Fear – Exodus, Part 3

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin

The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Release my people so that they may serve me!”’”¹ This is the seventh plague on Egypt. You are still exalting yourself against my people by not releasing them [Table], the Lord continued. I am going to cause very severe hail to rain down about this time tomorrow, such hail as has never occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now [Table]. So now, send instructions to gather your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person or animal caught in the field and not brought into the house – the hail will come down on them, and they will die! [Table]²

Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared (yârêʼ, הַיָּרֵא) the word of the Lord hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses [Table], but those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field [Table].³ The rabbis who translated the Septuagint used φοβούμενος (a present participle of φοβέω). Jesus told a parable about a judge who neither feared (φοβούμενος) God nor respected people.⁴ But even this judge could be persuaded by a widow’s persistence. I will give her justice, the judge said, or in the end she will wear me out by her unending pleas.⁵ But even after six other plagues happened as prophesied by Moses there were still those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously. The rabbis used προσέσχεν [Addendum 12/26/2025: a form of προσέχω] (hold to), they did not hold to the word of the Lord.

It caused me to consider that those who did not take the word of the Lord seriously were actually hardened. The judge did not fear God but could be persuaded by his own inconvenience. To lose one’s animals and slaves is a major inconvenience. Six out of six plagues would seemingly convince one that the seventh was possible if not likely. Reason alone would persuade one to take precautions at least at the time of day prophesied simply to avoid the greater inconvenience of losing everything. But only those who feared the word of the Lord acted rationally. It gave me the impression that the others believed (though did not fear) that the word was the Lord’s, and acted contrary to his word because it was his word. They were hardened.

The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces [Table]. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was there no hail [Table]. So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty. Pray to the Lord, for the mighty thunderings and hail are too much! I will release you and you will stay no longer.”⁶

Moses promised to pray that the hail cease. But as for you, He said to Pharaoh, and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear (yârêʼ, תִּירְאוּן) the Lord God.⁷ In the Septuagint the rabbis used πεφόβησθε, (afraid). This form was not used in the New Testament.

When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again: both he and his servants hardened their hearts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he did not release the Israelites, as the Lord had predicted through Moses.⁸ Pharaoh certainly believed the word was the Lord’s as a fact, but he did not fear that word. Here I begin to grasp the fear of the Lord as something that is combined with factual acceptance to become New Testament faith, as opposed to dead faith or faith alone.

This fear is obviously not a flight of terror but a conviction to act in accordance with the word (Septuagint: ῥῆμα) of the Lord. In New Testament terms it would be equivalent to the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.⁹ And this is because it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.¹⁰ In a similar sense the New Testament meaning of the fear of the Lord is equivalent to the love of God: 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 [Table]. But whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected.¹¹

Luke used the phrase fear of the Lord in this association with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit: Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace and thus was strengthened. Living¹² in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church increased in numbers.¹³ At first glance Paul seemed to use fear of the Lord in a more fearful sense: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil [Table]. Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people…¹⁴

If I expand the context, however, Paul spoke first of faith: For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.¹⁵ While the natural person clings to this earthly tent for dear life we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.¹⁶ Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose, Paul continued (including by the way appearing before the judgment seat of Christ) is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.¹⁷ So is any of this a cause to be fearful?

Paul continued (2 Corinthians 5:6-9 NET):

Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord – for we live by faith, not by sight. Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him.

And what is this ambition to please him but the fear of the Lord? Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.¹⁸ For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died [Table]. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.¹⁹

And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation [Table]. In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God [Table].²⁰

So before Christ was crucified, rose again, ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit was given to provide this love, this desire and this effort, the Lord cultivated fear to motivate his people: The Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him, and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.”²¹ Perhaps more to the point was Moses’ response to Israel’s fear when God spoke the law at Sinai: Do not fear (yārē’, תִּירָאוּ), for God has come to test you, that the fear of him (yir’â, יִרְאָתוֹ; KJV: his fear) may be before you so that you do not sin.²²

Addendum: March 15, 2026
Tables comparing Exodus 9:27; 9:28; 9:30; 9:34; 9:35; 10:1; 10:2 and 20:20 (20:17) in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Exodus 9:27; 9:28; 9:30; 9:34; 9:35; 10:1; 10:2 and 20:20 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Exodus 9:27 (Tanakh)	Exodus 9:27 (KJV)	Exodus 9:27 (NET)
And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them: ‘I have sinned this time; HaShem is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.	And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.	So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time! The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty.

