2 JOHN 1
OPENS WITH...WALKING IN THE TRUTH
JOHN MACARTHUR says it well of 2 John. “Let me give you just a brief survey of what the Bible says about divine truth. God is the God of truth, according to Deuteronomy 32:4, meaning He is the source of it. Christ is the truth and full of truth, John 14:6, John 1:14. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth in John 14:17. The Bible is called, in Daniel 10:21, the Scripture of truth. We are saved by the truth. We are sanctified by the truth. We love the truth. We are judged by the truth. We are set free by the truth. We worship in the truth. We serve God in the truth. We rejoice in the truth. We speak the truth. We think on the truth. We desire the truth. We manifest the truth. We hear the truth. We obey the truth. Most comprehensively, we walk in the truth. That is to say we conduct our lives in the realm of the truth. It determines how we think and how we speak and how we act. We walk in the truth. He lives in the truth. In every sense he is informed and controlled and motivated by the truth. John has written this brief letter to call us to that same truth in a world of lies and liars. John gives clear exaltations to live in the truth. And contrast to that, we exist in a realm of lies presided over by the arch-liar, Satan, who is the father of lies.”
Satan dominates his subjects so that they fail to understand and to believe the truth.
Satan so dominates the world that men do not speak the truth.
IN FACT, Jeremiah 9:5 says, "They are skilled at teaching their tongues to lie." Hosea 4:1, the prophet says, "There is no truth in them."
Isaiah 59:4 says, "They do not plead for truth.
Jeremiah 9:3 says, "They are not valiant for the truth.”
First Timothy 6:5 says, "They're destitute of truth."
Second Timothy 3:8 says, "They resist the truth."
Second Timothy 4:4 says, "They turn their ears from the truth."
The UNCONVERTED then are called, in Psalm 58:3, "Those who speak lies." They live in a realm of lies.
They live in a realm of deception and falsehood.
The divine indictment of ALL of the lost, rendered in Romans chapter 1 and verse 25 says, "They exchanged the truth of God for the lie."
That's how people live in the world.
That's how all of us lived in the world before God opened our hearts to understand the truth. You heard it again and again, our own and others testimonies, right?
One deception after another people pursue--one unfulfilling deception after another. Everybody in the world lives in one of these TWO REALMS.
You either live in the realm of the truth, or you live in the realm of lies. The world then is divided into TWO GROUPS: those who live in the truth and those who live in lies.
Now the role of JESUS church is clearly defined in the Bible. One verse sums it up, 1 Timothy 3:15, "The church exists in the world to be the pillar and ground of the truth." “The church exists in the world to be the pillar and ground of the truth.” And if the church ever abandons the truth then it ceases to be the church of Jesus Christ.
AND WE HAVE STUDIED AND REMEMBER, These Christians in John and Paul’s day would have understood that because in the city of Ephesus was this massive edifice built to Diana, the god of the Ephesians.
Diana sounds like a lovely name, and indeed it is, but this particular god was the grossest kind of deity imaginable. In fact, an animal and a very ugly one at that.
But the temple was massive. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, along with the hanging gardens of Babylon, and the pyramids, and others.
And the great feature that struck you when you saw the Temple of Diana was the pillars. There were 127 of them: massive pillars, solid marble, carved and then overlaid with gold, and then studded with jewels. When you see the ruins of an ancient temple today, you often see them all as white. There was a time when many of them were overlaid with gold and studded with jewels. This was one, 127 pillars--every pillar was donated to the building of the temple by a king and bore the name of that king. And it was all of those kings paying their homage to the goddess and sometimes god, Diana.
Now these pillars held up the roof, which was an immense structure made of stone. Underneath the pillar were the hedraioma, which means “the support.” As I said, the ground it's called, but this is the hedraioma, the support. It references the foundation. So you had this massive stone foundation, supporting 127 solid marble pillars, holding up this heavy roof. That whole edifice, that whole massive structure with its foundation and its pillars and its roof was a testimony TO Satan. It was a testimony to lies, like the Vatican. It was a monument to deception.
