Another
line of argument for a future Antichrist is the phrase “is coming” in 2:18. The
verb is in the present tense. Normally it would be translated as “you have
heard that antichrist comes.” However, most translations take this as
“futuristic present.” This is described by Daniel Wallace as when “the present
tense may describe an event that is wholly
subsequent to the time of speaking, although as if it were present.”[1]
Wallace adds this use of the present tense is commonly found with the verb
“erchomai,” which is the word “is coming” in our text. Whether or not this is
futuristic is difficult to determine. Even if it is, the question still remains
as to whether it is future to the time of John writing or was future when he
told them about it in the past (you have heard). Notice the parallel between 2:18 and 4:3:
2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now
many antichrists have come.
4:3 This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
It is possible to read 2:18 as, “you have heard that Antichrist is
coming in the future, but even now there are many antichrists who prefigure that
coming antichrist.” This is how Pastor
MacArthur reads the passage.
Or it could be read, “You heard in the past that antichrist would come
and now he/they have arrived." The second reading fits better with the rest of
John’s references to the antichrist, while the first reading does not.
Either way, this is not a slam-dunk argument for making the Antichrist
an end times world leader.
One final argument is used to say antichrist refers to end times world
leader. John says in 2:18 and in 4:3
that the people “have heard” that the antichrist is coming. Some pastors take this as a reference to II
Thessalonians 2. They will say that Paul speaks of the Antichrist in II
Thessalonians and that is where John’s readers heard about it. While this is
possible, it is sheer speculation. There is nothing in I John that indicates he
was writing to the same group that Paul wrote to or that his readers had access
to Paul’s letters. There is no direct
connection in words or concepts between I John 2 and II Thessalonians 2. It is just as likely that John has previously
told them about the antichrist when he planted or visited the church he was
writing to.
Everything in I and II John points to antichrists and the spirit of
the antichrist being present during the time John was writing. There are no verbal or conceptual parallels
with other passages which speak of an end times leader, even in John’s book of
Revelation. John’s epistles are pastoral in
nature, discussing particular problems that were facing his readers. There is
nothing in the text that demands we read antichrist as The Antichrist.
So what is the antichrist? The simple answer is that antichrist was a
set of doctrines or beliefs that denied that Jesus was the Christ. This set of
beliefs denied especially the Incarnation.
Any man who holds to these beliefs is a deceiver and the antichrist. So
antichrist is both the set of beliefs and the men who hold those beliefs. By the way, Pastor MacArthur implies that all Christians are antichrists. This is overstating the case. I think this was in his second sermon on this passage.
Readers may ask, “Why does this
matter?” First and foremost, all
Christians should desire to be faithful to the biblical text. Before we move on
to “practical” considerations, there must be a foundational desire to know
exactly what the text says. So our love
for Christ demands that we properly understand what I and II John are teaching.
Second, by showing that I and II John do not teach us about an end times leader
called the Antichrist we are able to focus more clearly on what the text does
say. Someone who believes that John is talking about a world leader who shows
up during the Tribulation ends up spending a lot of time on passages that have
nothing to do with I John. I think this can confuse the flock. Third, John is
talking about religious leaders, false teachers who went out from the Apostles.
The modern depiction of the Antichrist is that he is a political leader. Again
this muddies the waters and causes a focus on nations and world leaders instead
of teachers and pastors. Finally, too often when I and II John are preached
they are couched in speculation. The flock does not get practical exhortations on
how to fight the antichrist who shows up at their door, like the Jehovah
Witnesses, the Mormons, Unitarians, or the liberal Presbyterian. (In fairness
to Pastor MacArthur he only spends half of one sermon on the world leader. Most
of his three sermons are devoted to how to combat present day antichrists.)
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