The last hour

[Marty fox]

1 John 2
18Dear 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. 19They 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.

What did John mean by the last hour? Obviously not the end of the world.

 

[quietthinker]

1 John 2
18Dear 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. 19They 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.

What did John mean by the last hour? Obviously not the end of the world.

None of the Disciples expected the return of Jesus to be over 2000 yrs in the future. John speaks from that perspective.

 

[Marty fox]

None of the Disciples expected the return of Jesus to be over 2000 yrs in the future. John speaks from that perspective.

So are you saying that John who was inspired by the Holy Spirt was wrong?

Is the bible wrong or is there a different interpretation about what the last hour was talking about?

 

[soberxp]

Antichrists cause the last time or last hour.
The immortal has no last time or last hour.
Antichrists go to the end of the death and end of the world.
But The immortal will face the forever even face the end of the death and end of the world.

 

[Aunty Jane]

1 John 2
18Dear 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. 19They 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.

What did John mean by the last hour? Obviously not the end of the world.

It is interesting to note that John was the last living apostle, and he wrote his last three letters as well as the Revelation, at the end of the first century. This was a good 30 years after the other letters of the NT were written.
His reference to the anti-Christs indicates that individuals who denied Jesus as the Christ, existed already, but it appears that “THE antichrist“ would arise as one major entity in the future.

The “last hour” indicates that the ‘restraining influence’ of the apostles was about to end, (2 Thess 2:6-12) and that a flood of anti-Christian teachers would take over “the church” and lead it down a dark path, once that restraint was “out of the way”. We can see where that apostasy led the Christian faith, just as Jesus himself had foretold. (Matt 13:24-30)

The sower of the “weeds” (Matt 15:7-9) was to do to the Christian faith, exactly what he did to the Jewish religion of Jesus’ day, resulting in sectarianism and divisions….only on a much larger scale. (Matt 15:7-9)
Jesus said that they were “from their father the devil”….and so are those who lead mankind astray today.

The god they worship is not the god of Jesus Christ, and the hope he gave to his disciples has been skewed to produce a false expectation…that all who follow Christ will go to heaven.

God created mankind to live on earth….he already had a large family of spirit sons in heaven, but in order for his son to bring the flawed human race back into reconciliation with their Creator, he chose some “from among mankind as firstfruits” (Rev 14:1-5) to join their king as fellow rulers and priests. (Rev 20:6) These will rule from heaven over those who are saved among mankind on earth. They are individually chosen by God, not men.…and they will all believe and teach, one truth. (1 Cor 1:10; Eph 4:4-6)

Everlasting life will be restored to the redeemed human race…..as God first intended (Rev 21:2-4)…..and as many as accepted the truth, rather than the perverted story told by the hopelessly divided churches of Christendom, who can’t see to agree on much of anything…..the “wheat” will not resemble the “weeds” at all in this “time of the end”.

Like Jesus and his first century followers, they will be a hated and reviled minority (John 15:18-21)….which is why Jesus foretold that “few” will be saved. (Matt 7:13-14; 21-23) “Many“ will be found in great numbers, on the wrong road, and will suffer a stinging rejection.
No one can come to the Father except through Christ….but no one can come to Christ unless he is drawn by the Father. (John 6:44; 65) God is choosing us, but “the god of this world” has “blinded the minds” of the majority who call themselves “Christians”. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

 

[Behold]

Everlasting life will be restored to the redeemed human race….

Everlasting life, (Eternal Life)....is inside every born again Christian, as Jesus is Eternal life.
"Christ IN YOU, the Hope of Glory". (Glory is Heaven).
This is why Jesus said He will give it to you..(Eternal life).. if you Believe in Jesus. ("Justification by Faith").
John explains that "this LIFE is IN God's Son".......and because Jesus is IN the Born again, and all the born again are "IN CHRIST" then they have Eternal (Everlasting) Life, already.

This is the 1st end result of being "reconciled" back to God........or to become "one with God".

Welcome to : Salvation.

Its an eternal "GIFT" from God........the gift of Eternal life.

 

[Douggg]

1 John 2
18Dear 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. 19They 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.

What did John mean by the last hour? Obviously not the end of the world.

I think John was speaking from a position of hope. Hoping that it was the last hour (a figure of speech for a short time) , when Jesus would return and change the world.

Do we not hold that position of hope even today ?

John's message was for believers to continue to abide in the Son, and the Father.

1John2:
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

 

[soberxp]

They never be belonged to us in the world,
No hope in the world.
But...
Hope in the heaven.

 

[quietthinker]

So are you saying that John who was inspired by the Holy Spirt was wrong?

Is the bible wrong or is there a different interpretation about what the last hour was talking about?

Why engage straining at knats and swallowing camels?

 

[Aunty Jane]

Everlasting life, (Eternal Life)....is inside every born again Christian, as Jesus is Eternal life.