AND THINK ABOUT THIS, ALL THE WORLD, LOST, SAVED, WISE, EDUCATED OR NOT, CAN SEE A PHOTO OF THE VATICAN AND RECOGNIZE IT...SO JUST LIKE EPHESUS HAD THE TEMPLE OF DIANA, WE TODAY HAVE THE MONSTROUS VATICAN, WHICH IS ALSO A MONUMENT TO DECEPTION.
Verses 1-2 tells us it is written to the elect lady and her children.
“THE ELDER, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever.”
The writer of this book identifies himself as THE ELDER. Presumably, his first readers knew exactly who he was, and from the earliest times, Christians have understood this was the apostle John writing.
John the apostle, who was now a very old man, generally supposed to be about ninety, and therefore uses the term presbyter or elder, not as the name of an office, but as designated his advanced age. He is allowed to have been the oldest of all the apostles, and to have been the only one who died a natural death.
To the elect lady and her children…
Some believe this was an individual Christian woman John wanted to warn and encourage by this letter. While others believe the term might be a symbolic way of addressing this particular congregation.
The phrase is, however, more likely to be a personification than a person - not the church at large but some local church over which John’s jurisdiction was recognized, her children being the church's individual members.
AND WE KNOW CONSIDERING THIS TIME JOHN LIVED IN, John probably did NOT DIRECTLY name himself, the elect lady or her children by name because this was written during a time of SEVERE PERSECUTION. Perhaps John did NOT want to implicate anyone by name in a written letter. If the letter was intercepted and the authorities knew who it was written to by name, it might mean death for those persons.
Whom I love in truth, and not only I…
Whomever the elect lady was, she was loved by all who have known the truth. If we know and love the truth, we will love those who also know and love the truth - the truth which abides in us also lives in others who know the truth.
We see John quite focused on the IDEA OF TRUTH, as he was in all of his writings. He used the word TRUTH some 37 times in his New Testament writings.
This shows that what binds Christians together is NOT social compatibility or political compatibility or class compatibility. What binds us together is a COMMON TRUTH. This is why truth is important to Christians.
Will be with us forever…
The truth does NOT change. The truth will be true forever, and we will have the truth forever in eternity. Many people today think that the truth changes from age to age and from generation to generation, but the Bible knows that THE BIBLE TRUTH, JESUS TRUTH, IS UNCHANGING AND will be with us forever.
Verse 3 tells us John's salutation to his READERS.
“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”
Grace, mercy, and peace…
John presents a slightly expanded version of the standard greeting in New Testament letters. He did NOT just wish these for his readers; he confidently bestowed them by saying they will be with you from God the Father.
In truth and love…
John can hardly write a verse without mentioning these TWO of his favorite topics. The grace, mercy, and peace God has for us are all given in truth and love. Apart from God's truth and love, we can NEVER really have grace, mercy, and peace.
The Son of the Father…
The apostle still keeps in view the miraculous conception of Christ; a thing which the PERSECUTING Gnostics AND LOST WORLD RELIGIONS, POLITICOS, AND SOCIETY absolutely denied; a doctrine which is at the ground work of our salvation.
The TRUE church, THE FAMILY OF JESUS CHRIST, is the pillar and ground of the truth. It proclaims the truth and the people who are there come to hear the truth. And the truth, of course, is the revealed truth of God. The only truth that we will know is that which God has revealed to us and that, of course, is revealed in the Scripture. It is the solemn responsibility, then, of the church to solely, without wavering, without moving, unshakably uphold that truth.
The TRUE church, THE FAMILY OF JESUS CHRIST, does not author the message of truth, and it alters it only at its own risk. The church is called to be the foundation and the support of the truth. To put it another way, the church has the stewardship of the Scripture. That is our stewardship.
We read so much in the paper about this church and that church.
1. We read all of the things that are going on in the Roman Catholic Church, particularly with the preoccupation of the pope.
2. All the things that are going on in the Anglican church as they ordain homosexual bishops and legitimize same-sex marriages.
