The Antichrist and the Last Hour.

Homily for Monday 31^st December 2018

_“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.” *(1 John 2:18)*_

Finally, the year 2018 is set to pack and go. It is the last hour. Whatever has a beginning must also have an end. As the year comes to an end, St. John in today’s first reading draws our mind to the very end of the world; the last hour. According to John, a sign of the last hour is the coming of the antichrist but considering the fact that we already have so many antichrists, we are actually living in the last hour already.

We may ask, who are these antichrists?

Our Gospel passage answers this question perfectly. It says: “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not...” John 1:9-11.

Put simply, the antichrists are people who oppose Christ, people who do not receive Christ, people who prefer to remain in the darkness rather than accepting the light of Christ.

St. John adds one interesting line in our first reading which helps us to understand who these antichrists are: “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 be plain that they all are not of us.” 1 John 2:19  

That is to say, the antichrists are not strangers to the light. The antichrists are not people who have never heard about God. The antichrists are Christians like you and I, but by their actions and way of life have become anti-christ. The antichrists are those Jesus referred to as wolves in sheep clothing; pretenders, fake Christians.

As we enter the last hour of this year, let us examine our hearts: Am I for Christ (pro-Christ) or against Christ (anti-Christ)? Do my actions and inactions promote the kingdom of Christ or act as stumbling blocks to Christ’s kingdom? Since the start of this year, how many persons have I brought closer to Christ?

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, as this year draws to an end, may all that is false in me also drew to an end. May I be an instrument of your light and peace always. Amen

Merry Christmas to You. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas. Bible Study: 1^st John 2:18-21, Psalm 96, and John 1:1-18).