The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
2 John
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.
Now
2 John
The apostle John is often referred to as the Apostle of
Love. He is that beloved disciple of Jesus Christ who in addition to his
three epistles also wrote the Gospel of John and the great Book of Revelation
concerning the events of these last days and beyond. In that Book of Revelation,
in chapters two and three, John records what Jesus has to say to the 7
Churches which, by the way, are all alive and well today, for they are
all present at the return of Messiah. However, of those 7 Churches only
two are found to be without fault. They are the church of Smyrna and the
church of Philadelphia. The reason those two churches are in good standing
with Christ is because they know and "keep His Word", the truth, and they
teach that truth, especially the truth concerning the kenites, the sons
of Cain, the antichrists John told us about in his first epistle.
The reason we bring this to your attention is that most
scholars seem to be somewhat ambivalent as to whom John wrote this second
epistle. One of the greatest Christian scholars of all time, Dr. E.W. Bullinger
writes the following in his introductory commentary to 2nd John in the
Companion Bible on page 1878:
"The Second Epistle is addressed 'unto the elect
lady and her children', and some have understood a certain church and it's
members. Alford, however, gives good grounds for believing that an individual
is meant."
You will discover from the context of this epistle that it
is quite clear that to whomever it is written they have the Truth dwelling
in them and they have Love for one another which they have known
from
the beginning. There is really only one group of people in these last
days who have both of those characteristics, God's elect of the churches
of Smyrna and Philadelphia, a name that even means "brotherly love".
2 John
1:1
The elder unto
the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only,
but also all they that have known the truth;
Our elder brother John, apostle of love and truth, has written
this short letter of instructions to the "elect lady", the chosen woman,
and her children. Those children are the "little children" John spoke of
in his first epistle who have known the love of God even from the beginning,
an identity phrase we will discuss later in this study. Those children
are the lady's, mother Israel's, "sons and daughters" of these last days,
of this final generation of the fig tree, who are right now bringing forth
the truth of God's plan and His love, in love, to this froward generation.
They are spoken of by the prophet Joel who was quoted by Peter on that
first Pentecost Day in Acts 2:17 who we quote today:
Acts
2:17
And it shall
come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
These young men and women understand (see) the visions and
the dreams that the prophets saw and recorded for us concerning these last
days. Not only that, these children even see those visions coming to pass
before their very eyes exactly as they are written, exactly as their present
elder teachers have envisioned those dreams coming true. How fortunate
we are to be alive at this time, for without a doubt this is the most exciting
time to live in the history of mankind. This is the generation that is
right
now witnessing the fulfillment of all those prophecies and signs given
to occur just before the return of Jesus Christ. Do you know what they
are? You should, because Jesus Christ, the Word of God, has foretold us
all things. Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all
things." And if you have absorbed His Word then that truth dwells in you,
and will so forever.
2 John
1:2
For the truth's
sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
How does that truth come to dwell in us? The answer is "Through
abiding in Him, which means to abide in His Word. That is what sanctifies
(sets apart) God's elect. If you do not have the Word of God abiding in
you, meaning you are Biblically illiterate because you do not study His
Word, then you do not have Truth abiding in you, because you see, His Word
is Truth!
John
17:17
Sanctify them
through thy truth: thy word is truth.
It is that truth dwelling in us that gives us the ability
to discern the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of
error perpetuated by the traditions of men. You know the saying, "You are
what you eat." Well, that applies to spiritual food as well, which is what
your daily bread is. When you study and absorb truth, the Word of God,
it nourishes you and becomes part of you and your spirit becomes one with
His.
2 John
1:3
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.
Truth and Love are the two characteristics that set apart
God's elect and in particular the church of "brotherly love" in these end
times. Did you know that John emphasizes "truth" more than any other apostle.
In fact he refers to "truth" 10 times in his first epistle, 5 times in
this second epistle and 6 times in his third epistle, which is more than
it is referred to in all of Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined. John, the
disciple whom Jesus loved, knows that without truth you cannot fully know
the true love of God.
