The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
1
John chapter 2
Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our American Wisdom Series studies:
#1.
Our
commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding
of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may
or may not be correct. #2.
The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew
text has some words which were given different translations at different
places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what
they think God meant to say.
For example:
According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew
word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to
pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for
some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That
sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth,
doesn't it? Gen. 1:2 And the earth
was
(became) without form, ... Having said that,
let us continue with our "studies".
These studies contain knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully
and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.
May the Holy Spirit be your only guiding light. Sincerely, John RhineRevelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
John 15:26
But when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John
16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He
shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto
you.
1
John chapter 2
The Epistles of John are very enlightening and extremely
important to Christians in these last days, especially to God's elect as
we shall see, for one must have a thorough understanding of the difference
between "light" and "darkness" concerning these times, even between the
children of light and the children of darkness!
So far John has made it quite clear that Jesus Christ,
the Word of God, is THE Light, which means that there is no other Light!
Where does that leave us stand against all the "Interfaith" proponents
in these last days? We shall discuss this in detail in some of our subsequent
studies, but so far what John teaches does not sound very "Politically Correct", does
it? So before John goes into the in-depth details of this subject he wants
God's elect to be reminded of their place among ALL the children of God,
i.e. among all mankind!
To that end, we had just learned from John in our last
study that if we say we have not sinned then we make God a liar and His
Word is not in us. How could it be when the Word of God says we are all
sinners?
1 John
1:10
If we say that
we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
There is a difference however in being a sinner, such as
one who falls short even if it is many times, and being what is defined
as an "habitual sinner" which is one who continues to sin while remaining
indifferent to the consequences, i.e. does nothing about it like "confessing
it" to Him who has the power to forgive! Remember what John said
in 1 Jn. 1:9? We are forgiven, i.e. become sinless, ONLY... "IF we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness."
Let's begin chapter 2.
1 John
2:1
My little children,
these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
First of all, we must understand to whom "these things" John
is writing are addressed! You see, John is writing specifically to the
"Little Children". This phrase in the Greek language is a term of endearment
and as the Companion Bible points out, it is used "7 Times" in this epistle.
Those of you with an understanding of Biblical numerics know that "7" is
the number of Spiritual Perfection which lets those who have eyes to see
and ears to hear know that this is specifically addressed to God's Elect.
Let's take a quick look at the characteristics of these "little children"
in this 2nd chapter:
[12]
...
little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's
sake.
[13] ...
little children, because ye have known the Father.
[18]
... 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.
[28]
... little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we
may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at his coming.
Here is a breakdown of what we have concerning these "little
children":
[12-13] These "dear ones" have known the Father (even
"from the beginning", a phrase we will see often in this chapter), and
we know that God's elect were "justified" before the foundation of this
world, i.e. the destruction of the first earth age, according to Romans chapter 8.,
[18] These "little children" of "the last time" KNOW that
"the antichrist" is coming" and who his little helpers are, even his offspring,
according to the parable of the tares and the parable of the fig tree,
"WHEREBY they KNOW that we are in the last days"! No other generation could
actually document the end times. They could only speculate.
[29] They know to "Stay in His Word" (abide in Him) because
they KNOW that those who do not abide in Him, i.e. those who are Biblically
illiterate, will not have the "confidence" to remain virgins and consequently
they will be as the first woman "taken" in the field, i.e. they will be
seduced by the soon coming antichrist and will be so ASHAMED at Christ's
(the true Bridegroom's) coming, when, as it is written, they will wish
"the mountains to fall on them" rather than face Him (Lk. 23:30, Rev. 6:16).
Therefore, seeing that we are in the last days, if you
are one of God's Elect, a "little one", then pay very close attention to
these letters of John for as we have seen they are specifically written
to you.
With that in mind, let's re-read verse 1:
1 John
2:1
My little children,
these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
"Dear God's Elect, do not blatantly and habitually transgress
the laws of God". (John will write in vs. 3:4 that "sin is the transgression
of the law"). The phrase "that ye sin not" means to "habitually" sin which
is really to sin without regard, i.e. without repentance.
