1 00:00:00,260 --> 00:00:03,220 Will you turn prayerfully with me, if you 2 00:00:03,220 --> 00:00:07,820 please, to 1 John, chapter 2 and to 3 00:00:07,820 --> 00:00:10,760 the passage that begins with verse 18, which 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,100 we have already read this morning as our 5 00:00:13,100 --> 00:00:13,460 lesson. 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,700 You might find it helpful to keep the 7 00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:19,800 Bible open before you as we proceed. 8 00:00:23,050 --> 00:00:25,550 We have already seen how the Apostle John 9 00:00:25,550 --> 00:00:30,910 would apply certain tests to those in Asia 10 00:00:30,910 --> 00:00:34,770 of old who, whilst professing to be Christian, 11 00:00:36,030 --> 00:00:41,410 have broken with a Christian church, have withdrawn 12 00:00:41,410 --> 00:00:46,330 from Christian fellowship, and have gone on one 13 00:00:46,330 --> 00:00:48,430 side and started a little group of their 14 00:00:48,430 --> 00:00:51,910 own with their own emphases and their own 15 00:00:51,910 --> 00:00:54,770 alleged insights into truth. 16 00:00:56,210 --> 00:00:58,970 The Apostle is concerned that the Christian community 17 00:00:58,970 --> 00:01:02,190 should be able to discern whether or not 18 00:01:02,190 --> 00:01:03,450 they are Christian. 19 00:01:04,530 --> 00:01:06,850 And the inference running right through here, of 20 00:01:06,850 --> 00:01:07,970 course, is that they are not. 21 00:01:08,990 --> 00:01:11,010 We shall see that very especially as we 22 00:01:11,010 --> 00:01:12,630 proceed with the passage before us. 23 00:01:14,630 --> 00:01:16,910 One test which John has been applying has 24 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:21,590 been the test of obedience, obedience to God's 25 00:01:21,590 --> 00:01:22,170 commandments. 26 00:01:24,390 --> 00:01:26,390 It is the insistence of the Apostle that 27 00:01:26,390 --> 00:01:29,570 love for God can only come to full 28 00:01:29,570 --> 00:01:34,310 bloom within the orbit of obedience to the 29 00:01:34,310 --> 00:01:38,880 commandments that God has given, so that if 30 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:40,680 we really love him we will keep his 31 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,100 commandments as Jesus said. 32 00:01:43,020 --> 00:01:44,380 And that's the first test. 33 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:47,160 If a man says that he is in 34 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,200 fellowship with God, that he is right with 35 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,140 God, that he knows God, this is one 36 00:01:52,140 --> 00:01:53,760 test always to apply. 37 00:01:54,340 --> 00:02:00,060 Does he so love God that he keeps 38 00:02:00,060 --> 00:02:00,700 his commandments? 39 00:02:01,420 --> 00:02:06,040 Or are they very grievous to him, irksome, 40 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,780 against the grain of things? 41 00:02:10,540 --> 00:02:13,240 If the law of the Lord is against 42 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,000 the grain of my total nature, then that 43 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,460 means that I need to be born again. 44 00:02:21,070 --> 00:02:23,050 Not just to have a reformation, that will 45 00:02:23,050 --> 00:02:23,510 not do. 46 00:02:25,210 --> 00:02:29,150 If the commandments of the Lord are irksome 47 00:02:29,150 --> 00:02:32,110 to me and against the grain of my 48 00:02:32,110 --> 00:02:36,350 total nature, then I need a new and 49 00:02:36,350 --> 00:02:38,530 a radical birth from above. 50 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:42,960 You cannot patch up human nature at that. 51 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,540 It must be changed radically and effectively. 52 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:49,360 And God alone can do that. 53 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:51,440 The other test that John has been applying 54 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:52,220 has been this. 55 00:02:52,820 --> 00:02:56,080 It's the test of love for Christian men 56 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,840 and women, loving one another as he puts 57 00:02:58,840 --> 00:02:59,020 it. 58 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:01,520 Again this is vital. 59 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,600 If we find that we have no kinship 60 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,160 with the people of God who love him 61 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,720 and obey his commandments, then we're out of 62 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:12,860 step with the family of God and with 63 00:03:12,860 --> 00:03:13,600 God himself. 64 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,920 If we found ourselves in heaven, we would 65 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:17,980 be very lonely there. 66 00:03:20,350 --> 00:03:22,490 If we found ourselves in the courts of 67 00:03:22,490 --> 00:03:25,030 the new Jerusalem, we'd want to leave. 68 00:03:27,670 --> 00:03:30,270 The most miserable man would be the man 69 00:03:30,270 --> 00:03:33,990 who, unregenerate, without love for the saints in 70 00:03:33,990 --> 00:03:37,130 his heart, or love for God, found himself 71 00:03:37,130 --> 00:03:37,930 in heaven. 72 00:03:43,870 --> 00:03:47,110 Now John comes to the third test, and 73 00:03:47,110 --> 00:03:49,410 he will be applying these three three times 74 00:03:49,410 --> 00:03:50,510 in the course of his epistle. 75 00:03:51,550 --> 00:03:55,310 The third test is as vital, if not 76 00:03:55,310 --> 00:03:56,670 more so, than the other two. 77 00:03:56,890 --> 00:03:58,370 It's the test of truth. 78 00:04:00,090 --> 00:04:01,950 Or, if you like, it's the test of 79 00:04:01,950 --> 00:04:03,370 right belief. 80 00:04:04,590 --> 00:04:05,310 It is this. 81 00:04:05,490 --> 00:04:07,110 What do I think of Jesus Christ? 82 00:04:07,470 --> 00:04:09,650 Or, to put it in its context here, 83 00:04:10,470 --> 00:04:13,250 what do these people that have broken away 84 00:04:13,250 --> 00:04:16,050 from the Christian community, established their own little 85 00:04:16,050 --> 00:04:20,149 group, what do they think of Jesus Christ? 86 00:04:21,790 --> 00:04:25,610 Do they accept his deity, his sonship, his 87 00:04:25,610 --> 00:04:28,770 messiahship in the terms that are specified here? 88 00:04:29,730 --> 00:04:32,850 Or, have they wandered away from the Son 89 00:04:32,850 --> 00:04:34,810 of God and the revelation of the Father 90 00:04:34,810 --> 00:04:35,690 in the Son? 91 00:04:35,910 --> 00:04:38,530 What think ye of Christ is the crucial 92 00:04:38,530 --> 00:04:40,570 and all-revealing question? 93 00:04:42,410 --> 00:04:44,670 Now, there are three main divisions in this 94 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:45,050 section. 95 00:04:45,210 --> 00:04:46,410 We're not going to take them all today, 96 00:04:46,510 --> 00:04:48,010 but I think I will enumerate the way 97 00:04:48,010 --> 00:04:50,570 we're going to go over the next two 98 00:04:50,570 --> 00:04:52,090 or three Sundays, God willing. 99 00:04:53,010 --> 00:04:55,450 John deals with many things at once here. 100 00:04:56,050 --> 00:04:58,810 First of all, we have the apostles' understanding 101 00:04:58,810 --> 00:04:59,570 of the times. 