Yes every “born again Christian” will have immortal life in heaven…but not all are “born again”….only those heaven bound and chosen to reign with Christ will have that destiny. (Rev 20:6)

"Christ IN YOU, the Hope of Glory". (Glory is Heaven).

Those who are chosen from among mankind as “firstfruits” will indeed inherit the hope of glory, yet that is not why God created us humans to live on earth. (Rev 14:1-5)

This is why Jesus said He will give it to you..(Eternal life).. if you Believe in Jesus. ("Justification by Faith").
John explains that "this LIFE is IN God's Son".......and because Jesus is IN the Born again, and all the born again are "IN CHRIST" then they have Eternal (Everlasting) Life, already.

This chosen group of Christians in the first century were all heaven bound and so the scriptures were written by them and for them…but according to John in his Revelation, not all are going to heaven because the earth was designed to be man’s permanent home….the first humans were placed in paradise but with the command to have children and spread the boundaries of their paradise until the whole world resembled the garden that God had planted to show them what he wanted them to do to the world outside the garden.

Rev 21:2-4 reveals that God is going to be “with men” and that all the woes of this world will have “passed away”, giving the earthly children of God the fulfillment of his original purpose. He did not create the earth for nothing. (Isa 45:18)

This is the 1st end result of being "reconciled" back to God........or to become "one with God".

Welcome to : Salvation.

Salvation has two destinies….those who put faith in Jesus as Messiah from the first century were among those “called” to heaven, (Heb 3:1) but the ones who accepted Jesus once the heavenly class were chosen and sealed, inherit the earth as Jesus said they would. (Matt 5:5)

The “heavenly calling” is not the only one that gives salvation to mankind….that precious group will assist their King in bringing the human race back into reconciliation with their God, so that his first purpose for mankind on this earth will finally become a reality.

Its an eternal "GIFT" from God........the gift of Eternal life.

For humans it is “everlasting life”…or “life without end”, which for mortal beings means having provision made to ensure that life continues. We were never created to die, which is why it feels so wrong. And why the resurrection hope was so important…..we do not have an immortal soul that survives the death of the body.

Those who will join Christ in heaven have to be “born again” in a spirit body so that they can dwell in the presence of God…this occurs at their resurrection…not something that takes place on earth.
These alone will inherit immortality. But the redeemed ones on earth will always be mortal, with access to “the trees of life” which we saw in the garden of Eden, and how access was denied once sin and death entered the picture. (Gen 3:22-24) The “trees of life” are only mentioned again in Revelation 22:2.

Any who think that being “born again” occurs whilst they are in the flesh are mistaken. A token or pledge is what they receive in advance of that happening at their death and resurrection. (Eph 1: 13-14) The “sealing” takes place whilst in the flesh, but being “born again” in a spirit body, happens later.

 

[Marty fox]

It is interesting to note that John was the last living apostle, and he wrote his last three letters as well as the Revelation, at the end of the first century. This was a good 30 years after the other letters of the NT were written.
His reference to the anti-Christs indicates that individuals who denied Jesus as the Christ, existed already, but it appears that “THE antichrist“ would arise as one major entity in the future.

The “last hour” indicates that the ‘restraining influence’ of the apostles was about to end, (2 Thess 2:6-12) and that a flood of anti-Christian teachers would take over “the church” and lead it down a dark path, once that restraint was “out of the way”. We can see where that apostasy led the Christian faith, just as Jesus himself had foretold. (Matt 13:24-30)

The sower of the “weeds” (Matt 15:7-9) was to do to the Christian faith, exactly what he did to the Jewish religion of Jesus’ day, resulting in sectarianism and divisions….only on a much larger scale. (Matt 15:7-9)
Jesus said that they were “from their father the devil”….and so are those who lead mankind astray today.

The god they worship is not the god of Jesus Christ, and the hope he gave to his disciples has been skewed to produce a false expectation…that all who follow Christ will go to heaven.

God created mankind to live on earth….he already had a large family of spirit sons in heaven, but in order for his son to bring the flawed human race back into reconciliation with their Creator, he chose some “from among mankind as firstfruits” (Rev 14:1-5) to join their king as fellow rulers and priests. (Rev 20:6) These will rule from heaven over those who are saved among mankind on earth. They are individually chosen by God, not men.…and they will all believe and teach, one truth. (1 Cor 1:10; Eph 4:4-6)

Everlasting life will be restored to the redeemed human race…..as God first intended (Rev 21:2-4)…..and as many as accepted the truth, rather than the perverted story told by the hopelessly divided churches of Christendom, who can’t see to agree on much of anything…..the “wheat” will not resemble the “weeds” at all in this “time of the end”.