We KNOW that there will be times when we fall short and
do things "which we would not", else we deceive ourselves (vs. 1:8), i.e.
lie to ourselves as liars. The apostle Paul was well familiar with falling
short and not meeting the expectations of ourselves as Christians. Read
in Romans chapter 7 what he has to say on the subject. Here is a summary
of it:
Romans
7:19
For the good
that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Yeah Baby! I can relate to that! Oft times I don't do what
I should and oft times I do what I should not!
The point is: We all need to mature in the Word, i.e.
grow up and accept the fact that we are not perfect. We are still sinners
and we will continue to screw-up until our "little silver cord is parted"
(Eccl. 12:7) and we are released from this sinful flesh. However, until
that time we must strive to do the best we can and try not to sin. But
as John says in verse 1, if we do sin then we know that Jesus Christ, our
Comforter, sits at the right hand of the Father and He is able and willing
to forgive us our sins IF we ask and don't habitually continue in
them without confessing them.
Hey, God's elect know all that, don't they? Yes they do,
BUT
John makes it known that these "little ones" had better understand this
also:
1 John
2:2
And He is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.
We as God's elect in these last days, are reminded here by
the apostle John that Christ did not shed His precious blood to pay the
price just for our sins, just for you and me, but ALSO for ANYONE ELSE
in the Whole World Wide Community (WWW.COM) who will believe in Him and
confess their sins to Him! That includes all races, colors,
and creeds of ALL those who have lived and died in the past, all those
who are living now, and all those who are yet to be born! It is extremely
important that we keep this in mind else our light may go dim, as we shall
see.
Note: "Propitiation" simply means atonement. In other
words, Jesus Christ was the unblemished sacrificial Lamb of God whose blood
was shed to pay the price for all our sins. He is therefore the propitiation
for our sins.
1 John
2:3
And hereby we
do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
It is one thing to say that you believe in Jesus Christ and
that you fellowship with Him but it is an entirely different matter to
KNOW that you KNOW Him, with NEVER a DOUBT! How is that possible?
Simply abide in His Word, Fellowship with Him, be a DOER, and Keep His
Commandments.
If you do not do that... well... you are kidding yourself
as in lying to yourself! In other words, you are a liar, because you do
not really know Jesus Christ. Didn't you know that Jesus Christ is the
Word of God?
[4]
He
that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him.
This is in contrast to "keeping His Word" in the next verse.
You see, if you will keep His Word, which is to abide in it (study it),
which is to fellowship with the Lord, then you will grow and become "mature"
(which is what the word "perfected" in the next verse means) and
you will cease from being an habitual sinner. You cannot be both an habitual
sinner and have the truth remain in you, i.e. without repentance there
is no forgiveness!
[5]
But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby know we that we are in Him.
You must mature in the Word and you will come to know Him
personally through that fellowship and His love and compassion and willingness
to forgive will grow in you. If you do not fellowship with Him through
His Word then you will never get to know Him and He will never get to know
you! Got it? That is why Christ will say to those church going Christians
who have listened to men all of their lives instead of fellowshipping with
Him, i.e. studying "His Word", "And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:23).
They didn't keep His word and mature!
1 John
2:6
He that saith
he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Hey, you may have to take some spiritual punches to the jaw
and withstand some persecution and suffer for righteousness sake if you
decide to walk the walk and keep His commands!
[7]
Brethren,
I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye
had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have
heard from the beginning.
Brethren, I am not giving you some brand new revelation here.
You have known the things I am writing to you from the beginning, i.e.
this is basic Christianity 101.
However, it is precisely because you are NOT in
darkness (next verse), i.e. because you "little children" already know
the truth, which "thing" is true in you, that I am writing this to you!
[8]
Again,
a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you:
because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
Therefore, if you have come out of darkness and into His
Word then this has special meaning for you.
Here it is:
1 John
2:9
He that saith
he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
Doesn't everyone know that you cannot be a Christian and
hate your brother? Now stop for a minute!
Remember that this is written to God's elect
and so it has a much deeper meaning than what appears on the surface. First
of all the word "hate" means to "love less by comparison" and the object
of the "loving less" is a brother, not an enemy! Who would you love a brother
less than? The answer is YOURSELF!
