The First Letter of John was addressed to an audience where the number of believers was depleting because of the distorted influence by false prophets who denied that Jesus is the Christ. John labelled them the antichrist. Among many things, he wrote about light against darkness, truth versus falsehood, righteousness in contrast to sin, love of the Father versus love of the world, and the Spirit of God as against the spirit of the Antichrist. The audience was told to keep alive the faith they had received, keep the anointing they had received, and not let the antichrists lead them astray.

John the Baptist stressed strongly that he was not the Christ; he was merely the precursor to the Christ, the Anointed One. For John was clear that Christ does not distort his role but rather, affirms him. That is, John was the one pointing people to the Christ, unlike the antichrists who point people away from the Christ.

Those who heard John the Baptist's clarion call to prepare themselves for someone greater than he would have a living faith. We are asked to keep this faith alive in spite of tribulations and to beware of the many people who point us in the opposite direction from Christ. At the same time, we too must reflect if at times we have directed people away from Christ because of our bad example in forwarding unverified news or lack of prudence.