Exodus 9:27 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 9:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀποστείλας δὲ Φαραω ἐκάλεσεν Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἡμάρτηκα τὸ νῦν ὁ κύριος δίκαιος ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἀσεβεῖς	ἀποστείλας δὲ Φαραώ ἐκάλεσε Μωυσῆν καὶ ᾿Ααρὼν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἡμάρτηκα τὸ νῦν· ὁ Κύριος δίκαιος, ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἀσεβεῖς
Exodus 9:27 (NETS)	Exodus 9:27 (English Elpenor)
Then Pharao sent and summoned Moyses and Aaron and said to them, “Now I have sinned. The Lord is just but I and my people are impious.	And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: the Lord [is] righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Exodus 9:28 (Tanakh)	Exodus 9:28 (KJV)	Exodus 9:28 (NET)
Entreat HaShem, and let there be enough of these mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.’	Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.	Pray to the Lord, for the mighty thunderings and hail are too much! I will release you and you will stay no longer.”

Exodus 9:28 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 9:28 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εὔξασθε οὖν περὶ ἐμοῦ πρὸς κύριον καὶ παυσάσθω τοῦ γενηθῆναι φωνὰς θεοῦ καὶ χάλαζαν καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἐξαποστελῶ ὑμᾶς καὶ οὐκέτι προσθήσεσθε μένειν	εὔξασθε οὖν περὶ ἐμοῦ πρὸς Κύριον, καὶ παυσάσθω τοῦ γενηθῆναι φωνὰς Θεοῦ καὶ χάλαζαν καὶ πῦρ· καὶ ἐξαποστελῶ ὑμᾶς, καὶ οὐκέτι προστεθήσεσθε μένειν
Exodus 9:28 (NETS)	Exodus 9:28 (English Elpenor)
Therefore pray for me to the Lord, and let him put a stop to God’s sounds and hail and fire, and I will send you away, and you will no longer continue to stay.”	Pray then for me to the Lord, and let him cause the thunderings of God to cease, and the hail and the fire, and I will send you forth and ye shall remain no longer.

Exodus 9:30 (Tanakh)	Exodus 9:30 (KJV)	Exodus 9:30 (NET)
But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear HaShem G-d.’–	But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.	But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”

Exodus 9:30 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 9:30 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ σὺ καὶ οἱ θεράποντές σου ἐπίσταμαι ὅτι οὐδέπω πεφόβησθε τὸν κύριον	καὶ σὺ καὶ οἱ θεράποντές σου, ἐπίσταμαι ὅτι οὐδέπω πεφόβησθε τὸν Κύριον
Exodus 9:30 (NETS)	Exodus 9:30 (English Elpenor)
Both you and your attendants—I know that you have not yet come to fear the Lord.”	But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye have not yet feared the Lord.

Exodus 9:34 (Tanakh)	Exodus 9:34 (KJV)	Exodus 9:34 (NET)
And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.	And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.	When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder ceased, he sinned again: both he and his servants hardened their hearts.

Exodus 9:34 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 9:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἰδὼν δὲ Φαραω ὅτι πέπαυται ὁ ὑετὸς καὶ ἡ χάλαζα καὶ αἱ φωναί προσέθετο τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν καὶ ἐβάρυνεν αὐτοῦ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ	ἰδὼν δὲ Φαραὼ ὅτι πέπαυται ὁ ὑετὸς καὶ ἡ χάλαζα καὶ αἱ φωναί, προσέθετο τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν καὶ ἐβάρυνεν αὐτοῦ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ
Exodus 9:34 (NETS)	Exodus 9:34 (English Elpenor)
Now when Pharao saw that the rain had ceased, and the hail and the sounds, he continued to sin and made his heart and that of his attendants heavy.	And when Pharao saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders ceased, he continued to sin; and [he] hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants.

Exodus 9:35 (Tanakh)	Exodus 9:35 (KJV)	Exodus 9:35 (NET)
And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go; as HaShem had spoken by Moses.	And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.	So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he did not release the Israelites, as the Lord had predicted through Moses.

Exodus 9:35 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 9:35 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐσκληρύνθη ἡ καρδία Φαραω καὶ οὐκ ἐξαπέστειλεν τοὺς υἱοὺς Ισραηλ καθάπερ ἐλάλησεν κύριος τῷ Μωυσῇ	καὶ ἐσκληρύνθη ἡ καρδία Φαραώ, καὶ οὐκ ἐξαπέστειλε τοὺς υἱοὺς ᾿Ισραήλ, καθάπερ ἐλάλησε Κύριος τῷ Μωυσῇ
Exodus 9:35 (NETS)	Exodus 9:35 (English Elpenor)
And the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not send away the sons of Israel, according as the Lord said to Moyses.	And the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not send forth the children of Israel, as the Lord said to Moses.