3. And all the church leaders meet together.
Those really are not Jesus Christ body, not His church at all. They have...they have really taken the name they are NOT entitled to.
That's the church of Antichrist, not the church of Christ.
The church of Christ upholds the truth; it does NOT tear the truth down; it does NOT destroy the truth. It does NOT mock the Scripture, nor does it substitute something else for it. It does NOT negotiate divine revelation.
The true church has always clung to the truth, always. In the midst of every storm, in the midst of all persecution, in the midst of rejection--whether its enemies attack from the inside or attack from the outside--the true church has ALWAYS clung to the truth. And thousands through its history have paid the price for the truth rather than compromise it or abandon it.
I admit that our challenge is not that we might be killed for the truth. In fact, it probably would be better in terms of holding on to the truth if that were the case because if there were outright KILLING persecution against those who believe the truth, all the hypocrites would disappear. And the only people who would be LEFT would be the people who REALLY are the people of the truth. Persecution would help us to hold on to the truth because the true saints of God would receive the grace TO ENDURE the persecution that comes when the truth is attacked.
We have something far worse than being killed for the truth in the eyes of today’s modern religiosities.
1. We might be rejected by our society for the truth.
2. We might be considered as offensive and divisive.
3. We might be looked at as aliens.
4. We might be vilified or even at best treated with indifference.
5. We might be rejected by those around us.
6. And so, in order to avoid that, we compromise or even set the truth aside that offends.
Verse 4 tells us John's joy to find they are walking in truth.
“I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.”
I have rejoiced greatly…
This is a pastor's heart - to know that his people are walking in truth. While truth is not the only concern of a pastor, it is a great concern; and it is a great comfort for a pastor to see those he loves and cares for walking in truth.
I have found some of your children walking in truth…
John rejoiced because when God's people are walking in truth they also abide in God. The same idea is expressed in 1 John 2:24: “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”
Truth is not only important for its own sake, but also our walking in truth shows we are walking with the Lord.
Verse 5 tells us The commandment to love one another.
“And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.”
I plead with you, lady…
John was NOT too proud to beg on such an important matter; not when it came to something as vital in the Christian life as the commandment that we must love one another.
Not as though I wrote a new commandment…
John knew this was nothing new to his readers (he repeated the theme all through 1 John and his gospel). Yet because it was SO essential, it had to be repeated and used as a reminder.
That we love one another…
The integrity of our Christian life can be measured by our love for one another (as in John 13:35 and 1 John 4:20-21).
Verse 6 tells us SHOWING the love of God.
“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
This is love, that we walk according to His commandments…
If we love God, we will obey His commandments. We do this not because we think His commandments are heavy burdens, but because we see that they are best for us. They are guides and gifts to us from God.
Walk according to His commandments…
Real love will walk this way. Perhaps John warned against those who thought the only important thing in the Christian life was a vague love that had no heart for obedience.
MEYER says it well, "Perhaps you fail to distinguish between love and the emotion of love. They are not the same. We may love without being directly conscious of love, or being able to estimate its strength and passion. Here is the solution to many of our questionings: They love who obey."
Verses 7-9 tells us A WARNING against the presence and dangers of FALSE teachers.
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.”
Many deceivers have gone out into the world…
John was aware false teachers were a danger to the church in his day.
BOICE shows us one of the PROBLEMS and DANGERS Christians faced. "The immediate problem in [2 John] is that of traveling teachers or missionaries. According to Christian ethics ALL WHO PROCLAIMED THEMSELVES TO BE CHRISTIANS, TEACHERS, AND MISSIONARIES who thus traveled about were to be shown hospitality by Christians in the town to which they came."
