Is Truth the standard for preaching in your church?
And is honesty concerning Christ a measure of your hospitality and love of other believers?
Walking in Truth and Love
Now that you are separated to holiness by the risen Jesus Christ,who must a saint believe?
NOT every Rabbi — not every Bishop, any Priest or supposed Prophet; not every emotional pastor or passing spirit-led performance; not the powerful preacher of visionary change.
Many would mislead you.
TheElder of Ephesus and nearby church gatherings of saints in first century Asia Minor had already heard of or encountered many false teachers and their heretical teachings concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
At the time of his final epistle (most likely in the A.D. 90’s), John is the only remaining Apostle. John’s Apostolic authority is unquestionable, as is the Elder’s dedication in witness of the Way, the Truth and the Life of Christ.
Jesus said to him [the Apostle Thomas],
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 ESV
John’s witness of the Truth of Christ Jesus becomes immediately evident in this — the Apostle’s final letter.
III John
The elder
πρεσβύτερος - presbyteros - elder
to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brothers came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.
3 John 1:2-3 NKJV
Γάϊος – Gaius
The Elder receives a letter from his dear friend [agapētos] Gaius responding positively that indeed John hopes to visit these believers personally soon after his response arrives.
Gaius is a common Greek name and he could be:
a Macedonian delegate from Derbe who earlier had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem [Acts 20:4] or
a Corinthian, one of two men baptized by Paul and/or
later, Paul’s host (the Elder or Bishop of Thessalonica) [Acts 18:7]
or possibly yet another Gaius with this common name
Referring to those Gaius leads in his local church John rejoices:
I have no greater joy than these things that I hear of my children walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 – Darby Translation
Friendship Worthy of God
The Apostles Peter, Paul and others had been executed for their faith some twenty years ago in Rome. Many more Christians were constantly martyred in since then throughout the Empire.
The recipient of the Elder’s final epistle recognizes the witness of his hospitality to these evangelists — many who might soon die in witness to the gospel of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Now (sometime around the year of our Lord 90-95), John commends the faithful boldness of his dear (and probably long-time) friend Gaius.
Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church.You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.
3 John 1:5-7 ESV
The Elder is essentially putting his Apostolic seal of approval on the witness of these beloved, specific evangelists (missionaries).
Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
3 John 1:8
DO NOT MISS the lasting long relationship of more than twenty years between the Elder John and Elders of other churches throughout the Roman Empire.
I have written something to the church…
.. but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.
3 John 1:9 NKJV
This is why, if I come, I will remind him of the works he is doing, slandering us with malicious words.
And he is not satisfied with that!
He not only refuses to welcome fellow believers, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church.
3 Epistle of John 1:10 CSB
The Elder has an enemy opposed to Apostolic doctrine and authority.
True saints of Christ will recognize such evil gate-keepers of false faith as an antichrist! And John intends to correct their growing heresy in person with his beloved true Christian friend Gaius.
Yield to Good but Not Evil
Here the Apostle measures this heretical behavior of Diotrephes, who stands against the true gospel of Christ. John advises his faithful friend with this Apostolic standard:
Beloved [agapētos] follow not that which is evil [kakos ], but that which is good.
3 John 1:11a KJV
Before we go forward with John's Apostolic rule, let's make certain that WE the saints of the Church understand both GOOD and EVIL.
κακός, κακῇ, κακόν, the Sept. for רָע (from Homer down), bad (A. V. (almost uniformly) evil);
(morally, i. e.) of a mode of thinking, feeling, acting; base, wrong, wicked: of persons,
universally, of a bad nature; not such as it ought to be.
John applies this to this wicked gate-keeper of his hometown church, comparing his own standard of judging who belongs in the Church and who does not to the true hospitality of of the Truth of Christ as the Shepherd of flocks, with the Apostles of Jesus as true witness of the Gospel and teachings of our Lord.
A previous warning concurrently in circulation
Although the later canon of Scripture places Revelation after this epistle (and that of Jude), some historical scholarship suggests that the Apocalypse of John may have been written prior to this brief letter — the Elder’s third epistle. Perhaps you might recognize a type of Diotrephes in the message to the angel of Ephesus:
“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
“and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake [that of the risen Lord Jesus Christ] and have not become weary.
a primary word; “good” (in any sense, often as noun):—benefit, good(-s, things), well.
