3 John

These are my notes on the book I chose for the preaching class I’m taking (3 John 1:1-4 ESV).

The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

This letter from The elder ( πρεσβύτερος) appears to be a personal letter addressed to one individual named Gaius (Γαΐῳ). According to David Guzik’s commentary on Enduring Word online:

The writer of this book identifies himself simply as the Elder. Presumably, the first readers knew who this was, and from the earliest times, Christians have understood that this was the Apostle John writing, the same John who wrote the Gospel of John, 1 and 2 John, and the Book of Revelation.

Mr. Guzik went on to speculate:

Perhaps he does not directly refer to himself for the same reason he does not directly refer to his readers in 2 John – the threat of persecution may be making direct reference unwise…

This is an interesting idea, given that the opening of 3 John seems even more cryptic than 2 John (2 John 1:1-4 ESV):

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus1 Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.

Any mention of God the Father (θεοῦ πατρὸς), the Father (τοῦ πατρός), Jesus Christ (Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ) or the Father’s Son (τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς) is conspicuous by its absence from 3 John. But the description of the truth in 2 John—the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever2—helps decode the opening of 3 John. The Greek is: τὴν ἀλήθειαν, the truth, τὴν μένουσαν, that abides. The Greek word μένουσαν, translated abides, is actually a participle of μένω, which functions more like a noun or an adjective, “abiding,” or “the abiding truth” in us, ἐν ἡμῖν, and…with us, καὶ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν, will be, ἔσται, forever, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

Jesus promised (John 14:16-18, 23b ESV).

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever (μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ||), even the Spirit of truth (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας), whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you [Table].

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him [Table].

The truth that abides in us and will be with us forever3 is nothing less than God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit. Working backwards with this as a key: all who know the truth (πάντες οἱ ἐγνωκότες4 τὴν ἀλήθειαν) are “all who know God the Father, God the Son through (διὰ; ESV: because of) God the indwelling Holy Spirit” who abides in us and will be with us forever. And whom I love in truth is likely “whom I love by means of God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit.” The phrase in truth is ἐν ἀληθείᾳ in the dative case:

The dative is the case of the indirect object, or may also indicate the means by which something is done.

It makes some sense to decode to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth5 (ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ) in a similar way: “whom I love by means of God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit.” So who was Gaius?

Mr. Guzik wrote in his commentary:

We don’t know if this specific Gaius is connected with the other men by this name mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 19:29, 20:4; 1 Corinthians 1:14; Romans 16:23).

In his commentary on 2 John Mr. Guzik had written or quoted the following about the elect lady (ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ) :

b. To the elect lady and her children: Perhaps this was an individual Christian woman John wanted to warn and encourage by this letter. Or, the term might be a symbolic way of addressing this particular congregation.

i. “The phrase is, however, more likely to be a personification than a person – not the church at large but some local church over which the elder’s jurisdiction was recognized, her children being the church’s individual members.” (Stott)

ii. “This appears to have been some noted person, whom both her singular piety, and rank in the world, made eminent, and capable of having great influence for the support of the Christian interest.” (Poole)

iii. John probably did not name himself, the elect lady or her children by name because this was written during a time of persecution. Perhaps John didn’t want to implicate anyone by name in a written letter. If the letter was intercepted and the authorities knew who it was written to by name, it might mean death for those persons.

The adjective ἐκλεκτῇ (ESV: the elect), a singular form of ἐκλεκτός in the dative case, has an “Adjectival Meaning”—“chosen, selective, selected, hand-picked, preferred; favoured, pure”—and a “Substantival Meaning”—“elect, choice, select; prime”—according to the Koine Greek Lexicon online. But the word would bring many things to mind in those born according to the Spirit as they were persecuted (2 John 1:9-11) by those born according to the flesh.6

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at [Jesus], saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One ( ἐκλεκτός)!”7

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect (ἐκλεκτῶν, a plural form of ἐκλεκτός) and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior.8

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones (ἐκλεκτοὶ, another plural form of ἐκλεκτός), holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive [Table]. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him [Table].9

These are of one mind, and they hand over10 their11 power and authority12 to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen (ἐκλεκτοὶ, another plural form of ἐκλεκτός) and faithful.”13

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen (ἐκλεκτὸν, a singular form of ἐκλεκτός) and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be14 a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.15

But you are a chosen (ἐκλεκτόν, a singular form of ἐκλεκτός) race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.16

The Greek word translated lady was κυρίᾳ, a form of κυρία in the dative case, meaning: “Cyria; lady, mistress; an area under one’s control” according to the Koine Greek Lexicon online. I was unable to date (or even corroborate) the meaning “an area under one’s control,” but it seems like the most natural understanding if that meaning coincides with the time The elder wrote to any and all the elect who would hear him in that “area under [their] control.” If it was an obscure meaning at that time, all the better to protect both writer and reader from nosy or malevolent authorities. But even as I began to doubt that The elder of 3 John would “implicate” an individual named Gaius while protecting his own identity, I was not so successful decoding Γαΐῳ or Γάϊος in any similar way.

Gaius is a common Roman name mentioned several times in the New Testament. It refers to different individuals who were early Christians and associates of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John. The name Gaius means “rejoice” or “glad.”17

Amanda Williams, in her blog post “Who Is Gaius In The Bible? A Complete Overview” on Christian Website online, wrote at some length about “Gaius the Host at Corinth”:

The book of Romans mentions Gaius as Paul’s host while the apostle was in Corinth (Romans 16:23). This Gaius is described as Paul’s dear friend and fellow worker in Christ.

He graciously opened his home to Paul during his missionary travels, providing food, shelter, and Christian fellowship.

Gaius’ hospitality enabled Paul to devote himself fully to preaching the gospel and planting churches, rather than having to worry about daily provisions.

His generosity no doubt brought great encouragement to Paul during an intense season of ministry in Corinth.

This reminds us of the importance of hospitality in the early church. By welcoming traveling teachers like Paul into their homes, believers strengthened the spread of the faith.

They participated in gospel work by supporting the physical needs of those on the front lines of ministry.

Ms. Williams’ eulogy helped me realize that Gaius may have already been synonymous with faithfulness among the faithful, and helped me to conclude that 3 John was not a personal letter to a man, but a coded missive to all who remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel in a time when such faithfulness was a death sentence (for the apostles, most notably) or a cause for excommunication from the church.

Jesus had promised the twelve as He sent them out (Matthew 10:22 ESV):

…you will be hated by all (πάντων, a form of πᾶς) for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Elder wrote:

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.18

Mr. Guzik wrote:

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things: The word for prosper literally means “to have a good journey.” It metaphorically means to succeed or prosper. It is like saying, “I hope things go well for you.”19

It reads differently, however, as coded communication addressed to many faithful people in difficult circumstances. The Greek word, Ἀγαπητέ, Beloved, sounds less like a familiar greeting and more like a blessing of God; περὶ πάντων, that all, εὔχομαι, I pray, σε εὐοδοῦσθαι, may go well with you, sounds more like a heartfelt and sincere prayer for the grace of God than such a familiar greeting might otherwise imply.

The elder continued: καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, and that you may be in good health. Mr. Guzik commented with a quote from John Stott:

“Both verbs [for prosper and be in health] belonged to the everyday language of letter writing” (Stott). This phrase was so common that sometimes it was condensed into only initials, and everyone knew what the writer meant just from the initials.20

And that’s how prying authorities would understand it, addressed to an individual named Gaius. But from the apostle to all the faithful elect suffering persecution, and possible physical harm or death, it reads differently, even humorously in an ironic sense: καθὼς εὐοδοῦται, as it goes well, σου ψυχή, with your soul. Again Mr. Guzik commented:

Just as your soul prospers: John here made an analogy between the condition of our health and the condition of our soul. Many Christians would be desperately ill if their physical health was instantly in the same state as their spiritual health.

The elder didn’t write to those who did not yet exhibit the fruit (result) of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) to Mr. Guzik’s satisfaction, to those who tried, like foolish Galatians, to be perfected by the flesh. The elder wrote to the faithful like Gaius, and prayed that even in persecution God would prosper their physical bodies and circumstances as He had prospered their souls. And nosy authorities would be none the wiser. The elder continued: ἐχάρην γὰρ λίαν, For I rejoiced greatly, ἐρχομένων ἀδελφῶν, when the brothers came, καὶ μαρτυρούντων, and testified, σου τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, to your truth. I’ve already decoded this truth in the dative case as by means of God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote (Galatians 2:20 NET):

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The elder confirmed that understanding, writing: καθὼς σὺ, as indeed you, ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, in the truth (or “by means of the truth”), περιπατεῖς, are walking. In other words, the elect, those who are faithful like Gaius, walk by the Spirit.

The elder continued: μειζοτέραν, greater, τούτων, than (literally, “these”), οὐκ ἔχω |χαράν|, I have [not] joy, ἵνα ἀκούω, “that I hear,” τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα, “the children of mine,” ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, in the truth (or, “by means of the truth”), περιπατοῦντα, are walking. Again, I’ll stress that in this coded missive the truth is nothing less than God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Mr. Guzik offered the following insight from Charles Spurgeon:

That my children walk in truth: This means more than living with correct doctrine. “What is it to ‘walk in truth’? It is not walking [merely resting] in the truth, or else some would suppose it meant that John was overjoyed because they were sound in doctrine, and cared little for anything else. His joyous survey did include their orthodoxy in creed, but it reached far beyond.” (Spurgeon)21

Mr. Guzik then offered more detail, loosely based on Spurgeon’s commentary:

To walk in truth means to walk consistent with the truth you believe. If you believe that you are fallen, then walk wary of your fallenness. If you believe you are a child of God, then walk like a child of heaven. If you believe you are forgiven, then walk like a forgiven person.

To walk in truth means to walk in a way that is real and genuine, without any phoniness or concealment.22

This is too whimsical for my taste, too focused on individual preference and effort, rather than the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. A glimpse into Charles Spurgeon’s actual words follows:

It is a great thing to hear of our people that they are abiding in the Truth as they have been taught. But to walk in the Truth of God means something more it signifies action in consistency with Truth.

If you believe that you are fallen, walk in consistency with that Truth of God by watching your fallen nature and walking humbly with God. Do you believe that there is one God? Walk in the Truth of God and reverence Him and none beside. Do you believe in Election? Prove that you are elect walk in the Truth of God as the chosen, peculiar people of God, zealous for good works. Do you believe in Redemption? Is that a fundamental Truth of God with you? Walk in it, for “you are not your own, you are bought with a price.” Do you believe in Effectual Calling and Regeneration as the work of the Spirit of God? Then walk in the power of God and let your holy lives prove that you have, indeed, been renewed by the supernatural work of God’s Grace. Walk in consistency with what you believe!

But walking in Truth means yet more, it signifies “be real.” Much of the walking to be seen in the world is a vain show, the masquerade of religion, the mimicry of godliness. In too many instances the man wears two faces under one hat and possesses a duplicate manhood. He is not real in anything good he is a clever actor and no more. Alas, that one should have to say it, very much of the religiousness of this present age is nothing more than playing at religion! Why, look at the Christian year of the Ritualistic party in our national Church, look at it, and tell me, what is it? It is a kind of practical charade, of which a sort of Passion Play is one act!

