This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because1 the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him2 there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life3—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.4 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us5—eternal life.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
[1] 2:8
[2] 2:10
[3] 2:16
[4] 2:20
[5] 2:25
(ESV)
I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. A couple of months ago, I received a link in my email inbox to a YouTube video which made the unfounded claim that our president was the antichrist. Honestly, I just groaned a little bit. My heart also sank, knowing that this video was frightening some beloved Christian friends of mine with its polemical antics and misconstrued exegesis.
It seems as though just about everyone and everything has been called the antichrist at one time or another. The Roman Empire was seen as the antichrist in the first century. The Protestant reformers thought of the papacy as the antichrist. Then, there have been the usual more recent historical suspects: Hitler, Mussolini, our former president, and yes, our current president. I've even seen a few people try to argue that Billy Graham is the antichrist!
Blessedly, our reading for today from 1 John 2 encourages us to dispose of such juvenile and foolish speculation and leads us toward a more reasoned theology of the antichrist:
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. (verses 18-19)
A few things are notable about this passage. First, worries about the antichrist are nothing new. Apparently, Christians in John's day were also worried about this mysterious figure. Second, lest we recklessly dump the title of "antichrist" on any politician for whom we might not particularly care, John seems to indicate in verse 19 that the antichrist will come out of the church, not the secular world: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us." The Lutheran reformers picked up on this line and on Paul's words in 2 Thessalonians 2 and so wrote: The antichrist is "someone reigning in the church, not a pagan ruler... because he will invent doctrine that conflicts with the gospel and will arrogate to himself divine authority" (Tr. 39). Thus, the antichrist seems to be someone who is interested in perverting true doctrine, not just in gaining secular power. Third, notice that John mentions not just one antichrist, but "many antichrists." In other words, looking for just one antichrist is a fool's chase. For there are many antichrists.
The Greek prefix anti- means "in place of." An antichrist, then, is anyone who sets him or her self up in place of the true Christ who is God. And John warns that there are many who do this. In fact, if you want to know who the first antichrists were, you need look no farther than Genesis 3:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'? The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5)
"You will be like God." That's the very definition of an antichrist - one who wants to be in the place of God. And so the very first antichrists are born. Their names? Adam and Eve.
On September 10, 1813, after defeating the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie, Commander Oliver Perry, sent the following message to Major General William Harrison concerning their victory: "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." This famous saying was later paraphrased in 1971 by Walt Kelly in his Pogo cartoon strip as, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Sadly, this is the case when it comes to John's antichrist. So often, people speculate wildly about the identity of the antichrist. We are blind, however, to the fact that, at least in one sense, we have met the antichrist, and he is us. For all we seek to put ourselves in God's place every time we sin. We all have a little bit of antichrist in us.
Of course, the good news of the gospel is that we don't have to continue to play the role of Christ. After all, playing the role Christ is hard work. Playing the role Christ involves the cross. No, we don't have to save the world and rule the universe, for we have someone who saves and rules it sovereignly, lovingly, and more efficiently than we ever could. And he is the true God. So let's leave that to him.
Finally, we need not fear antichrists. Indeed, we need not fear even the great antichrist, spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2, who will arise at the end of the time. For as powerful as that final antichrist might be, he's no match for the real Christ. And it's the real Christ who we trust. It's the real Christ who we worship. It's the real Christ who holds our salvation secure. Don't settle for anything less than him.
13:1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
and make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
“Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes early away,
like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.
4 But I am the LORD your God
from the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no savior.
5 It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought;
6 but when they had grazed,1 they became full,
they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
7 So I am to them like a lion;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild beast would rip them open.
9 He destroys2 you, O Israel,
for you are against me, against your helper.
10 Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
Where are all your rulers—
those of whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
his sin is kept in store.
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
at the opening of the womb.
14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
I shall redeem them from Death.3
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Though he may flourish among his brothers,
the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come,
rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.
16 4 Samaria shall bear her guilt,
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
14:1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the LORD;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows5 of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my6 shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.7
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the LORD are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.
[1] 13:6
[2] 13:9
[3] 13:14
[4] 13:16
[5] 14:2
[6] 14:7
[7] 14:8
(ESV)
The great sin of Israel was their idolatry. As they progressed in their idolatry their idols became more intricately crafted, and their expression of devotion to those idols became more intimate, like kissing the golden calf in Dan or Bethel. However, the results would be disastrous as Israel was swept away like the morning dew or chaff in the wind. Although Israel sought life through Baal, they found death. God tells them, "besides me there is no savior." Nevertheless, because of their rebellion God would become to them like a devouring lion, or a bear robbed of its cubs. Israel asked for a king and in anger God gave them one, but now in anger He took away their king. Israel was like a child waiting to be born, a child of God who could be reborn through repentance, but when it was the "right time" he was missing his opportunity. The first half of verse 14 should be translated as a statement, or interpreted as a question to be answered affirmatively: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death." Paul quoted the second half of the verse to affirm the resurrection victory of our Lord Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:55. Yet, for the present, God could not show compassion to Israel because of their unrepentance, even though He had no desire for the death of the sinner. Thus God pleads with His wayward people: "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." God told them to pray for forgiveness, and He would heal their apostasy. The closing admonition of Hosea is one everyone should take to heart: Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them."
18 The simple inherit folly,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil bow down before the good,
the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
but the rich has many friends.
21 Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,
but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
22 Do they not go astray who devise evil?
Those who devise good meet1 steadfast love and faithfulness.
23 In all toil there is profit,
but mere talk tends only to poverty.
24 The crown of the wise is their wealth,
but the folly of fools brings folly.
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.
26 In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence,
and his children will have a refuge.
27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
28 In a multitude of people is the glory of a king,
but without people a prince is ruined.
29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,
but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
30 A tranquil2 heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy3 makes the bones rot.
31 Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,
but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
(ESV)