102 00:04:59,990 --> 00:05:01,210 That's our subject this morning. 103 00:05:02,110 --> 00:05:04,270 Then, when we've gone through that, we shall 104 00:05:04,270 --> 00:05:08,570 look at John's unmasking of the heretics, and 105 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:13,950 thirdly, John's undergirding of the believers, passing through 106 00:05:13,950 --> 00:05:17,970 the last hour, as John tells us, facing 107 00:05:17,970 --> 00:05:20,790 heretical people all around us and not quite 108 00:05:20,790 --> 00:05:22,210 sure what they are. 109 00:05:24,110 --> 00:05:26,870 He undergirds the faith of the people of 110 00:05:26,870 --> 00:05:29,990 God, telling them and assuring them that they 111 00:05:29,990 --> 00:05:31,170 need not flounder. 112 00:05:31,410 --> 00:05:35,370 There is a way right through the morass 113 00:05:35,370 --> 00:05:39,170 of unbelief and of false beliefs. 114 00:05:39,970 --> 00:05:41,870 We come, then, to our subject today. 115 00:05:42,090 --> 00:05:43,570 It is the last hour. 116 00:05:46,020 --> 00:05:48,720 John's understanding of the time. 117 00:05:51,490 --> 00:05:55,150 Now, it has been cryptically said that all 118 00:05:55,150 --> 00:05:58,510 history is his story. 119 00:05:58,830 --> 00:06:00,350 That is God's story. 120 00:06:00,350 --> 00:06:02,570 And so it is. 121 00:06:04,330 --> 00:06:10,390 History is not a hodgepodge of meaningless events 122 00:06:10,390 --> 00:06:14,010 all mixed up together into a stew. 123 00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:23,210 History is God's story, the story of God's 124 00:06:23,210 --> 00:06:24,090 doings. 125 00:06:25,910 --> 00:06:28,870 Now, it is true that we can't, at 126 00:06:28,870 --> 00:06:31,550 any given moment in the course of history, 127 00:06:33,830 --> 00:06:36,930 look at any part of the whole affair 128 00:06:36,930 --> 00:06:40,110 and ourselves understand everything about it. 129 00:06:43,900 --> 00:06:45,140 You can't do that when you read a 130 00:06:45,140 --> 00:06:45,840 book, can you? 131 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,440 Whilst you're halfway through the book, you may 132 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,340 not be quite sure, unless you've read the 133 00:06:51,340 --> 00:06:53,360 last chapter before you read the first. 134 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,060 You're not quite sure how it's all going 135 00:06:57,060 --> 00:06:57,760 to end up. 136 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,420 The meaning of the whole thing is not 137 00:06:59,420 --> 00:06:59,700 clear. 138 00:06:59,780 --> 00:07:00,820 The plan is not clear. 139 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:06,620 How much more difficult it is for us 140 00:07:06,620 --> 00:07:08,880 feeble men and women to be able to 141 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,780 understand the divine pattern at any given point 142 00:07:12,780 --> 00:07:14,600 in the outworking of God's purposes. 143 00:07:15,420 --> 00:07:17,060 But what we are assured is this. 144 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:21,280 Running through all the events of history, there 145 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:29,100 is a white thread, a thread of divine 146 00:07:29,100 --> 00:07:30,020 purpose. 147 00:07:30,860 --> 00:07:34,920 God is working His purposes out as year 148 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:36,060 succeeds year. 149 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:39,820 And when at last the whole thing is 150 00:07:39,820 --> 00:07:41,440 over, we shall be able to see that 151 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,700 out of this apparent jumble of events, God 152 00:07:44,700 --> 00:07:48,080 has worked a perfect tapestry of His own 153 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:49,460 perfect will. 154 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,880 And that is the confidence of Christian people. 155 00:07:54,140 --> 00:07:56,500 That is the faith that undergirds the saints. 156 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:58,400 That is the belief of the Bible. 157 00:08:00,790 --> 00:08:04,410 Addressing the harassed Christians of Ephesus and its 158 00:08:04,410 --> 00:08:09,030 environs here, nearly two thousand years ago then, 159 00:08:09,770 --> 00:08:13,410 the Apostle John says that the world is 160 00:08:13,410 --> 00:08:19,950 now leading up to that vital, climactic hour 161 00:08:19,950 --> 00:08:23,650 when we shall see the meaning of it 162 00:08:23,650 --> 00:08:24,210 all. 163 00:08:25,050 --> 00:08:30,180 When God will consummate His purposes and when 164 00:08:30,180 --> 00:08:36,100 the order will appear even to us human 165 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:40,340 beings, because God will reveal His glory running 166 00:08:40,340 --> 00:08:42,960 through the whole course of human history. 167 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:45,680 Now that brings us to our theme. 168 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:48,720 I want to say three things about this. 169 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,760 We start off with the solemn proclamation that 170 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:53,640 we have here. 171 00:08:53,980 --> 00:08:56,160 Children, says John, it is the last hour. 172 00:08:57,300 --> 00:09:01,320 Then we look at the accompanying explanation that 173 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,180 John gives and tells us how he knows 174 00:09:04,180 --> 00:09:05,140 it is the last hour. 175 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:09,100 And then lastly we are going to look 176 00:09:09,100 --> 00:09:12,620 at John's pastoral exhortation to the saints as 177 00:09:12,620 --> 00:09:14,160 they face this last hour. 178 00:09:15,700 --> 00:09:18,280 Now first of all then, this solemn proclamation. 179 00:09:20,140 --> 00:09:23,980 Children, says John, little children, it is the 180 00:09:23,980 --> 00:09:25,620 last hour. 181 00:09:28,140 --> 00:09:30,860 We do well to give some serious consideration 182 00:09:30,860 --> 00:09:33,460 to this statement and indeed to the entire 183 00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:37,300 biblical language that refers to the consummation of 184 00:09:37,300 --> 00:09:38,480 the age in which we live. 185 00:09:40,610 --> 00:09:42,490 Now the first thing to grasp is that 186 00:09:42,490 --> 00:09:45,030 in speaking of the last hour or elsewhere 187 00:09:45,030 --> 00:09:48,850 of the last days or of kindred notions 188 00:09:48,850 --> 00:09:54,090 as we encounter them in scripture, Bible writers 189 00:09:54,090 --> 00:09:58,650 are speaking theologically rather than chronologically. 190 00:09:58,890 --> 00:10:00,170 Now let me explain what I mean by 191 00:10:00,170 --> 00:10:00,490 that. 192 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,280 They are not measuring time according to our 193 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,660 calendars or our clocks. 194 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:15,620 When the Bible speaks of the last hour, 195 00:10:15,740 --> 00:10:18,340 it does not mean the hour which comprises 196 00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:21,500 sixty minutes and so many seconds. 197 00:10:23,460 --> 00:10:26,960 Bible language is entirely different. 