 may so say has no morning or evening, 227 00:11:11,740 --> 00:11:12,600 no day or night. 228 00:11:14,540 --> 00:11:15,960 Now we can't take this in. 229 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:18,600 I find it very difficult to preach about 230 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:19,420 it, to talk about it. 231 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,240 Because you see you can't compare it with 232 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:21,980 anything else. 233 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,940 Let me attempt to illustrate it this morning. 234 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,520 And in so doing I know full well 235 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,240 that there is no illustration. 236 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:33,040 But I'm going to ask you to imagine 237 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:34,740 something quite hypothetically. 238 00:11:36,060 --> 00:11:38,140 And then don't criticize the illustration because I 239 00:11:38,140 --> 00:11:39,800 can do the criticism better than you can 240 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:40,260 this morning. 241 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:43,100 I'm very aware of the way it falls 242 00:11:43,100 --> 00:11:44,760 before it starts, before I start. 243 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,360 But in order to illustrate it think for 244 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:49,840 a moment, hypothetically. 245 00:11:51,060 --> 00:11:55,280 Imagine yourself somewhere able to live outside of 246 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,160 this world of ours. 247 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:02,320 No longer subject to the laws of time 248 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:02,900 and space. 249 00:12:03,020 --> 00:12:06,060 And there you are somewhere perched outside of 250 00:12:06,060 --> 00:12:07,580 the universe, outside of it. 251 00:12:08,620 --> 00:12:10,280 Looking down upon the world. 252 00:12:12,060 --> 00:12:14,920 Now assume, what an assumption. 253 00:12:15,780 --> 00:12:18,860 If you're no longer subject to the laws 254 00:12:18,860 --> 00:12:19,660 of day and night. 255 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,080 You don't need breakfast, lunch and supper, whatever 256 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:23,640 you have. 257 00:12:24,580 --> 00:12:26,600 You're above it all, you're outside of it 258 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:26,880 all. 259 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:29,300 And you're looking down upon the whole business. 260 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,220 You see over there it's dawn of day. 261 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:36,820 Over there it's night. 262 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:40,460 Day's beginning here, day's ending there. 263 00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:43,320 But now take another step. 264 00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:47,420 Assuming that you can go still higher as 265 00:12:47,420 --> 00:12:49,200 it were and become more elevated. 266 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,840 And have an eye that spans the whole 267 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:54,420 of time at one moment. 268 00:12:56,500 --> 00:13:01,870 You can see the beginnings of history and 269 00:13:01,870 --> 00:13:04,170 the end of history at a glance. 270 00:13:05,950 --> 00:13:08,670 Now you don't talk up there, may I 271 00:13:08,670 --> 00:13:10,010 say so very frequently. 272 00:13:10,670 --> 00:13:14,470 From that vantage point you don't talk about 273 00:13:14,470 --> 00:13:17,730 the 25th or the 26th of February or 274 00:13:17,730 --> 00:13:19,790 the 3rd of January or anything like that. 275 00:13:20,290 --> 00:13:22,490 You don't talk about morning, noon and night. 276 00:13:22,490 --> 00:13:25,250 Everything is eternally present. 277 00:13:26,770 --> 00:13:30,130 You see the whole thing from your vantage 278 00:13:30,130 --> 00:13:33,250 point which is beyond this scene of time 279 00:13:33,250 --> 00:13:34,230 with its limitations. 280 00:13:35,270 --> 00:13:37,370 Now whether that's a good illustration in parts 281 00:13:37,370 --> 00:13:39,310 or not, I know it's very fallible. 282 00:13:40,170 --> 00:13:43,350 But perhaps it gives us some faint idea, 283 00:13:43,570 --> 00:13:48,990 albeit faint, of the fact that God is 284 00:13:48,990 --> 00:13:51,730 right outside the historical process. 285 00:13:54,650 --> 00:13:56,210 And he doesn't talk of morning, noon and 286 00:13:56,210 --> 00:13:56,410 night. 287 00:13:56,490 --> 00:13:58,290 And he's not subject to the need for 288 00:13:58,290 --> 00:13:59,870 sleep and the need for food and so 289 00:13:59,870 --> 00:14:00,110 forth. 290 00:14:00,490 --> 00:14:02,670 Calendars and clocks were made because we are 291 00:14:02,670 --> 00:14:03,610 feeble and frail. 292 00:14:03,830 --> 00:14:05,710 We need to sleep and we need food. 293 00:14:05,970 --> 00:14:07,070 We have to be replenished. 294 00:14:07,070 --> 00:14:08,910 God is all so different. 295 00:14:10,150 --> 00:14:11,810 Self-sufficient and eternal. 