The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is not getting sooner every day. We know the signs of his coming. How should we be living in these last days?

1 – You need to be awake (vs. 18)

We are living in the last days. This has been the case for the last two thousand years! See 1 Thessalonians 1:10. We are waiting for Jesus. We are to be constantly waiting. See Philippians 3:20, 1 Corinthians 1:7, Hebrew 9:28 & Titus 2:13. We are to keep on looking. It could happen at any moment.

2 – You need to be aware (vs. 18-25)

The Antichrist is coming. He is a wicked, ungodly person who is Satan in the flesh. He is so wicked that he is called “the Man of Sin” See 2 Thessalonians 2:3. He will not prevail. He is called the Beast. See Revelation 13. The word antichrist can be “against Christ” or “instead of Christ”.

• He is devilish – He is Satan incarnate.
• He is divisive (vs. 19). The Antichrist is the power behind the false cults. They have departed from the faith.
• He is deceptive. (vs. 20-23). He would deceive believers if it is possible. His focal point for deception is over Jesus Christ. This is how you can recognise a false cult. See 1 John 4:1. Don’t believe everything that is “spiritual”. There are many false prophets and teachers. If they are wrong about Jesus then they are deceptive.
• He is destructive (vs. 24-25). The Devil wants to destroy the Christian. He is against people being saved by faith. He wants to keep people out of Heaven.

3 – You need to be abiding (vs. 24-29)

The Lord is on his way and we need to be abiding. We need to be at home.

• We are to be at home in the Word of God (vs. 24). Many Christians fail to do this. We need to have a hunger for the Word of God. You will continue as a Christian if you abide in God’s Word. We need to encourage others to listen to God’s Word.
• We are to be at home with the Spirit of God (vs. 27). The Holy Spirit teaches us how to understand the Bible. See John 14:26. The Holy Spirit comforts us with strength. He is our teacher. God uses human teachers but the Holy Spirit helps us to understand.
• We are to be at home with Jesus (vs. 28-29). When he appears in the rapture it will be someone that you know well. Come soon Lord Jesus!

Categories: 1 John