198 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,340 It is theological rather than chronological. 199 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,260 Now this is always difficult for us to 200 00:10:33,260 --> 00:10:33,620 appreciate. 201 00:10:34,740 --> 00:10:36,600 You see, God is not subject to our 202 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:37,800 clocks and calendars. 203 00:10:38,620 --> 00:10:39,500 God is eternal. 204 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:43,880 He is outside of the realm which is 205 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:45,240 bounded by day and night. 206 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:47,060 He neither slumbers nor sleeps. 207 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:48,800 He is eternally the same. 208 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:50,180 He is outside of this. 209 00:10:51,700 --> 00:10:54,660 And he therefore in his experience, if we 210 00:10:54,660 --> 00:10:57,460 may so say, has no morning or evening, 211 00:10:57,880 --> 00:10:58,840 no day or night. 212 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:02,180 Now we cannot take this in. 213 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:04,840 I find it very difficult to preach about 214 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:06,460 it, to talk about it, because you see 215 00:11:06,460 --> 00:11:08,200 you cannot compare it with anything else. 216 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,140 Let me attempt to illustrate it this morning. 217 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,760 And in so doing, I know full well 218 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:16,500 that there is no illustration. 219 00:11:17,660 --> 00:11:18,900 But I am going to ask you to 220 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:20,960 imagine something quite hypothetically. 221 00:11:22,260 --> 00:11:24,380 And then don't criticize the illustration because I 222 00:11:24,380 --> 00:11:26,040 can do the criticism better than you can 223 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:26,480 this morning. 224 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,960 I am very aware of the way it 225 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,960 falls before I start. 226 00:11:32,180 --> 00:11:34,600 But in order to illustrate it, think for 227 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,100 a moment, hypothetically. 228 00:11:37,300 --> 00:11:41,520 Imagine yourself somewhere able to live outside of 229 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,380 this world of ours. 230 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:48,540 No longer subject to the laws of time 231 00:11:48,540 --> 00:11:49,140 and space. 232 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,300 And there you are somewhere perched outside of 233 00:11:52,300 --> 00:11:55,940 the universe, outside of it, looking down upon 234 00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:56,380 the world. 235 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,180 Now assume what an assumption. 236 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,760 If you are no longer subject to the 237 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:06,540 laws of day and night, you don't need 238 00:12:06,540 --> 00:12:09,900 breakfast, lunch and supper, whatever you have. 239 00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:11,940 You are above it all. 240 00:12:12,020 --> 00:12:13,120 You are outside of it all. 241 00:12:13,700 --> 00:12:15,080 And you are looking down upon the whole 242 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:15,540 business. 243 00:12:17,180 --> 00:12:19,180 You see over there it is dawn of 244 00:12:19,180 --> 00:12:19,460 day. 245 00:12:21,180 --> 00:12:23,060 Over there it is night. 246 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:26,680 Day is beginning here, day is ending there. 247 00:12:28,300 --> 00:12:29,540 But now take another step. 248 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,660 Assuming that you can go still higher, if 249 00:12:33,660 --> 00:12:35,900 it were, and become more elevated and have 250 00:12:35,900 --> 00:12:39,720 an eye that spans the whole of time 251 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,780 at one moment, you can see the beginnings 252 00:12:43,780 --> 00:12:49,790 of history and the end of history at 253 00:12:49,790 --> 00:12:50,390 a glance. 254 00:12:52,170 --> 00:12:54,910 Now you don't talk up there, may I 255 00:12:54,910 --> 00:12:58,570 say so very fervently, from that vantage point, 256 00:12:58,970 --> 00:13:02,330 you don't talk about the 25th or the 257 00:13:02,330 --> 00:13:04,910 26th of February or the 3rd of January 258 00:13:04,910 --> 00:13:06,010 or anything like that. 259 00:13:06,510 --> 00:13:08,730 You don't talk about morning, noon and night. 260 00:13:09,390 --> 00:13:11,410 Everything is eternally present. 261 00:13:13,030 --> 00:13:16,350 You see the whole thing from your vantage 262 00:13:16,350 --> 00:13:19,470 point which is beyond this scene of time 263 00:13:19,470 --> 00:13:20,450 with its limitations. 264 00:13:21,530 --> 00:13:23,610 Now whether that's a good illustration in parts 265 00:13:23,610 --> 00:13:25,530 or not, I know it's very fallible. 266 00:13:26,430 --> 00:13:29,590 But perhaps it gives us some faint idea, 267 00:13:29,850 --> 00:13:35,230 albeit faint, of the fact that God is 268 00:13:35,230 --> 00:13:37,970 right outside the historical process. 269 00:13:40,910 --> 00:13:42,430 And he doesn't talk of morning, noon and 270 00:13:42,430 --> 00:13:42,630 night. 271 00:13:42,710 --> 00:13:44,510 And he's not subject to the need for 272 00:13:44,510 --> 00:13:46,090 sleep and the need for food and so 273 00:13:46,090 --> 00:13:46,330 forth. 274 00:13:46,730 --> 00:13:48,890 Calendars and clocks were made because we are 275 00:13:48,890 --> 00:13:49,830 feeble and frail. 276 00:13:50,030 --> 00:13:50,870 We need to sleep. 277 00:13:51,030 --> 00:13:51,930 And we need food. 278 00:13:52,130 --> 00:13:53,290 We have to be replenished. 279 00:13:53,870 --> 00:13:55,130 God is all so different. 280 00:13:56,130 --> 00:13:59,830 Self-sufficient and eternal, without beginning, without ending, 281 00:13:59,990 --> 00:14:01,190 as the Catechism puts it. 282 00:14:03,130 --> 00:14:08,690 Now viewed then from outside of things, now 283 00:14:08,690 --> 00:14:10,770 God addresses himself to men. 284 00:14:11,590 --> 00:14:16,310 Through his apostle and he says, children, it 285 00:14:16,310 --> 00:14:17,650 is the last hour. 286 00:14:17,990 --> 00:14:21,890 Not as you measure time in ticks and 287 00:14:21,890 --> 00:14:25,710 ticks of minutes and seconds, but as I 288 00:14:25,710 --> 00:14:31,610 measure time from my vantage point outside the 289 00:14:31,610 --> 00:14:34,370 universe as the Lord of the universe, I 290 00:14:34,370 --> 00:14:35,610 want to tell you, he says, it is 291 00:14:35,610 --> 00:14:38,290 the very last hour. 292 00:14:41,870 --> 00:14:43,990 Now this is important for us to see. 293 00:14:44,490 --> 00:14:46,370 You see, many scoffers have come to a 294 00:14:46,370 --> 00:14:48,330 passage like this in scripture and have said, 295 00:14:48,870 --> 00:14:52,490 well, the last hour, that hour has run 296 00:14:52,490 --> 00:14:54,170 out a long, long time ago. 297 00:14:54,810 --> 00:14:58,150 And it's all out of ignorance that God's 298 00:14:58,150 --> 00:15:00,950 measurement of time is so different from ours. 299 00:15:02,390 --> 00:15:06,090 His hour may proceed for two thousand years 300 00:15:06,090 --> 00:15:07,150 of our timing. 