296 00:14:12,190 --> 00:14:14,750 Without beginning, without ending as the Catechism puts 297 00:14:14,750 --> 00:14:14,930 it. 298 00:14:16,890 --> 00:14:22,450 Now viewed then from outside of things, now 299 00:14:22,450 --> 00:14:24,550 God addresses himself to men. 300 00:14:25,590 --> 00:14:30,070 Through his Apostle and he says, Children, it 301 00:14:30,070 --> 00:14:31,470 is the last hour. 302 00:14:31,750 --> 00:14:35,670 Not as you measure time in ticks and 303 00:14:35,670 --> 00:14:38,010 ticks of minutes and seconds. 304 00:14:38,610 --> 00:14:44,230 But as I measure time from my vantage 305 00:14:44,230 --> 00:14:47,030 point outside the universe as the Lord of 306 00:14:47,030 --> 00:14:47,590 the universe. 307 00:14:47,910 --> 00:14:49,250 I want to tell you, he says, it 308 00:14:49,250 --> 00:14:52,090 is the very last hour. 309 00:14:55,630 --> 00:14:57,770 Now this is important for us to see. 310 00:14:57,770 --> 00:15:00,150 You see, many scoffers have come to a 311 00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:02,110 passage like this in Scripture and have said, 312 00:15:02,650 --> 00:15:06,250 Well, the last hour, that hour has run 313 00:15:06,250 --> 00:15:07,970 out a long, long time ago. 314 00:15:08,670 --> 00:15:11,930 And it's all out of ignorance that God's 315 00:15:11,930 --> 00:15:14,730 measurement of time is so different from ours. 316 00:15:16,210 --> 00:15:19,870 His hour may proceed for two thousand years 317 00:15:19,870 --> 00:15:20,910 of our timing. 318 00:15:22,010 --> 00:15:24,870 You see, God's timing is not measured by 319 00:15:24,870 --> 00:15:27,450 ticks of the clock, but by moral and 320 00:15:27,450 --> 00:15:28,770 spiritual conditions. 321 00:15:33,070 --> 00:15:36,610 And his hour may be a very long 322 00:15:36,610 --> 00:15:40,430 one if moral and spiritual conditions do not 323 00:15:40,430 --> 00:15:42,270 proceed apace. 324 00:15:44,350 --> 00:15:49,070 As a matter of fact, the Bible only 325 00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:51,810 acknowledges two main divisions of time. 326 00:15:51,810 --> 00:15:54,710 As true in the Old Testament, as true 327 00:15:54,710 --> 00:15:56,010 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 328 00:15:56,530 --> 00:15:59,070 Fundamentally, there are only two main divisions. 329 00:15:59,770 --> 00:16:01,350 Jesus spoke of them when he said to 330 00:16:01,350 --> 00:16:09,470 the Pharisees, Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit 331 00:16:09,470 --> 00:16:14,730 will not be forgiven, either in this age, 332 00:16:14,830 --> 00:16:19,810 now that's the right translation, age, or in 333 00:16:19,810 --> 00:16:20,910 the age to come. 334 00:16:22,490 --> 00:16:24,250 This is how time was divided in New 335 00:16:24,250 --> 00:16:27,530 Testament times and by the Jews of old 336 00:16:27,530 --> 00:16:28,950 and by the early church. 337 00:16:29,250 --> 00:16:31,550 There was the age that now is and 338 00:16:31,550 --> 00:16:32,810 the age that is to come. 339 00:16:33,610 --> 00:16:35,230 But now with the coming of our Lord 340 00:16:35,230 --> 00:16:38,470 Jesus, with the completion of his work and 341 00:16:38,470 --> 00:16:40,710 with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the 342 00:16:40,710 --> 00:16:44,830 age to come has already arrived. 343 00:16:47,270 --> 00:16:49,110 The kingdom of the heavens has come to 344 00:16:49,110 --> 00:16:51,030 earth in the person of the Son and 345 00:16:51,030 --> 00:16:53,650 is liberated by the Spirit. 346 00:16:54,630 --> 00:16:58,210 So that we read in some places, we 347 00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:02,090 read, for example, of the ends of the 348 00:17:02,090 --> 00:17:03,150 ages of come. 349 00:17:03,150 --> 00:17:07,190 Paul writing to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 10 350 00:17:07,190 --> 00:17:10,069 and verse 11, he says, The ends of 351 00:17:10,069 --> 00:17:13,130 the ages have come upon you. 352 00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:16,150 Not only that, in the epistle to the 353 00:17:16,150 --> 00:17:18,430 Hebrews we read that we have tasted of 354 00:17:18,430 --> 00:17:20,770 the powers of the age to come. 355 00:17:22,470 --> 00:17:26,250 The last age has broken into this age 356 00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:28,790 and we are already in that last age. 357 00:17:29,030 --> 00:17:30,610 But now John takes it further. 358 00:17:32,290 --> 00:17:34,350 Not only are we in the last age, 359 00:17:34,450 --> 00:17:36,250 but we are in the very last hour. 360 00:17:39,910 --> 00:17:42,450 And whether this is the language of God 361 00:17:42,450 --> 00:17:44,550 or the language of men upon earth, it 362 00:17:44,550 --> 00:17:46,890 speaks of the fact that time is running 363 00:17:46,890 --> 00:17:47,210 out. 364 00:17:48,950 --> 00:17:50,650 I wonder, my friends, whether you and I 365 00:17:50,650 --> 00:17:52,250 are alert to that fact this morning. 366 00:17:52,930 --> 00:17:55,670 That for two thousand years we have been 367 00:17:55,670 --> 00:17:59,210 living in the last hour, according to God's 368 00:17:59,210 --> 00:18:00,050 reckoning of time. 369 00:18:02,490 --> 00:18:07,030 Now, if we take this seriously, it ought 370 00:18:07,030 --> 00:18:09,210 to have some very real impact upon our 371 00:18:09,210 --> 00:18:09,430 living. 372 00:18:10,670 --> 00:18:12,850 And if you've never got the message before, 373 00:18:12,930 --> 00:18:14,970 my friend, look at this word of ours 374 00:18:14,970 --> 00:18:17,910 this morning and pray that God will write 375 00:18:17,910 --> 00:18:18,750 it upon your heart. 376 00:18:19,270 --> 00:18:20,530 It is the last hour. 377 00:18:20,570 --> 00:18:23,410 If it was two thousand years ago, it 378 00:18:23,410 --> 00:18:25,490 must be the last hour today. 