If you think for one moment that just because you claim to
have the light in you, that you are in the know concerning God's truth,
that you are a chosen "little one", that you are any better than our brothers
and sisters who still walk in darkness, you are sadly mistaken and you
yourself are "in darkness even until now"! Christianity and the love of
God does not work that way. God's elect do not consider themselves above
others, as elitists! Matthew 23:11 "But he that is greatest among you shall
be your servant." But there is also another aspect to "hating" your brother
and that is that you do not love him! Sound strange? It shouldn't!
Did we not just read that Christ was the propitiation
for ALL, not just us? You see, the love of God actually "constrains" us
(2 Cor. 5:14), i.e. compels us to want to help our brothers and sisters,
not to keep our light under a bushel or to remain unto ourselves. Our brothers
and sisters are all God's children and it is our Father's desire that NONE
of them perish but that ALL come to repentance. That should be our desire
also. That is why He is so patient and longsuffering!
2 Peter
3:9
The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but
that all should
come to repentance.
How do you look upon people of other faiths and how do you
look upon our brothers or sisters who are part of other churches or sects
or religious groups? They may still be blinded and still walk in darkness
(but for the grace of God there go I), but we are not to look down on them
because of their ignorance for then we walk in darkness along with them.
That is one reason why you have never heard this ministry discuss or even
answer questions about another named church, religious group, or ministry.
It is not God's way!
We need not even tell a brother that he shouldn't attend
a church that teaches the any-moment rapture theory! We should be mature
enough in the Word to say to him "Hey, have you ever read 2nd Thessalonians
chapter 2 where Paul says that antichrist, who is Satan disguised as Jesus,
will come first before we gather back to the Lord"? You see, IF a person
begins to "fellowship with Christ" through His Word he or she will easily
figure out where he or she belongs!
1 John
2:10
He that loveth
his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling
in him.
The Greek word translated "love" in this verse is "agapao"
which is a Godly love, a love of patience and of service, not an emotional
personal attachment, i.e. affection towards, as in the Greek word "phileo".
As Dr. Bullinger points out concerning "Love" in his "Critical Lexicon
and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament", Kregel Publications,
that the love of "Agape" does not even require the presence of "Phileo".
That
is right! You can love someone by feeding him truth for instance or just
doing what is right by him and you may not even particularly like that
individual!
1 John
2:11
But he that
hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth
not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Do not be blinded in complacency concerning your election,
"dear one"! Do not be led down the path of darkness by ignoring your brother,
which is to "hate" him, because it may turn out you just "think" you know
where you are going! You see, if you haven't loved your brother, or even
invited a "stranger" in, then you haven't loved Jesus Christ. Where was
your light? Hiding under some basket? Surely you have read Matthew 25:33-40
and understood the spiritual analogies written there, i.e. that "meat"
is nourishment from the Word of God and "drink" is from the living water
of life!
Nevertheless, we hope you stick around for the remainder
of these short epistles of John. He is just getting started with some very
valuable practical knowledge that we need to have in these last days.
He will also sum up this matter of "loving vs. hating" your brother when
we get to the end of the 4th chapter. Knowing that, who can wait? So let's
peek ahead.
1 John
4:20
If a man say,
I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
If you say you love (agape) and serve God, and you do not
love (agape) and serve your brother who God loves very much, you are a
liar! How so? Because in not loving your brother you have not loved God!
Surely you have read Matthew 25:41-46! John continues:
[21]
And
this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his
brother also.
Here is a commandment from Him! We are to keep His commandments,
right? So how mature a Christian are you? How much have you fellowshipped
with Jesus Christ, the Word of God, to understand this commandment we are
to keep? Has it been long enough to know what it means to "love your brother"?
If you think it means to be affectionate towards him (phileo), then start
this study over!
What will you take for your soul? Absolutely nothing,
you say! Well, John has some words of wisdom for us in this second chapter
of his first epistle concerning the destiny of God's elect with the tempter,
the soon coming antichrist. You may find it very useful which of course
is why our Father had John write it.
We now resume our study in the second chapter where the
apostle John, the writer of the Book of Revelation and the also Gospel
bearing his name, is going to get very specific in identifying who he is
writing to! Our understanding of this is paramount to understanding what
it is he has to say and why. Therefore he will tell us twice for emphasis,
even in two different tenses to let us know there has been a "shift in
time", even to "the last time".
