Antichrists

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared.  Thus we know this is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us.  Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.  I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth. (1 John 2: 18-21)

This is our reading today, and it occurs on the last day of 2019.   It’s scary and gives us a stark warning: “Now many antichrists have appeared.”  And, “… this is the last hour.”  We hope John’s characterization is correct: “they were not really of our number.”  Of course, they are of our number, and we may count ourselves as one of those antichrists meaning we lie.  According to John and our own consciences: “every lie is alien to the truth.” 

Today we make New Year’s resolutions.   Let’s start with a commitment not to lie to ourselves, that it’s the “other” who are antichrists – liars and deceivers.

We must resolve to tell the truth and oppose those who do otherwise.   This resolution has special importance for 2020 when political battles for power and control intensify.

Deacon David Pierce