Deceptions of the Last Hour

^18 (A)Little children, ^(B)it is the last hour; and as you have heard that ^(C)the^[a] Antichrist is coming, ^(D)even now many antichrists have come, by which we know ^(E)that it is the last hour. ^19 (F)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(G)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out ^(H)that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰ But ^(I)you have an anointing ^(J)from the Holy One, and ^(K)you^[b] know all things. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

^22 (L)Who is a liar but he who denies that ^(M)Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (N)Whoever denies the Son does not have the ^(O)Father either; ^(P)he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴ Therefore let that abide in you ^(Q)which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, ^(R)you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ^25 (S)And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ^[c]deceive you.

Love for God and One Another

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^(A)test the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^(B)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(C)Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess ^[a]that Jesus ^[b]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but ^(A)he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

⁶ This is He who came ^(B)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. ^(C)And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷ For there are three that bear witness ^[a]in heaven: the Father, ^(D)the Word, and the Holy Spirit; ^(E)and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness on earth: ^(F)the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹ If we receive ^(G)the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; ^(H)for this is the witness of ^[b]God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God ^(I)has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God ^(J)has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ^12 (K)He who has the Son has ^[c]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.