379 00:18:28,070 --> 00:18:31,970 There was a passage of scripture which I 380 00:18:31,970 --> 00:18:33,950 never understood until quite recently. 381 00:18:34,950 --> 00:18:36,890 It's so simple on the face of it 382 00:18:36,890 --> 00:18:39,530 that I guess many of us could miss 383 00:18:39,530 --> 00:18:40,690 the message of it. 384 00:18:41,770 --> 00:18:43,690 Do you remember these words spoken by our 385 00:18:43,690 --> 00:18:43,990 Lord? 386 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:48,680 As it was in the days of Noah, 387 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:51,900 so will it be in the days of 388 00:18:51,900 --> 00:18:52,680 the Son of Man. 389 00:18:52,820 --> 00:18:54,300 He's speaking of the days of his second 390 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:54,660 coming. 391 00:18:55,740 --> 00:19:00,960 They ate, they drank, they married, they were 392 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,680 given in marriage, until the day when Noah 393 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,200 entered the ark and the flood came and 394 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:07,580 destroyed them all. 395 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:10,680 Likewise, as it was in the days of 396 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:11,100 Lot. 397 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,700 They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, 398 00:19:15,980 --> 00:19:17,140 they planted, they built. 399 00:19:17,140 --> 00:19:22,700 But on the day when Lot went out 400 00:19:22,700 --> 00:19:27,460 from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven 401 00:19:27,460 --> 00:19:29,020 and destroyed them all. 402 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,060 Now, I'm afraid that I took that simply 403 00:19:33,060 --> 00:19:35,100 as a recitation of the facts of history. 404 00:19:36,340 --> 00:19:37,440 And it is that, of course. 405 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:41,260 But don't you see the subtle thrust of 406 00:19:41,260 --> 00:19:41,400 it? 407 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,640 What Jesus is saying is this. 408 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,940 They didn't do anything very terribly wrong. 409 00:19:53,010 --> 00:19:57,310 They didn't do anything that was abominably, abysmally 410 00:19:57,310 --> 00:19:57,970 evil. 411 00:19:59,530 --> 00:20:00,850 What they did was this. 412 00:20:00,890 --> 00:20:04,770 They just went on giving time to the 413 00:20:04,770 --> 00:20:06,290 ordinary affairs of life. 414 00:20:06,430 --> 00:20:08,990 They ate, and they drank, and they married, 415 00:20:09,250 --> 00:20:10,870 and they built, and they did this. 416 00:20:11,050 --> 00:20:12,930 There's nothing evil in any of these things. 417 00:20:13,150 --> 00:20:14,230 Not one thing. 418 00:20:14,230 --> 00:20:19,420 But they were oblivious of the fact that 419 00:20:19,420 --> 00:20:21,340 they had been warned that the age was 420 00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:22,460 coming to its end. 421 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,280 And they forgot and forgot about it. 422 00:20:30,220 --> 00:20:32,340 It is not without good reason, therefore, that 423 00:20:32,340 --> 00:20:36,920 John wrote telling his first readers not to 424 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,300 love the world, nor the lust of the 425 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:40,820 world, as we saw last Lord's Day. 426 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,260 Because the world and its lust are all 427 00:20:44,260 --> 00:20:45,280 to pass away. 428 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,300 The world passes away and the lust thereof. 429 00:20:49,300 --> 00:20:52,560 Do not allow yourself, therefore, to be duped 430 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,500 and doped by it into a drowsiness which 431 00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:57,300 is unaware of what is going on. 432 00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:58,840 We're in the last hour. 433 00:21:00,540 --> 00:21:02,100 The times are serious. 434 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:04,300 But how does John know? 435 00:21:04,420 --> 00:21:06,480 That brings us to the accompanying explanation. 436 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,360 Well now, let me read the second part 437 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:11,020 of verse 18. 438 00:21:13,610 --> 00:21:16,130 As you have heard, he says, that Antichrist 439 00:21:16,130 --> 00:21:16,790 is coming. 440 00:21:18,570 --> 00:21:23,270 So now, many Antichrists have come. 441 00:21:24,690 --> 00:21:26,730 Therefore, we know, he says, that it is 442 00:21:26,730 --> 00:21:27,390 the last hour. 443 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:30,700 How does John know? 444 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,000 Well, put it in a nutshell, he knows 445 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:33,600 for this reason. 446 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,060 He has been told. 447 00:21:36,460 --> 00:21:38,660 Now here we must assume that John had 448 00:21:38,660 --> 00:21:40,840 got his knowledge from the Lord Jesus himself. 449 00:21:42,730 --> 00:21:45,530 We have been told, he says, we know 450 00:21:45,530 --> 00:21:48,550 that Antichrist is coming. 