This comparison between evil and good by the Lord Jesus calls believers to faithfulness imitating God our Father in heaven.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Gospel of Matthew 7:11 NKJV
John in his gospel also quotes Jesus concerning good.
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voiceand come out,
those who have done good to the resurrection of life,
and those who have done evil [φαῦλος phaûlos, “foul” or “flawy”, i.e. (figuratively) wicked:—evil]
to the resurrection of judgment.
Gospel of John 5:26-29 ESV, with a definition of evil
Deciding between Friends
John writes to a mutual brother faithful to the Lord Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles. But how does the Elder (and Apostle) advise his dear friend to lead?
Short answer: enroll a second brother in the Lord known to be true to the truth of the Gospel.
Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
3 John 1:12 NIV
John writes briefly with all the Authorithy of Apostolic leading of the Church. He enlists allies grounded in truth. And most of all John emphasizes that he and others must confront this controversy in person (lest it get out of hand at the leading of this wicked so-called christian).
I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
The beloved Elder closes his final Apostolic Epistle with a seemingly common word of distant greeting; but it is indeed a peace that we do not understand and practice too little as the saints saved by the risen Christ Jesus.
is between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord; the Messiah’s peace, the way that leads to peace (salvation); the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is; the blessed state of devout and upright men after death — as well as: a state of national tranquillity; exemption from the rage and havoc of war
Do the saints of your church struggle with this?
The Ephesians, to whom John writes did!
And the Elder adds a call to reciprocal love as well:
Our friends [Philos] salute you.
Most certainly John would recall the words of Jesus from more than sixty years ago — again and again in correspondence as well as personal encounters with his fellow believers…
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.G5384 Ye are my friends,G5384 if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Gospel of John 15:13-14 KJV
.. I have called you friends;G5384 for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Gospel of John 15:15b – the words of JESUS to His Apostles
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
John 15:17
Philos, friend, obeys Christ’s commands of love and truth. Our salutation to each other is that of love and peace.
Greet the friends by name. Again, a mutual and personal greeting between beloved friends, this translation of ‘greet’ using the same Greek word as ‘salute.’
Certainly those receiving the Elder’s third epistle looked forward to Johns upcoming personal visit, God-willing. From the Apostle’s very lips they will receive the truth of Christ and follow The Way prescribed by John and the Apostles of JESUS.
Would your church welcome the Elder IF the Apostle John and his friends were coming to challenge an errant teacher or preacher of your local gathering?
It was a tragic punishment of the Jews to be exiled, it would become a tragic consequence for a church which would later abandon truth for control in a medieval world.
He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth.
I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.
Gospel of John 19:35; Third Epistle of John 1:4 CSB
Now, the Apostle has outlived the other Eleven, Paul, beloved family and many other first generation Christians.
The Elder John wrote the three short Epistles we are studying about ten years ago, but today we are looking ahead at John’s brief revelation to seven churches.
I suppose you may not have thought of the introduction to 'The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John' as — SEVEN pointed epistles to 7 different churches.
~ A.D. 80’s – 90’s – a Cultural context for JOHN’s 10 Epistles
The Greco-Roman world at the close of the first century A.D. was in a state of cultural, philosophical, and religious ferment. Religious syncretism and inclusivism.. ‘the combination of various ideas and beliefs from different sources to form new or aberrant religions. This was the age of developing mystery religions, the age of the occult, the age of the proliferation of Gnostic sects.’
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary 1-3 John
Throughout Italy and the broader empire, new challenges arose: major earthquakes in Campania, famine and pestilence in Rome, and volcanic eruptions ranging from Mount Etna to the cataclysmic destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum by Vesuvius in AD 79.
The Julio-Claudian dynasty—embodied by Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—witnessed both grand construction projects (like the amphitheater at Alba Fucens) and notorious episodes of tyranny and scandal. .. After Nero’s fall in AD 68,civil war engulfed the empire until Vespasian founded the Flavian line, ushering in reconstruction efforts (such as the Colosseum) and culminating in the more stable governance of Nerva and Trajan by century’s end.
source: RomanHistory.net
an A.D. First Century culture of 7 Asian churches
Do you remember from back in Acts of the Apostles how the Spirit, at first, had instructed Paul NOT to preach in Asia?