The life of Christ is supposed to be acted over again, and we are asked to sing carols as if Jesus were just born, eat salt fish because He is fasting, carry palms because He is riding through Jerusalem, and actually to hear a bell toll His funeral knell as if He were dying! One day He is born and another day He is circumcised, so that the year is spent in a solemn make-believe, for none of these things are happening! The Lord Jesus sits in Heaven, indignant to be made a play of! Have nothing do [sic] with such things! Leave the shadows and pursue the Substance. Worship Christ as He is and then you will regard Him as “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

When men see you, let them see that what you believe you believe in downright earnest, and that there is no sham about you. Then they might call you a bigot for which be thankful! Take the word home, keep it as an honorable title, far too good to be flung back upon your foe. They may call you a wild enthusiast in return pray God to make them enthusiastic, too for in such a cause one cannot be too much in earnest. Do not go through the world like respectable shades, haunting the tomb of a dead Christ, but be alive with the life of God alive from head to foot to Divine realities! So will you walk in the Truth of God!

See how truly the Apostles bore themselves [e.g., in the book of Acts]. They were ready to die for the Truth of God they held, and all their lives they were making sacrifices for it. Let your truthfulness be so powerful a force that others can see that you are carried away by its force and governed by its impulses.

Jesus told the Apostles precisely how they would do what they did in Acts: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.23 But I say, walk by the Spirit, Paul wrote foolish Galatians, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.24 And I was just reminded recently how Jesus’ responded to the desire of his flesh “to live (or not to be tortured to death)”:25 Take this cup away from me,26 He begged earnestly and honestly. Yet not what I will, but what you will.27

The elder continued (3 John 1:5-8 ESV):

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are,28 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.29 Therefore we ought to support30 people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

The Greek is: Ἀγαπητέ, Beloved, πιστὸν, it is a faithful thing, ποιεῖς, you do, ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ, in all your efforts, εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, for these brothers, presumably the same brothers who came and testified to your truth.31 The next phrase is different in the critical and received texts.

The critical text had καὶ τοῦτο ξένουςstrangers as they are (ESV; literally, “and this strangers”)—where the received text had καὶ εἰς τοὺς ξένουςand to strangers (KJV). The former suggests that the brothers were unknown to those “who remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel” except by word or letter from The elder. The latter suggests that the faithful thing you do in all your efforts was done for brothers as well as for strangers by the elect, those “who remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel” like Gaius. The critical text is currently considered the more original and, therefore, reliable text.

A translator’s note (10) in the NET on a different topic reads:

Since the author is going to ask Gaius for additional help for these missionaries in the following verse, he begins here by commending Gaius for all that he has already done in this regard.

But the author was not commending those “who [like Gaius] remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel.” If they were commended by anyone, it was by the brothers: οἳ ἐμαρτύρησαν, who testified, σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ, to your love, ἐνώπιον ἐκκλησίας, before the church. And, presumably, the brothers’ testimony was true.

The elder’s instruction was not a ploy to manipulate those “who [like Gaius] remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel.” Rather, he gave them true instruction in faithful service to counterbalance the false instruction of the church of Diotrephes (3 John 1:9, 10). That true instruction included: οὓς, them, καλῶς, well (or, beautifully), ποιήσεις, You will do, προπέμψας, to sendon their journey, ἀξίως, in a manner worthy, τοῦ θεοῦ, of God. This is the only direct mention of God in this letter.

The elder took pains in an otherwise abbreviated communication to explain why doing so was doing well or doing beautifully: ὑπὲρ γὰρ, Forfor the sake, τοῦ ὀνόματος, of the name, ἐξῆλθον, they have gone out. The elder’s use of the name, τοῦ ὀνόματος, without mention of God or Christ or Jesus is interesting both as coded communication and for its imitation of Jewish use of Hashem.

Hashem is a Hebrew term for God. Literally, it means “the name.” In the Bible the Hebrew word for God is made up of four letters, and according to tradition it was only pronounced on Yom Kippur by the High Priest. Saying God’s name was considered a very serious and powerful thing, so much so that one of the Ten Commandments prohibits us from saying God’s name in vain. As a result, people have come up with various substitutions.

When reading Torah, we generally substitute the word Adonai for the four letter un-pronounceable name of God. Outside of reading Torah and praying, God is often referred to as Hashem, a creative way of not saying God’s name.32

The elder continued: μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. (The critical text had the adjective ἐθνικῶν here, a form of ἐθνικός, where the received text had the noun εθνων, a form of ἔθνος.) Mr. Guzik explained (with no source citation) why the brothers journeyed accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

Taking nothing from the Gentiles: The ancient world of the early church was filled with the missionaries and preachers of various religions, and they often supported themselves by taking offerings from the general public. But John said that these Christian missionaries should take nothing from the Gentiles (non-Christians). Instead of soliciting funds from the general public they were to look to the support of fellow Christians.

Paul explained his own steps (2 Corinthians 12:14-18 ESV):

Here for the33 third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but34 you. For children are not obligated (ὀφείλει, a form of ὀφείλω) to save up for their parents, but35 parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? [Table] But granting that I myself did not burden you, I36 was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did37 Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

The elder concluded: ἡμεῖς, we, οὖν, Therefore, ὀφείλομεν, ought, ὑπολαμβάνειν, to support, τοὺς τοιούτους, people like these (literally, “such as these”). This is something the elect owe as a debt; ὀφείλομεν is a form of ὀφείλω: “to owe (a sum of money to someone), be in debt; to owe, be indebted (to someone for something); to be obligated, ought, should; to be bound (by an oath).” And yet, The elder offered a reason: ἵνα, that, συνεργοὶ, fellow workers, γινώμεθα, we may be, τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, for the truth (or, “by means of the truth,” e.g., “God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit”).

Mr. Guzik wrote, quoting Jesus:

Jesus said, He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward [Table] (Matthew 10:40-41). This should make us consider how we receive and help those who preach the Gospel.38

The elder continued with a contrast (3 John 1:9, 10 ESV):

I have written something39 to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

Mr. Guzik wrote of Diotrephes:

But Diotrephes: John publicly rebuked this man, and he rebuked him by name. In rebuking him by name the apostle of love did not act outside of love. Instead, he followed the clear command of the Scriptures (Romans 16:17) and the example of other apostles (2 Timothy 4:14-15).40

But the name Διοτρέφης has an evocative meaning.

Word Origin: From the Greek words “Διός” (Dios, meaning “of Zeus”) and “τρέφω” (trepho, meaning “to nourish” or “to bring up”)

Usage: Diotrephes is a personal name mentioned in the New Testament, specifically in the Third Epistle of John. The name means “nourished by Zeus,” reflecting a common practice in Hellenistic culture of naming individuals after deities. In the biblical context, Diotrephes is noted for his negative behavior, particularly his love for preeminence and his opposition to the Apostle John and his associates.41

It seems prudent to at least consider that Διοτρέφης, rather than an individual with outsized influence in the church, was The elders’ code name for a number of converts who still clung too much to their old self as pagans.

The Greek was: Ἔγραψα τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, I have written something to the church (that letter is lost or it is 1 John), ἀλλ᾿, but, φιλοπρωτεύων, [the person] who likes to put himself first, αὐτῶν, among them (KJV), Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς, Diotrephes…does not acknowledge our authority. The Greek word φιλοπρωτεύων only occurs here. It is a compound of the prefix φίλο- and the participle πρωτεύων, which also only occurs once in Paul’s description of Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20 ESV).

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in42 heaven and on43 earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent (πρωτεύων, a present participle of πρωτεύω). For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in44 heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross [Table].

In other words, those like Diotrephes who were still nourished by Zeus usurped Jesus’ preeminence in the church as well as in themselves. The elder continued: διὰ τοῦτο, So (literally: “because of this”), ἐὰν ἔλθω, if (or, when) I come (in the subjunctive mood), ὑπομνήσω, I will bring up, αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα ποιεῖ, what he is doing (literally: “his works which he does”), λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς, talking wicked nonsense against us, καὶ μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις, And not content with that, οὔτε αὐτὸς, he refuses (literally, “neither he”), ἐπιδέχεται τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, to welcome the brothers (or, receives the brothers, or even, recognizes the authority of the brothers), καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους, andthose who want to, κωλύει, also stops, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει, and puts them out of the church (and out of the church puts them is nearer the word order in Greek).

If I consider 1 John as the letter The elder sent that those like Diotrephes rejected, John’s discussion of many antichrists hints at what may have been happening (1 John 2:18, 19 ESV).

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us [Table].

This implies an exodus from the church, and causes me to wonder if declining membership created doubt in the minds of “those like Diotrephes who were still nourished by Zeus,” regarding both the leadership and teaching of the brothers. The elder concluded:

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever45 does evil has not seen God.46

The Greek was: Ἀγαπητέ, Beloved, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν, do not imitate evil, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν, but imitate good (literally, “but the good”); ἀγαθοποιῶν, Whoever does good, ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, from God, ἐστιν, is; κακοποιῶν, whoever does evil, οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν, has not seen God. It reminds me of Jesus describing the promised Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 17 ESV).

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees (θεωρεῖ, a form of θεωρέω) him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you [Table].

The elder continued with what sounds like an unsolicited personal recommendation (3 John 1:12 ESV):

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know47 that our testimony is true.

Mr. Guzik speculated about the identity of Demetrius: “Perhaps he was the one who carried the letter from John to Gaius, and John wanted Gaius to know that Demetrius was worthy of Christian hospitality.”48 The entry from Strong’s Lexicon reads:

Usage: The name Demetrius appears in the New Testament as a proper noun referring to two distinct individuals. It is a common Greek name, meaning “belonging to Demeter.” In the context of the New Testament, it is used to identify specific individuals involved in early Christian history.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, names derived from deities were common, reflecting the cultural and religious milieu of the time. Demeter was a significant figure in Greek mythology, representing the earth’s fertility and the cycle of life and death. The name Demetrius would have been familiar and carried connotations of prosperity and growth.49

The other occurrences of Demetrius are found in Acts 19:23-41. While the meaning of the name Demetrius is interesting, apart from any indication what this particular Demetrius was doing, it is difficult to understand his name as code for a third group of people to complement “those like Diotrephes who were still nourished by Zeus” and those “who [like Gaius] remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel.” It leaves me with Demetrius as a relatively unknown individual, though apparently well known to the original recipients of 3 John.

The Greek is: Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων, Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone. I assume that everyone, πάντων, means The elder, the brothers, those “who [like Gaius] remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel,” and “those like Diotrephes who were still nourished by Zeus.” So, The elder brought up a point of agreement among them. Though this is probably the most reasonable way to translate this wordstring, there is another possibility: μεμαρτύρηται, a passive form of μαρτυρέω, can mean “to be famous, be illlustrious.” It is something to bear in mind in this coded missive, if for no other reason than its potential to broaden the meaning of everyone.

The Greek continues: καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας, and from the truth itself. To translate αὐτῆς itself is novel (see Table below). It was usually translated its when her seemed overly awkward in English. I only found one other occurrence in John’s writings in the New Testament where the pronoun preceded the article and the noun: In Revelation 18:5 αὐτῆς αἱ ἁμαρτίαι was translated her sins in the ESV. A more natural translation of αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας would be her truth or its truth, which begs the question, Whose truth?