451 00:21:50,390 --> 00:21:53,130 And already, he says, there are many Antichrists 452 00:21:53,130 --> 00:21:53,730 abroad. 453 00:21:55,110 --> 00:21:58,870 We know, therefore, because these have come, that 454 00:21:58,870 --> 00:22:02,350 the last great Antichrist cannot be very far 455 00:22:02,350 --> 00:22:02,770 away. 456 00:22:05,090 --> 00:22:09,750 Now just a word about Antichrist and Antichrist. 457 00:22:11,250 --> 00:22:19,070 The Antichrist, according to the language itself, is 458 00:22:19,070 --> 00:22:22,690 either one who opposes Christ, he is opposite 459 00:22:22,690 --> 00:22:25,610 to Christ, anti, the preposition anti can mean 460 00:22:25,610 --> 00:22:29,130 that, one who is set over against, deliberately 461 00:22:29,130 --> 00:22:31,890 opposed to Christ, and everything that Christ stands 462 00:22:31,890 --> 00:22:32,130 for. 463 00:22:33,150 --> 00:22:35,230 Or, it can be used in a slightly 464 00:22:35,230 --> 00:22:37,550 different way, as an alternative to Christ. 465 00:22:39,750 --> 00:22:41,030 The word means that too. 466 00:22:42,210 --> 00:22:44,810 Now probably, here in this context, the reference 467 00:22:44,810 --> 00:22:47,210 is to anti in the sense of being 468 00:22:47,210 --> 00:22:53,230 absolutely, utterly, irrevocably opposed to Jesus Christ. 469 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,040 The Antichrist is one who is set against 470 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:00,780 everything he stands for, everything he says, everything 471 00:23:00,780 --> 00:23:01,420 he has done. 472 00:23:01,700 --> 00:23:03,200 He is over against it. 473 00:23:07,110 --> 00:23:08,810 It may not be good taste to introduce 474 00:23:08,810 --> 00:23:10,030 a joke at this point. 475 00:23:10,030 --> 00:23:12,170 You may have heard the story of the 476 00:23:12,170 --> 00:23:15,790 Irishman who landed in South Africa, and asked, 477 00:23:15,890 --> 00:23:16,890 is there a government here? 478 00:23:18,210 --> 00:23:19,870 He was told, yes, a very good government. 479 00:23:20,370 --> 00:23:21,590 Well, I am against it, he said. 480 00:23:23,660 --> 00:23:30,440 Now, pardon me, Irishman, but you know, that's 481 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:31,240 the Antichrist. 482 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,580 Whatever the Christ of God has said, whatever 483 00:23:35,580 --> 00:23:39,020 the Christ of God has done, whatever the 484 00:23:39,020 --> 00:23:42,980 Christ of God stands for, the Antichrist is 485 00:23:42,980 --> 00:23:47,760 against it, set, solid, beyond repentance. 486 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:50,220 There is no way back. 487 00:23:50,460 --> 00:23:52,220 There are no possible negotiations. 488 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:53,980 He is anti. 489 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:55,580 He is set. 490 00:24:00,020 --> 00:24:03,980 The Antichrist is usually identified as having been 491 00:24:03,980 --> 00:24:06,460 prophesied by Daniel the prophet in chapter 7. 492 00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:12,030 If he is a personage of such importance 493 00:24:12,030 --> 00:24:14,230 that the prophets of the Old Testament speak 494 00:24:14,230 --> 00:24:16,110 about him before his coming, I think we 495 00:24:16,110 --> 00:24:17,270 ought to know something about him. 496 00:24:19,420 --> 00:24:22,000 God does not inspire his prophets in vain. 497 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,040 If there is some such character as this, 498 00:24:25,140 --> 00:24:27,160 some personage of this order that is to 499 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,540 come into the realm of history, my good 500 00:24:29,540 --> 00:24:31,180 people, you and I ought to know something 501 00:24:31,180 --> 00:24:31,740 about it. 502 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,960 Daniel speaks of him in 7 and 25, 503 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,920 in these words, He shall speak words against 504 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,240 the Most High, and shall wear out the 505 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:44,420 saints of the Most High. 506 00:24:47,050 --> 00:24:47,670 Did you get that? 507 00:24:47,750 --> 00:24:50,290 Wear out the saints of the Most High. 508 00:24:51,650 --> 00:24:53,010 There is a word in the New Testament 509 00:24:53,010 --> 00:24:54,970 which says that when he comes, he shall 510 00:24:54,970 --> 00:24:57,330 deceive even the very elect, if it were 511 00:24:57,330 --> 00:24:58,370 not for the grace of God. 512 00:25:01,260 --> 00:25:03,600 Later, Daniel refers to the same being as 513 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,500 one who shall exalt himself and magnify himself 514 00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:10,140 above the very God. 515 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,660 Now, John is the only one who speaks 516 00:25:16,660 --> 00:25:18,540 of him by the title Antichrist. 517 00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:23,950 But it is fairly obvious from the description 518 00:25:23,950 --> 00:25:26,310 given in comparison of the two that Paul 519 00:25:26,310 --> 00:25:28,250 has the same person in mind when in 520 00:25:28,250 --> 00:25:30,790 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 he writes of the 521 00:25:30,790 --> 00:25:34,430 man of sin or the man of lawlessness, 522 00:25:34,670 --> 00:25:36,470 as some manuscripts have it. 523 00:25:36,550 --> 00:25:38,410 The man of sin or the man of 524 00:25:38,410 --> 00:25:38,990 lawlessness. 