301 00:15:08,870 --> 00:15:11,110 You see, God's timing is not measured by 302 00:15:11,110 --> 00:15:13,670 ticks of the clock, but by moral and 303 00:15:13,670 --> 00:15:14,950 spiritual conditions. 304 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,820 And his hour may be a very long 305 00:15:22,820 --> 00:15:26,660 one if moral and spiritual conditions do not 306 00:15:26,660 --> 00:15:28,500 proceed apace. 307 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:35,300 As a matter of fact, the Bible only 308 00:15:35,300 --> 00:15:38,280 acknowledges two main divisions of time. 309 00:15:38,780 --> 00:15:40,940 That's true in the Old Testament, that's true 310 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:42,240 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 311 00:15:42,620 --> 00:15:45,320 Fundamentally, there are only two main divisions. 312 00:15:46,020 --> 00:15:47,580 Jesus spoke of them when he said to 313 00:15:47,580 --> 00:15:51,120 the Pharisees, whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit 314 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:51,880 will be forgiven. 315 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,700 I'm sorry, whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit 316 00:15:55,700 --> 00:16:00,980 will not be forgiven, either in this age, 317 00:16:01,060 --> 00:16:06,040 now that's the right translation, age, or in 318 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:07,160 the age to come. 319 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:10,500 This is how time was divided in New 320 00:16:10,500 --> 00:16:13,800 Testament times and by the Jews of old 321 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:15,180 and by the early church. 322 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,780 There was the age that now is and 323 00:16:17,780 --> 00:16:19,040 the age that is to come. 324 00:16:19,780 --> 00:16:21,460 But now with the coming of our Lord 325 00:16:21,460 --> 00:16:24,700 Jesus, with the completion of his work and 326 00:16:24,700 --> 00:16:27,020 with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the 327 00:16:27,020 --> 00:16:31,060 age to come has already arrived. 328 00:16:33,410 --> 00:16:35,330 The kingdom of the heavens has come to 329 00:16:35,330 --> 00:16:37,270 earth in the person of the Son and 330 00:16:37,270 --> 00:16:39,890 is liberated by the Spirit. 331 00:16:40,870 --> 00:16:44,390 So that we read in some places, we 332 00:16:44,390 --> 00:16:48,310 read, for example, of the ends of the 333 00:16:48,310 --> 00:16:49,410 ages of come. 334 00:16:49,790 --> 00:16:53,430 Paul writing to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 10 335 00:16:53,430 --> 00:16:56,290 and verse 11, he says, the ends of 336 00:16:56,290 --> 00:16:59,270 the ages have come upon you. 337 00:17:00,790 --> 00:17:02,370 Not only that, in the epistle to the 338 00:17:02,370 --> 00:17:04,670 Hebrews we read that we have tasted of 339 00:17:04,670 --> 00:17:07,030 the powers of the age to come. 340 00:17:08,550 --> 00:17:12,490 The last age has broken into this age 341 00:17:12,490 --> 00:17:15,030 and we are already in that last age, 342 00:17:15,270 --> 00:17:16,849 but now John takes it further. 343 00:17:18,510 --> 00:17:20,589 Not only are we in the last age, 344 00:17:20,670 --> 00:17:22,430 but we're in the very last of. 345 00:17:25,930 --> 00:17:28,770 And whether this is the language of God 346 00:17:28,770 --> 00:17:30,770 or the language of men upon earth, it 347 00:17:30,770 --> 00:17:33,110 speaks of the fact that time is running 348 00:17:33,110 --> 00:17:33,450 out. 349 00:17:35,070 --> 00:17:36,870 I wonder, my friends, whether you and I 350 00:17:36,870 --> 00:17:39,410 are alert to that fact this morning, that 351 00:17:39,410 --> 00:17:42,110 for 2,000 years we have been living 352 00:17:42,110 --> 00:17:45,790 in the last hour, according to God's reckoning 353 00:17:45,790 --> 00:17:46,270 of time. 354 00:17:48,930 --> 00:17:53,270 Now, if we take this seriously, it ought 355 00:17:53,270 --> 00:17:55,430 to have some very real impact upon our 356 00:17:55,430 --> 00:17:55,650 living. 357 00:17:56,810 --> 00:17:59,070 And if you've never got the message before, 358 00:17:59,150 --> 00:18:01,210 my friend, look at this word of ours 359 00:18:01,210 --> 00:18:04,130 this morning and pray that God will write 360 00:18:04,130 --> 00:18:04,970 it upon your heart. 361 00:18:05,430 --> 00:18:06,750 It is the last hour. 362 00:18:06,850 --> 00:18:09,650 If it was 2,000 years ago, it 363 00:18:09,650 --> 00:18:11,710 must be the last hour today. 364 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,220 There was a passage of scripture which I 365 00:18:18,220 --> 00:18:20,160 never understood until quite recently. 366 00:18:21,140 --> 00:18:23,120 It's so simple on the face of it 367 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,760 that I guess many of us could miss 368 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:26,920 the message of it. 369 00:18:27,940 --> 00:18:30,220 You remember these words spoken by our Lord? 370 00:18:33,210 --> 00:18:34,930 As it was in the days of Noah, 371 00:18:36,230 --> 00:18:38,130 so will it be in the days of 372 00:18:38,130 --> 00:18:38,910 the Son of Man. 373 00:18:39,070 --> 00:18:40,530 He's speaking of the days of His second 374 00:18:40,530 --> 00:18:40,910 coming. 375 00:18:42,370 --> 00:18:47,190 They ate, they drank, they married, they were 376 00:18:47,190 --> 00:18:49,910 given in marriage, until the day when Noah 377 00:18:49,910 --> 00:18:52,430 entered the ark, and the flood came and 378 00:18:52,430 --> 00:18:53,830 destroyed them all. 379 00:18:54,930 --> 00:18:56,890 Likewise, as it was in the days of 380 00:18:56,890 --> 00:19:01,570 Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they 381 00:19:01,570 --> 00:19:03,370 sold, they planted, they built. 382 00:19:04,330 --> 00:19:07,710 But on the day when Lot entered the 383 00:19:08,430 --> 00:19:11,570 ark and went out from Sodom, fire and 384 00:19:11,570 --> 00:19:15,130 sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. 385 00:19:16,830 --> 00:19:19,290 Now I'm afraid that I took that simply 386 00:19:19,290 --> 00:19:21,350 as a recitation of the facts of history. 387 00:19:22,470 --> 00:19:23,670 And it is that, of course. 388 00:19:24,650 --> 00:19:27,490 But don't you see the subtle thrust of 389 00:19:27,490 --> 00:19:27,630 it? 390 00:19:28,290 --> 00:19:29,870 What Jesus is saying is this. 391 00:19:30,530 --> 00:19:34,210 They didn't do anything very terribly wrong. 392 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:43,760 They didn't do anything that was abominably abysmally 393 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:44,200 evil. 394 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,060 What they did was this. 395 00:19:47,180 --> 00:19:50,980 They just went on giving time to the 396 00:19:50,980 --> 00:19:52,520 ordinary affairs of life. 397 00:19:52,660 --> 00:19:55,200 They ate, and they drank, and they married, 398 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,080 and they built, and they did this. 399 00:19:57,300 --> 00:19:59,140 There's nothing evil in any of these things. 400 00:19:59,420 --> 00:20:00,460 Not one thing. 