1 John 2:13-23

13 Fathers, I'm writing to you because you have known the One who is from the beginning. Young people, I'm writing to you because you have won the battle over the evil one. Dear children, I'm writing to you because you have known the Father.

14 Fathers, I'm writing to you because you have known the One who is from the beginning. Young people, I'm writing to you because you are strong. God's word lives in you. You have won the battle over the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

15 Do not love the world or anything in it. If you love the world, love for the Father is not in you.

16 Here is what people who belong to this world do. They try to satisfy what their sinful natures want to do. They long for what their sinful eyes look at. They brag about what they have and what they do. All of this comes from the world. It doesn't come from the Father.

17 The world and its evil longings are passing away. But those who do what God wants them to do live forever.

A Warning About the Enemies of Christ

18 Dear children, we are living in the last days. You have heard that the great enemy of Christ is coming. But even now many enemies of Christ have already come. That's how we know that these are the last days.

19 The enemies left our group. They didn't really belong to us. If they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by leaving they showed that none of them belonged to us.

20 You have received the Spirit from the Holy One. And all of you know the truth.

21 I'm not writing to you because you don't know the truth but because you do know it. I'm writing to you because no lie comes from the truth.

22 Who is the liar? The person who says that Jesus is not the Christ. People who say that are the enemies of Christ. They say no to the Father and the Son.

23 Those who say no to the Son don't belong to the Father. But anyone who says yes to the Son belongs to the Father also.