525 00:25:39,470 --> 00:25:41,110 It comes very much to the same thing. 526 00:25:42,630 --> 00:25:45,190 And also that we have the same person 527 00:25:45,190 --> 00:25:48,670 in Revelation chapter 13 verses 11 to 18, 528 00:25:48,910 --> 00:25:49,970 called the false prophet. 529 00:25:51,710 --> 00:25:53,710 Now, summarizing what is said of him in 530 00:25:53,710 --> 00:25:56,130 Scripture, we may say that whereas the designation 531 00:25:56,130 --> 00:25:58,590 Antichrist may apply to many people in the 532 00:25:58,590 --> 00:26:04,510 course of history, the Antichrist refers to one 533 00:26:04,510 --> 00:26:06,410 personage coming at the end who is the 534 00:26:06,410 --> 00:26:11,310 embodiment of all that is against Christ and 535 00:26:11,310 --> 00:26:13,750 his gospel and his truth and his revelation. 536 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:19,360 This person will be Antichrist theologically, in that 537 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,820 he will claim to be God himself. 538 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:26,040 He will be Antichrist politically, as he will 539 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:27,560 attempt to rule the world. 540 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:33,820 He will be Antichrist satanically, because his inspiration 541 00:26:33,820 --> 00:26:35,400 is satanic indeed. 542 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,580 It seems that in many respects the future 543 00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:46,600 Antichrist will be to Satan what Jesus Christ 544 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:47,480 is to God the Father. 545 00:26:51,180 --> 00:26:56,120 Some such relationship binds Satan and the Antichrist 546 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,520 as binds the Son of God and the 547 00:26:58,520 --> 00:26:59,160 Father in heaven. 548 00:27:01,300 --> 00:27:03,840 Now, says John, we know that he is 549 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:06,820 coming because many Antichrists are already here. 550 00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:11,020 John sees the last hour as having arrived 551 00:27:11,020 --> 00:27:14,240 because many such people are emerging, not the 552 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,340 Antichrist, but people who have his spirit. 553 00:27:17,460 --> 00:27:19,620 His spirit is already abroad. 554 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:24,860 These Antichrists already on the scene are not 555 00:27:24,860 --> 00:27:27,580 supernatural beings as the Antichrist will be. 556 00:27:30,710 --> 00:27:33,250 They are, in some cases, and this is 557 00:27:33,250 --> 00:27:35,470 the tragedy of it, oh, that the Lord 558 00:27:35,470 --> 00:27:36,710 would write this on our hearts. 559 00:27:38,210 --> 00:27:41,190 These Antichrists already on the scene have been 560 00:27:41,190 --> 00:27:42,790 members of the Christian church. 561 00:27:46,030 --> 00:27:48,010 They've gone through the motions of being received 562 00:27:48,010 --> 00:27:48,770 into membership. 563 00:27:49,030 --> 00:27:49,670 They've been baptized. 564 00:27:50,710 --> 00:27:51,750 They've been received in. 565 00:27:51,930 --> 00:27:53,470 They've been given the right hand of fellowship. 566 00:27:54,690 --> 00:27:56,770 But they went out from us, says John, 567 00:27:56,870 --> 00:27:58,290 because they didn't belong to us. 568 00:27:58,290 --> 00:27:59,750 If they belonged to us, they would have 569 00:27:59,750 --> 00:28:01,350 remained with us, but they were not of 570 00:28:01,350 --> 00:28:01,770 us. 571 00:28:05,580 --> 00:28:06,700 Can you imagine such a thing? 572 00:28:07,420 --> 00:28:09,420 Here are men and women who have sat 573 00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:11,580 in the pew on the Lord's day, have 574 00:28:11,580 --> 00:28:14,440 heard the word, and have apparently worshipped with 575 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,460 the people of God, and now they are 576 00:28:16,460 --> 00:28:20,540 the precursors and the forerunners of the great 577 00:28:20,540 --> 00:28:22,160 Antichrist himself. 578 00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:26,180 Men and women, let us examine ourselves this 579 00:28:26,180 --> 00:28:26,520 morning. 580 00:28:30,750 --> 00:28:33,450 Is there a genuine work of grace that 581 00:28:33,450 --> 00:28:34,990 is going on in my heart? 582 00:28:37,340 --> 00:28:39,360 Is there something that is deeper than the 583 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:39,740 skin? 584 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,980 Is there something that is radical and transforming, 585 00:28:44,580 --> 00:28:47,120 making me like God and his Son? 586 00:28:48,380 --> 00:28:50,760 Or is my membership of the Christian church 587 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:52,600 something that is purely superficial? 588 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,120 I can shake it off like that, and 589 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,680 I can join forces with a great Antichrist. 590 00:29:00,300 --> 00:29:01,280 Oh, this is challenging. 591 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:03,680 And I tell you, it's the more challenging 592 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:05,380 because it is the last hour. 593 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:07,740 You and I don't know how much time 594 00:29:07,740 --> 00:29:09,520 we've got to put things right. 