401 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,640 But they were oblivious of the fact that 402 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:07,560 they had been warned that the age was 403 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:08,700 coming to its end. 404 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,480 And they forgot about it. 405 00:20:16,170 --> 00:20:18,590 It is not without good reason, therefore, that 406 00:20:18,590 --> 00:20:23,110 John wrote, telling his first readers, not to 407 00:20:23,110 --> 00:20:25,530 love the world, nor the lust of the 408 00:20:25,530 --> 00:20:28,450 world, as we saw last Lord's Day, because 409 00:20:28,450 --> 00:20:30,690 the world and its lust are all to 410 00:20:30,690 --> 00:20:31,530 pass away. 411 00:20:32,450 --> 00:20:35,550 The world passes away, and the lust thereof. 412 00:20:35,830 --> 00:20:38,790 Do not allow yourself, therefore, to be duped 413 00:20:38,790 --> 00:20:41,730 and doped by it into a drowsiness which 414 00:20:41,730 --> 00:20:43,530 is unaware of what is going on. 415 00:20:43,970 --> 00:20:45,050 We're in the last hour. 416 00:20:47,180 --> 00:20:48,340 The times are serious. 417 00:20:49,420 --> 00:20:50,520 But how does John know? 418 00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:52,720 That brings us to the accompanying explanation. 419 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:56,580 Well, now let me read the second part 420 00:20:56,580 --> 00:20:57,240 of verse 18. 421 00:21:00,150 --> 00:21:02,370 As you have heard, he says, that Antichrist 422 00:21:02,370 --> 00:21:03,030 is coming. 423 00:21:04,690 --> 00:21:09,530 So now, many Antichrists have come. 424 00:21:10,910 --> 00:21:12,950 Therefore, we know, he says, that it is 425 00:21:12,950 --> 00:21:13,610 the last hour. 426 00:21:15,670 --> 00:21:16,950 How does John know? 427 00:21:17,170 --> 00:21:19,230 Well, put it in a nutshell, he knows 428 00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:19,830 for this reason. 429 00:21:20,410 --> 00:21:21,410 He has been told. 430 00:21:22,650 --> 00:21:24,890 Now here we must assume that John had 431 00:21:24,890 --> 00:21:27,090 got his knowledge from the Lord Jesus himself. 432 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,740 We have been told, he says, we know 433 00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:34,780 that Antichrist is coming. 434 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,360 And already, he says, there are many Antichrists 435 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:39,920 abroad. 436 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:45,100 We know, therefore, because these have come, that 437 00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:48,560 the last great Antichrist cannot be very far 438 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:49,020 away. 439 00:21:51,140 --> 00:21:56,000 Now just a word about Antichrist and Antichrist. 440 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:05,280 The Antichrist, according to the language itself, is 441 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,920 either one who opposes Christ, he is opposite 442 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,860 to Christ, anti, the preposition anti can mean 443 00:22:11,860 --> 00:22:15,320 that, one who is set over against, deliberately 444 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,120 opposed to Christ and everything that Christ stands 445 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:18,360 for. 446 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:21,460 Or it can be used in a slightly 447 00:22:21,460 --> 00:22:23,800 different way as an alternative to Christ. 448 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:27,280 The word means that too. 449 00:22:28,860 --> 00:22:31,040 Now probably here in this context, the reference 450 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,440 is to anti in the sense of being 451 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:39,460 absolutely, utterly, irrevocably opposed to Jesus Christ. 452 00:22:41,780 --> 00:22:44,280 The Antichrist is one who is set against 453 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,040 everything he stands for, everything he says, everything 454 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:47,620 he has done. 455 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:49,460 He is over against it. 456 00:22:53,350 --> 00:22:55,030 It may not be good taste to introduce 457 00:22:55,030 --> 00:22:56,250 a joke at this point. 458 00:22:56,690 --> 00:22:58,390 You may have heard the story of the 459 00:22:58,390 --> 00:23:02,030 Irishman who landed in South Africa and asked, 460 00:23:02,130 --> 00:23:03,110 is there a government here? 461 00:23:04,290 --> 00:23:06,090 He was told, yes, a very good government. 462 00:23:06,710 --> 00:23:07,810 Well, I am against it, he said. 463 00:23:09,860 --> 00:23:16,600 Now, pardon me, Irishman, but you know, that 464 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:17,480 is the Antichrist. 465 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,820 Whatever the Christ of God has said, whatever 466 00:23:21,820 --> 00:23:25,320 the Christ of God has done, whatever the 467 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,220 Christ of God stands for, the Antichrist is 468 00:23:29,220 --> 00:23:33,940 against it, set, solid, beyond repentance. 469 00:23:35,460 --> 00:23:37,160 There is no way back, there are no 470 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,820 possible negotiations, he is anti, he is set. 471 00:23:46,190 --> 00:23:50,190 The Antichrist is usually identified as having been 472 00:23:50,190 --> 00:23:52,710 prophesied by Daniel the prophet in chapter 7. 473 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,260 If he is a personage of such importance 474 00:23:58,260 --> 00:24:00,460 that the prophets of the Old Testament speak 475 00:24:00,460 --> 00:24:02,320 about him before his coming, I think we 476 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:03,520 ought to know something about him. 477 00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:08,220 God does not inspire his prophets in vain. 478 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,300 If there is some such character as this, 479 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,400 some personage of this order that is to 480 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:15,780 come into the realm of history, my good 481 00:24:15,780 --> 00:24:17,420 people, you and I ought to know something 482 00:24:17,420 --> 00:24:17,980 about it. 483 00:24:21,030 --> 00:24:23,170 Daniel speaks of him in 7 and 25, 484 00:24:23,490 --> 00:24:26,150 in these words, he shall speak words against 485 00:24:26,150 --> 00:24:29,430 the Most High and shall wear out the 486 00:24:29,430 --> 00:24:30,630 saints of the Most High. 487 00:24:33,300 --> 00:24:33,900 Did you get that? 488 00:24:34,020 --> 00:24:36,480 Wear out the saints of the Most High. 489 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:39,240 There is a word in the New Testament 490 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,200 which says that when he comes he shall 491 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,560 deceive even the very elect, if it were 492 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:44,840 not for the grace of God. 493 00:24:47,490 --> 00:24:49,810 Later, Daniel refers to the same being as 494 00:24:49,810 --> 00:24:53,750 one who shall exalt himself and magnify himself 495 00:24:53,750 --> 00:24:56,650 above the very God. 496 00:25:01,010 --> 00:25:02,910 Now, John is the only one who speaks 497 00:25:02,910 --> 00:25:07,700 of him by the title Antichrist, but it 498 00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:10,960 is fairly obvious from the description given in 499 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:12,860 comparison of the two that Paul has the 500 00:25:12,860 --> 00:25:15,560 same person in mind when in 2 Thessalonians 501 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,580 chapter 2 he writes of the man of 502 00:25:17,580 --> 00:25:21,480 sin, or the man of lawlessness, as some 503 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,160 manuscripts have it, the man of sin, or 504 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:25,220 the man of lawlessness. 