17. Forever (eis rov ai@va). The only form in which aio age, life, occurs in the Gospel and Epistles of John, except é« Tod ai@vos since the world began (John ix. 32). Some old ver- sions add, “as God abideth forever.”
18. Little children (vasdéa). See on ver. 138.
The last hour (€oydrn dpa). The phrase only here in the New Testament. On John’s use of dpa Aour, as marking a critical season, see John ii. 4; iv. 21, 23; v. 25, 28; vii. 30; viii. 20; xii. 23, 27; xvi. 2, 4, 25, 32. The dominant sense of the expression /ast days, in the New Testament, is that of a period of suffering and struggle preceding a divine victory. See Acts ii. 17; Jas. v.3; 1 Pet.i.20. Hence the phrase here does not refer to the end of the world, but to the period pre- ceding acrisis in the advance of Christ’s kingdom, a changeful and troublous period, marked by the appearance of “ many an- tichrists.”
Antichrist. Peculiar to John in the New Testament. The absence of the article shows its currency as a proper name. It may mean one who stands against Christ, or one who stands instead of Christ; just as avtustpdrnyos may mean either one who stands in the place of a otparnyés praetor, a propretor (see Introd. to Luke, vol. i., p. 246, and note on Acts xvi. 20), or an opposing general. John never uses the word yeuddypic- tos false Christ (Matt. xxiv. 24; Mark xiii. 22). While the false Christ is merely a pretender to the Messianic office, the Antichrist “assails Christ by proposing to do or to preserve what he did, while denying Him.” Antichrist, then, is one who opposes Christ in the guise of Christ. Westcott’s remark is very important, that John’s sense of Antichrist is determined by the full Christian conception of Christ, and not by the Jewish conception of the promised Saviour.
Cometh (épyerav). The prophetic present, equivalent to 7s about to come. The same term is used of Christ (John xiv. 3; xxi. 22; Apoc. xxii. 20).
VoL. II.—22