595 00:29:11,100 --> 00:29:13,580 The day is far spent. 596 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:15,420 The might is at hand. 597 00:29:16,060 --> 00:29:17,520 I know there are many things that have 598 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:18,200 to take place. 599 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,220 I know what 2 Thessalonians 2 says, and 600 00:29:21,220 --> 00:29:22,540 I know what other passages say. 601 00:29:22,780 --> 00:29:25,020 Some things must take place before the very 602 00:29:25,020 --> 00:29:27,980 last event of all, and he comes in 603 00:29:27,980 --> 00:29:28,580 his glory. 604 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,780 But I also know that God can hasten 605 00:29:31,780 --> 00:29:33,360 events when it pleases him. 606 00:29:36,570 --> 00:29:38,830 It is the last hour, men and women. 607 00:29:39,150 --> 00:29:41,130 Do not trifle with spiritual things. 608 00:29:41,370 --> 00:29:43,350 If there's anything wrong in your life, put 609 00:29:43,350 --> 00:29:44,070 it right today. 610 00:29:45,670 --> 00:29:47,230 Harden not your hearts as in the day 611 00:29:47,230 --> 00:29:47,930 of provocation. 612 00:29:48,390 --> 00:29:50,110 Today is the day of salvation. 613 00:29:51,130 --> 00:29:52,450 This is no time to trifle. 614 00:29:52,710 --> 00:29:53,930 This is no time to toy. 615 00:29:55,270 --> 00:29:57,370 Many Antichrists have come out into the world. 616 00:29:57,550 --> 00:29:59,410 For this reason we know, says John, the 617 00:29:59,410 --> 00:30:00,490 Spirit is abroad. 618 00:30:00,490 --> 00:30:03,050 And it's not a preparation of the way 619 00:30:03,050 --> 00:30:06,770 for the embodiment of the Antichristian spirit. 620 00:30:09,250 --> 00:30:09,950 Now one word. 621 00:30:11,870 --> 00:30:13,490 And I move right to the end of 622 00:30:13,490 --> 00:30:15,870 the passage because I think we need to 623 00:30:15,870 --> 00:30:17,690 bring that truth in here. 624 00:30:18,610 --> 00:30:20,190 A pastoral exhortation. 625 00:30:21,830 --> 00:30:25,750 If this is so, what does John just 626 00:30:25,750 --> 00:30:27,330 say to the Christians here? 627 00:30:28,350 --> 00:30:29,610 Now you remember the situation. 628 00:30:30,750 --> 00:30:34,570 A Christian group, a genuinely Christian church has 629 00:30:34,570 --> 00:30:35,630 come into existence. 630 00:30:36,210 --> 00:30:37,330 Then there's been this division. 631 00:30:37,490 --> 00:30:39,370 These people have had some new light and 632 00:30:39,370 --> 00:30:40,550 they've gone outside. 633 00:30:41,310 --> 00:30:43,030 John says, now you must test them and 634 00:30:43,030 --> 00:30:44,790 see whether they are of God or not. 635 00:30:46,110 --> 00:30:49,010 Are they merely schismatics, which is serious enough, 636 00:30:49,110 --> 00:30:50,470 dividing the true church? 637 00:30:50,750 --> 00:30:52,030 Or are they heretics? 638 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:55,880 And you need to apply these certain tests. 639 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,380 But now he says, look, as you're doing 640 00:30:58,380 --> 00:31:00,000 that, and as I warned you of the 641 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,740 coming of Antichrist, I want now to encourage 642 00:31:02,740 --> 00:31:03,020 you. 643 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,220 And why doesn't he do so? 644 00:31:05,300 --> 00:31:06,080 Look at verse 28. 645 00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:10,400 Now, little children, he says, abide in him. 646 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,680 So that when he appears, we may have 647 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,600 confidence and not shrink before him at his 648 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:18,900 coming. 649 00:31:20,220 --> 00:31:22,800 It is true that there are Antichrists abroad. 650 00:31:23,380 --> 00:31:26,100 It is true that they are multiplying in 651 00:31:26,100 --> 00:31:26,420 number. 652 00:31:27,420 --> 00:31:28,840 And it is true that they are the 653 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:30,720 precursors of the great Antichrist. 654 00:31:30,860 --> 00:31:32,840 And the time is fast moving. 655 00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:38,580 But says John, don't simply concentrate on the 656 00:31:38,580 --> 00:31:39,080 opposition. 657 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:42,400 Take note of the Antichrists and what is 658 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,060 happening and what their presence in the plural 659 00:31:46,060 --> 00:31:47,040 means. 660 00:31:48,100 --> 00:31:49,380 But then he says, remember this. 661 00:31:50,220 --> 00:31:51,720 Your Lord is returning. 662 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,580 Jesus is coming back. 663 00:31:54,020 --> 00:31:56,140 Our Master is coming back again. 664 00:31:56,380 --> 00:32:02,680 There's the great appearing of the Lord himself 665 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:03,880 to which we look forward. 666 00:32:04,100 --> 00:32:05,640 He says, remember that. 667 00:32:05,780 --> 00:32:06,420 He's coming. 668 00:32:08,300 --> 00:32:11,560 And now he says, you prepare for his 669 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,180 emergence in his glory as he appears. 670 00:32:15,660 --> 00:32:17,640 Now, there are two alternatives he puts before 671 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:18,180 the Christians. 