505 00:25:25,900 --> 00:25:27,360 It comes very much to the same thing. 506 00:25:29,020 --> 00:25:31,420 And also that we have the same person 507 00:25:31,420 --> 00:25:34,880 in Revelation chapter 13 verses 11 to 18 508 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:36,180 called the false prophet. 509 00:25:37,980 --> 00:25:39,940 Now, summarizing what is said of him in 510 00:25:39,940 --> 00:25:42,360 Scripture, we may say that whereas the designation 511 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:44,820 Antichrist may apply to many people in the 512 00:25:44,820 --> 00:25:50,740 course of history, the Antichrist refers to one 513 00:25:50,740 --> 00:25:52,620 personage coming at the end who is the 514 00:25:52,620 --> 00:25:57,540 embodiment of all that is against Christ and 515 00:25:57,540 --> 00:25:59,980 his gospel and his truth and his revelation. 516 00:26:02,260 --> 00:26:05,600 This person will be Antichrist theologically in that 517 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,980 he will claim to be God himself. 518 00:26:09,340 --> 00:26:12,260 He will be Antichrist politically as he will 519 00:26:12,260 --> 00:26:13,800 attempt to rule the world. 520 00:26:14,740 --> 00:26:20,060 He will be Antichrist satanically because his inspiration 521 00:26:20,060 --> 00:26:21,600 is satanic indeed. 522 00:26:24,350 --> 00:26:26,810 It seems that in many respects the future 523 00:26:26,810 --> 00:26:32,820 Antichrist will be to Satan what Jesus Christ 524 00:26:32,820 --> 00:26:33,700 is to God the Father. 525 00:26:37,420 --> 00:26:42,340 Some such relationship binds Satan and the Antichrist 526 00:26:42,340 --> 00:26:44,740 as binds the Son of God and the 527 00:26:44,740 --> 00:26:45,420 Father in heaven. 528 00:26:48,350 --> 00:26:50,070 Now, says John, we know that he is 529 00:26:50,070 --> 00:26:53,050 coming because many Antichrists are already here. 530 00:26:54,810 --> 00:26:57,270 John sees the last hour as having arrived 531 00:26:57,270 --> 00:27:00,470 because many such people are emerging, not the 532 00:27:00,470 --> 00:27:03,570 Antichrist, but people who have his spirit. 533 00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:05,850 His spirit is already abroad. 534 00:27:08,570 --> 00:27:11,070 These Antichrists already on the scene are not 535 00:27:11,070 --> 00:27:13,810 supernatural beings as the Antichrist will be. 536 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:19,480 They are in some cases, and this is 537 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,700 the tragedy of it, oh that the Lord 538 00:27:21,700 --> 00:27:25,380 would write this on our hearts, these Antichrists 539 00:27:25,380 --> 00:27:28,060 already on the scene have been members of 540 00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:29,020 the Christian church. 541 00:27:32,210 --> 00:27:34,230 They've gone through the motions of being received 542 00:27:34,230 --> 00:27:35,010 into membership. 543 00:27:35,270 --> 00:27:35,910 They've been baptized. 544 00:27:36,970 --> 00:27:37,990 They've been received in. 545 00:27:38,170 --> 00:27:39,710 They've been given the right hand of fellowship. 546 00:27:40,870 --> 00:27:42,990 But they went out from us, says John, 547 00:27:43,050 --> 00:27:44,530 because they didn't belong to us. 548 00:27:44,750 --> 00:27:45,990 If they belonged to us, they would have 549 00:27:45,990 --> 00:27:47,590 remained with us, but they were not of 550 00:27:47,590 --> 00:27:47,970 us. 551 00:27:51,820 --> 00:27:52,920 Can you imagine such a thing? 552 00:27:53,660 --> 00:27:55,640 Here are men and women who have sat 553 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,800 in the pew on the Lord's day, have 554 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,660 heard the word, and have apparently worshipped with 555 00:28:00,660 --> 00:28:02,700 the people of God, and now they are 556 00:28:02,700 --> 00:28:06,760 the precursors and the forerunners of the great 557 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,360 Antichrist himself. 558 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,400 Men and women, let us examine ourselves this 559 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:12,760 morning. 560 00:28:17,140 --> 00:28:19,660 Is there a genuine work of grace that 561 00:28:19,660 --> 00:28:21,200 is going on in my heart? 562 00:28:23,510 --> 00:28:25,590 Is there something that is deeper than the 563 00:28:25,590 --> 00:28:26,010 skin? 564 00:28:26,770 --> 00:28:30,210 Is there something that is radical and transforming, 565 00:28:30,810 --> 00:28:33,350 making me like God and his Son? 566 00:28:34,550 --> 00:28:36,990 Or is my membership of the Christian church 567 00:28:36,990 --> 00:28:38,870 something that is purely superficial? 568 00:28:39,230 --> 00:28:41,350 I can shake it off like that, and 569 00:28:41,350 --> 00:28:43,890 I can join forces with a great Antichrist. 570 00:28:46,530 --> 00:28:47,530 Oh, this is challenging. 571 00:28:48,010 --> 00:28:49,890 And I tell you, it's the more challenging 572 00:28:49,890 --> 00:28:51,630 because it is the last hour. 573 00:28:52,210 --> 00:28:53,970 You and I don't know how much time 574 00:28:53,970 --> 00:28:55,750 we've got to put things right. 575 00:28:57,230 --> 00:28:59,790 The day is far spent. 576 00:29:00,190 --> 00:29:01,730 The night is at hand. 577 00:29:02,350 --> 00:29:03,750 I know there are many things that have 578 00:29:03,750 --> 00:29:04,430 to take place. 579 00:29:04,930 --> 00:29:07,590 I know what Thessalonians 2 says, and I 580 00:29:07,590 --> 00:29:08,770 know what other passages say. 581 00:29:09,010 --> 00:29:11,230 Some things must take place before the very 582 00:29:11,230 --> 00:29:14,210 last event of all, and He comes in 583 00:29:14,210 --> 00:29:14,830 His glory. 584 00:29:15,690 --> 00:29:18,010 But I also know that God can hasten 585 00:29:18,010 --> 00:29:19,570 events when it pleases Him. 586 00:29:22,710 --> 00:29:25,070 It is the last hour, men and women. 587 00:29:25,410 --> 00:29:27,350 Do not trifle with spiritual things. 588 00:29:27,630 --> 00:29:29,250 If there is anything wrong in your life, 589 00:29:29,410 --> 00:29:30,290 put it right today. 590 00:29:31,850 --> 00:29:33,450 Harden not your hearts as in the day 591 00:29:33,450 --> 00:29:34,190 of provocation. 592 00:29:34,630 --> 00:29:36,350 Today is the day of salvation. 593 00:29:37,330 --> 00:29:38,690 This is no time to trifle. 