Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time [1 John 2:18].
"The word translated "little children" here is slightly different from the word that is translated in the same way back in verse 12. There it is a term of affection and implies all who are born into God’s family, God’s little born ones, little bairns as the Scottish term is. These little children here indicate the first degree of spiritual experience which we have seen in verses 12–14: the fathers at the top, then the young men, and then the little babies. Here John is talking to the little babies again. The little babies haven’t grown up yet. They are passing through this world, and the chances are that they have been tripped up by one of these three things which John has just mentioned.
"It is the last time." We are living in the last day here upon the earth. It has been the last time for a long time. This is the age when God is calling out a people for His name. You can say at any time during this period, "Now is the acceptable time. Today if you will hear His voice." Why the urgency about salvation? Because, my friend, you might not be here tomorrow. Tomorrow I might no longer be heard preaching on the radio. It just might be that we will not be around, so it is important that I give out the Word, and it is important that you hear the Word.
"As ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." Many antichrists had already appeared in John’s day, but there is coming the Antichrist. What do we mean by antichrist? I think that this word has been misunderstood and, as a result, the person who is coming has been misunderstood. Antichrist is made up of two words: the title Christ and the preposition anti. It is important to see that anti has two meanings. It can mean "against." If I am anti–something, that means I am against that thing. Anti can also mean "instead of, an imitation of." Therefore, it can be a substitute. It can be either a very good substitute or just a subterfuge for something.
The question arises, therefore: Is the Antichrist to be a false Christ or is he an enemy of Christ? Where does Scripture place the emphasis? There are several references to Antichrist in 1 John, but the only things we can derive from this verse is that there is going to be the Antichrist and that there were already many antichrists in John’s day. What was the thing which identified an antichrist? He was one who denied the deity of Christ. That is the primary definition of an antichrist which we are given in 1 John, as we shall see when we come to verse 22. This is the emphasis in 1 John, but you will recall that the Lord Jesus said, "… many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (Matt. 24:5). That is antichrist—instead of Christ, claiming to be Christ.
I personally believe that there are going to be two persons at the end of the age who will fulfill both of these types—being against Christ and claiming to be Christ. Scripture presents it that way in Revelation 13. There we have presented a "wild beast" who comes out of the sea, and Satan is the one who calls him forth. That is the political ruler, and he is definitely against Christ. There is a second beast who comes out of the land. He appears to be a lamb, but he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He pretends to be Christ who is "… the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He will be a religious ruler. The political ruler will come out of the gentile world, the former Roman Empire. The religious ruler will come out of the nation Israel—they would not accept him as their Messiah unless he did. So that you have actually two persons who will together fulfill this term antichrist. They are coming at the end of the age, and both of them can be called Antichrist—one against Christ and the other instead of Christ." McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 John) (electronic ed., Vol. 56, pp. 60–62). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
"1 Jn 2:18 the Antichrist. This is the first occurrence of the term "antichrist." Its usage is found only in John’s epistles (4:3; 2 John 7). Here it is a proper name and refers to the coming final world ruler energized by Satan who will seek to replace and oppose the true Christ (Dan. 8:9–11; 11:31–38; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:1–12; see notes on Rev. 13:1–5; 19:20; 20:10). many antichrists have come. While the term’s first occurrence refers to a particular person prophesied in Scripture, this one is plural and refers to many individuals. John uses the plural to identify and characterize the false teachers who were troubling John’s congregations because their false doctrine distorted the truth and opposed Christ (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; Acts 20:28–30). The term, therefore, refers to a principle of evil, incarnated in men, who are hostile and opposed to God (cf. 2 Cor. 10:4, 5). John writes to expose the false teachers, the wolves in sheep’s clothing, who purvey damning lies (cf. Eph. 5:11). the last hour. The phrase refers to the "latter times" or "last days," i.e., the time period between the first and second comings of Christ (1 Tim. 4:1; James 5:3; 1 Pet. 4:7; 2 Pet. 3:3; Jude 18)." MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1967). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
Antichrist—Satan’s final opponent of Christ and Christians
A. Called:
Man of sin
2 Thess. 2:3
Son of perdition
2 Thess. 2:3
Lawless one
2 Thess. 2:8
Antichrist
1 John 2:18, 22
Beast
Rev. 11:7
B. Described as:
Lawless
2 Thess. 2:3–12
Opposing God
2 Thess. 2:4
Working wonders
2 Thess. 2:9
Deceiving the world
2 John 7; Rev. 19:20
Persecuting Christians
Rev. 13:7
Satan-inspired
2 Thess. 2:9
Denying Christ’s incarnation
1 John 4:3; 2 John 7
A person and a system
2 Thess. 2:3, 7
Seeking man’s worship
2 Thess. 2:4
One and many
1 John 2:18–22
C. Coming of:
Foretold
2 Thess. 2:5
In the last time
1 John 2:18
Now restrained
2 Thess. 2:6
Follows removal of hindrance
2 Thess. 2:7, 8
Before Christ’s return
2 Thess. 2:3, 8
By Satan’s deception
2 Thess. 2:9, 10
D. Destruction of:
At Christ’s return
2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:20
Eternal in lake of fire
Rev. 20:10
Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1996). Nelson’s quick reference topical Bible index (pp. 48–49). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.