1 John 2:18 tells believers that the last days have already begun, because many people have appeared who oppose Christ and deny the truth about him. John writes to his “little children,” a warm pastoral phrase for the church communities he has been guiding, and he is reminding them of teaching they already received about the coming Antichrist.
Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.
1 John 2:18 (WEB)
What 1 John 2:18 Means
The phrase “these are the end times” does not mean the church is living on the edge of a calendar date. The Greek points to a whole period, the “last hour,” that began with Christ’s coming and runs until he returns. John’s point is that the final stage of history is already underway, so his readers should not be surprised or shaken by what they see around them.
When John says “many antichrists have arisen,” he is not describing one dramatic villain who will appear someday. He means people who set themselves against Christ, teaching that Jesus was not truly the Son of God come in the flesh. Their presence is evidence that the spirit of Antichrist is active now, and the verse asks readers to recognize it.
The final sentence, “By this we know that it is the final hour,” gives the reason for John’s confidence. The rise of false teachers is a sign that fits the pattern Christ and the apostles described. The verse does not give a timetable or predict a specific day. It offers readers a way to read the times with clear eyes and steady faith.
The Context of 1 John 2:18
The letter of 1 John was written to Christian communities that had been shaken by a group who left them. Verse 19 makes clear that these departing people had been part of the fellowship but never truly belonged to it. Their leaving exposed what they really believed, and John wants his readers to understand the departure as revealing rather than as a tragedy that undermines the church.
Just before verse 18, John warns readers not to love the world or the things in it, and he contrasts the passing world with the one who does God’s will and remains forever. This shapes how the verse reads. The antichrists are part of a world that is passing away, so their rise is not a reason to despair but a call to hold fast to what lasts. Verses 20 and 21 follow with the assurance that believers have an anointing from the Holy One and knowledge of the truth, which is why John can speak of the threat calmly.
Key Phrases in 1 John 2:18
1 John 4:3
And every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.
(WEB)
This verse gives the test John has in mind: every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh is not from God. It shows what the “many antichrists” in 2:18 actually deny, and it gives believers a practical way to recognize false teaching.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.
(WEB)
Paul describes a figure of lawlessness who opposes and exalts himself above God. Reading it alongside John helps you see that the New Testament presents both a final opponent and a present spirit of opposition, and that both belong to the larger story of God’s purposes.
A Short Prayer From 1 John 2:18
Father, you have told us that the last hour is already here, and you have not left us to face it alone. When we hear voices that twist the truth about your Son, give us a clear mind and a steady heart. Help us to test what we hear against your word and to hold fast to Jesus as he has been revealed to us. Keep us from fear, and teach us to live faithfully in a world that is passing away. We trust that the one who does your will remains forever. Amen.