THE PEOPLE, LOST AND SAVED ALIKE, KNEW OF CHRISTIAN HOSPITALITY AND THEIR BELIEF THAT THEY WERE TO HELP, FEED, AND SHELTER OTHER TRAVELING CHRISTIANS, KNOWN TO THEM OR NOT. THAT WAS A DANGER. THERE WERE THOSE WHO WERE SPIES, CON MEN, AND THE LAZY WHO WOULD COME TO A CHRISTIAN HOME AND TALK THE TALK AND PROCLAIM THEY WERE BROTHERS OR SISTERS IN GOD...WHEN THEY WERE NONE OF THESE THINGS.
This is a deceiver…
John mainly had in mind the danger in his own time, the ADDED danger of those who thought that the Jesus, being God, could have no real connection with the material world. They said that He only had an apparent connection with the material world.
To combat this, John made a plain declaration: we must confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This means Jesus came as a real man in His first coming, but also means He will come as a human being - although glorified humanity, and that added to His eternal deity - a real flesh and blood Jesus will come again to the earth.
This is a deceiver and an antichrist…
Against this false idea of Jesus, John insists those who do NOT confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh are the deceivers and in have the spirit of the antichrist.
John warned us against these antichrists in his first letter (1 John 2:18-23, 4:3). They are those who not only oppose Jesus, but also offer a substitute "Christ."
This spirit of antichrist will one day find its ultimate fulfillment in the Antichrist, who will lead humanity in an end-times rebellion against God.
Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God…
There is nothing noble, sincere, courageous, or admirable in a FALSE Jesus. To deny the Biblical Jesus is ALWAYS to reject the Father and the Son both. John here draws a critical line of truth, over which it is heresy to transgress.
In our own day, we must deal with modern DENIALS of the Biblical Jesus with the same passion John did in his day. Today, with our "scholarly" denials of Jesus and the historical record of the gospels, it is more important than ever to KNOW who the TRUE Jesus is according to the Bible and to love and serve the true Jesus.
Transgresses…
The word transgresses has the idea of "going beyond a boundary." We never go "beyond" the teaching of Jesus, of who He is and what He has done for us. Any one who thinks we have or should go beyond what the Bible plainly says about Jesus transgresses.
MARSHALL says it well of our modern times, "When the teaching of the Bible needs to be supplemented by some 'NEW key' or NEW revelation or MODERN CORRECTNESS to the Bible or by some new revelation, it is a sure sign that 'advanced' doctrine is being put forth by the spirit of antichrist not God at all.."
Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for…
To depart from the true Jesus means you put yourself in jeopardy to lose the things the apostles and other faithful saints worked for. This shows us that it is NOT enough for us to start out right, we must finish in faith to receive a full reward.
Verses 10-11 tells us Instructions for DEALING WITH the false teachers.
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine…
If someone comes to us, denying the true doctrine of Jesus, and promoting a false doctrine of Jesus, John says we should give NO hospitality, NO aid, to the ones who promote their own false version of Jesus. To do so is to SHARE in his evil deeds.
BOICE explains it well, "Suppose the visiting teacher claimed to be a Christian missionary or even a prophet but taught what was clearly false doctrine. Hospitality would demand that he be provided for, but to do so would seem to be participation in the spread of his false teachings. Should he be received or not? NO, NOT EVER."
He who greets him…
John means greets in a much more involved context than our own. In that culture, it meant to show hospitality and give aid. Yet, for the WEAK or NEW BABY believer, it is best if they do NOT even greet (in the sense of speaking to) those who promote a false Jesus (like the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Universalism, New Age, & Muslims).
These words sound severe, but John has NOT lost his love. We must consider these three points:
1. John is not talking about all error, but only error which masquerades as true Christianity.
2. John is not talking about all who hold the error which masquerades as true Christianity, but about those who teach those errors which masquerade as true Christianity.
3. John is not talking about all teachers who err, but those who err in the most fundamental truths, and those who are active in spreading those fundamental errors.
John does NOT mean, AS SOME RIGIDLY AND WRONGLY TEACH, that we should have nothing to do with those who are caught by the cults. As John indicates, we should make a distinction between those who TEACH these Christ-denying doctrines (those who bring this doctrine) and those who merely BELIEVE the doctrines without trying to spread them.