It turns my thoughts back to Demeter and the meaning of the name Demetrius:

Demeter was a significant figure in Greek mythology, representing the earth’s fertility and the cycle of life and death. The name Demetrius would have been familiar and carried connotations of prosperity and growth.50

It causes me to wonder if the “two distinct individuals” named Demetrius in the New Testament were an old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,51 in Acts 19:23-41 and a new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness,52 in 3 John 1:12. The grace of God would be quite encouraging to the faithful, those enduring persecution in the church from those “nourished by Zeus,” if The elder recalled a silversmith who started a riot in Ephesus against Paul’s Gospel, but was illustrious among the faithful (and the as yet less than faithful) for his current faithfulness by means of the truth: God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This was the understanding of Jim Cole-Rous in his article, “Demetrius the Silversmith,” on JourneyOnline: “Demetrius, the wealthy and influential leader of the riot, had become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.” And Mr. Guzik rightly noted in his commentary: “John did not excommunicate Diotrephes.” Did The elder continue to hope in the grace of God the Father, God the Son through God the indwelling Holy Spirit?

The elder “added”: καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, We also add our testimony. The word add was added by the translators, apparently to highlight δὲ, translated also. Still, it accentuates how redundant or presumptuous it was to “add” such testimony to the truth itself. On the other hand, if the The elder referred to the “truth” of the pagan goddess Demeter implied by the name Demetrius, the testimony of the Elder and the brothers would be welcome to the elect, to those “who [like Gaius] remained faithful to Christ and the Gospel”: καὶ οἶδας ὅτι μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν, and you know that our testimony is true.

It seems appropriate at this point to highlight that testimony (1 John 1:1-4 ESV).

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life (τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον), which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ [Table]. And we are writing53 these things so that our joy may be complete.

The elder continued (3 John 1:13-15 ESV):

I had much to write to you,54 but I would rather not write55 with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

The Greek is: Πολλὰ, much, εἶχον, I had, γράψαι σοι, to write to you, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ, butnot, θέλω, I would rather, διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου, with ink and pen, σοι γράφειν, write. The adjective μέλανος, a form of μέλας, “black colour, dark,” was translated ink three times in the New Testament. In coded communications like 2 and 3 John, where meaning is obscured, it seems prudent to also consider its original meaning.

Usage: The Greek adjective “μέλας” (melas) is used to describe the color black. In the New Testament, it is often used metaphorically to convey darkness or a lack of light, which can symbolize sin, judgment, or mourning. The term can also be used literally to describe the color of objects or appearances.

Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Greek culture, the color black was often associated with death, mourning, and the underworld. It was a color that symbolized the absence of light and was frequently used in literature and art to depict negative or ominous themes. In the Jewish tradition, black could also symbolize mourning and was sometimes used in the context of sackcloth and ashes, which were traditional signs of repentance and grief.56

The elder continued: ἐλπίζω, I hope,57 δὲ εὐθέως, soon, σε ἰδεῖν, to see you, καὶ, and, στόμα πρὸς στόμα, face to face (or, “mouth to mouth”), λαλήσομεν, we will talk.

Mr. Guzik observed:

We can sympathize with John’s preference for personal, face to face communication rather than the writing of letters. Yet we are thankful that John was forced to write, so that we have the record of this letter of 3 John.58

The clause “that John was forced to write” was as close as Mr. Guzik came to recalling his earlier speculation about “the threat of persecution” as a reason that The elder “does not directly refer to himself.”

The elder concluded his letter: εἰρήνη σοι, Peace be to you. It is a true and beautiful blessing upon the elect, those who walk by the Spirit: the fruit (or, “result”) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (εἰρήνη)…59 The elder continued: ἀσπάζονται σε οἱ φίλοι, The friends greet you. This reminds one of Jesus’ words: You are my friends (φίλοι, a plural form of φίλος) if you do what I command you.60 And finally: ἀσπάζου τοὺς φίλους, Greet the friends, κατ᾿ ὄνομα, each by name.

The ESV translators chose to translate κατ᾿ followed by ὄνομα in the accusative case distributively: each by. I wonder, in keeping with the idea of coded communication, if the phrase should be understood more relationally: “in regard to reputation” (reputation is another possible translation of ὄνομα). Thus you will recognize them by their fruits,61 Jesus said (e.g., recognize those friends because they do what Jesus’ commanded). In other words, are their fruits the fruit of the Spirit? Or are they “nourished by Zeus”?

A table of the occurrences of αὐτῆς in John’s writings in the New Testament follows.

Examples of αὐτῆς in the writings of John in the New Testament

Reference

ESV

NA28

John 4:27

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”

Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἦλθαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐθαύμαζον ὅτι μετὰ γυναικὸς ἐλάλει· οὐδεὶς μέντοι εἶπεν· τί ζητεῖς ἢ τί λαλεῖς μετ’ αὐτῆς

John 4:28

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people

ἀφῆκεν οὖν τὴν ὑδρίαν αὐτῆς ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ λέγει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις

John 11:1

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

Ἦν δέ τις ἀσθενῶν, Λάζαρος ἀπὸ Βηθανίας, ἐκ τῆς κώμης Μαρίας καὶ Μάρθας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτῆς

John 11:2

It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

ἦν δὲ Μαριὰμ ἡ ἀλείψασα τὸν κύριον μύρῳ καὶ ἐκμάξασα τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς, ἧς ὁ ἀδελφὸς Λάζαρος ἠσθένει

John 11:4

But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· αὕτη ἡ ἀσθένεια οὐκ ἔστιν πρὸς θάνατον ἀλλ’ ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δι’ αὐτῆς

John 11:5

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

ἠγάπα δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν Μάρθαν καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον

John 11:28

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

Καὶ τοῦτο εἰποῦσα ἀπῆλθεν καὶ ἐφώνησεν Μαριὰμ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς λάθρᾳ εἰποῦσα· ὁ διδάσκαλος πάρεστιν καὶ φωνεῖ σε

John 11:31

When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

οἱ οὖν Ἰουδαῖοι οἱ ὄντες μετ’ αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ καὶ παραμυθούμενοι αὐτήν, ἰδόντες τὴν Μαριὰμ ὅτι ταχέως ἀνέστη καὶ ἐξῆλθεν, ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῇ δόξαντες ὅτι ὑπάγει εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον ἵνα κλαύσῃ ἐκεῖ

John 12:3

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Ἡ οὖν Μαριὰμ λαβοῦσα λίτραν μύρου νάρδου πιστικῆς πολυτίμου ἤλειψεν τοὺς πόδας τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἐξέμαξεν ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· ἡ δὲ οἰκία ἐπληρώθη ἐκ τῆς ὀσμῆς τοῦ μύρου

John 16:21

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

ἡ γυνὴ ὅταν τίκτῃ λύπην ἔχει, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆς· ὅταν δὲ γεννήσῃ τὸ παιδίον, οὐκέτι μνημονεύει τῆς θλίψεως διὰ τὴν χαρὰν ὅτι ἐγεννήθη ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸν κόσμον

2 John 1:1

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth,

Ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς, οὓς ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐγνωκότες τὴν ἀλήθειαν

3 John 1:12

Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν

Revelation 2:5

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

μνημόνευε οὖν πόθεν πέπτωκας καὶ μετανόησον καὶ τὰ πρῶτα ἔργα ποίησον· εἰ δὲ μή, ἔρχομαί σοι καὶ κινήσω τὴν λυχνίαν σου ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῆς, ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσῃς

Revelation 2:21

I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῇ χρόνον ἵνα μετανοήσῃ, καὶ οὐ θέλει μετανοῆσαι ἐκ τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς

Revelation 2:22

Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,

ἰδοὺ βάλλω αὐτὴν εἰς κλίνην καὶ τοὺς μοιχεύοντας μετ’ αὐτῆς εἰς θλῖψιν μεγάλην, ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσωσιν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῆς

Revelation 2:23

and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς ἀποκτενῶ ἐν θανάτῳ. καὶ γνώσονται πᾶσαι αἱ ἐκκλησίαι ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἐραυνῶν νεφροὺς καὶ καρδίας, καὶ δώσω ὑμῖν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα ὑμῶν

Revelation 6:13

and lthe stars of the sky fell to the earth mas the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἔπεσαν εἰς τὴν γῆν, ὡς συκῆ βάλλει τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου μεγάλου σειομένη

Revelation 8:12

The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

Καὶ ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν· καὶ ἐπλήγη τὸ τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων, ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα μὴ φάνῃ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῆς (KJV: and the day shone not for a third part of it) καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὁμοίως

Revelation 12:1

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Καὶ σημεῖον μέγα ὤφθη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῆς στέφανος ἀστέρων δώδεκα

Revelation 12:4

His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

καὶ ἡ οὐρὰ αὐτοῦ σύρει τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν γῆν. Καὶ ὁ δράκων ἕστηκεν ἐνώπιον τῆς γυναικὸς τῆς μελλούσης τεκεῖν, ἵνα ὅταν τέκῃ τὸ τέκνον αὐτῆς καταφάγῃ

Revelation 12:5

She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱὸν ἄρσεν, ὃς μέλλει ποιμαίνειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ. καὶ ἡρπάσθη τὸ τέκνον αὐτῆς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ πρὸς τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ

Revelation 12:14

But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

καὶ ἐδόθησαν τῇ γυναικὶ αἱ δύο πτέρυγες τοῦ ἀετοῦ τοῦ μεγάλου, ἵνα πέτηται εἰς τὴν ἔρημον εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς, (KJV: into her place) ὅπου τρέφεται ἐκεῖ καιρὸν καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ ὄφεως

Revelation 12:16

But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.

καὶ ἐβοήθησεν ἡ γῆ τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ ἤνοιξεν ἡ γῆ τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς καὶ κατέπιεν τὸν ποταμὸν ὃν ἔβαλεν ὁ δράκων ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ

Revelation 12:17

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

καὶ ὠργίσθη ὁ δράκων ἐπὶ τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν λοιπῶν τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς τῶν τηρούντων τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐχόντων τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ

Revelation 14:8

Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

Καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος δεύτερος ἠκολούθησεν λέγων· ἔπεσεν ἔπεσεν Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη ἣ ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς πεπότικεν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη

Revelation 14:18

And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”

καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος [ἐξῆλθεν] ἐκ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου [ὁ] ἔχων ἐξουσίαν ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρός, καὶ ἐφώνησεν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ τῷ ἔχοντι τὸ δρέπανον τὸ ὀξὺ λέγων· πέμψον σου τὸ δρέπανον τὸ ὀξὺ καὶ τρύγησον τοὺς βότρυας τῆς ἀμπέλου τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἤκμασαν αἱ σταφυλαὶ αὐτῆς

Revelation 16:21

And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

καὶ χάλαζα μεγάλη ὡς ταλαντιαία καταβαίνει ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ ἐβλασφήμησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸν θεὸν ἐκ τῆς πληγῆς τῆς χαλάζης, ὅτι μεγάλη ἐστὶν ἡ πληγὴ αὐτῆς (KJV: for the plague thereof) σφόδρα

Revelation 17:2

with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”

μεθ’ ἧς ἐπόρνευσαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐμεθύσθησαν οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν γῆν ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς (KJV: with the wine of her fornication)

Revelation 17:4

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.

καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἦν περιβεβλημένη πορφυροῦν καὶ κόκκινον καὶ κεχρυσωμένη χρυσίῳ καὶ λίθῳ τιμίῳ καὶ μαργαρίταις, ἔχουσα ποτήριον χρυσοῦν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτῆς γέμον βδελυγμάτων καὶ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς

Revelation 17:5

And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.”

καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον, μυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς

Revelation 17:16

And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire,

καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα ἃ εἶδες καὶ τὸ θηρίον οὗτοι μισήσουσιν τὴν πόρνην καὶ ἠρημωμένην ποιήσουσιν αὐτὴν καὶ γυμνὴν καὶ τὰς σάρκας αὐτῆς φάγονται καὶ αὐτὴν κατακαύσουσιν ἐν πυρί

Revelation 18:3

For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς πέπωκαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς μετ’ αὐτῆς ἐπόρνευσαν καὶ οἱ ἔμποροι τῆς γῆς ἐκ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ στρήνους αὐτῆς ἐπλούτησαν

Revelation 18:4

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;

Καὶ ἤκουσα ἄλλην φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ λέγουσαν· ἐξέλθατε ὁ λαός μου ἐξ αὐτῆς ἵνα μὴ συγκοινωνήσητε ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν πληγῶν αὐτῆς ἵνα μὴ λάβητε

Revelation 18:5

for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

ὅτι ἐκολλήθησαν αὐτῆς αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἄχρι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐμνημόνευσεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ἀδικήματα αὐτῆς

Revelation 18:6

Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.

ἀπόδοτε αὐτῇ ὡς καὶ αὐτὴ ἀπέδωκεν καὶ διπλώσατε τὰ διπλᾶ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῆς, ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ ᾧ ἐκέρασεν κεράσατε αὐτῇ διπλοῦν

Revelation 18:7

As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’

ὅσα ἐδόξασεν αὐτὴν καὶ ἐστρηνίασεν, τοσοῦτον δότε αὐτῇ βασανισμὸν καὶ πένθος. ὅτι ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς λέγει ὅτι κάθημαι βασίλισσα καὶ χήρα οὐκ εἰμὶ καὶ πένθος οὐ μὴ ἴδω

Revelation 18:8

For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

διὰ τοῦτο ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ ἥξουσιν αἱ πληγαὶ αὐτῆς, θάνατος καὶ πένθος καὶ λιμός, καὶ ἐν πυρὶ κατακαυθήσεται, ὅτι ἰσχυρὸς κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ κρίνας αὐτήν

Revelation 18:9

And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.

Καὶ κλαύσουσιν καὶ κόψονται ἐπ’ αὐτὴν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς οἱ μετ’ αὐτῆς πορνεύσαντες καὶ στρηνιάσαντες, ὅταν βλέπωσιν τὸν καπνὸν τῆς πυρώσεως αὐτῆς

Revelation 18:10

They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

ἀπὸ μακρόθεν ἑστηκότες διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς λέγοντες· οὐαὶ οὐαί, ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη, Βαβυλὼν ἡ πόλις ἡ ἰσχυρά, ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σου

Revelation 18:15

The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

Οἱ ἔμποροι τούτων οἱ πλουτήσαντες ἀπ’ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ μακρόθεν στήσονται διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς κλαίοντες καὶ πενθοῦντες

Revelation 18:18

and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”

καὶ ἔκραζον βλέποντες τὸν καπνὸν τῆς πυρώσεως αὐτῆς λέγοντες· τίς ὁμοία τῇ πόλει τῇ μεγάλῃ

Revelation 18:19

And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.

καὶ ἔβαλον χοῦν ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν καὶ ἔκραζον κλαίοντες καὶ πενθοῦντες λέγοντες· οὐαὶ οὐαί, ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη, ἐν ᾗ ἐπλούτησαν πάντες οἱ ἔχοντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐκ τῆς τιμιότητος αὐτῆς, ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη

Revelation 18:20

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”

Εὐφραίνου ἐπ’ αὐτῇ, οὐρανὲ καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὅτι ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς

Revelation 19:2

for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

ὅτι ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ἔκρινεν τὴν πόρνην τὴν μεγάλην ἥτις ἔφθειρεν τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐξεδίκησεν τὸ αἷμα τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτῆς (KJV: at her hand)

Revelation 19:3

Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

Καὶ δεύτερον εἴρηκαν· ἁλληλουϊά· καὶ ὁ καπνὸς αὐτῆς ἀναβαίνει εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων

Revelation 21:2

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καινὴν εἶδον καταβαίνουσαν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡτοιμασμένην ὡς νύμφην κεκοσμημένην τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς

Revelation 21:11

having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal

ἔχουσαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ φωστὴρ αὐτῆς ὅμοιος λίθῳ τιμιωτάτῳ ὡς λίθῳ ἰάσπιδι κρυσταλλίζοντι

Revelation 21:15

And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.

Καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἶχεν μέτρον κάλαμον χρυσοῦν, ἵνα μετρήσῃ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοὺς πυλῶνας αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ τεῖχος αὐτῆς (KJV: and the wall thereof)

Revelation 21:16

The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.

καὶ ἡ πόλις τετράγωνος κεῖται καὶ τὸ μῆκος αὐτῆς ὅσον [καὶ] τὸ πλάτος. καὶ ἐμέτρησεν τὴν πόλιν τῷ καλάμῳ ἐπὶ σταδίων δώδεκα χιλιάδων, τὸ μῆκος καὶ τὸ πλάτος καὶ τὸ ὕψος αὐτῆς ἴσα ἐστίν

Revelation 21:17

He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.

καὶ ἐμέτρησεν τὸ τεῖχος αὐτῆς ἑκατὸν τεσσεράκοντα τεσσάρων πηχῶν μέτρον ἀνθρώπου, ὅ ἐστιν ἀγγέλου

Revelation 21:18

The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

καὶ ἡ ἐνδώμησις τοῦ τείχους αὐτῆς (KJV: And the building of the wall of it) ἴασπις καὶ ἡ πόλις χρυσίον καθαρὸν ὅμοιον ὑάλῳ καθαρῷ

Revelation 21:22

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

Καὶ ναὸν οὐκ εἶδον ἐν αὐτῇ, ὁ γὰρ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ ναὸς αὐτῆς ἐστιν καὶ τὸ ἀρνίον

Revelation 21:23

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

καὶ ἡ πόλις οὐ χρείαν ἔχει τοῦ ἡλίου οὐδὲ τῆς σελήνης ἵνα φαίνωσιν αὐτῇ, ἡ γὰρ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐφώτισεν αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ λύχνος αὐτῆς τὸ ἀρνίον

Revelation 21:24

By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

καὶ περιπατήσουσιν τὰ ἔθνη διὰ τοῦ φωτὸς αὐτῆς, καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς φέρουσιν τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν εἰς αὐτήν

Revelation 21:25

and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

καὶ οἱ πυλῶνες αὐτῆς οὐ μὴ κλεισθῶσιν ἡμέρας, νὺξ γὰρ οὐκ ἔσται ἐκεῖ

Revelation 22:2

through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πλατείας αὐτῆς (KJV: In the midst of the street of it) καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ξύλον ζωῆς ποιοῦν καρποὺς δώδεκα, κατὰ μῆνα ἕκαστον ἀποδιδοῦν τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ φύλλα τοῦ ξύλου εἰς θεραπείαν τῶν ἐθνῶν

Tables comparing 2 John 1:3; Revelation 17:13; 1 Peter 2:5; 3 John 1:5; 1:7, 8; 2 Corinthians 12:14; 12:16; 12:18; 3 John 1:9; Colossians 1:16; 3 John 1:11; 1:12; 1 John 1:4 and 3 John 1:13 in the KJV and NET follow.

2 John 1:3 (NET)

2 John 1:3 (KJV)

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

2 John 1:3 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 John 1:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 John 1:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἔσται μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη παρὰ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ παρὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ εσται μεθ ημων χαρις ελεος ειρηνη παρα θεου πατρος και παρα κυριου ιησου χριστου του υιου του πατρος εν αληθεια και αγαπη εσται μεθ ημων χαρις ελεος ειρηνη παρα θεου πατρος και παρα κυριου ιησου χριστου του υιου του πατρος εν αληθεια και αγαπη

Revelation 17:13 (NET)

Revelation 17:13 (KJV)

These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Revelation 17:13 (NET Parallel Greek)

Revelation 17:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Revelation 17:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)

οὗτοι μίαν γνώμην ἔχουσιν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ ἐξουσίαν αὐτῶν τῷ θηρίῳ διδόασιν ουτοι μιαν γνωμην εχουσιν και την δυναμιν και την εξουσιαν εαυτων τω θηριω διαδιδωσουσιν ουτοι μιαν εχουσιν γνωμην και την δυναμιν και την εξουσιαν αυτων τω θηριω διδοασιν

1 Peter 2:5 (NET)

1 Peter 2:5 (KJV)

you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:5 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 Peter 2:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 Peter 2:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ αὐτοὶ ὡς λίθοι ζῶντες οἰκοδομεῖσθε οἶκος πνευματικὸς εἰς ἱεράτευμα ἅγιον ἀνενέγκαι πνευματικὰς θυσίας εὐπροσδέκτους [τῷ] θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ και αυτοι ως λιθοι ζωντες οικοδομεισθε οικος πνευματικος ιερατευμα αγιον ανενεγκαι πνευματικας θυσιας ευπροσδεκτους τω θεω δια ιησου χριστου και αυτοι ως λιθοι ζωντες οικοδομεισθε οικος πνευματικος ιερατευμα αγιον ανενεγκαι πνευματικας θυσιας ευπροσδεκτους τω θεω δια ιησου χριστου

3 John 1:5 (NET)

3 John 1:5 (KJV)

Dear friend, you demonstrate faithfulness by whatever you do for the brothers (even though they are strangers). Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

3 John 1:5 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ἀγαπητέ, πιστὸν ποιεῖς ὃ ἐὰν ἐργάσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς (καὶ τοῦτο ξένους) αγαπητε πιστον ποιεις ο εαν εργαση εις τους αδελφους και εις τους ξενους αγαπητε πιστον ποιεις ο εαν εργαση εις τους αδελφους και εις τους ξενους

3 John 1:7, 8 (NET)

3 John 1:7, 8 (KJV)

For they have gone forth on behalf of “The Name,” accepting nothing from the pagans. Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

3 John 1:7 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:7 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:7 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἐξῆλθον μηδὲν λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνικῶν υπερ γαρ του ονοματος εξηλθον μηδεν λαμβανοντες απο των εθνων υπερ γαρ του ονοματος εξηλθον μηδεν λαμβανοντες απο των εθνων
Therefore we ought to support such people so that we become coworkers in cooperation with the truth. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.

3 John 1:8 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:8 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:8 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἡμεῖς οὖν ὀφείλομεν ὑπολαμβάνειν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἵνα συνεργοὶ γινώμεθα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ημεις ουν οφειλομεν απολαμβανειν τους τοιουτους ινα συνεργοι γινωμεθα τη αληθεια ημεις ουν οφειλομεν απολαμβανειν τους τοιουτους ινα συνεργοι γινωμεθα τη αληθεια

2 Corinthians 12:14 (NET)

2 Corinthians 12:14 (KJV)

Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

2 Corinthians 12:14 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 12:14 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 12:14 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ἰδοὺ τρίτον τοῦτο ἑτοίμως ἔχω ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ οὐ καταναρκήσω· οὐ γὰρ ζητῶ τὰ ὑμῶν ἀλλὰ ὑμᾶς. οὐ γὰρ ὀφείλει τὰ τέκνα τοῖς γονεῦσιν θησαυρίζειν ἀλλὰ οἱ γονεῖς τοῖς τέκνοις ιδου τριτον ετοιμως εχω ελθειν προς υμας και ου καταναρκησω υμων ου γαρ ζητω τα υμων αλλ υμας ου γαρ οφειλει τα τεκνα τοις γονευσιν θησαυριζειν αλλ οι γονεις τοις τεκνοις ιδου τριτον ετοιμως εχω ελθειν προς υμας και ου καταναρκησω υμων ου γαρ ζητω τα υμων αλλα υμας ου γαρ οφειλει τα τεκνα τοις γονευσιν θησαυριζειν αλλ οι γονεις τοις τεκνοις

2 Corinthians 12:16 (NET)

2 Corinthians 12:16 (KJV)

But be that as it may, I have not burdened you. Yet because I was a crafty person, I took you in by deceit! But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.

