Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
Little children - in age. Same Greek as 1 John 2:13. After the fathers and young men were gone, "the last time" with its "many Antichrists" was about to come suddenly on the children. 'In this last hour we all still live.' Each successive age has had some signs of "the last time" which precedes Christ's coming, in order to keep the Church in continual waiting for the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:11, "the ends of the world" - i:e., the last dispensation. The connection with 1 John 2:15-17 is, There are coming those seducers who are of the world (1 John 4:5), and would tempt you to go out from us (1 John 2:19) and deny Christ (1 John 2:22).
As ye have heard - from the apostles (e.g., 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; and in the reign of Ephesus, Acts 20:29-30).
Shall come - `cometh' out of his own place. Antichrist is interpreted as:
(1) a false Christ (Matthew 24:5; Matthew 24:24); a vice-Christ, 'instead of Christ;'
(2) an adversary of Christ, 'against Christ.'
As John never uses pseudo-Christ for Antichrist, he probably means an adversary of Christ, claiming what belongs to Christ, wishing to substitute himself for Christ as the supreme object of worship. He denies the Son, not merely acts in the name of the Son. 2 Thessalonians 2:4, "Who opposeth himself [ANTIkeimenos] [to] all that is called God." For God's great truth, 'God is man,' he substitutes his owe lie, 'man is God' (Trench).
Are there, х gegonasin (G1096)] - 'there have begun to be.' These "many Antichrists" answer to "the mystery of lawlessness doth already work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7). The anti-Christian principle appeared then, as now, in evil men, teachings, and writings; still "THE Antichrist" means a hostile person, even as 'THE Christ' is a personal Saviour. As "cometh" is used of Christ, so of Antichrist, the embodiment of all the anti-Christian features of those "many Antichrists" which have been his forerunners. John uses the singular of him. No other New Testament writer uses the term. He answers to "the little horn having the eyes of a man, and speaking great things" (Daniel 7:8; Daniel 7:20); "the man of sin, son of perdition" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-17); "the beast ascending out of the bottomless pit," i:e., the beast healed of its deadly wound (Revelation 11:7; Revelation 17:8), rather, "the false prophet," the same as "the second beast coming up out of the earth" (Revelation 13:3; Revelation 13:11-18; Revelation 16:13).