Do NOT receive him into your house nor greet him…
John refers most specifically to NOT allowing these heretical teachers to come into the house, AS MANY CHURCHES WERE HELD IN HOMES DURING THE WORST OF THE PERSECUTIONS where Christians met together and gave these FALSE TEACHERS OF FALSE RELIGIONS the opportunity this would afford them to propagate his errors.
AND THE DIFFERENCE IS UNIQUE TO TRUE JESUS LOVING CHRISTIANS. We see how such [false] teachers were treated in the apostolic Church. They held NO communion with them; afforded them NO support, as teachers; but TRUE JESUS LOVING CHRISTIANS did NOT persecute them.
ALL OTHER MAN-CREATED RELIGIOSITIES, CULTS, AND ISMS OUT THERE HAVE ALWAYS PERSECUTED, IN SMALL AND LARGE WAYS, TORTURES AND MURDERING, OF ANY WHO REFUSED TO ACCEPT AND FOLLOW THEIR OWN RELIGIOSITIES RITES, RULES, AND RITUALS.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SUPPOSED “CHRISTIAN” CRUSADES DOWN THROUGH HISTORY STARTED BY THE CATHOLIC PAPACY, SUPPORTED BY THE RULING POLITICAL FACTION OF THE TIME, THAT CLAIMED TO BE CHRISTIAN CRUSADERS AND CRUSADES, AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES, BUT TO KNOW THEIR TRUE HEART AND TRUE FAITH IS BY READING WHAT THEY DID AND HOW THEY BEHAVED.
AND I AM REMINDED ONCE AGAIN OF WHAT CHARLES SPURGEON SAID, “ONE DEMON WITHIN THE CHURCH, IS FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN ONE THOUSAND DEMONS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.”
THAT BEING SAID, “CHRISTIAN”, AS JESUS CHRIST WALKED IT, THE BIBLE DEFINES IT, AND THE DISCIPLES TEACH IT IS UNIQUE TO LOVING, FOLLOWING JESUS CHRIST, HIS WORD, AND HIS WILL, AND HIS WAY AND HIS COMMANDS. IT IS NOT MARKED BY A BUILDING, A RELIGIOUS LEADER, OR RELIGIOUS SYSTEM CREATED BY MAN...THE TRUE CHRISTIAN COMMON GROUND IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF HIS CHURCH BODY, AND HIS WORD IS THE RULE BOOK, AND SALVATION IN HIM AND THROUGH HIM AND BY HIM ALONE IS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION AND TO ALMIGHTY GOD.
Shares in his evil deeds…
SO WE WHO ARE DEFINED by what we reject as much as by what we accept. In this, some are so open minded that they are empty headed. It is wise to keep an open mind on many things; but one would never keep an open mind about which poisons a person might try. You may say yes to all the right things; but one must also say no to what is false and evil. We need to become good at rejecting what should be rejected.
AND THE BEST WAY TO KNOW THE TRUTH, IS TO READ AND STUDY JESUS WORD...NOT SKIM OVER, READ AN OVERVIEW, OR CHERRY PICK A CHAPTER...BUT TAKE THE TIME AND HAVE THE DESIRE TO KNOW WHAT IT SAYS AND WHAT IT DOES NOT SAY...THAT IS THE ONLY WAY, WE CAN LEARN, DISCERN, AND COME TO KNOW WHAT IS TRUE JESUS TRUTH IN HIS WORD AND WHAT IS FALSE AND LIES AND DECEPTIONS OF MAN WHO IS LISTENING TO AND OBEYING SATAN HIMSELF, WHETHER THEY KNOW IT OR NOT….ANYTHING OPPOSED TO JESUS AND HIS WORD ORIGINATES WITH AND FROM SATAN.
THE GNOSTICS OF JOHN’S DAY BEGAN THE FALSE IDEOLOGY OF BEING A PROGRESSIVE AND ADVANCED THINKER. The Gnostic teachers of the time were claiming that while the gospel of the historic Jesus might be all very well for unenlightened people, they had a profounder knowledge.