1 John
2:13
I write unto
you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write
unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto
you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
John is not saying he is writing to different age groups
or really even to different levels of maturity, though in part they exist.
No, these are not age classifications nor do they pertain to gender but
rather they are descriptions and characteristics of God's elect, both men
and women, i.e. all the "dear little ones".
[14]
I
have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is
from the beginning. I have written unto you,
young men, because
ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome
the wicked one.
This is to whom John "has written": It is to God's elect
"in the last times" (vs. 18),
( 1) who are fathers, i.e. elders in the Word
some of whom have sown many seeds and taught many children, and who have
known Him from the beginning, (2) who are strong as young men ("your
young men shall understand visions") in the Word, even as the watchman
EZEK-I-EL (God-my-Strength) is strong because he ate the entire "scroll"
and digested it so it "abided in Him", and (3) who have overcome the wicked
one.
So if you are one of God's elect here is what John has
to say to you:
1 John
2:15
Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
That almost sounds too elementary to be singling out those
who are mature and strong in His Word, i.e. God's elect, to say this to,
doesn't it? The elect know their first priority is to love God and His
Word, i.e. seek first the kingdom of God. But John has a purpose for telling
us this and he now defines "all that is the world".
[16]
For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world.
You can pretty well classify "all that is in the world" into
one of these three categories. You see, John is about to tell us in verse
18 something God's elect already know, like from Mat. 24:24 and 2 Thes.
2:3 for instance, that THE antichrist is coming to town and even now there
are many antichrists. God's elect also know that Satan will come and try
seduce the virgins (Christians) who are waiting to marry the true Bridegroom.
But do you know how he will do that? Yes, God's elect know he will claim
to be Jesus Christ, but is that it?
No, I'm afraid not which is why we have this wonderful
epistle of John to wake us up and get our attention. There is nothing new
under the sun and those who know how it was in the beginning, i.e the first earth age, know
that is also how it will be in the end. Furthermore, Satan knew Jesus Christ
knew who he (Satan) was, but that did not stop him from trying to tempt
Him with "all that is in the world", those things that John just defined
for us. Now let's think for a moment: If Satan went after Christ who knew
who he was, what makes us think he won't come after us? That's a no-brainer...
he will... so we best pay attention to what John has to say in this epistle.
Let's recap all that is in the world:
1. Lust of the flesh
2. Lust of the Eyes
3. Pride of Life
These are very powerful "things" and very tempting to flesh
men and women and Satan knows it AND his children know it too! Oh how the
kenites are masters at using these "tools", along with murder, to achieve
their objectives.
You will find in Matthew chapter 4 that Satan used all
three of these when he tried to tempt Jesus Christ after He had fasted
40 days in the wilderness and was very hungry. However, in each attempt
Satan used the Word of God in making his appeal. The problem was he twisted
the scriptures just enough to make them appear to say something which they
did not. You should make a study of this temptation to gain a clearer understanding
of the "subtleties" of the old serpent, the Devil. Remember, Gen. 3:1 says
that the serpent "is more subtil than any living human being on earth".
When you read the account in Matthew chapter 4 you will
find that Satan first went after the Lust of the flesh, which means the
"desires" or "cravings" of the flesh. After 40 days of fasting Christ's
flesh was certainly desiring some food and Satan tried to use that to his
advantage in tempting Him. How about you? What kinds of things and buzzes,
etc., does your flesh desire? Well, we won't go into all of that because
if you are one of God's elect, you know all too well. Just make note of
the fact that Satan moves quickly when we are at our "weakest moments"
just as he did with Messiah's hunger!
Satan also went after the "Lust of the Eyes" when he showed
Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered Him great wealth and power.
Many a good man and woman has been corrupted by money and power and ego
(Pride of Life). You see, it begins with just a "little compromise" to
accommodate the fulfilled desire and before you know it you end up like
Slick Willy!
Satan also appealed to the "Pride of Life", for each time
he said to Jesus "If Thou be the Son of God" then you should be able to
do this. Again, read the account for yourself but do not be surprised to
hear someday, "If you are one of God's Elect, then"...