672 00:32:18,380 --> 00:32:18,840 Look at them. 673 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,340 Now, little children, he says, you abide in 674 00:32:22,340 --> 00:32:26,420 him so that when he appears, he appears, 675 00:32:27,740 --> 00:32:32,940 we may have confidence and not shrink before 676 00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:33,760 him at his coming. 677 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,080 The first alternative, the first possibility is this, 678 00:32:37,140 --> 00:32:41,060 that when Jesus Christ comes, his people will 679 00:32:41,060 --> 00:32:47,040 shrink and shrivel fearfully and timidly before him 680 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:48,300 at his appearance. 681 00:32:50,810 --> 00:32:53,050 Now, this is a very graphic statement, but 682 00:32:53,050 --> 00:32:53,910 you know what it is. 683 00:32:54,150 --> 00:32:55,830 You have seen it happen in some sphere 684 00:32:55,830 --> 00:32:56,150 or other. 685 00:32:56,290 --> 00:32:57,590 Someone is guilty of something. 686 00:33:00,070 --> 00:33:02,750 And then some key figure in the whole 687 00:33:02,750 --> 00:33:04,930 business has emerged into the scene, and you 688 00:33:04,930 --> 00:33:07,470 notice how they begin to blush, unless they've 689 00:33:07,470 --> 00:33:09,150 completely lost the art of blushing. 690 00:33:10,870 --> 00:33:12,530 And if they can't blush, they'll get a 691 00:33:12,530 --> 00:33:13,490 little bit agitated. 692 00:33:14,250 --> 00:33:16,590 And they don't want to look this key 693 00:33:16,590 --> 00:33:20,110 figure in the face, and they'll gradually move 694 00:33:20,110 --> 00:33:23,210 away until they get into a corner away 695 00:33:23,210 --> 00:33:25,130 from the look of his eye. 696 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:29,740 Oh, men and women, I tell you, there's 697 00:33:29,740 --> 00:33:31,840 a possibility that some of us, on the 698 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,100 day of our Lord's appearance, will want to 699 00:33:34,100 --> 00:33:34,680 hide. 700 00:33:41,460 --> 00:33:42,820 I have no time this morning. 701 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:44,420 Think of the parable of the talents. 702 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:46,200 Think of the parable of service. 703 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,320 Think of the parables of our Lord, all 704 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:49,340 relating to this hour. 705 00:33:49,740 --> 00:33:52,000 And for one reason or another, we may 706 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,760 well want to hide and shrink back before 707 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:56,500 him at his coming. 708 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,120 What a terrible thing when the bride wants 709 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:00,260 to hide from the bridegroom. 710 00:34:03,590 --> 00:34:06,190 We've professed a love toward him, and we're 711 00:34:06,190 --> 00:34:08,130 awaiting for the marriage day, and then when 712 00:34:08,130 --> 00:34:09,790 he comes, we want to hide from him 713 00:34:09,790 --> 00:34:11,250 because we've been unfaithful. 714 00:34:11,250 --> 00:34:17,820 That's one possibility, says John, that we prove 715 00:34:17,820 --> 00:34:22,040 our infidelity, and at last, when he comes, 716 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:23,280 we'd rather not see him. 717 00:34:25,850 --> 00:34:28,889 But the other alternative is this, that we 718 00:34:28,889 --> 00:34:32,130 may have confidence before him at his coming. 719 00:34:33,330 --> 00:34:35,050 And when confidence is one of the most 720 00:34:35,050 --> 00:34:37,870 graphic ones, it means say everything. 721 00:34:40,090 --> 00:34:40,989 Say everything. 722 00:34:40,989 --> 00:34:43,429 Now, the best illustration I can think of 723 00:34:43,429 --> 00:34:46,250 is something that happens very often in families 724 00:34:46,250 --> 00:34:47,230 where there are little ones. 725 00:34:48,270 --> 00:34:50,190 You know, Dad or Mum have been away 726 00:34:50,190 --> 00:34:51,710 from home, and lots of things have gone 727 00:34:51,710 --> 00:34:55,389 on in the house, and then at certain 728 00:34:55,389 --> 00:34:57,250 ages, children just have the knack of saying 729 00:34:57,250 --> 00:34:58,410 everything in one sentence. 730 00:34:59,390 --> 00:35:01,730 And Daddy or Mummy comes home and get 731 00:35:01,730 --> 00:35:04,250 in the front door, and suddenly everything's out, 732 00:35:04,310 --> 00:35:05,790 and there may have been some secrets, you 733 00:35:05,790 --> 00:35:08,030 know, something special kept for Daddy coming home. 734 00:35:08,030 --> 00:35:10,190 And it shouldn't have come out just then, 735 00:35:10,250 --> 00:35:10,970 but everything's out. 736 00:35:13,660 --> 00:35:14,300 Everything's out. 737 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,520 You see, this utter openness, this love that 738 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,740 opens the heart and's got nothing to hide. 739 00:35:21,140 --> 00:35:24,220 Now, says John, you should be like this, 740 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:25,940 and this is what you should pray for 741 00:35:25,940 --> 00:35:28,300 and prepare for, that when he comes, your 742 00:35:28,300 --> 00:35:30,580 heart will be open, you'll have nothing to 743 00:35:30,580 --> 00:35:32,780 grieve about, nothing to hide, but with an 744 00:35:32,780 --> 00:35:35,180 open heart, welcome your beloved. 