In chapter 2 verses 15-29 the Apostle John goes to considerable lengths to warn his followers about the ways of the world and how they differ from the ways of the Lord. In verses 15 through 17 he uses the word “love” relative to one’s infatuation with the things of the world that surrounds them, the world that Satan owns and operates. Recall that he told Jesus that he would give Him the entire world if He would bow down and worship him. And he could have, for he owns it. Notice that Jesus did not argue the point. The devil owns everything on this earth except God’s true saints and their special part of it. That’s less than one tenth of one percent, and I am being generous.

The “world” is made up of the things of man and what man has created and to which man’s heart is firmly attached. This is proven by looking at what mankind seeks and strives for–THE THINGS OF THE WORLD. The heart of a true saint of God is attached to the things of God and he strives for those spiritual things, knowing that if he seeks first and foremost the things of the Lord, all of the things he needs will be provided for him as Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33.

As I have stated before, many years ago the Lord told me that television would bring the world, particularly the church world, down. He was certainly right. Today anything with a screen is constantly flooding the mind of mankind with the things of the world. Satan knows how to package those things in order to make them pleasing to the mind. Like anything else that is pleasing to the mind or body, those screens lure people to think about them even when they are not staring at them. This leads to addiction. An addiction must be satisfied on a continuous basis, smoking, t.v. programs and the internet being perfect examples. The screen is as addictive mentally as nicotine is physically. Both must be satisfied with ever-increasing stimulation, which creates a love situation. In verses 15-17 John tells us that if we love the things of the world, the love of God is not in us because the things of the world are not in the will of God. Only those who do God’s will can be saved. For this reason, those who reject the world’s offerings are not accepted by those who embrace them. For this reason the Lord calls us “peculiar” (1 Pet. 2:9), which is why the church world wants no part of His way. The way of man is to fit in, to be accepted. This is the exact opposite of God’s way, which is why so few people choose to walk His way.

In verses 18-23 John warned God’s people about spiritual deception that would destroy the church during the last days–the time which began on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the people in the upper room, thereby forming the New Covenant Church with 120 people. Immediately after her founding, the spirit of Antichrist attacked her, divided her and now controls 99% of her parishioners. Today, in the Laodicean age of her existence, the church is, as the Lord describes her in Matthew 13:31, like a mustard tree which is filled with birds which have fouled her with their Satanic “truths” (droppings) today known as “church doctrine.” Meanwhile, the Lord’s true church remains the size of the mustard seed–“the smallest of seeds.” The spirit of Antichrist is the force that is luring the world, including the so-called “Christian world,” ever deeper into apostasy–the prophesied “falling away” (apostasy) from God (2 Thes. 2:3) that is now in control of all things spiritual on the earth–except for the Lord’s “little flock” (Lk. 12:32).

In verses 18-29 John focuses on the deceptions which Satan is convincing the church to embrace as the end of the age rapidly approaches. That is where we are today. We are living in a time when Antichrist theology is considered “God’s Truth” and the Bible is just an outdated history book. John tells us in verse 18 that there are many Antichrists, meaning men and women who are controlled by Satan’s Antichrist spirit. In verse 19 he states that these people “went out” from the church. This does not mean they physically left the church, but that they remain in the church physically while spreading Satan’s message. Today these ministers make up 99% (my estimation) of those in positions of global church leadership. As John explains, it is necessary for them to be recognized so that true saints can easily determine who is and who is not the Lord’s true messenger. The Apostle Paul speaks to this situation in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1 where he tells God’s people to “Come out of her” (the counterfeit church) and be separate from her. This means to spiritually separate ourselves from them and to have our own meetings in separate locations, etc. Read “My People Called by My Name” and Who are God’s people? key words Called and People respectively. In most cases, the gatherings are quite small. For this reason Jesus said that “Where two or three of you are gathered together in My name, there I will be among you.”

In verses 21-29 John addresses “the Truth” and from whence the church receives it. In John 17:17 Jesus, while in prayer to the Father, says to Him, “… THY WORD IS TRUTH.” This is THE TRUTH that those in the church have had “from the beginning” (vs 24) and abides in them so that they can abide in both the Father and the Son. Which brings us back to verse 22 where we are told that the Antichrists in the church were then, and their spiritual descendants are today, “denying that Jesus is the Christ (anointed One). In verse 26 John makes sure we know that these people are IN THE CHURCH. No one from outside the church can deceive salvation seekers. These reprobates are preaching and teaching that the church is no longer under the RULERSHIP of the divine Godhead–God and Christ. The word “denies” in verse 22 means to deny Them their divine Lordships over the congregation. This is the attitude that has resulted in the two-headed, multi-bodied religious serpent today known as “the church” that controls the vast majority of believers. For this reason God tells us to separate from them. In this case, the leaven IS the loaf. L.J.