To the woman in Samaria, Jesus of Nazareth revealed the proper form and location for worshipping the Father. With the arrival of the Messiah of Israel, concepts and traditions about holy space and holy time have become irrelevant, and his presence in Judea and Samaria rendered the historical debate over the location of the Temple irrelevant. From now on, the worship of the one true God must be performed in truth and spirit.
Continue readingJohn
His Glory Revealed
In the Prologue of John’s Gospel, Jesus is identified as the Logos, the “WORD become flesh” in whom the “glory of God” now resides and manifests. He is the Greater Tabernacle foreshadowed by the Tent carried by Israel in the wilderness, the place where Yahweh’s glory is revealed. This declaration anticipates John’s later passages that link the Nazarene to the Father.
Jesus, the same man who gave his life on a Roman cross for all humanity, is the ultimate expression of the nature, love, and glory of the God who created all things.
Continue readingGrace and Truth
The Prologue of John’s gospel introduces several key themes that are expanded in the body of his work – Life, Light, Witness, Truth, and Grace. Jesus is the Light of the world, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle, the only born Son of God, and the only one who has seen the Father. The Prologue concludes by declaring that he is the only one who is qualified to interpret the unseen God.
Continue readingThe Word Made Flesh
The gospel of John identifies Jesus as the Logos, the “word” by which God made all things, a key theme that is explicated in the body of the book. In doing so, John does not engage in metaphysical speculation but builds on traditional ideas from the Hebrew Bible about how Yahweh created the universe and gave life through His spoken word.
Continue readingIN THE CHURCH
John labels false teachers in the church as “antichrists,” and their deceptive teachings confirm that the “last days” have commenced.
The term “antichrist” occurs only in the second and third letters of John, and he applies the plural noun to deceivers that are causing dissension in his congregations. Their very presence constitutes irrefutable evidence that the “last days” have commenced. These troublemakers are “antichrists” and forerunners of the “Antichrist” who is to come.
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