745 00:35:38,710 --> 00:35:40,430 And the secret of it all, says John, 746 00:35:40,590 --> 00:35:41,290 is this. 747 00:35:41,710 --> 00:35:43,250 And here we see the stamp of the 748 00:35:43,250 --> 00:35:44,930 same writer in the epistle as in the 749 00:35:44,930 --> 00:35:45,190 gospel. 750 00:35:45,590 --> 00:35:48,470 Oh, my little children, he says, abide. 751 00:35:52,290 --> 00:35:53,050 Nothing more. 752 00:35:53,150 --> 00:35:55,070 It's all wrapped up there in that little 753 00:35:55,070 --> 00:35:56,970 word, abide in him. 754 00:35:57,710 --> 00:36:00,350 Can I apply it very briefly to this 755 00:36:00,350 --> 00:36:00,630 chapter? 756 00:36:01,310 --> 00:36:02,710 What does it mean to abide in him? 757 00:36:03,130 --> 00:36:06,790 One, see that you keep his commandments out 758 00:36:06,790 --> 00:36:07,270 of love. 759 00:36:08,650 --> 00:36:11,730 Two, see that you love his people out 760 00:36:11,730 --> 00:36:13,750 of the same love of God in your 761 00:36:13,750 --> 00:36:14,270 heart. 762 00:36:15,050 --> 00:36:18,190 Three, see that you continue to believe that 763 00:36:18,190 --> 00:36:20,930 he is Jesus the Christ and honor him 764 00:36:20,930 --> 00:36:22,730 as the Christ of God. 765 00:36:23,350 --> 00:36:25,350 It's the test of obedience, it's the test 766 00:36:25,350 --> 00:36:26,950 of love, it's the test of truth. 767 00:36:27,410 --> 00:36:29,050 Now, he says, this is the way of 768 00:36:29,050 --> 00:36:32,030 abiding, this is the prescription for abiding. 769 00:36:33,490 --> 00:36:37,190 Oh, blessed day, when my Lord returns in 770 00:36:37,190 --> 00:36:39,510 glory, and every eye shall see. 771 00:36:42,610 --> 00:36:44,250 I trust that none of us will want 772 00:36:44,250 --> 00:36:45,970 to draw back at that point. 773 00:36:46,490 --> 00:36:48,190 Now's the time to prepare. 774 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:52,660 Now's the time to get ready. 775 00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:55,480 This is the day, this is the hour, 776 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:57,200 these are the means of grace. 777 00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,620 We have the word, we have the promises, 778 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:01,880 we have the covenant, we have the fellowship 779 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:02,500 of his people. 780 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:06,040 My good people, this is the Lord's day. 781 00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:11,260 And a Sabbath on earth is but the 782 00:37:11,260 --> 00:37:14,620 means given by God for the preparation of 783 00:37:14,620 --> 00:37:18,040 souls for that eternal Sabbath in the heavens 784 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,220 with our beloved. 785 00:37:20,540 --> 00:37:22,920 Are you using this day in its fullness 786 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,140 to prepare for that? 787 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,620 What more are we using our lives? 788 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,040 It is the last hour. 789 00:37:31,220 --> 00:37:33,720 Don't fritter the moments. 790 00:37:36,260 --> 00:37:40,180 Just one life will soon be past. 791 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:46,680 Only what's done for Christ will last. 792 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:50,320 Let us pray. 793 00:37:52,870 --> 00:37:57,070 Heavenly Father, in heaven thy dwelling place, hear 794 00:37:57,070 --> 00:38:08,410 our acknowledgement of ill-desert, unworthiness, guilt, transgressions 795 00:38:08,410 --> 00:38:13,480 of thy law, and lack of love for 796 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:14,200 thy people. 797 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:20,620 At times, O our Heavenly Father, in mercy 798 00:38:20,620 --> 00:38:24,900 come and cleanse us, purge us, and forgive 799 00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:29,580 us, and make us the agents of thy 800 00:38:29,580 --> 00:38:33,440 forgiving love for the purifying and the edifying 801 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:36,840 of the fellowship of the church, and ride 802 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:40,040 out into the cold, abysmal world that lies 803 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:43,440 in ignorance of the meaning of history and 804 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:48,820 of the terminus towards which it is appointed 805 00:38:48,820 --> 00:38:49,560 to move. 806 00:38:51,140 --> 00:38:54,200 Father in heaven, hear our cry this morning 807 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:59,220 and bring anew earnestness and sobriety into our 808 00:38:59,220 --> 00:38:59,880 lives. 809 00:39:02,410 --> 00:39:04,290 Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 810 00:39:05,550 --> 00:39:05,970 Amen. 811 00:39:05,970 --> 00:39:08,070 You've been listening to From the Pulpit in 812 00:39:08,070 --> 00:39:09,170 Classic Sermons Series. 813 00:39:09,630 --> 00:39:10,570 This week you heard J. 814 00:39:10,710 --> 00:39:11,130 Glenn Owen. 815 00:39:11,450 --> 00:39:13,310 With this message, it is the last hour. 816 00:39:13,910 --> 00:39:15,490 Tune in next week to hear Keith Daniel 817 00:39:15,490 --> 00:39:18,270 talk about the creation in Genesis on From 818 00:39:18,270 --> 00:39:19,730 the Pulpit in Classic Sermons.