Exodus 10:1 (Tanakh)	Exodus 10:1 (KJV)	Exodus 10:1 (NET)
And HaShem said unto Moses: ‘Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these My signs in the midst of them;	And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:	The Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him,

Exodus 10:1 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 10:1, 2a (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων εἴσελθε πρὸς Φαραω ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐσκλήρυνα αὐτοῦ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ ἵνα ἑξῆς ἐπέλθῃ τὰ σημεῖα ταῦτα ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς	ΕΙΠΕ δὲ Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων· εἴσελθε πρὸς Φαραώ· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐσκλήρυνα αὐτοῦ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ἑξῆς ἐπέλθῃ τὰ σημεῖα ταῦτα ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς (2) ὅπως
Exodus 10:1 (NETS)	Exodus 10:1 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord said to Moyses,”Go in to Pharao. For I made his heart and that of his attendants heavy in order that one after another these signs might come upon them.	And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go in to Pharao: for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that these signs may come upon them; in order

Exodus 10:2 (Tanakh)	Exodus 10:2 (KJV)	Exodus 10:2 (NET)
and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what I have wrought upon Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them; that ye may know that I am HaShem.’	And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.	and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord.”

Exodus 10:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 10:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅπως διηγήσησθε εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῶν τέκνων ὑμῶν καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις τῶν τέκνων ὑμῶν ὅσα ἐμπέπαιχα τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ τὰ σημεῖά μου ἃ ἐποίησα ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος	ὅπως διηγήσησθε εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῶν τέκνων ὑμῶν καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις τῶν τέκνων ὑμῶν, ὅσα ἐμπέπαιχα τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις, καὶ τὰ σημεῖά μου, ἃ ἐποίησα ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος
Exodus 10:2 (NETS)	Exodus 10:1b, 2 (English Elpenor)
that you may account in the ears of your children and to the children of your children how I mocked the Egyptians, and my signs that I did among them, and you will know that I am the Lord.”	in order (2) that ye may relate in the ears of your children, and to your children’s children, in how many things I have mocked the Egyptians, and my wonders which I wrought among them; and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord.

Exodus 20:17 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:20 (KJV)	Exodus 20:20 (NET)
And Moses said unto the people: ‘Fear not; for G-d is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.’	And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.	Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.”

Exodus 20:20 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 20:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς θαρσεῖτε ἕνεκεν γὰρ τοῦ πειράσαι ὑμᾶς παρεγενήθη ὁ θεὸς πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅπως ἂν γένηται ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν ἵνα μὴ ἁμαρτάνητε	καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς· θαρσεῖτε, ἕνεκεν γὰρ τοῦ πειράσαι ὑμᾶς παρεγενήθη ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὅπως ἂν γένηται ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν, ἵνα μὴ ἁμαρτάνητε
Exodus 20:20 (NETS)	Exodus 20:20 (English Elpenor)
And Moyses says to them, “Take courage! For in order to test you God has come to you in order that his fear might be in you so that you do not sin.”	And Moses says to them, Be of good courage, for God is come to you to try you, that his fear may be among you, that ye sin not.

Fear – Exodus, Part 4

Back to Fear – Exodus, Part 5

Back to Fear – Numbers, Part 4

Back to Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Back to Balaam, Balak and the 24,000, Part 1

¹ Exodus 9:13 (NET) Table

² Exodus 9:17-19 (NET)

³ Exodus 9:20, 21 (NET)

⁴ Luke 18:2 (NET)

⁵ Luke 18:5 (NET)

⁶ Exodus 9:25-28 (NET)

⁷ Exodus 9:30 (NET)

⁸ Exodus 9:34, 35 (NET)

⁹ Philippians 2:13 (NET) Table

¹⁰ Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

¹¹ 1 John 2:3-5a (NET)

¹² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the singular πορευομένη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural πορευομεναι (KJV: walking).

¹³ Acts 9:31 (NET) [Table] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the singular ἐπληθύνετο here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural επληθυνοντο (KJV: were multiplied).

¹⁴ 2 Corinthians 5:10, 11 (NET)

¹⁵ 2 Corinthians 5:1 (NET)

¹⁶ 2 Corinthians 5:4 (NET) Table

¹⁷ 2 Corinthians 5:5 (NET) Table

¹⁸ 2 Corinthians 5:11 (NET)

¹⁹ 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 (NET)

²⁰ 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NET)

²¹ Exodus 10:1, 2 (NET)

²² Exodus 20:20 (NET)

Antichrist, Part 2

Posted on April 22, 2013 by admin

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 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 says¹ “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) of God has been perfected (τετελείωται, a form of τελειόω).²

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.³ Or as Paul said, ἀγάπη is the fulfillment of the law,⁴ and, the one bringing forth in you both the desire (θέλειν, a form of θέλω) and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.⁵

