You have heard that the antichrist is coming,even now many antichrists have come,by which we know that it is the last hour.(1 John 2:18)When F.B.I agents train bank tellers to identify counterfeit bills,they show them both the fake money and the real money,and they study both.To detect a counterfeit problem,they must look for the differance in the genuine bill compared to the counterfeit-and not the similarities.In 1 John 2:18.the apostle John helps to protect believers from heresy by showing them examples of counterfeit Christains and teachers.One of the signs of the last days is the coming of antichrists.Antichrists are those who claim to have His power and authority but don't,or those who reject an oppose Him and His teachings.John gave 3 marks of false teachers who are controlled by the spirit of the antichrists:(1) They depart from the fellowship(v19),(2) they deny Jesus as the messiah(v22) (3) and they draw the faithful away from Jesus(v26),He encourages believers to protect themselves against the spirit of the antichrists by depending on the indwelling presence of the spirit,knowing the truth,and remaining in fellowship with Jesus.