Acts on Mission to Macedonia
And do you recall that Ephesus (in Asia) became a major city for Christian worship where later Paul had appointed Timothy as Pastor of the Ephesian Church?
PLACE AND TIME OF WRITING.
–The best authorities among the Fathers state that John was exiled under Domitian (IRENAEUS [Against Heresies, 5; 30]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA; EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.20]). VICTORINUS says that he had to labor in the mines of Patmos. At Domitian’s death, A.D. 95, he returned to Ephesus under the Emperor Nerva. Probably it was immediately after his return that he wrote, under divine inspiration, the account of the visions vouchsafed to him in Patmos ( Rev 1:2, 9 ). However, Rev 10:4 seems to imply that he wrote the visions immediately after seeing them.
The Disciple who knew the Lord best refers to GOD THE FATHER simply, as God.
to show His servants
that is, the saints or followers of JESUS, bond-servants redeemed by His blood on the Cross
—things which must shortly take place.
The Elder writes this same introduction to ALL seven churches who John has shepherded in the Way of Christ Jesus.
What he means by ‘shortly‘ is much debated in the immediacy of what these beloved saints have endured through the end of this A.D. first century. — Or perhaps God intends this epistle of revelation more millennially for all saints of every age.
Christ makes certain that Christians know the cost of faith until the unknown Day of His return.
He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:1b-2 NIV
The risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ sends an apokalypsis via and angelic messenger to John on Patmos — and the Elder to these seven churches consequently, by his apostolic duty, sends out this same ‘disclosure of divine things formerly unknown’ and testifies to the truthfulness of what is to follow.
It makes little difference if John had opportunity to send it from Patmos with a human messenger much in the way the Apostle Paul sent epistles to his churches OR if the Elder would have written it later upon John's return to Ephesus.
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” – Question of the angel messenger in Revelation 5:2
a Book Sealed within: Addressed to 7 mortal Elders
What does John’s epistle enjoin each Elder to do?
Set aside for a moment the imagery of the apocalypse with its angels, seven stars and seven candlesticks — the Elder John is FIRST to address issues of his own current church.
Most Christians know both exhortation and encouragement offered to the seven churches.
Which ones speak to YOU with some urgency (and hopefully, perhaps, to any Elder of your local church? (So which church looks like yours?)
Ἐφεσῖνος – Ephesus
“I know your works, your labor, and your endurance,
and that you cannot tolerate evil people.
Of course, John knows all this personally.
And does the Elder imply that the Ephesians will not be inclusive of those who insist on evil works opposed to Christ’s love?
You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.
Revelation 2:2 CSB
And do your Elders test the theology and witness of your church leaders and members?
And the pattern of this pointed epistle for each church now turns to exhortation and rebuke demanding repentance.
“But I have this against you:
You have abandoned the love [agapē] you had at first.
Look it up.. IF you don't quite remember what agape love is.
“Remember then how far you have fallen;
repent, and do the works you did at first.
Do YOU? Do christians ever repent more than once (that time we claim to have come to Christ)?
OR will He return to say, “I never knew you…?’
“Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the *Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 2:7 CSB
Σμύρνῃ – Smyrna
“I know your affliction and poverty,
but you are rich.
I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Do YOU know any who avoid the Name of Christ? Do some swear to be Jew or Christian while afflicting others? Who then, do they truly worship?
“Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.
Does your prosperity preacher dare suggest suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ? OR REMIND of the Lord’s Judgment of all?
The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.
Πέργαμος – Pergamum
“I know where you live — where Satan’s throne is.
.. where Satan lives. [Another mention of the nearby Nicolaitans]
But I have a few things against you.
You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
Again, the common issue *even of this era is worship of idols and fornication.
In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the *Nicolaitans. So repent!
Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Revelation 2:15-16
“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
Doesn't this even sound like the preaching of JESUS?
I AM the Bread of Life
To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna…
Revelation 2:27b
Θυάτειρα – Thyatira
Just a REMINDER of Who Is speaking:
Thus says the Son of God,
the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze:
Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 2:18b CSB
“I know your works —
your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance.
I know that your last works are greater than the first.
Quite an encouragement and blessing to believers.
“But I have this against you:
This one thing of importance to the Lord Jesus Christ
Jezebel
You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:20-21 CSB
WHY is this issue of idolatry so important (in addition to God’s prohibition in the Ten Commandments of worshiping other gods)?