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 resides⁶ in him [Table]. By this love (ἀγάπη) is perfected (τετελείωται, a form of τελειόω) with us…⁷ 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)⁸—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.⁹

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!¹⁰ 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.¹¹ 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,¹² 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.¹³ 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.¹⁴ 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) himself to walk just as Jesus walked.¹⁵

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!”¹⁶ 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, charge¹⁷ what he owes to me.¹⁸ 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) 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) with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.¹⁹ 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) 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.²⁰ 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) you [Table].²¹

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 [Table].²²

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 law²³ 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 [Table].²⁴ 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 [Table]. (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! [Table] Watch out, so that you do not lose²⁵ the things we have worked for, but receive²⁶ a full reward.²⁷

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 loved²⁸ (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 anyone²⁹ 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 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) 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 [Table].

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 [Table]. 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 [Table].

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 [Table]. 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 [Table]. 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 [Table]. 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).

Addendum: March 12, 2026
Tables comparing 1 John 2:4; 5:4; Philemon 1:18; 2 John 1:8; 1 John 4:10 and 4:15 in the KJV and NET follow.

1 John 2:4 (NET)	1 John 2:4 (KJV)
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.	He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1 John 2:4 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 2:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 2:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ λέγων ὅτι ἔγνωκα αὐτόν καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ μὴ τηρῶν, ψεύστης ἐστίν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐκ ἔστιν	ο λεγων εγνωκα αυτον και τας εντολας αυτου μη τηρων ψευστης εστιν και εν τουτω η αληθεια ουκ εστιν	ο λεγων εγνωκα αυτον και τας εντολας αυτου μη τηρων ψευστης εστιν και εν τουτω η αληθεια ουκ εστιν

1 John 5:4 (NET)	1 John 5:4 (KJV)
because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith.	For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

1 John 5:4 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 5:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 5:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὅτι πᾶν τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ νικᾷ τὸν κόσμον· καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ νίκη ἡ νικήσασα τὸν κόσμον, ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν	οτι παν το γεγεννημενον εκ του θεου νικα τον κοσμον και αυτη εστιν η νικη η νικησασα τον κοσμον η πιστις ημων	οτι παν το γεγεννημενον εκ του θεου νικα τον κοσμον και αυτη εστιν η νικη η νικησασα τον κοσμον η πιστις υμων

Philemon 1:18 (NET)	Philemon 1:18 (KJV)
Now if he has defrauded you of anything or owes you anything, charge what he owes to me.	If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;

Philemon 1:18 (NET Parallel Greek)	Philemon 1:18 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Philemon 1:18 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἰ δέ τι ἠδίκησεν σε ἢ ὀφείλει, τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα	ει δε τι ηδικησεν σε η οφειλει τουτο εμοι ελλογει	ει δε τι ηδικησεν σε η οφειλει τουτο εμοι ελλογει

2 John 1:8 (NET)	2 John 1:8 (KJV)
Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for, but receive a full reward.	Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

2 John 1:8 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 John 1:8 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 John 1:8 (Byzantine Majority Text)
βλέπετε ἑαυτούς, ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσητε ἃ εἰργασάμεθα ἀλλὰ μισθὸν πλήρη ἀπολάβητε	βλεπετε εαυτους ινα μη απολεσωμεν α ειργασαμεθα αλλα μισθον πληρη απολαβωμεν	βλεπετε εαυτους ινα μη απολεσωμεν α ειργασαμεθα αλλα μισθον πληρη απολαβωμεν

1 John 4:10 (NET)	1 John 4:10 (KJV)
In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.	Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:10 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 4:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 4:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεὸν ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἱλασμὸν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν	εν τουτω εστιν η αγαπη ουχ οτι ημεις ηγαπησαμεν τον θεον αλλ οτι αυτος ηγαπησεν ημας και απεστειλεν τον υιον αυτου ιλασμον περι των αμαρτιων ημων	εν τουτω εστιν η αγαπη ουχ οτι ημεις ηγαπησαμεν τον θεον αλλ οτι αυτος ηγαπησεν ημας και απεστειλεν τον υιον αυτου ιλασμον περι των αμαρτιων ημων

1 John 4:15 (NET)	1 John 4:15 (KJV)
If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God.	Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

1 John 4:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 4:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 4:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ὂς ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃ ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ θεῷ	ος αν ομολογηση οτι ιησους εστιν ο υιος του θεου ο θεος εν αυτω μενει και αυτος εν τω θεω	ος αν ομολογηση οτι ιησους εστιν ο υιος του θεου ο θεος εν αυτω μενει και αυτος εν τω θεω