In the late 19th Century, the rise of theological liberalism brought forth generations of Christian pastors, leaders, and theologians who DENIED many of the fundamentals of Biblical Christianity. Though it was a broad and varied movement, at its root theological liberalism thought that Christianity had to re-evaluate all its doctrines in the light of modern science, philosophy, and thinking. They REJECTED the idea that a doctrine was true simply because the Bible taught it; it also had to be proved true by reason and experience. They believed that the Bible was NOT an inspired message from a REAL God, but the work of men who were limited by the ignorance and superstitions of their time. For them, the Bible was not either inspired or supernatural. The importance of the Bible and its message was not in its literal or historical truth, but in its changing spiritual message.
Sadly, Germany took the lead in theological liberalism and German philosophers and theologians had a profound impact on British and American Christians. Men like Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and the Tübingen School of Theology, and Adolf Harnack. To promote or support these men or those who believe in or advance their Bible-denying theology is to SHARE in their evil deeds.
Verse 12 tells us John anticipates a future visit.
“Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.”
I hope to come to you and speak face to face…
We must generally sympathize with John's preference for personal, face to face communication rather than the writing of letters - though we are thankful for this letter.
Verse 13 John’s Conclusion.
“The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.”
The children of your elect sister…
Telling us that the elect lady (2 John 1) has an elect sister, and that they both have children does little to identify with certainty who John is writing to. Perhaps all it tells us is that if John used the term elect lady as a symbol for the church, he used it rather loosely (saying that she has a sister and children). The most likely idea is that the elect lady (a particular church) had an elect sister - other "sister" churches from which John brings a greeting.
The children of your elect sister…
This last reference to the elect sister and her children remind us that though we must be on guard against false teachers, the true followers of Jesus are more than just our group. If we allow our desire to defend the truth to make us unloving and intolerant, Satan has won a great victory.
John MacArthur sums up 2 JOHN 1 and the TRUE Christian heart well, “People ask me often, "Do you ever worry about what people think about what you say?" And I can honestly say I do not. Actually the thought does not enter my mind. I'm not trying to be harsh; I'm not trying to be unloving; I'm not trying to be unkind; I'm not trying to ride roughshod over people, either their understanding or their feelings. But, you see, what men think bears very little weight to me. It is not a heavy burden for me. There is a far greater weight that I feel, and it's the weight of the revelation of God. That is a heavy thing to me. The truth of God is very heavy upon me. It is the greatest weight that I feel in my life by far--the glory of God. The Old Testament word for “glory” is the word in Hebrew “weight.” I have a rather heavy view of God and His Word. It weighs heavy on me, and nothing equals the weight of that. Human opinion, popularity--whatever--bears very little weight. It is as a feature compared to the weight of the revelation of God that I feel.
God has exalted His Word to the level of His name, Psalm 138. It is as heavy as God is weighty. And I feel the weight of that, and that is why for me study and preaching is so intense because this is my responsibility to feel the weight of the truth of God and then to dispense it to you. This is my calling. This is not unusual. I'm not alone in this. This is the calling of every man of God, of every teacher of the Bible, of every leader in the church, every pastor, elder. At least this is what the church is about. We are the pillar and foundation of the truth. And it is a weighty matter to me. Nothing is as important to me as divine truth, for it is in divine truth that I know God. It is in divine truth that I know Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, that I understand everything I need to understand that matters.
So apostle John also felt greatly the weight of truth, probably much greater than I do. And he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to give us these little letters, to remind us of the weightiness of the truth, to call us to live in God's truth. And there's something to be said for where this appears in the New Testament. You have two letters--2 John, 3 John--calling us to live in the truth, followed by Jude, which warns us about the liars, followed by the book of Revelation which promises us Jesus is coming back; be ready. It's as if the plan of God was to remind them to live in the truth, warn them about liars, and tell them to hold on to the truth till Jesus gets here. And that's how the New Testament ends. Pretty strategic placement, I would say, of these little letters of the apostle John.”