2 Corinthians 12:16 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 12:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 12:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ἔστω δέ, ἐγὼ οὐ κατεβάρησα ὑμᾶς· ἀλλὰ ὑπάρχων πανοῦργος δόλῳ ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον εστω δε εγω ου κατεβαρησα υμας αλλ υπαρχων πανουργος δολω υμας ελαβον εστω δε εγω ου κατεβαρησα υμας αλλ υπαρχων πανουργος δολω υμας ελαβον

2 Corinthians 12:18 (NET)

2 Corinthians 12:18 (KJV)

I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

2 Corinthians 12:18 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 12:18 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 12:18 (Byzantine Majority Text)

παρεκάλεσα Τίτον καὶ συναπέστειλα τὸν ἀδελφόν· μήτι ἐπλεονέκτησεν ὑμᾶς Τίτος; οὐ τῷ αὐτῷ πνεύματι περιεπατήσαμεν; οὐ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἴχνεσιν παρεκαλεσα τιτον και συναπεστειλα τον αδελφον μη τι επλεονεκτησεν υμας τιτος ου τω αυτω πνευματι περιεπατησαμεν ου τοις αυτοις ιχνεσιν παρεκαλεσα τιτον και συναπεστειλα τον αδελφον μη τι επλεονεκτησεν υμας τιτος ου τω αυτω πνευματι περιεπατησαμεν ου τοις αυτοις ιχνεσιν

3 John 1:9 (NET)

3 John 1:9 (KJV)

I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not acknowledge us. I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

3 John 1:9 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:9 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:9 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ἔγραψα τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλ᾿ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς εγραψα τη εκκλησια αλλ ο φιλοπρωτευων αυτων διοτρεφης ουκ επιδεχεται ημας εγραψα τη εκκλησια αλλ ο φιλοπρωτευων αυτων διοτρεφης ουκ επιδεχεται ημας

Colossians 1:16 (NET)

Colossians 1:16 (KJV)

for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Colossians 1:16 (NET Parallel Greek)

Colossians 1:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Colossians 1:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται οτι εν αυτω εκτισθη τα παντα τα εν τοις ουρανοις και τα επι της γης τα ορατα και τα αορατα ειτε θρονοι ειτε κυριοτητες ειτε αρχαι ειτε εξουσιαι τα παντα δι αυτου και εις αυτον εκτισται οτι εν αυτω εκτισθη τα παντα τα εν τοις ουρανοις και τα επι της γης τα ορατα και τα αορατα ειτε θρονοι ειτε κυριοτητες ειτε αρχαι ειτε εξουσιαι τα παντα δι αυτου και εις αυτον εκτισται

3 John 1:11 (NET)

3 John 1:11 (KJV)

Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

3 John 1:11 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:11 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:11 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ἀγαπητέ, μὴ μιμοῦ τὸ κακὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθόν. ὁ ἀγαθοποιῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν· ὁ κακοποιῶν οὐχ ἑώρακεν τὸν θεόν αγαπητε μη μιμου το κακον αλλα το αγαθον ο αγαθοποιων εκ του θεου εστιν ο δε κακοποιων ουχ εωρακεν τον θεον αγαπητε μη μιμου το κακον αλλα το αγαθον ο αγαθοποιων εκ του θεου εστιν ο κακοποιων ουχ εωρακεν τον θεον

3 John 1:12 (NET)

3 John 1:12 (KJV)

Demetrius has been testified to by all, even by the truth itself. We also testify to him, and you know that our testimony is true. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

3 John 1:12 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Δημητρίῳ μεμαρτύρηται ὑπὸ πάντων καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας· καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ οἶδας ὅτι ἡ μαρτυρία ἡμῶν ἀληθής ἐστιν δημητριω μεμαρτυρηται υπο παντων και υπ αυτης της αληθειας και ημεις δε μαρτυρουμεν και οιδατε οτι η μαρτυρια ημων αληθης εστιν δημητριω μεμαρτυρηται υπο παντων και υπ αυτης της αληθειας και ημεις δε μαρτυρουμεν και οιδατε οτι η μαρτυρια ημων αληθης εστιν

1 John 1:4 (NET)

1 John 1:4 (KJV)

Thus we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

1 John 1:4 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 1:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 1:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ ταῦτα γράφομεν ἡμεῖς, ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ᾖ πεπληρωμένη και ταυτα γραφομεν υμιν ινα η χαρα ημων η πεπληρωμενη και ταυτα γραφομεν υμιν ινα η χαρα ημων η πεπληρωμενη

3 John 1:13 (NET)

3 John 1:13 (KJV)

I have many things to write to you, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink. I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

3 John 1:13 (NET Parallel Greek)

3 John 1:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

3 John 1:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Πολλὰ εἶχον γράψαι σοι ἀλλ᾿ οὐ θέλω διὰ μέλανος καὶ καλάμου σοι γράφειν πολλα ειχον γραφειν αλλ ου θελω δια μελανος και καλαμου σοι γραψαι πολλα ειχον γραφειν αλλ ου θελω δια μελανος και καλαμου σοι γραψαι

1 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κυριου (KJV: the Lord) preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

2 2 John 1:2b (ESV)

3 2 John 1:2b (ESV)

4 This is a participle of γινώσκω (all the truth knowing or truth knowers).

5 3 John 1:1b (ESV)

6 Galatians 4:29 (ESV)

7 Luke 23:35 (ESV) Table

8 Titus 1:1-3 (ESV)

9 Colossians 3:12-17 (ESV)

11 The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had αὐτῶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the reflexive pronoun εαυτων.

12 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article την preceding authority (KJV: strength). The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

13 Revelation 17:13, 14 (ESV)

14 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἰς (literally: “into”) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

15 1 Peter 2:4, 5 (ESV)

16 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

17 From “Strong’s Lexicon/Usage:” in the entry 1050. Gaios on Bible Hub.

18 3 John 1:2-4 (ESV)

20 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 Acts 1:8 (ESV) Table

24 Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

26 Mark 14:36b (NET)

27 Mark 14:36c (NET)

28 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τοῦτο here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εις (KJV: to) and the plural article τους preceding strangers.

29 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the adjective ἐθνικῶν here, a form of ἐθνικός, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the noun εθνων, a form of ἔθνος.

30 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὑπολαμβάνειν here, an infinitive form of the verb ὑπολαμβάνω, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απολαμβανειν (KJV: to receive), an infinitive form of the verb ἀπολαμβάνω.

31 3 John 1:3 (ESV)

33 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τοῦτο (literally, “this”) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

36 The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ at the beginning of this clause, where the NA28, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀλλ’.

41 From “Strong’s Lexicon” in the entry 1361. Diotrephés on Bible Hub.

42 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τα preceding in. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

43 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τα preceding on. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

45 The Stephanus Textus Receptus had δε (KJV: but) near the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

46 3 John 1:11 (ESV)

47 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the singular verb οἶδας here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οιδατε (KJV: ye know), a 2nd person plural form of εἴδω.

49 From “Strong’s Lexicon” in the entry 1216. Démétrios on Bible Hub.

50 From “Strong’s Lexicon” in the entry 1216. Démétrios on Bible Hub.

51 Ephesians 4:22b (ESV)

52 Ephesians 4:24b (ESV)

53 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἡμεῖς following are writing, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υμιν (KJV: unto you) following write we (KJV).

54 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had γράψαι σοι here; γράψαι is an infinitive form of γράφω in the aorist tense. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had simply γραφειν, an infinitive form of γράφω in the present tense.

55 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had γράφειν, an infinitive form of γράφω in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had γραψαι in the aorist tense.

56 From “Strong’s Lexicon” in the entry 3189. melas on Bible Hub.

57 The Greek word ἐλπίζω: “Does not mean ‘to hope’ in the sense of ‘longing for’ or ‘wishing’; but of ‘confident assurance’.”

59 Galatians 5:22a (ESV)

60 John 15:14 (ESV) Table

61 Matthew 7:20 (ESV) Table

The Day of the Lord, Part 6

This is a continuation of my consideration whether my assumption that Jesus called Judas Iscariot υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας (NET: the one destined for destruction) is like Jesus’ disciples’ discussion about having no bread1 after He said: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”2

In another essay I began to look at John’s description of antichrist and many antichrists because Meyer’s NT Commentary stated that many of the Church Fathers had understood Paul’s description of the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, as the Antichrist.

2 Thessalonians 2:3b, 4 (NET)

The Church Fathers

For [the day of the Lord] will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction ( υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας) [Table]. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God [Table]. They correctly agree in considering that by the advent (2 Thessalonians 2:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:8), or the day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2), is to be understood the personal advent of Christ for the last judgment and for the completion of the Messianic kingdom. Also it is correctly regarded as proved, that the Antichrist here described is to be considered as an individual person, in whom sin will embody itself.

The last insight into antichrist I considered in another essay I titled “the antichrist…denies the Father and the Son.” John penned a contrast to this title in the final verse I quoted under that heading: The person who confesses ( ὁμολογῶν) the Son has the Father also.3 His explanation of this point is my final insight:

4. …the spirit of the antichristrefuses to confess Jesus

John wrote (1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 1:7 NET):

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that refuses to confess Jesus, that spirit is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist (ἀντιχρίστου), which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world [Table].

For many deceivers have gone out4 into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.5 Though I might otherwise have focused on test (δοκιμάζετε, a form of δοκιμάζω) the spirits, this study has focused my attention on the many antichrists who went out from us.

1 John 2:18b, 19a (NET Parallel Greek) Table

1 John 4:1b (NET Parallel Greek)

καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασινἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον

1 John 2:18b, 19a (NET)

1 John 4:1b (NET)

so now many antichrists have appeared…They went out from us because many false prophets have gone out into the world

This is, admittedly, the first time I’ve made any strong connection between ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ (many antichrists) and πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται (many false prophets). The connection is made primarily by John’s descriptions of antichrist and many antichrists, but also through the verbs ἐξῆλθαν (They went out) and ἐξεληλύθασιν (have gone out), forms of ἐξέρχομαι. I hadn’t thought of these many false prophets as those who went out from us before. Jesus warned, Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.6

Up until this moment my religious mind had limited my understanding of false prophets to “religious” things, to those who make false predictions about Jesus’ return or some other false teaching of Scripture. Combined with the many antichrists who went out from us, Jesus’ warning that whoever does not gather with me scatters (σκορπίζει, a form of σκορπίζω) and my initial insights into false wonders, however, I’m willing to modify that understanding.