Like Jesus and his first century followers, they will be a hated and reviled minority (John 15:18-21)….which is why Jesus foretold that “few” will be saved. (Matt 7:13-14; 21-23) “Many“ will be found in great numbers, on the wrong road, and will suffer a stinging rejection.
No one can come to the Father except through Christ….but no one can come to Christ unless he is drawn by the Father. (John 6:44; 65) God is choosing us, but “the god of this world” has “blinded the minds” of the majority who call themselves “Christians”. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

Thanks and great point about it being the end of the apostles authority and restraining end. Many false teachings were coming and would be coming into the church afterJohns death maybe that’s why God kept him alive for so long. The antichrist isn’t one person but a deceiving spirit that enter the church and was also the perfect description of apostate Israel.

Thank God that today we have the authoritative teaching of the bible canonized after the original apostles were gone.

I also see that the last hour could mean the end of the Old testament temple and sacrificial age as in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple

 

[Marty fox]

Why engage straining at knats and swallowing camels?

Because you think that your interpretation trumps Johns spiritually inspired teachings in the bible

No John wasn’t wrong and you don’t fully understand what John was talking about. The topic and point of the last hour was false Christians in the church deceiving and leaving the church

 

[Marty fox]

I think John was speaking from a position of hope. Hoping that it was the last hour (a figure of speech for a short time) , when Jesus would return and change the world.

Do we not hold that position of hope even today ?

John's message was for believers to continue to abide in the Son, and the Father.

1John2:
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

John was spiritually influenced to teach the bible so it wasn’t just hope that John had it was prophesy We just need to understand what exactly the last hour is and it obviously wasn’t the end of our world

The topic and point of the last hour was false Christians in the church deceiving And leaving the church

 

[soberxp]

John was spiritually influenced to teach the bible so it wasn’t just hope that John had it was prophesy We just need to understand what exactly the last hour is and it obviously wasn’t the end of our world

Do you know what it means to disobey God and obey the Antichrist? Death, so the world has an end.

From the beginning God told Adam to rule over the land and everything.

If we rule over it under the opposite of God and opposite of tree of life, the result is death of the world.

It's like we seem to find traces of civilization and life on Mars, but all we see is death.

 

[ScottA]

1 John 2
18Dear 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. 19They 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.

What did John mean by the last hour? Obviously not the end of the world.

1 John 2:18, like many passages of scripture--"as long as today is called today"--is always true.

There certainly was a particular significance to that time, as it was the apex of fulfilment surrounding the cross. Which, just as the cross encompassed all of time and all people, so too was John's antichrist statement.

In other words, just as antichrist activity was present already at work during the time John spoke of it, it was also true beginning in the garden, and continuing throughout the entire time of God's salvation plans for every generation--and even present when "the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world."

So, John's statement was particularly appropriate for that time and that generation of Christ being publicly crucified, but also served as a statement of revelation for every generation to follow as the gospel was taught to the ends of the world.

 

[Marty fox]

If you read the topic of John saying the last hour you will see that’s it’s about the spirit of antichrist that had infiltrated the church through false Christian’s that was exposed and they were banished.

As aunty Jane pointed out on a different site it could be the last hour of the authority of the original apostles that would end with Johns death. This authority would be given to the church though the canonized scriptures

 

[Aunty Jane]

Do you know what it means to disobey God and obey the Antichrist? Death, so the world has an end.

This world has to come to an end because of God’s purpose in permitting humans to see the folly of trying to rule themselves without him….it had a time limit.…and since his battle is with the devil, it is fought in universal time, earth time seems to make it drag out and feel like an eternity of waiting for the Kingdom to do what God intended it to. So patience is required, but no one has to wait for the kingdom to come, longer than their own lifetime. Their resurrection is to a cleansed earth with God’s kingdom ruling over the whole earth.

From the beginning God told Adam to rule over the land and everything.

Yes, in reading God’s command to the humans, they were to “fill the earth” with their children, having all things “in subjection”….all things except each other. We are made to be ruled by an incorruptible God, not by corruptible humans. The moment you give power to humans, over other humans, it corrupts them. Which is why man’s rulership, no matter what form he has chosen, all have failed miserably.…including the facade of democracy, which is a delusion of freedom….it never was freedom, just the cleverly disguised slave and master situation that has always existed.

If we rule over it under the opposite of God and opposite of tree of life, the result is death of the world.

Yes, this world and all it stands for is of the devil’s making. (1 John 5:19) If he controls “the whole world” and was in a position to give it all to Jesus, (Luke 4:5-7) then that is the reason why Jesus told us to be ”no part of the world”. (John 18:36) We are to be neutral bystanders in its political squabbles and bloodshed. (Isa 1:15) We are not of this world….our citizenship is in God’s Kingdom, whether we are rulers or subjects, Christ’s death has ransomed us out of death to everlasting life. What we lost is what we get back….
In the beginning no human was needed to go to heaven….neither was there a need for Christ’s sacrifice or the rulership of the Kingdom, to bring us back to him. That situation was created by the three rebels. We are the hostages in a virtual kidnapping. The ransom has been paid, and now God is waiting to take us home, where we belong.

