Live Love Week 5
Questions for deeper study 1 John 2:18-27
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
– 1 John 2:18-27 (NIV)
Questions
1. John didn’t use the phrase “last hour†with its literal meaning in mind; instead, he was attempting to convey a sense of urgency to his readers. What do you think he was trying to warn his readers about in verses 2:18-27?
2. What does John mean when he talks about an “anointing†in verse 20?
3. How do you think the Holy Spirit helps us stay true to Christ?
4. Write your own deï¬nition of “antichrist†in words that you would use to explain to a non-Christian.
5. Reread verse 2:23. A lot of people believe in God, but this verse teaches us that the Father and the Son go together. Other religions and cults believe in God, but they deny that the Son (Jesus) and the Father (God) go together. Do you know of any religions that believe in God but don’t believe that Jesus was God’s Son?
6. In The Message paraphrase, 1 John 2:24 reads: “Stay with what you heard in the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. “
• What is it you think John’s readers “heard in the beginning�
• What would a person look like if they let God’s Word “sink deep into their life�  (Look up Psalm 119:11)
• John urges his readers to see to it that the gospel “remains†in them. What are some practical ways you can follow this instruction?
(Read John 15)
The Bible dictionary deï¬nition of antichrist is: “An antichrist is one who opposes Christ – a person who is opposed to the authority of Christ as head of the church and creation.†(From New Unger’s Bible Dictionary)
There are “antichrists” and then there is “The Antichrist†that John talks about.  This will be a person who epitomizes all that is evil. He is described as “one who will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God, or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.â€
Read more in Revelation 13
7. Reread verse 2:25. How can the promise of a future, eternal life with God, impact your present daily life?
8. John is really trying to combat the false teachings these people were receiving because he was worried some would be “led astray.†He wants them to know the truth of God’s teaching. He encourages them to follow the teaching so they’ll have a faith that is pure and true. What are some areas in your life that keep you from following “God’s Way†in your life?
9. In verse 2:27, John writes about the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. How does the Holy Spirit work in your life?