John says that those who do not confess Christ as 'coming in the flesh'—or 'as appearing in flesh'—in the present—are deceivers and antichrists.

Christ warned that many would be deceived, though no one ever admits to being deceived. The Bible warns of deceptions from within and without the church.

Whoever does not abide in the doctrine of the indwelling of Christ does not have God, but whoever does abide in this doctrine has both the Father and the Son.

While professing Christians confess that Christ has come in the flesh, most do not truly confess that He is appearing in their flesh. They deny Him in works.

Antichrists manifest several characteristics, including fostering deception and confusion, preventing fellowship, and creating intense spiritual conflict.

There were many antichrists at the end of the first century. They pretended to be part of God's true church, but as John writes, '...they were not of us.'

False prophets promote the broad way, giving people what they want to hear. They replace God's truth with human tradition. They are identified by their fruit.

Satan's biggest targets for disinformation are God's called-out ones. How can the true disciples be identified?

God's people will know false teachers by their fruits. Even as helpless sheep, we must exercise vigilance detecting the fruits of their preaching.

The congregations in Crete were beset with insubordination, subject to no authority, full of meaningless and senseless talk, distracting the overseer.

Satan refuses to repent, even after suffering 1,000 years of confinement. Upon his release, Satan expertly manipulates the pulls of carnal nature.

Hypocrisy consists of professing beliefs or virtues that one does not genuinely possess. The primary motivator is pride, and its resulting sin is lying.

Someone misusing piety to draw attention to themselves to enhance their reputation destroys character and they will not enter the Kingdom of God.

We must be wary of placing too much confidence in self-appointed experts—the 'professionals' who rise to the top of every field of endeavor

Probably the biblical character best exemplifying the narcissistic personality is David's son, Absalom, clearly a spoiled son in a dysfunctional family.