It's like we seem to find traces of civilization and life on Mars, but all we see is death.

I always find it strange when science tries to insinuate that there was life on other planets at some time in the distant past….as if life must have started spontaneously as they believe happened here…..but that would make God an abject failure as a Creator, wouldn’t it? As if he couldn’t get it right on that planet so he chose another one….to start again…?

Creation had to start somewhere, and logically, God provided a record of it for us in his word. He told us what he created and what he asked of his human children…..but a rebel spirit gave in to self interest and desired the worship that humans would give to God…so the first thing he had to do was separate them from their Sovereign, by tempting them into disobedience. He used lies and deception to do so, and he still does. He has no new tricks because the old ones still work so well for him. We just have to identify what he is doing, and who he is using in our day, when the antiChrist is due….or is he already here waiting in the wings for the devil to display him….?

 

[soberxp]

If you read the topic of John saying the last hour you will see that’s it’s about the spirit of antichrist that had infiltrated the church through false Christian’s that was exposed and they were banished.

As aunty Jane pointed out on a different site it could be the last hour of the authority of the original apostles that would end with Johns death. This authority would be given to the church though the canonized scriptures

This is one possible reason, just as a shepherd trains his flock, when the shepherd dies and there is no suitable successor, the sheep are in danger. Of course, this is only a metaphor, the reality is often more complex.

 

[CTK]

1 John 2
18Dear 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. 19They 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.

What did John mean by the last hour? Obviously not the end of the world.

For what it is worth...


I read John’s words in 1 John 2:18 differently, “Dear children, this is the last hour…”, He’s not talking about the final sixty minutes before the end of the world.

I believe the “last hour” refers to the final phase in God’s plan of salvation—the era that began with the Messiah’s first coming. It’s the time that follows His death and resurrection, when the old covenant was fulfilled and the new covenant was inaugurated. This “hour” is not a literal moment on the clock but the closing chapter in God’s redemptive story—a time of invitation, warning, and decision – from the cross to the end of time.

Then John says:

“You have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”

For a long time, I assumed “antichrist” referred to some singular end-time figure—a dark, powerful enemy of Christ who would arise in the final days. But John doesn’t describe it that way. He says many antichrists have already come, and this is how we know it’s the last hour.

He’s not pointing to a future tyrant—he’s describing a pattern, a spirit, a recurring deception. These antichrists once claimed to be part of the Church. They appeared to belong. But they walked away—physically or spiritually—denying the truth about Jesus, twisting His identity, or distorting His mission.

John is very clear in verse 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.”

To me, this makes the term “antichrist” more serious and more personal. It’s not about waiting for one end-time figure—it’s about recognizing the denial of Christ in all its forms.

Antichrist is the rejection of the Messiah.​

​

Antichrist is the departure from love and truth.​

​

Antichrist is false representation of Christ—twisting His identity or message to serve a lie.​

And that warning wasn’t just for the first century. The “last hour” continues.

And of course, the confusion and intentional misinterpretation of these verses along with many others, especially Daniel 9:27 contributed to this supernatural antichrist literal figure coming at the end of time......not going to happen.

 

[soberxp]

I always find it strange when science tries to insinuate that there was life on other planets at some time in the distant past….as if life must have started spontaneously as they believe happened here…..but that would make God an abject failure as a Creator, wouldn’t it? As if he couldn’t get it right on that planet so he chose another one….to start again…?

Creation had to start somewhere, and logically, God provided a record of it for us in his word. He told us what he created and what he asked of his human children…..but a rebel spirit gave in to self interest and desired the worship that humans would give to God…so the first thing he had to do was separate them from their Sovereign, by tempting them into disobedience. He used lies and deception to do so, and he still does. He has no new tricks because the old ones still work so well for him. We just have to identify what he is doing, and who he is using in our day, when the antiChrist is due….or is he already here waiting in the wings for the devil to display him….?

God is no failure. Those extraterrestrials capable of interstellar travel who have come to Earth are proof of His successful creation. Such beings must surely be peace-loving—ones who never destroyed their own planet with atomic bombs nor ravaged their environment.

Perhaps you should look into the story of one particular man—a truly documented alien encounter. I forget his name now, but he was a person with a disabled arm who met these visitors. Interestingly, those extraterrestrials didn’t refer to their lasers as weapons, but simply as tools. They even invited him to photograph their spacecraft. You should try to find this account—it’s the only alien encounter I truly believe in."

Other accounts of alien events, first, no photos, (early film photos), second, Those descriptions are mixed with words that make people do not believe in God. So I don't believe in alien events other than the one's I described above.