594 00:29:38,910 --> 00:29:40,190 This is no time to toy. 595 00:29:41,110 --> 00:29:43,610 Many Antichrists have come out into the world 596 00:29:43,610 --> 00:29:45,650 for this reason, we know, says John, the 597 00:29:45,650 --> 00:29:48,430 Spirit is abroad, and it's but a preparation 598 00:29:48,430 --> 00:29:51,790 of the way for the embodiment of the 599 00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:52,970 Antichristian spirit. 600 00:29:55,420 --> 00:29:59,120 Now one word, and I move right to 601 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,040 the end of the passage because I think 602 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:03,940 we need to bring that truth in here, 603 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:06,400 a pastoral exhortation. 604 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,360 If this is so, what are the consequences 605 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:11,460 of this? 606 00:30:11,460 --> 00:30:13,280 What is John to say to the Christians 607 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:13,560 here? 608 00:30:14,580 --> 00:30:15,840 Now you remember the situation. 609 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,800 A Christian group, a genuinely Christian church has 610 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:21,880 come into existence. 611 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:23,540 Then there's been this division. 612 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:25,600 These people have had some new light, and 613 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:26,700 they've gone outside. 614 00:30:27,540 --> 00:30:29,240 John says, now you must test them and 615 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,020 see whether they are of God or not. 616 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,220 Are they merely schismatics, which is serious enough, 617 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:38,260 dividing the true church, or are they heretics? 618 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,120 And you need to apply these certain tests. 619 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,600 But now he says, look, as you're doing 620 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:46,220 that, and as I warned you of the 621 00:30:46,220 --> 00:30:48,960 coming of Antichrist, I want now to encourage 622 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:49,260 you. 623 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:51,440 And why doesn't he do so? 624 00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:52,280 Look at verse 28. 625 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,660 Now, little children, he says, abide in him, 626 00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:01,900 so that when he appears, we may have 627 00:31:01,900 --> 00:31:04,820 confidence and not shrink before him at his 628 00:31:04,820 --> 00:31:05,120 coming. 629 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,920 It is true that there are Antichrists abroad. 630 00:31:10,100 --> 00:31:12,320 It is true that they are multiplying in 631 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:12,640 number. 632 00:31:13,660 --> 00:31:15,060 And it is true that they are the 633 00:31:15,060 --> 00:31:16,960 precursors of the great Antichrist. 634 00:31:17,060 --> 00:31:19,080 And the time is fast moving. 635 00:31:20,860 --> 00:31:24,800 But says John, don't simply concentrate on the 636 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:25,300 opposition. 637 00:31:26,580 --> 00:31:28,640 Take note of the Antichrists and what is 638 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:32,300 happening and what their presence in the plural 639 00:31:32,300 --> 00:31:33,300 means. 640 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,220 But then he says, remember this, your Lord 641 00:31:37,220 --> 00:31:37,980 is returning. 642 00:31:38,260 --> 00:31:39,820 Jesus is coming back. 643 00:31:40,620 --> 00:31:42,380 Our Master is coming back again. 644 00:31:42,660 --> 00:31:48,920 There's the great appearing of the Lord himself 645 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:50,120 to which we look forward. 646 00:31:50,340 --> 00:31:52,660 He says, remember that, he's coming. 647 00:31:54,580 --> 00:31:57,800 And now he says, you prepare for his 648 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,440 emergence in his glory as he appears. 649 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:03,840 Now, there are two alternatives he puts before 650 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:04,440 the Christians. 651 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:05,120 Look at them. 652 00:32:06,740 --> 00:32:08,580 Now, little children, he says, you abide in 653 00:32:08,580 --> 00:32:12,620 him so that when he appears, he appears, 654 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:19,180 we may have confidence and not shrink before 655 00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:20,000 him at his coming. 656 00:32:20,420 --> 00:32:23,320 The first alternative, the first possibility is this, 657 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:27,280 that when Jesus Christ comes, his people will 658 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:33,260 shrink and shrivel fearfully and timidly before him 659 00:32:33,260 --> 00:32:34,540 at his appearance. 660 00:32:36,990 --> 00:32:39,270 Now, this is a very graphic statement, but 661 00:32:39,270 --> 00:32:40,150 you know what it is. 662 00:32:40,390 --> 00:32:42,070 You have seen it happen in some sphere 663 00:32:42,070 --> 00:32:42,390 or other. 664 00:32:42,530 --> 00:32:43,830 Someone is guilty of something. 665 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:48,980 And then some key figure in the whole 666 00:32:48,980 --> 00:32:50,660 business has emerged into the scene. 667 00:32:50,860 --> 00:32:52,780 And you notice how they begin to blush, 668 00:32:53,100 --> 00:32:55,380 unless they've completely lost the art of blushing. 669 00:32:57,100 --> 00:32:58,760 And if they can't blush, they'll get a 670 00:32:58,760 --> 00:32:59,720 little bit agitated. 671 00:33:00,540 --> 00:33:02,860 And they don't want to look this key 672 00:33:02,860 --> 00:33:04,160 figure in the face. 673 00:33:04,660 --> 00:33:07,340 And they'll gradually move away until they get 674 00:33:07,340 --> 00:33:10,620 into a corner away from the look of 675 00:33:10,620 --> 00:33:11,480 his eye. 676 00:33:14,170 --> 00:33:15,970 Oh, men and women, I tell you, there's 677 00:33:15,970 --> 00:33:18,070 a possibility that some of us on the 678 00:33:18,070 --> 00:33:20,330 day of our Lord's appearance will want to 679 00:33:20,330 --> 00:33:20,930 hide. 680 00:33:27,570 --> 00:33:29,050 I have no time this morning. 681 00:33:29,250 --> 00:33:30,790 Think of the parable of the talents. 682 00:33:31,070 --> 00:33:32,550 Think of the parable of service. 683 00:33:32,830 --> 00:33:34,570 Think of the parables of our Lord, all 684 00:33:34,570 --> 00:33:35,590 relating to this hour. 685 00:33:36,010 --> 00:33:38,230 And for one reason or another, we may 686 00:33:38,230 --> 00:33:41,990 well want to hide and shrink back before 687 00:33:41,990 --> 00:33:42,750 him at his coming. 688 00:33:43,230 --> 00:33:45,350 What a terrible thing when the bride wants 689 00:33:45,350 --> 00:33:46,550 to hide from the bridegroom. 