[4]
I
rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have
received a commandment from the Father.
The commandment from the Father is to walk in His truth.
Of course you have to know it first, right?
[5]And
now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto
thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one
another.
To "beseech" is "to entreat" or "desire of". John is
not telling us something we do not already know. Whenever God's elect hear
the phrase "from the beginning" their ears perk up, for it has special
meaning and significance to them because they know the Word of truth. They
know of their calling from the beginning, even from before the foundation
of the world as Paul wrote in Ephes. 1:4 "According as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:"
2 John
1:6
And this is
love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That,
as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
It is written in Revelation chapter three that those who
are of the church of Philadelphia do keep His commandments, i.e. they keep
His Word. Here it is: (the subject from vs. 7 is the church of Philadelphia)
Rev.
3:10
Because thou
hast
kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth.
Because they know the truth they will not be tempted by the
tempter, Satan the antichrist, when he is cast to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9).
You see, to know the truth, to know God's Word, is to have the "seal of
God" in your forehead, i.e. in your mind. Those who do not have the seal
of God in their foreheads will be deceived and seduced by antichrist, the
false messiah, and his locust army, those angels who are cast out with
him in Rev. 12:7-9. In Rev. 9:4 we read concerning that seal: "And it was
commanded them [Satan's army] that they should not hurt the grass of the
earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but
only those men
which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."
One of the important truths that distinguish God's elect
and the children of the church of Philadelphia along with her sister church,
Smyrna, is that they know and they teach who the kenites are. The word
"kenite" means "son of Cain", who was the offspring of Satan as a result
of the seduction of mother Eve in the fig grove. (Note:
If you are not familiar with what happened in the beginning, in the garden
of Eden, then log unto and read the book of
"Genesis" on this americanwisdomseries web site. You'll be glad you did.)
John warns us of those kenites, the antichrists, in this
second epistle:
2 John
1:7
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.
The kenites have deceived most Christians into
believing
that they, the kenites, are God's chosen people. Worse yet, they have
those
of the true house of Israel believing they are gentiles. (Note: If you
do not know where the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel dwell today, then get a
copy of the booklet, "The Abrahamic Covenant", by E. Raymond Capt. you
can purchase it from www.artisanpublishers.com)
you can also open the following links.
Let's check out what the church of brotherly love and
truth knows regarding these deceivers who deny Jesus is the Messiah:
Rev.
3:7
And to the angel
of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy,
he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no
man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
These Christians know the true lineage of David and also
those who claim to be of his son Judah, but are not.
Rev.
3:8
I know thy works:
behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for
thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast
not denied my name.
Again, God's elect, His children, keep His commandments,
His Word, and they are never afraid to speak the truth.
Rev.
3:9
Behold, I will
make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are
not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before
thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
The kenites are liars, plain and simple, but since most Christians
do not know the Parable of the Fig Tree, which Christ specifically told
them to learn in Mark 13 and Mat. 24, they do not know who is of Judah
and who isn't! They haven't "a clue" much less "the key" of David! The
sad part is, because they abide not it the truth, neither do they know
the false messiah from the True Messiah. They will be tempted and deceived
by the tempter.
So be careful and stay in His Word and believe Him! Believe
what is written and documented in the Word of God. If you listen to what
men teach you without trying the spirits as John instructed us in his first
epistle, you will be deceived and led astray, guaranteed! John tells us
to hang on and hang in there:
2 John
1:8
Look to yourselves,
that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive
a full reward.
The crown of eternal life at the first resurrection is your
full reward. This is the same instruction given to those of the church
of Philadelphia. Do you see the parallels?
Rev.
3:11
Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown.
You are personally responsible for your own salvation.
Philip.
2:12 says "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." No
preacher or minister is going to answer for you when you stand before Christ,
and you WILL stand before Him. You see, eternal life is not a "right" and
it is not an "entitlement program". Do not think that our Father is going
to buy that liberal garbage spewed forth by so many in this final generation
that it is somebody else's fault. You have access to the Word of God. OPEN
IT!
