2 John 7-11: The Elder's Warning
Introduction
Scripture
Outline
2 John 1-3 - Greetings
2 John 4-6 - Walking in Truth & Love
2 John 7-11 - The Elder’s Warning
Purpose of 2 John
John warns the church about antichrists and encourages true Christian hospitality
Main Point
Failure to reject deceivers means participating in their wicked ways
2 John 7 - Antichrist Defined
For many deceivers have gone out into the world,
• pert. to causing someone to be mistaken
Those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.
Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
antichrist, adversary of the Messiah, to appear in the last days
The Greek preposition anti signifies “in place of,” rather than merely “against.” The word antichrist, then, speaks of one who opposes Christ by posing as Him or usurping His place. He opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God; thus, he is called “the man of sin,” “the lawless one,” “that wicked one,” and “the son of perdition” in 2 Thess. 2. The same evil person is called “the little horn” in Dan. 7:8 and the beast out of the sea in Rev. 13. 1 John 2:18 shows that while there are many antichrists, there will come one to whom the title preeminently belongs. He will be aided by the beast out of the land, the false prophet (Rev. 13:11; 16:13), and will finally be destroyed by the spirit of the Lord’s mouth and the brightness of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8), being cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20).
2.3. Johannine Epistles. In the Johannine epistles the antichrist is portrayed as a Spirit (1 Jn 4:3) or collective force for evil in the last days (1 Jn 2:18). The antichrist is plural, representing all those who held erroneous views of the person of Christ and were already manifest in the church at the time of the writing (1 Jn 2:22; 4:3; 2 Jn 7). In this case the antichrists are docetists who did not confess that Jesus the man was the divine Christ come in the flesh. This portrayal of the antichrist as a collective of deceptive false teachers (see Adversaries) already present in the Johannine community relies on the false prophet tradition. This portrayal is an expression of Johannine realized eschatology, in which the age to come is already present (see John, Letters of).
2 John 8 - Commanded to Watch
Watch yourselves,
⑤ be ready to learn about someth. that is needed or is hazardous
So that you many not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.
2 John 9 - Abide
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.
Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
2 John 10-11 - Reject Deceivers
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,
⑤ to include in an experience, take up, receive
Here belongs χαίρειν τινὶ λέγειν (Epict. 3, 22, 64) extend a greeting to someone, since the greeting consists in saying χαῖρε=‘may you prosper’ 2J 10f.
For whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
β. To share, participate in the deeds of others means to be equally responsible for them