|
Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany
February 24, 2025
Reading: 1 John 2:18-25
Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he has promised us, eternal life.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
How’s that for a dramatic opening! The last hour!!!!! John is pointing to the end of one age and the beginning of another: a new age. It is a time of recreation or consummation. What, then, happens to humankind? It would seem that the choice is up to humankind: loyalty to Christ and entering a new world or loyalty to the old world that is doomed to destruction. What do we make of this today? Actually, this stark choice is still before us. At every moment humankind is confronted with this very choice: God or evil.
To further dramatize the perspective on time and its meaning, John’s First Letter uses the term antichrist. In fact, this is the only book in the New Testament where this word appears. Isn’t that fascinating, since it certainly is a term that has gained popularity in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is very interesting, though, that the idea is as old as religion itself. The question for us is: How should we think about it? Simply put, Christ is the incarnation of God and good; the antichrist is the incarnation of the devil and evil. One can understand how the idea is as old as religion itself. There has always been such a perception of power within the universe. What is important is the principle, one that is opposed to God.
John’s conception of the antichrist is unique. For him it is the false belief and dangerous teachings of evil teachers - the very power of falsehood. speaking through false teachers. Warnings had been issued of such a possibility. Now it is the reality. The battle place is one’s mind. Think of the effect of mass media, the internet, and Artificial Intelligence on our thinking and their influence in so much of our lives. And then, consider how this influences one’s faith. The competition is keen, indeed.
Do be encouraged! The essentials of faith are in the possession of every person. John is encouraging his readers, and us, to use the knowledge which they possess to ascertain the truth. One does have to think critically and to explore all facets in order to uphold one’s faith. It is true that we know with which we must engage so that faith is active, effective and operative in our lives. In the end, one must believe in both God the Father and God the Son. To deny Jesus is indeed the master lie, for to deny Jesus is to lose entirely the faith and the knowledge which Jesus makes possible. One holds onto this faith by abiding in what one has learned for that will lead one to abide in Christ. Indeed, that is the way to eternal life.
A Closing Prayer
Grant us, O Lord, to know that which is worth knowing, to love that which is worth loving, and above all to search out thy most holy will. Amen.
| 
