The apostles wrote of the last time or the last days as though they referred to a season that would occur in their expected lifetimes. Were they wrong? If they were wrong about how soon Jesus would return, how are we able to conclude that anything they claimed about Jesus is true? James wrote of the last days as days of judgment (James 5:1-5). Peter spoke of our eternal inheritance, which concerned the Lord giving us eternal life, and this was reserved for us in heaven and was ready to be unveiled in the last time (1Peter 1:4-5, 20). Just before his death, Peter spoke of scoffers who would deny Christ, and they were then present in what Peter referred to as the last days (2Peter 3:1-5). Jude, the brother of James, wrote of ungodly men who had already crept into the church pretending to be brethren, but they loved this world and sought to take advantage of and separate the brethren for their own gain. Jude wrote of his days being prophesied as the last time (Jude 1:3-4, 15-19).
It seems that all of a sudden things concerning Jesus’ disciples began to fall apart. Was this simply by chance or was there an unseen hand behind everything that was done? What about John? Was his message any different? No, indeed he also had a message for the last time when antichrist should appear, and he spoke of that season occurring in his own days (1John 2:18). Notice how similar John’s message of danger was to the other writers:
1 John 2:19 KJV They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us (emphasis mine).
Enemies had infiltrated the ranks of the brethren and had suddenly and all at once begun to strike out at the church. Who was responsible? It seems ludicrous to believe all these things occurred by accident. They seem to have had a common source, but who would have profited by the destruction and enslavement of the Messianic movement?
Before we could answer that question, we need to understand what the enemy was saying. The message was that of an antichrist that denied Jesus was the Messiah, and, thus, denied the Father also (1John 2:22). In effect, these men preached against helping the needy brethren (1John 3:17) by preaching a false faith that put the responsibility of their condition upon the needy, themselves. It was a kind of prosperity Gospel—have faith and the Lord would provide (James 2:16). This is what they preached, because they had a high esteem for prosperity, and refused to take any personal responsibility for satisfying the plight of the needy. In doing so, they denied Christ his proper place in the believer’s life. Instead, these ungodly men exalted themselves and lorded it over the flock of God (3John 1:9). If any of the brethren protested, they were removed (3John 1:10). Love of the brethren and love of the truth took a back seat to obeying the voice of men.
All these things began to occur, while Paul was in prison, probably while at Rome. Unless we cling to the improbability of this widespread trouble was coincidental, it had to have had a common cause. Annas, the high priest, had failed to have Felix or Festus execute Paul, but he was able to unleash a plan designed to destroy the Messianic movement in the Diaspora. Very early in the history of the Jesus movement Annas had planted spies in the group in order to bring the sect into subjection to him. Two of these people were Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). We know this by how they are described in passing in verse-13. Notice:
Acts 5:13 KJV And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
To whom does “the rest” refer? Since ordinary folks did join themselves to the Apostles, as they became believers, the phrase cannot refer to ordinary men. Therefore, the rest must refer to Ananias and Sapphira and a group to which they belonged. So to fully understand their behavior, the identity of the rest must be uncovered.
Elsewhere, Paul spoke of false brethren who had numbered themselves with the believers in order to spy out believers’ liberty in Christ and bring them into subjection (Galatians 2:4). This must refer to the rest who were afraid to join themselves with the Apostles (Acts 5:13). The question then remains: who was the leader of this group? The only person in the ancient world who hated the Messianic movement so much that he would have organized a worldwide plot against it is Annas, the high priest in Jerusalem. Each time one of his family officiated that office, believers in Christ were persecuted and slain. He hated the Way, as the Messianic movement called in the beginning. He was the mind behind the empire-wide plot to destroy the churches of God and bring them into subjection to himself. All the general epistles were written to oppose the design of the plan he put in place. This was the last time, the day of the antichrist (1John 2:18).
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