Charles Darwin doesn’t appear to be one who went out from the visible church literally. “Darwin and his family had a lifetime involvement with the Church of England, and various dissenting establishments…His local activities in the village of Down paint a fascinating picture of a man who, despite his own divergent beliefs and uncertainties, was determined to support the church as a social institution.”7 This was partly explained by the existence of a state church in England: “A nominal adherence to the Anglican Church’s teachings was still essential for admittance to many of the elite cultural and political institutions of England. It was required to enter Oxford and Cambridge, for example, and an Oxbridge degree was often crucial, in turn, in securing a position in the most prestigious professions. As a young man, Charles went up to Cambridge in 1828 with the aim of completing the necessary studies to be a clergyman.”8

On the other hand, it is apparent that Aleister Crowley went out from the Plymouth Brethren. An entry in Wikipedia describing “The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography” states: “In reference to his early years of being raised by fundamentalist Christians, Crowley explains how he became a rebel against conventional religion and how his behaviour and conflicts with authority figures contributed to his reputation as a dark magician. Whilst Crowley does not deny dabbling with demonic forces, his memoirs reveal that his aim was the progress and spiritual freedom of humanity.”9

E.O. Wilson, the controversial10father of sociobiology,” according to an entry11 in Wikipedia online:

…described his position as “provisional deism”[71] and explicitly denied the label of “atheist”, preferring “agnostic”.[72] He explained his faith as a trajectory away from traditional beliefs: “I drifted away from the church, not definitively agnostic or atheistic, just Baptist & Christian no more.”[45] Wilson argued that belief in God and the rituals of religion are products of evolution.[73] He argued that they should not be rejected or dismissed, but further investigated by science to better understand their significance to human nature. In his book The Creation, Wilson wrote that scientists ought to “offer the hand of friendship” to religious leaders and build an alliance with them, stating that “Science and religion are two of the most potent forces on Earth and they should come together to save the creation.”[74]

…In a New Scientist interview published on January 21, 2015, however, Wilson said that “Religion ‘is dragging us down’ and must be eliminated ‘for the sake of human progress'”, and “So I would say that for the sake of human progress, the best thing we could possibly do would be to diminish, to the point of eliminating, religious faiths.”[76]

An entry titled “Sociobiology” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy online states:

Human behavioral ecology (HBE), or human evolutionary ecology, is the current evolutionary social science most closely related to Wilson’s sociobiological project; it is the project that is sometimes still referred to as “sociobiology” by some philosophers of science (Griffiths, 2008; Sterelny and Griffiths, 1999)…

To understand the purposes of the HBE project, let’s consider one of its classic examples: Kaplan and Hill’s (1992) work on prey choice strategies amongst the Ache foragers of Paraguay. Just as in non-human behavioral ecology, behavioral strategies in HBE are usually described as complex behavioral dispositions. Behavioral dispositions involve behavioral responses to local stimuli; behavioral strategies then involve producing a set of different responses to a set of different stimuli (i.e. the response conditions of the strategy). According to Kaplan and Hill, the Ache prey choice strategy involves choosing a variety of different potential prey items from the environment; whether or not a prey item is taken depends on a number of circumstances acting as the response conditions: for example, the presence of prey with certain specific features, such as the caloric return of the prey given the time necessary to process it (known as the profitability); the rate at which that prey occurs in the environment; whether or not the prey is encountered on their search; and the search time available on a foraging trip…

HBEs explicitly accept that social learning of general purpose reasoning may be responsible for human behavioral strategies such as the Ache’s.

This was followed immediately by a Human Behavioral Ecology “statement of faith”:

However, this is ultimately irrelevant; one way or another, natural selection has, in effect, “seen to it” that humans behave in ways that tend to maximize their reproductive success.

The Lord used statements like this in E.O. Wilson’s comments on Sociobiology to help wean me from any consideration of evolution as a plausible alternative to his creation of life. As for “means” (e.g., God used evolution to create life as we see it now), it’s not what the Scripture says. Perhaps, the benefit I’ve derived from considering each of these men as I followed Jesus through the Scriptures has made me slow (or even loathe) to recognize them as false prophets and antichrists. And that brings me at last to Friedrich Nietzsche.

According to an entry in Wikipedia online, Friedrich Nietzsche was the son of “a Lutheran pastor[15]…Academic records from one of the schools attended by Nietzsche noted that he excelled in Christian theology.”[17] The Lord used Nietzsche’s12 writings to help me understand my own unbelief. I wrote of Nietzsche in another essay:

When I consider the justice of God’s mercy in and through Christ I am reminded of Friedrich Nietzsche. Jesus said, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.[30] The soul cannot be killed with weaponry. But Friedrich Nietzsche came about as close to being a soul killer as I can imagine a human being becoming. Who can calculate his devastating impact on the souls of academics and the intelligentsia? But if I imagine him in torment in hell for all eternity, cursing his nonexistent god, I realize that I can imagine no greater destruction of the personality I know as Friedrich Nietzsche than to find him one day clothed and in his right mind,[31] and sitting at the feet of Jesus.

This particular blog entry posted: May 25, 2013. The confirmation of this “no greater destruction” insight posted: December 14, 2022. It was the first time I really grappled with the differences between the mind of Christ and my religious mind vis-a-vis John 12:31, 32 (NET).

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

Before that study I could only see these as three independent projects on a to-do list. Afterward, I began to see the first two accomplished in the promise of the third. Present day scientists and philosophers would call that confirmation bias. Possibly so, but it’s the kind of confirmation bias that helps to keep me following Jesus through the Scripture.

Frankly, I would much rather tell you that I learned about the judgment of this world13 from Jesus’ words, explained in his promise, And Iwill draw all people to myself,14 and then declared “that I can imagine no greater destruction of the personality I know as Friedrich Nietzsche than to find him one day clothed and in his right mind,[31] and sitting at the feet of Jesus.” The opposite, that I had this insight before I heard Jesus’ words (which I had read many times before), makes me feel stupid and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!15 And the prophet here was none other than the Lord Himself!

Granted, some of my stupidity and slowness of heart to believe is attributable to the fact that what I am believing now is contrary to my religion and even to my own religious mind. This confirmation bias is one of many that helps me to gain the courage to stand up to my religion and my own religious mind and say: “No, I would rather be wrong trusting Jesus’ words when I stand before Him in judgment, than right trusting yours.”

Having said that, I think it’s important to point out that John limited the terms antichrist, false prophets and deceivers (πλάνοι, a form of πλάνος) to those who do not confess Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh,16 to people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh.17 These are not terms John threw out at brothers and sisters who are slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. The resurrected Jesus described us as, You foolish people ( ἀνόητοι).18 The Greek word ἀνόητοι is a plural form of the adjective ἀνόητος: “uneducated, low intelligence, unintelligent, lacking understanding; unwise, not thought on, unheard of; foolish, senseless.”

I’ll continue with this in another essay. A table comparing 2 John 1:7 in the NET and KJV follows.

2 John 1:7 (NET)

2 John 1:7 (KJV)

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist! For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

2 John 1:7 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 John 1:7 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 John 1:7 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ὅτι πολλοὶ πλάνοι ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, οἱ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί· οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καὶ ὁ ἀντίχριστος οτι πολλοι πλανοι εισηλθον εις τον κοσμον οι μη ομολογουντες ιησουν χριστον ερχομενον εν σαρκι ουτος εστιν ο πλανος και ο αντιχριστος οτι πολλοι πλανοι εισηλθον εις τον κοσμον οι μη ομολογουντες ιησουν χριστον ερχομενον εν σαρκι ουτος εστιν ο πλανος και ο αντιχριστος

1 Mark 8:16b (NET) Table

2 Mark 8:15b (NET)

3 1 John 2:23b (NET) Table

4 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐξῆλθον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εισηλθον (KJV: are entered).

5 1 John 4:1 (NET)

6 Matthew 12:30 (NET)

8 Ibid.

10 Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, 1975, “Reception and controversy,” E. O. Wilson

11 “God and religion,” E. O. Wilson

13 John 12:31 (NET)

14 John 12:32 (NET)

15 Luke 24:25b (NET)

16 1 John 4:2, 3 (NET) Table

17 2 John 1:7 (NET)

18 Luke 24:25b (NET)

The Day of the Lord, Part 5

This is a continuation of my consideration whether my assumption that Jesus called Judas Iscariot υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας (NET: the one destined for destruction) is like Jesus’ disciples’ discussion about having no bread1 after He said: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”2

Paul wrote (2 Thessalonians 2:1-6 NET):

Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction ( υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας) [Table]. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God [Table]. Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you. And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time.

The interpretation of many of the Church Fathers was summarized in Meyer’s NT Commentary:

The apocalyptic teaching of the apostle in chap. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 has occupied Christians of all times, and has been very variously interpreted. A chief distinction in the interpretations consists in this, that this Pauline prediction may be considered either as that which will be fulfilled in the near or more distant future, or as having already received its fulfilment.

I. The Church Fathers belong to the representatives of the first view…They correctly agree in considering that by the advent (2 Thessalonians 2:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:8), or the day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2), is to be understood the personal advent of Christ for the last judgment and for the completion of the Messianic kingdom. Also it is correctly regarded as proved, that the Antichrist here described is to be considered as an individual person, in whom sin will embody itself…The restraining power by which the appearance of Antichrist is delayed, is usually considered to be the continuance of the Roman Empire (τὸ κατέχον) and its representative the Roman emperor ( κατέχων).

And thus the “Who is the Antichrist?” guessing game began. There isn’t anything intrinsically wrong with a guessing game, I suppose. Jesus let his disciples guess who would betray Him, during dinner the night He was betrayed.

Matthew 26:21-23 (NET)

Mark 14:18-20 (NET)

Luke 22:21-23 (NET)

John 13:21, 22 (NET)

And while they were eating he said, While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, When he had said these things, Jesus was greatly distressed in spirit, and testified,
“But look, the hand of the one who betrays (παραδιδόντος) me is with me on the table.
“I tell you the truth, one of you will betray (παραδώσει) me.” “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me will betray (παραδώσει) me.” “I tell you the solemn truth, one of you will betray (παραδώσει) me.”
For3 the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed (παραδίδοται)!”
They became greatly distressed They4 were distressed, The disciples began to look at one another, worried and perplexed to know which of them he was talking about.
So they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this.
and each one5 began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray (παραδώσει) me. and one by6 one said to him, “Surely not I?”7 He said8 to them, “It is one of9 the twelve, one who dips his hand with me into the bowl.

The tone of μήτι ἐγώ10 and μήτι ἐγώ εἰμι11 is more difficult to decipher than I expected. It’s not quite the open-ended Is it I? of the King James Version, something I’ve heard preached and intended to contrast here to the suspicion and accusation of the Antichrist guessing game. Surely not I? doesn’t feel quite right either. The Greek question seems to be a more hesitant denial, seeking independent confirmation or assurance from Jesus.

And I considered Luke’s account more closely this time: So they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this.12 The Greek word translated to question (συζητεῖν, an infinitive form of συζητέω) means “to seek together; to discuss, carry on a discussion; to reflect, mediate, contemplate, think.” But it can also mean “to dispute, debate, argue (with someone).”

The Greek words translated one another (πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς) do very little to dissuade me of the idea that Jesus’ disciples may have suspiciously accused one another. Since ἑαυτοὺς is in the accusative case, πρὸς means: “to; toward, in the direction of; beside; against; with; at.” As Luke’s account continued, it added a little more fuel to the fire of these suspicious accusations (Luke 22:24 NET).

A dispute (φιλονεικία) also (καὶ) started among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

Here again, Jesus’ disciples seem to have blocked out his “morbid fascination” with his own death because they “knew” He was the promised Messiah who would overthrow the Roman pagans and restore “faithful” Israel to its rightful place as the head and not the tail.13 Each one seemed most concerned about his own place in that new order.