There is perhaps another aspect to this that should be
considered since John has written this to the "little children". Have you
considered Job, a type of God's elect who suffered persecution? What did
Satan use to try to "lead him astray" from our Father? Let's see, he was
afflicted with boils (flesh), lost his home and all his possessions (material
things), and was subjected to twisted council and debasement (Pride
of Life) by his three ignorant preacher friends.
The question is: "What is there in health or sickness
or the desires of the flesh, or in wealth or poverty of material things,
or debasement or elevation of pride (ego) that would cause you to take
that first step of compromise with the Word of God? What or How Much will
you take for your soul? See that you are not one of them who is seduced
by the things that are of this world, for all that is in this world is
but temporary and will soon pass away.
[17]
And
the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will
of God abideth for ever.
It is written that antichrist will see to it that many of
God's elect are persecuted and hated because they are uncompromising Christians.
But "hang in there" and stand firm with the Gospel Armor on (Eph. 6) for
your crown awaits you. It will take a little endurance to make it to the
end, but endure we must and we shall!
Matthew
10:22
And ye shall
be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end
shall be saved.
Again, John wants us to be aware of the MO (Methods of Operation)
of Satan, THE antichrist, because it is the same MO his grand children, the descendants of Cain, use to
tempt God's children now as it was in the beginning. Remember, even in
the garden of Eden Satan twisted God's Word when he said to Eve "Hath God
said" and then he tempted her with "all that is in the world", all the
bad fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, i.e. all that
Satan could dish out.
Genesis
3:6
And when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food (the
lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant
to the eyes (the lust of the eyes),
and a tree to be desired (the pride of life)
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and
gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Yep, Eve took the bait. She was subtly seduced by Slick Satan, called the Serpent!
Knowing this is how it was from the beginning, the apostle
Paul was also concerned about the "seduction" in these last days.
2 Cor.
11:2
For I am jealous
over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that
I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
[3] But
I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty,
so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Again, Satan the serpent, "is more subtil than any living
human being" (Gen 3:1). He is slicker than the slickmeister himself.
AND NOW BOYS AND GIRLS, DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? IT'S
HOWDY DOODY TIME!
1 John
2:18
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.
It is the last time and the horn
is about to blow for the 6th time. Yes, we know that it is the last time, don't we? And
John knows that we know it. These epistles of the apostle John are written
by him specifically for "the last time". He wrote them to God's elect concerning
the seduction of antichrist, the father of lies, and Satan's own children,
those "liars" who are not of us, not of the tribes of Israel nor of Judah
even though they claim to be "God's chosen people".
1 John
2:19
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.
Even from the beginning, the very first child of the Devil
himself, Kayin in Hebrew (Cain), the father of the Kenites, went
out from us. Cain was not of us for he was of his father the Devil
just as his offspring were at the time of Christ and just as they are today.
Note: The "explanation" of the Parable of the Tares in
Matthew 13 documents the "seed of the serpent" as being the children of
Satan. It was between his seed (Cain's) and the woman's seed (Abel, then
Seth) that the controversy began in this earth age and enmity was placed
between those two seed lines. That is why you will not find Cain listed
in Adam's genealogy in chapter 5 of Genesis, for Cain was not Adam's son.
Cain's genealogy is listed in chapter 4 of Genesis.
This same apostle John who wrote this epistle also wrote
in his Gospel concerning those kenites, the sons of Cain. You will find
in chapter 8 that Jesus Christ confronted the kenites "head on" after they
claimed to be of Judah, i.e. of Abraham's seed. Here is what He said
to the kenites, those scribes and Pharisees who claim their father is the
same Father as yours:
John
8:44
Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
I believe John covered what all those lusts are, right?
...
He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
Cain was the first murderer (as many of his children to follow
would be too) and he did not "abide in God's Word", in the Truth.
...
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The kenites have their anointing, which is the spirit of
lies, from their father, the "father of liars".
1 John
2:20
But ye have
an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
You of God's Elect "have an unction" which simply means you
are anointed by the Holy Spirit of God and you are His "dear ones". And
you know "all these things" John is writing to us, correct? Has John revealed
anything that you fathers, mature elders in the Word who have even sown
many seeds, and you young men who are strong (as EZEK-I-EL) in the Word,
don't already know? John is now going to tell you himself that he is not
writing this letter, i.e. he has not written it, to you to
tell you something you do not already know!!! Hello, come in!