We now move to another topic: Christian Doctrine. This
is a critically important matter in this final generation and it also sets
God's elect apart from many of our of Christian brothers and sisters who
follow after the traditions of men.
2 John
1:9
Whosoever transgresseth,
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
The Greek word translated "transgresseth" in this verse is
"parabaino" and it means to "go contrary to". There are many
preachers who like to puff themselves up and look real good by teaching
popular "soothing" traditions. Remember, Jesus Christ foretold us concerning
the time just before His return, that MANY would be deceived because they
listen to false Christian preachers and ministers who come teaching other
doctrines (the traditions of men) in His name and NOT the Word of God.
They do not abide in the doctrine of Christ, His Word.
For example, most churches today teach the doctrine of
a woman named Margaret McDonald, who in the year 1830 in Glasgow, Scotland,
dreamed-up what is today known as the Rapture Theory. The most common version
of this teaches that Christ is going to return before the great tribulation
of antichrist and "take away" the church, i.e. rapture them up into the
clouds. It sounds real good but it just isn't so. It is a lie! And then
they tell you, because you are not going to be here during the events of
Revelation (as the theory goes), that you do not need to study the Book
of Revelation. They are really saying that you do not need to "Abide in
Christ", who is the Word of God. All I can say is they are in Big Trouble
when Christ returns and if you listen to them without "trying that spirit",
you are in big trouble too!
Can you understand that if you "abide in your church"
instead of God's Word, and accept the untried, unscriptural traditional
doctrines of men, then you do not really have God! Read 2 John 1:9 again!
The reason is because you will worship antichrist, Satan, the false
god, that beautiful and charsimatic and supernatural archangel, when he
comes here in his glory posing as the true Messiah! Remember that John
told us in his first epistle that "antichrist shall come", not maybe!
And
if Satan already has you eating out of his hand now, while he's only here in spirit, when he arrives in
person as the false messiah, you will believe he is Jesus Christ and he
will clean your clock!
So if you are already in his camp, he has your
number, i.e. he has you "marked" already.
That's right! If you have understanding, eyes to see,
then you can "see" that most Christians already have the "mark of the beast",
which is deception not a tatoo, and yet they do not have the slightest
idea that they are already impregnated with lies, which come from the spirit
of antichrist. You see, if you do not know something, then you do not know
that you do not know it. May the Lord give you eyes to see and ears to
hear.
Therefore, if anyone brings that anti-doctrine "fly away"
stuff into your house or into your church, do not accept it.
[10] If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into
your house, neither bid him God speed:
This does not mean that you cannot entertain or even be friends
with those who believe the Rapture Theory, etc. God's elect are not self
righteous hypocrites. They love all their brothers and sisters which is
one of their characteristics, brotherly love! Just do not endorse idolatrous
beliefs or financially support those who spread forth the doctrines of
men. Why not? Because by giving them your support you are actually sanctioning
doctrine contrary to God's Word and you have therefore become an accessory
to Satan's deception. In other words, you are working for the old serpent.
[11]
For
he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Remember the closing words of John in his first epistle?
"Little children, keep yourself from idolatry" (1 John 5:21).
2 John
1:12
Having many
things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust
to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
Actually, it will not be long before we speak to our beloved
brother John face to face and our joy will be full forever and ever!
[13]
The
children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.
Some scholars, such as Alford whom Dr. Bullinger made reference
to, believe that the non-mention of the "lady" herself here seems rather
to favor the hypothesis that a church is meant. Again, if you have eyes
to see and ears to hear there is certainly no need to hypothesize because
as they say, "If the shoe fits, wear it!"
The word "sister" in Greek is "adelphe", the feminine
of "adelphos" which means brother, from which we get the word "Philadelphia".
adelphos, ad-el-fos', Greek 80; from Greek 1
(a) (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb); a brother (literal
or figurative) near or remote [much like Hebrew 1 ('ab)] :- brother.
Dear Christian,
All the children of the church of brotherly love (and
her sister Smyrna too) do greet you.
Amen
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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