John recorded a conclusion to the “Who is the betrayer?” guessing game, for his readers if not yet for the other disciples at that moment (John 13:23-26 NET):

One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was at the table to the right of Jesus in a place of honor [Table]. So Simon Peter gestured to this disciple to ask Jesus who it was he was referring to. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved leaned back against Jesus’ chest and asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus replied, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.” Then he dipped the piece of bread in the dish and gave it to Judas Iscariot (John 13:18), Simon’s son [Table].

John was also the one who described antichrist (1 John 2:18, 19 NET):

Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the14 antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. They went out15 from us, but they did not really belong to us because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.

First, John affirmed that ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται (NET: antichrist is coming). The Greek verb ἔρχεται is a singular form of the verb ἔρχομαι in the present tense. A note in the Koine Greek Lexicon explained: “The present is sometimes used with the force of the future.” Whether this is one of those times is a matter of interpretation, since John continued: καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν (NET: so now many antichrists have appeared).

The Greek verb γεγόνασιν is a 3rd person plural form of γίνομαι in the perfect tense. “The basic thought of the perfect tense,” according to the entry in Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions) on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online:

…is that the progress of an action has been completed and the results of the action are continuing on, in full effect. In other words, the progress of the action has reached its culmination and the finished results are now in existence. Unlike the English perfect, which indicates a completed past action, the Greek perfect tense indicates the continuation and present state of a completed past action.

This sounds similar to Paul’s affirmation that the man of lawlessnessthe son of destruction16will be revealed in his own time. For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work.17 John proceeded to characterize the many antichrists.

1. They went out from us

This was ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν or ἐξῆλθον in Greek. The difference is insignificant: ἐξῆλθαν and ἐξῆλθον are both 3rd person plural forms of ἐξέρχομαι. (The latter might also be understood as a 1st person singular form.) I assume that ἡμῶν (NET: us) refers to the visible church generally. But John may have meant visible church leaders or even apparent apostles more specifically.

Consider how he began this letter (1 John 1:1-3 NET):

This is what we proclaim to you:18 what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our (ἡμῶν) eyes, what we have looked at and our (ἡμῶν) hands have touched (concerning the word of life—and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce to you [ὑμῖν] the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us [ἡμῖν]). What we have seen and heard we announce to you (ὑμῖν) too,19 so that you (ὑμεῖς) may have fellowship with us [ἡμῶν] (and indeed our [ἡμετέρα]20 fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ).

Is the ἐξῆλθαν or ἐξῆλθον of the many antichrists equivalent to the rebellion21 ( ἀποστασία) of which Paul wrote? I would assume so, unless John’s second characterization of the many antichrists precludes that possibility.

2. …but they did not really belong to us

The Greek here is ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν (literally: “but existed not from us”). I take that to mean that at the time They went out, the many antichrists were not yet born from above, not yet born of the Spirit, not yet bornby God. John continued to explain: because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate (φανερωθῶσιν) that all of them do not belong to us.22

Then John contrasted the many antichrists to his faithful readers (1 John 2:20, 21 NET):

Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all23 know. I have not written to you that you do not know the truth, but that you do know it (αὐτὴν), and that no lie is of the truth.

3. …the antichristdenies the Father and the Son

This led him to another characterization of antichrist, which I assume applies to the many antichrists as well (1 John 2:22, 23 NET).

Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist ( ἀντίχριστος): the person who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also.24

The Greek word translated denies all three times above was ἀρνούμενος, a present participle of the verb ἀρνέομαι: “to say that a statement heard or presented is untrue; to deny (the value of or validity of); to contradict, disavow, reject, abnegate, refuse, disown; to refuse (to do); to repent.” If you had asked me sometime before I became an atheist if I denied that Jesus is the Christ or if I denied the Father and the Son, I would have said “no.” And as far as I understood it, that was true.

I denied his “value” and “validity” all day every day, however, not out of any particular malice but, out of ignorance. I didn’t know Him. What I “knew” of imputed righteousness (Romans 4:22-25 KJV) was that it was a figment of God’s imagination, a mind game He played on Himself. Likewise, the righteousness of God without the law (Romans 3:21-24 KJV) was the same divine play pretending. I “knew” the only way to make it real was for me to obey the rules: the laws of the Old Testament, the commands of the New, along with those of my parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, doctors, city laws, county laws, state laws, national laws and on and on and on.

Is that what I was taught? I don’t remember what I was taught. It seems almost impossible to disentangle what I was taught from what I learned, sixty years or so after the fact. Maybe I was stupid, probably I didn’t pay enough attention, perhaps I wasn’t actually born from above just because I said a sinner’s prayer to Jesus so I wouldn’t burn in hell for all eternity when I was five-years-old. I do recall that the adults over me expected me to obey them—immediately.

The fastest way to do that was in my own strength. I expected Jesus to help. But He didn’t help me have my own righteousness derived from the law. And there didn’t seem to be much time or patience afforded to me to figure out how to live by the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness,25 even if I had believed that his righteousness was available to me, or such a way of life was possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

I’ll continue with this in another essay.

Tables comparing Deuteronomy 28:13 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Deuteronomy 28:13 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 26:22; Mark 14:19, 20; Luke 22:22; 1 John 2:18, 19; 1:3; 2:20 and 2:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

Deuteronomy 28:13 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 28:13 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 28:13 (NET)

And HaShem will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of HaShem thy G-d, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them; And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his commandments that I am urging you today to be careful to do.

Deuteronomy 28:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 28:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καταστήσαι σε κύριος ὁ θεός σου εἰς κεφαλὴν καὶ μὴ εἰς οὐράν καὶ ἔσῃ τότε ἐπάνω καὶ οὐκ ἔσῃ ὑποκάτω ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς τῶν ἐντολῶν κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου ὅσα ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον φυλάσσειν καὶ ποιεῖν καταστήσαι σε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου εἰς κεφαλὴν καὶ μὴ εἰς οὐράν, καὶ ἔσῃ τότε ἐπάνω καὶ οὐκ ἔσῃ ὑποκάτω, ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, ὅσα ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον φυλάσσειν καὶ ποιεῖν

Deuteronomy 28:13 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 28:13 (English Elpenor)

May the Lord your God set you up as a head and not as a tail, and you shall then be on top, and you shall not be underneathif you hear the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, to guard and to perform. The Lord thy God make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt then be above and thou shalt not be below, if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, in all things that I charge thee this day to observe.

Matthew 26:22 (NET)

Matthew 26:22 (KJV)

They became greatly distressed and each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?” And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

Matthew 26:22 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 26:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 26:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ λυπούμενοι σφόδρα ἤρξαντο λέγειν αὐτῷ εἷς ἕκαστος· μήτι ἐγώ εἰμι, κύριε και λυπουμενοι σφοδρα ηρξαντο λεγειν αυτω εκαστος αυτων μητι εγω ειμι κυριε και λυπουμενοι σφοδρα ηρξαντο λεγειν αυτω εκαστος αυτων μητι εγω ειμι κυριε

Mark 14:19, 20 (NET)

Mark 14:19, 20 (KJV)

They were distressed, and one by one said to him, “Surely not I?” And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

Mark 14:19 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 14:19 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 14:19 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἤρξαντο λυπεῖσθαι καὶ λέγειν αὐτῷ εἷς κατὰ εἷς· μήτι ἐγώ οι δε ηρξαντο λυπεισθαι και λεγειν αυτω εις καθ εις μητι εγω και αλλος μητι εγω οι δε ηρξαντο λυπεισθαι και λεγειν αυτω εις καθ εις μητι εγω και αλλος μητι εγω
He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who dips his hand with me into the bowl. And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

Mark 14:20 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 14:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 14:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· εἷς τῶν δώδεκα, ὁ ἐμβαπτόμενος μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ εἰς τὸ τρύβλιον ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις εις εκ των δωδεκα ο εμβαπτομενος μετ εμου εις το τρυβλιον ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις εις εκ των δωδεκα ο εμβαπτομενος μετ εμου εις το τρυβλιον

Luke 22:22 (NET)

Luke 22:22 (KJV)

For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

Luke 22:22 (NET Parallel Greek)

Luke 22:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Luke 22:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς μὲν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κατὰ τὸ ὡρισμένον πορεύεται, πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐκείνῳ δι᾿ οὗ παραδίδοται και ο μεν υιος του ανθρωπου πορευεται κατα το ωρισμενον πλην ουαι τω ανθρωπω εκεινω δι ου παραδιδοται και ο μεν υιος του ανθρωπου πορευεται κατα το ωρισμενον πλην ουαι τω ανθρωπω εκεινω δι ου παραδιδοται

1 John 2:18, 19 (NET)

1 John 2:18, 19 (KJV)

Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

1 John 2:18 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 2:18 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 2:18 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν, καὶ καθὼς ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν, ὅθεν γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν παιδια εσχατη ωρα εστιν και καθως ηκουσατε οτι ο αντιχριστος ερχεται και νυν αντιχριστοι πολλοι γεγονασιν οθεν γινωσκομεν οτι εσχατη ωρα εστιν παιδια εσχατη ωρα εστιν και καθως ηκουσατε οτι ο αντιχριστος ερχεται και νυν αντιχριστοι πολλοι γεγονασιν οθεν γινωσκομεν οτι εσχατη ωρα εστιν
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us. 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.

1 John 2:19 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 2:19 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 2:19 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν, μεμενήκεισαν ἂν μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν· ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα φανερωθῶσιν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντες ἐξ ἡμῶν εξ ημων εξηλθον αλλ ουκ ησαν εξ ημων ει γαρ ησαν εξ ημων μεμενηκεισαν αν μεθ ημων αλλ ινα φανερωθωσιν οτι ουκ εισιν παντες εξ ημων εξ ημων εξηλθον αλλ ουκ ησαν εξ ημων ει γαρ ησαν εξ ημων μεμενηκεισαν αν μεθ ημων αλλ ινα φανερωθωσιν οτι ουκ εισιν παντες εξ ημων

1 John 1:3 (NET)

1 John 1:3 (KJV)

What we have seen and heard we announce to you too, so that you may have fellowship with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ). That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:3 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 1:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 1:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὃ ἑωράκαμεν καὶ ἀκηκόαμεν, ἀπαγγέλλομεν καὶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα καὶ ὑμεῖς κοινωνίαν ἔχητε μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν. (καὶ ἡ κοινωνία δὲ ἡ ἡμετέρα μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.) ο εωρακαμεν και ακηκοαμεν απαγγελλομεν υμιν ινα και υμεις κοινωνιαν εχητε μεθ ημων και η κοινωνια δε η ημετερα μετα του πατρος και μετα του υιου αυτου ιησου χριστου ο εωρακαμεν και ακηκοαμεν απαγγελλομεν υμιν ινα και υμεις κοινωνιαν εχητε μεθ ημων και η κοινωνια δε η ημετερα μετα του πατρος και μετα του υιου αυτου ιησου χριστου

1 John 2:20 (NET)

1 John 2:20 (KJV)

Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

1 John 2:20 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 2:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 2:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου |καὶ| οἴδατε πάντες και υμεις χρισμα εχετε απο του αγιου και οιδατε παντα και υμεις χρισμα εχετε απο του αγιου και οιδατε παντα

1 John 2:23 (NET)

1 John 2:23 (KJV)

Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

1 John 2:23 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 2:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 2:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)

πᾶς ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν υἱὸν οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει, ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει πας ο αρνουμενος τον υιον ουδε τον πατερα εχει πας ο αρνουμενος τον υιον ουδε τον πατερα εχει

1 Mark 8:16b (NET) Table

2 Mark 8:15b (NET)

3 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὅτι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And).