[21]
I
have not written unto you because ye know not the truth,
but because ye know it, and that
no lie is of the truth.
"Lies" are those "things" which are spoken by the "liars"!
Jesus said, "Beware of the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees" and He
meant their lying doctrines! By the way, John will soon tell us in very
straight forward language exactly why he has written "these
things" which you already know when we get to the 26th verse. Here is what
we will find:
1 John
2:26
These things
have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
John is writing because of the kenites who seduce the children
of God who are to remain virgins! Again, if you are one of God's
elect with the anointing of the Holy Spirit then you already know what
happened in the garden concerning the "seduction" of Eve, and who it really
was that crucified Jesus Christ, and who those Jews are in Rev. 2:9 and
3:9 that call themselves of Judah but do lie and are of the synagogue of
Satan! You "little ones" are well aware of the presence of the kenites,
but you see, John is writing to you because "it is now the last time" and
you better be aware how the seductions are "going down" and know that YOU
will be one his main targets for those fiery darts spoken of by Paul in
Ephesians 6. We will find out later in this epistle that we have nothing
to fear from any of this as long as we abide in His love, for love has
no fear. Just understand that the "seduction" will be the same as it always
has been, even from the beginning!
Note: Remember also how quickly the USS COLE, "The Determined
Warrior", was blind-sided by the enemy when it was "low on fuel (oil)"
and headed into a foreign port.
Ok John, how about telling us more about who these seducing
"liars" are!
1 John
2:22
Who is a liar
but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth
the Father and the Son.
denieth = arneomai, ar-neh'-om-ahee, Greek
720; perhaps from Greek 1 (a) (as a negative particle) and the middle of
Greek 4483 (rheo); to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject,
abnegate
:- deny, refuse.
"Abnegate" means to renounce! We are talking about someone
who "works against" Christianity and not only rejects Jesus Christ but
renounces Him.
1 John
2:23
Whosoever denieth
the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the
Son hath the Father also.
If someone "denieth" Jesus Christ as the Son of God, then
his or her father is NOT almighty God, the Father of Christ, the God of
Christianity. That "liar" has another father who is the father of liars.
Do you understand what John is saying here? Their rock is not our
Rock (Deut 32:31). Their god is not our God. Their father is not our Father.
Antichrist is not Jesus Christ.
[24]
Let
that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If
that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also
shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
Do not be spiritually seduced, as Eve physically, seduced in the beginning.
Be wiser than
the serpent and understand his slick (subtil) seducing methods and endure
through
the tribulation of antichrist unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you do, you shall receive an unbelievable reward which He has promised
you!
1 John
2:25
And this is
the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
[26] These
things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
Again, who are the lying seducers? They are antichrist, Satan,
and his children and grand-children, the children of darkness.
1 John
2:27
But the anointing
which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any
man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye
shall abide in him.
Since God's elect have received the anointing of the Holy
Spirit they do not need any of man's teachings, i.e. the traditions of
men, because they have His Word. So stick to the same truth that you began
to learn from beginning when that anointing took place, when you received
the Holy Spirit and your eyes were opened and you began to fellowship with
Jesus Christ, the Word of God, which is Truth. That same Holy Spirit will
continue to teach you as long as "you shall abide in Him, i.e. stay grounded
in His Word.
[28]
And
now, little children, abide in Him;
That's right "dear ones" of God, stay in His Word. Continue
to fellowship with Him!
...
that,
when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before
Him at his coming.
We have absolutely, positively, no doubts whatsoever, who
is who! We know the difference between light and darkness, between the
children of the day and the children of the night, between the truth of
Father's Word and the lies of their father's traditions. We shall remain
steadfast in His Word and we shall in no wise be ashamed when Christ returns
because we will still be spiritual virgins and will not have been seduced
by antichrist.
1 John
2:29
If
ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness
is born of him.
The promise is the promise of eternal life. It is those who
do the will of God who shall receive it. Everything else in this world
"shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements [evil rudiments
- the lusts thereof] shall melt with fervent heat...(2 Peter 3:10)."
1 John
2:17
And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of
God abideth for ever.
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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