690 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,360 We profess to love toward him and we 691 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:53,940 are waiting for the marriage day. 692 00:33:54,020 --> 00:33:55,280 And then when he comes, we want to 693 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,480 hide from him because we've been unfaithful. 694 00:34:00,910 --> 00:34:04,090 It's one possibility, says John, that we prove 695 00:34:04,090 --> 00:34:05,170 our infidelity. 696 00:34:05,810 --> 00:34:08,730 And at last, when he comes, we'd rather 697 00:34:08,730 --> 00:34:09,510 not see him. 698 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,120 But the other alternative is this, that we 699 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,400 may have confidence before him at his coming. 700 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,280 And when confidence is one of the most 701 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,100 graphic ones, it means say everything. 702 00:34:26,300 --> 00:34:27,219 Say everything. 703 00:34:27,860 --> 00:34:29,659 Now, the best illustration I can think of 704 00:34:29,659 --> 00:34:32,100 it is something that happens very often in 705 00:34:32,100 --> 00:34:33,480 families where there are little ones. 706 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,420 You know, dad or mum have been away 707 00:34:36,420 --> 00:34:37,940 from home and lots of things have gone 708 00:34:37,940 --> 00:34:38,780 on in the house. 709 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,840 And then at certain ages, children just have 710 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:44,719 the knack of saying everything in one sentence. 711 00:34:45,460 --> 00:34:47,960 And daddy or mummy comes home and get 712 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,480 in the front door and suddenly everything's out. 713 00:34:50,540 --> 00:34:52,020 And there may have been some secrets, you 714 00:34:52,020 --> 00:34:54,300 know, something special kept for daddy coming home 715 00:34:54,300 --> 00:34:56,540 and shouldn't have come out just then, but 716 00:34:56,540 --> 00:34:57,200 everything's out. 717 00:34:59,900 --> 00:35:00,540 Everything's out. 718 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:04,760 You see, this utter openness, this love that 719 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:06,960 opens the heart and's got nothing to hide. 720 00:35:07,420 --> 00:35:10,460 Now, says John, you should be like this. 721 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,180 And this is what you should pray for 722 00:35:12,180 --> 00:35:14,520 and prepare for, that when he comes, your 723 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:15,620 heart will be open. 724 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:17,880 You'll have nothing to grieve about, nothing to 725 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,900 hide, but with an open heart welcome your 726 00:35:20,900 --> 00:35:21,400 beloved. 727 00:35:25,210 --> 00:35:26,670 And the secret of it all, says John, 728 00:35:26,790 --> 00:35:27,510 is this. 729 00:35:27,930 --> 00:35:29,490 And here we see the stamp of the 730 00:35:29,490 --> 00:35:31,150 same writer in the epistle as in the 731 00:35:31,150 --> 00:35:31,430 gospel. 732 00:35:31,850 --> 00:35:36,410 Oh, my little children, he says, abide in 733 00:35:36,410 --> 00:35:36,850 him. 734 00:35:38,570 --> 00:35:39,310 Nothing more. 735 00:35:39,410 --> 00:35:41,290 It's all wrapped up there in that little 736 00:35:41,290 --> 00:35:43,330 word, abide in him. 737 00:35:43,930 --> 00:35:46,590 Can I apply it very briefly to this 738 00:35:46,590 --> 00:35:46,890 chapter? 739 00:35:47,510 --> 00:35:48,950 What does it mean to abide in him? 740 00:35:49,390 --> 00:35:53,010 One, see that you keep his commandments out 741 00:35:53,010 --> 00:35:53,510 of love. 742 00:35:55,410 --> 00:35:57,970 Two, see that you love his people out 743 00:35:57,970 --> 00:35:59,990 of the same love of God in your 744 00:35:59,990 --> 00:36:00,490 heart. 745 00:36:01,530 --> 00:36:04,410 Three, see that you continue to believe that 746 00:36:04,410 --> 00:36:07,150 he is Jesus, the Christ, and honor him 747 00:36:07,150 --> 00:36:08,970 as the Christ of God. 748 00:36:09,530 --> 00:36:10,770 It's the test of obedience. 749 00:36:11,050 --> 00:36:11,970 It's the test of love. 750 00:36:12,110 --> 00:36:13,190 It's the test of truth. 751 00:36:13,630 --> 00:36:15,270 Now, he says, this is the way of 752 00:36:15,270 --> 00:36:15,710 abiding. 753 00:36:15,910 --> 00:36:18,270 This is the prescription for abiding. 754 00:36:19,750 --> 00:36:23,410 Oh, blessed day, when my Lord returns in 755 00:36:23,410 --> 00:36:25,730 glory, and every eye shall see. 756 00:36:28,830 --> 00:36:30,470 I trust that none of us will want 757 00:36:30,470 --> 00:36:32,190 to draw back at that point. 758 00:36:32,690 --> 00:36:34,350 Now's the time to prepare. 759 00:36:37,230 --> 00:36:38,890 Now's the time to get ready. 760 00:36:39,730 --> 00:36:41,710 This is the day, this is the hour, 761 00:36:42,090 --> 00:36:43,430 these are the means of grace. 762 00:36:43,690 --> 00:36:45,870 We have the word, we have the promises, 763 00:36:46,290 --> 00:36:48,110 we have the covenant, we have the fellowship 764 00:36:48,110 --> 00:36:48,710 of his people. 765 00:36:49,030 --> 00:36:52,250 My good people, this is the Lord's day, 766 00:36:53,630 --> 00:36:57,490 and a Sabbath on earth is but the 767 00:36:57,490 --> 00:37:00,830 means given by God for the preparation of 768 00:37:00,830 --> 00:37:03,750 souls for that eternal Sabbath on earth in 769 00:37:03,750 --> 00:37:05,530 the heavens with our beloved. 770 00:37:06,670 --> 00:37:09,150 Are you using this day in its fullness 771 00:37:09,150 --> 00:37:10,390 to prepare for that? 772 00:37:12,940 --> 00:37:14,820 What more are we using our lives? 773 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:16,280 It is the last hour. 774 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:19,840 Don't fritter the moments. 775 00:37:22,460 --> 00:37:26,360 Just one life, it will soon be past. 776 00:37:28,510 --> 00:37:32,910 Only what's done for Christ will last. 777 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:36,540 Let us pray. 778 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,320 Heavenly Father, in heaven, thy dwelling place, hear 779 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:54,640 our acknowledgement of ill-desert, unworthiness, guilt, transgressions 780 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:59,700 of thy law, and lack of love for 781 00:37:59,700 --> 00:38:00,400 thy people. 782 00:38:01,260 --> 00:38:06,850 At times, O our Heavenly Father, in mercy, 783 00:38:07,010 --> 00:38:11,190 come and cleanse us, purge us, and forgive 784 00:38:11,190 --> 00:38:15,810 us, and make us the agents of thy 785 00:38:15,810 --> 00:38:19,650 forgiving love for the purifying and the edifying 786 00:38:19,650 --> 00:38:23,070 of the fellowship of the Church, and ride 787 00:38:23,070 --> 00:38:26,270 out into the cold, abysmal world that lies 788 00:38:26,270 --> 00:38:29,670 in ignorance of the meaning of history and 789 00:38:29,670 --> 00:38:35,060 of the terminus towards which it is appointed 790 00:38:35,060 --> 00:38:35,780 to move. 791 00:38:37,220 --> 00:38:40,460 Father in heaven, hear our cry this morning, 792 00:38:41,420 --> 00:38:45,460 and bring anew earnestness and sobriety into our 793 00:38:45,460 --> 00:38:50,620 lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 794 00:38:51,740 --> 00:38:52,220 Amen.