4 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οι δε (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

5 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἷς preceding each (KJV: every one), while the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτων (KJV: of them) following every one (NET: each).

7 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και αλλος μητι εγω (KJV: and another said, Is it I?) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

8 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αποκριθεις (KJV: answered and) preceding he said. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

10 Mark 14:19

11 Matthew 26:22

12 Luke 22:23 (NET)

13 Deuteronomy 28:13 (NET)

14 The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding antichrist. The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

16 2 Thessalonians 2:3b (NET) Table

17 2 Thessalonians 2:6b, 7a (NET)

18 NET note 1: The phrase “This is what we proclaim to you” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the English. The main verb which governs all of these relative clauses is ἀπαγγέλλομεν (apangellomen) in v. 3. This is important for the proper understanding of the relative clauses in v. 1, because the main verb ἀπαγγέλλομεν in v. 3 makes it clear that all of the relative clauses in vv. 1 and 3 are the objects of the author’s proclamation to the readers rather than the subjects. To indicate this the phrase “This is what we proclaim to you” has been supplied at the beginning of v. 1.

20 I assume that John used a different word here for our (ἡμετέρα, a singular form of ἡμέτερος in the 1st person) to include his readers in the fellowshipwith the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, rather than to limit that fellowship to visible church leaders or apostles, actual or apparent.

21 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (NET) Table

22 1 John 2:19b (NET)

23 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πάντες here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παντα (KJV: all things).

24 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει (NET: The person who confesses the Son has the Father also) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

25 Philippians 3:9 (NET)

Antichrist, Part 2

Before I could write about Lars von Trier’s movie, I had to return to what John the Apostle had to say about antichrist (ἀντίχριστος).[1]  1 John 2:3-6 served as a preface and point of departure for that study.

Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments.  The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.  But whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love (ἀγάπη)[2] of God has been perfected (τετελείωται, a form of τελειόω).[3]

In other words God’s ἀγάπη, when it is perfected, empowers me to keep his commandments.  For this is the love (ἀγάπη) of God: that we keep his commandments, John penned later in the same letter.  And his commandments do not weigh us down, because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world.[4]  Or as Paul said, ἀγάπη is the fulfillment of the law,[5] and, the one bringing forth in you both the desire (θέλειν)[6] and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.[7]

God’s ἀγάπη is perfected in me by faith: we have come to know and to believe the love (ἀγάπην, another form of ἀγάπη) that God has in us.  God is love (ἀγάπη), and the one who resides in love (ἀγάπη) resides in God, and God resides in him [Table].  By this love (ἀγάπη) is perfected (τετελείωται, a form of τελειόω) with us[8]  Not only the ἀγάπη but the faith was supplied by God—But the fruit of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (πίστις)[9]—if I had but gotten out of his way.  My religious mind stumbled over John’s statement, The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.[10]

I thought I could avoid the stigma of being called a liar and prove myself true by obeying—first the law then Paul’s definition of love—in my own strength.  I set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing![11]  A note in the NET on the phrase love of God (1 John 5:3 NET), reads: “Once again the genitive could be understood as (1) objective, (2) subjective, or (3) both.  Here an objective sense is more likely (believers’ love for God) because in the previous verse it is clear that God is the object of believers’ love.”  What is far more obvious to me now is that my love for God was not sufficient to keep his commandments, and all my efforts to do so did weigh [me] down, when compared to being buoyed up by the fruit of his Spirit.

Still, I had received the desire (θέλειν) to keep his commandments, though God’s love was not yet perfected in me.  For I want (θέλειν) to do the good, Paul lamented in Romans, but I cannot do it.[12]  My friends’ desires, on the other hand, did not suddenly change.  And nothing I said mattered to them.  Their ongoing sinful behavior tormented me.  Why don’t they see? I wondered.

Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues who believed in you,[13] Paul replied when the Lord had said to him, Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.[14]  And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, Paul continued, I myself was standing nearby, approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.[15]  It seemed to me that since someone like I was had changed (repented) that everyone should change.  By this we know that we are in him, John wrote.  The one who says he resides in God ought (ὀφείλει, a form of ὀφείλω)[16] himself to walk just as Jesus walked.[17]

There is nothing wrong with translating ὀφείλει ought“We have a law, and according to our law he ought (ὀφείλει, a form of ὀφείλω) to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God!”[18] religious leaders said of Jesus.  But with my predilection for proving myself—“what I could do for God”—I need to remember that to owe is the primary meaning of ὀφείλει:  Now if [Onesimus] has defrauded you of anything, Paul wrote Philemon, or owes (ὀφείλει, a form of ὀφείλω) you anything, charge what he owes to me.[19]  My religious mind has used ought to turn John’s statement on its head.  I have believed that anything but absolute conformity on my part to walk just as Jesus walked is proof that I am not in him and do not reside in God, despite the fact that a sense of obligation, that I owe this to Him, has been with me since I believed.  My friends did not think they owed this to God, or anyone else, simply because I began to believe.

Children, it is the last hour, John wrote, and just as you heard that the antichrist (ἀντίχριστος) is coming, so now many antichrists (ἀντίχριστοι, a form of ἀντίχριστος) have appeared.  We know from this that it is the last hour.  They went out (ἐξῆλθαν, a form of ἐξέρχομαι)[20] from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained (μεμενήκεισαν, a form of μένω)[21] with us.  But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.[22]  And I think 1 John 2:3-6 has more to do with the antichrists’ point of departure—They went out from us—than any geographical or institutional location.

To sense the obligation to walk just as Jesus walked while being imperfect in God’s love is a state of dynamic tension.  Though I didn’t realize it at the time, seeking to obey the law or Paul’s definition of love in my own strength was a way to ease that tension.  After all, no one, not even Jesus, could expect me to be as perfect as He is in my own strength.  I was completely aware that I was easing that tension when I deliberately abandoned my obligation to walk just as Jesus walked because “it didn’t matter what I did, because I was forgiven and because I was not under law but under grace” (as some of my new friends interpreted and preached the Apostle Paul).

Still, He always brought me back from the latter excursions:  Now as for you, John wrote, the anointing that you received from him resides (μένει, another form of μένω)[23] in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you.  But as his anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie.  Just as it has taught you, you reside (μένετε, another form of μένω) in him.[24]  If you love me, Jesus said, you will obey (τηρήσετε, a form of τηρέω) my commandments.  Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him.  But you know him, because he resides (μένει) with you and will be in (ἐν)[25] you.[26]

The former excursions (though less like excursions and more like my lifestyle) were a bit more intractable.  After all, wasn’t God pleased by my noble efforts to keep the law or Paul’s definition of love?   Who is the liar, John wrote, but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.  Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either.  The person who confesses the Son has the Father also.[27]

I didn’t deny Jesus with my mouth.  I honored Him with my lips.  But in my heart I rejected the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness in favor of my own righteousness derived from the law[28] or Paul’s definition of ἀγάπη.  I was certainly hearing some of the things I’ve written about here.  I did attempt from time to time to trust Him with MY righteousness.  It wasn’t that I was better somehow at it than He was.  It was that I demanded 100% compliance from Him (e.g., from me when He was in charge) but I was much more lenient with myself when I took control.

Dear friends, John continued, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.[29]  For me now this means more than paying lip service to Jesus.  Does the spirit encourage me to trust God’s credited righteousness, to rely on the fruit of his Spirit?  Or does the spirit encourage me to turn back to my own ways, striving in my own strength to keep his commandments?

Again John wrote of antichrist: But now I ask you, lady (not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but the one we have had from the beginning), that we love one another.  (Now this is love: that we walk according to his commandments.)  This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus you should walk in it.  For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh.  This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!  Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for, but receive a full reward.[30]

John wrote his own ode to the love that fulfills the law (1 John 4:7-19 NET).

Dear friends, let us love (ἀγαπῶμεν, a form of ἀγαπάω) one another, because love (ἀγάπη) is from God, and everyone who loves (ἀγαπῶν, another form of ἀγαπάω) has been fathered by God and knows God.  The person who does not love (ἀγαπῶν, another form of ἀγαπάω) does not know God, because God is love (ἀγάπη).  By this the love (ἀγάπη) of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him.  In this is love (ἀγάπη): not that we have loved (ἠγαπήκαμεν, another form of ἀγαπάω) God, but that he loved (ἠγάπησεν, another form of ἀγαπάω) us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, if God so loved (ἠγάπησεν, another form of ἀγαπάω) us, then we also ought (ὀφείλομεν, another form of ὀφείλω) to love (ἀγαπᾶν, another form of ἀγαπάω) one another.  No one has seen God at any time.  If we love (ἀγαπῶμεν, another form of ἀγαπάω) one another, God resides in us, and his love (ἀγάπη) is perfected (τετελειωμένη, another form of τελειόω) in us.  By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God.  And we have come to know and to believe the love (ἀγάπην, another form of ἀγάπη) that God has in us.  God is love (ἀγάπη), and the one who resides in love (ἀγάπη) resides in God, and God resides[31] in him [Table].  By this love (ἀγάπη) is perfected (τετελείωται) with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love (ἀγάπη), but perfect (τελεία, a form of τέλειος)[32] love (ἀγάπη) drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears punishment has not been perfected (τετελείωται) in love (ἀγάπη).  We love (ἀγαπῶμεν, another form of ἀγαπάω) because he loved (ἠγάπησεν, another form of ἀγαπάω) us first.

Though Paul didn’t use the word antichrist he described a similar phenomenon of a religious person in whom God’s love is not perfected (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NET).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love (ἀγάπην, another form of ἀγάπη), I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love (ἀγάπην, another form of ἀγάπη), I am nothing.  If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love (ἀγάπην, another form of ἀγάπη), I receive no benefit.

The meaning (in words) of ἀγάπη does not come from an understanding of a word in the Greek language, but from the following (1 Corinthians 13:4-13 NET):

Love (ἀγάπη) is patient, love (ἀγάπη) is kind, it is not envious. Love (ἀγάπη) does not brag, it is not puffed up.  It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.  It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love (ἀγάπη) never ends.  But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside.  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when what is perfect (τέλειον, another form of τέλειος) comes, the partial will be set aside.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love (ἀγάπη).  But the greatest of these is love (ἀγάπη).


[3] 1 John 2:3-5a (NET)

[4] 1 John 5:3, 4a (NET)

[5] Romans 13:10b (NET)

[7] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

[8] 1 John 4:16-18a (NET)

[9] Galatians 5:22 (NET)

[10] 1 John 2:4 (NET)

[11] Galatians 2:21 (NET)

[12] Romans 7:18b (NET)

[13] Acts 22:19 (NET)

[14] Acts 22:18 (NET) Table

[15] Acts 22:20 (NET)

[17] 1 John 2:5b, 6 (NET)

[18] John 19:7 (NET)

[19] Philemon 1:18 (NET)

[22] 1 John 2:18, 19 (NET)

[24] 1 John 2:27 (NET)

[26] John 14:15-17 (NET)

[27] 1 John 2:22, 23 (NET)

[28] Philippians 3:9 (NET)

[29] 1 John 4:1-3 (NET)

[30] 2 John 1:5-8 (NET)