Ἰεζάβελ – Jezebel – the symbolic name of a woman who pretended to be a prophetess, and who, addicted to antinomianism, claimed Christian liberty of eating things sacrificed to idols.
Of Hebrew origin אִיזֶבֶל(H348) (used as a synonym of a termagant or false teacher):—Jezabel.
Jezebel recalls the opposition to the LORD’s prophet Elijah.
Jezebel = “Baal exalts” or “Baal is husband to” or “unchaste”
queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, daughter of Ethbaal (King of Tyre)
It’s a contest of serious consequence between the LORD God and the false gods, false prophetesses, false priestesses — brash and shameless sinners claiming sin as worship of their gods.
This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods.
They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.
2 Kings 17:7,16 CSB
And it all goes back to Ahab and Jezebel in 1 Kings.
Ahab also made an Asherah pole. Ahab did more to anger the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Just one last application from Revelation, the mention of Jezebel, the Nicolaitans and (from a theological definition {above}) - antinomianism.
Antinomianism is the belief or teaching that since believers are saved by grace through faith, there is no further obligation to follow any moral law or command.
.. At its core, antinomianism proposes that under the New Covenant, Christians are completely exempt from all moral guidelines because divine grace supersedes any need for abiding by commandments.
source: Biblehub.com
Σάρδεις – Sardis
I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 3:1b CSB
“Be alert
and strengthen [guard] what remains, which is about to die,
for I have not found your works complete before my God.
“Remember, then, what you have received and heard;
keep it, and repent.
If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you.
“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.
Revelation 3:4-5
And the Lord Jesus again seals His warning to the Sardinian church calling on the MANY to follow the example of the FEW.
“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:5 CSB
Φιλαδέλφεια – To the Church in Philadelphia
Permit me first to remind you that simply as the name, Christian, witnesses the Name of Christ; Philadelphia or Philedelphos φιλάδελφος witnesses [From φίλος (G5384) and ἀδελφός (G80)]as a FRIEND and BROTHER.
“I know your works.
Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Quite a compliment of Christian LOVE of these saintly brothers and sisters in Christ.
“Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
A.D. first century followers of the Messiah Jesus considered themselves to be true Jews, who have now been redeemed. And the love they hold in Christ will include Romans (like much of the population of this city of Philadelphia) and Hellenists, Greeks or gentiles as they worship God in truth side by side.
“Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
Revelation 3:10 CSB
Λαοδίκεια – Laodicea
And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 3:14 NKJV
an urgent CAUTION, perhaps, for many a 21st century Common Erachristian church claiming Jesus in some lesser way than in Truth.
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
Revelation 3:15 NKJV
“So then, because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot,
I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Laodicea: Lukewarm Prosperity
Banking hub, black-wool trade, renowned medical school with eye powder.
Water arrived by aqueduct, lukewarm by the time it reached town.
After the AD 60 quake, the city rebuilt itself without Rome’s help—boastful self-sufficiency reflected in the church.
he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
Do you believe this?”
Gospel of John 11:25-26 RSV
The Son of God Who rose from the dead after being sacrificed on a cross for those who believe until His coming again, authoritively ANSWERED the timeless questions of mortal men, women and curious children of WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?
Many men have pondered this relative relationship between the timeless Creator of all things with mortal men made in his image.
Before Christ
Job 3:
of the grave
“There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary of strength are at rest. “The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. “The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.
“Why is light given to him who is troubled, And life to the bitter of soul, Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures, Who are glad with joy, And rejoice when they find the grave?
“But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matt 22:31-32 NAS)
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Heb 9:27-28 NAS)
The body dies — returns to the dust from which God created mankind. And the soul — not just the breath of life,brain or your lifeless heart where blood flows no more — your soul and mine will return to its place in the light of THE LORD or judged — separated from Christ and God — to the place of darkness and punishment.
The Apostle Paul, whose Scriptures anchor the Apostles’ Creed, explains resurrection more thoroughly in his first epistle to the Saints in Corinth:
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
The Apostle addresses issues of unbelief in the Church, as well as growing heresies about Jesus Christ, His body and His Spirit.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive...
The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;
it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Then quoting and answering the Prophets Isaiah and Hosea, Paul writes:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
1 Corinthians 15 excerpts continued
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand…
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their witness of Jesus and because of the word of God..
And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
.. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened…
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. “I am the bread of life.
