241 THE OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND “ LAST HOUR ” OF THE mention of a messianic figure (for the latter, see 1 John 2,22-24). However, the two uses are likely independent of one another since, in contrast to 1 Enoch, 1 John uses the distinctive phrase “last hour”, and refers to an individual eschatological opponent. 3. The Interpretative Use of Daniel’s Eschatological Hour by 1 John 2,18 Some might want to see John using the Danielic “last hour” differently than Daniel, perhaps in some mere analogical non- eschatological manner or in a way that contravenes the basic meaning in Daniel. The reason that some might argue in this manner is because the situation in 1 John is of a church composed of Christians facing deception and not faithful Jews in the nation of Israel itself, which faced not only deception but also persecution, about which Daniel prophesies. But such an argument is unlikely in the light of our conclusion just reached that, together with unique terminology, the concept in common between Daniel’s and 1 John’s latter-day “hour” is an eschatological adversary who comes into the community of faith to mislead about the “truth”. At least that much, which is part of the core of the notion in Daniel, is in common between the two. John’s use of “last” + “hour” with reference to the final period of end-time deception, as in Daniel, appears to be his way of indi- cating that Daniel’s prophecy about the eschatological opponent’s deceptive activity is beginning to be fulfilled in his own day among his readership. In addition, the prophecy of an eschatological trib- ulation in which a final false prophet will enter the covenant com- munity and deceive occurs in the Old Testament only in Daniel 7–12. It is true that John’s community is not theocratic Israel, but they are the new covenant community that lies in continuity with Israel, which is termed elsewhere in the NT “the Israel of God” (Gal 5,16), where also there are other expressions identifying the Church as the eschatological Israel 20. Even in 1 John 2,27, the See, e.g., Rom 2,25-29 and Gal 4,26; 9,6; 1 Cor 10,1; 2 Cor 6,16-18; 20 Phil 3,3; note Paul’s concept that Christ represents true Israel (cf. also Isa 49,3.6 in Luke 2,32) and, therefore, those who identify with him are true Israel (see Isa 49,6 in Acts 13,47 and Isa 49,8 in 2 Cor 6,2), i.e., the seed of Abraham (e.g., see Gal 3,16.29).