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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
March 1926
Outline Studies in the Epistles of John
T. C. Horton
«And the king shall do according to hla w ill, and he shall exalt himself, and m agn ify him self above every god, and shall speak marvellous th ings against the God o f gods, and shall prosper till the Indignation be accomplished, fo r that, that Is determined shall be done.” This was also the prophecy of our Lord (Matt. 24:5-11): «F or many shall come In my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. «And ye shall hear o f wars and ru mours o f w ars, see that y e be not troubled, fo r all these things must come to pass, but the end Is not yet. «F or nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom , and there shall be fam ines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, In divers places. «A ll these are the beginning o f sor rows. , . «Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall k ill y ou , and ye shall be hated o f all notions fo r my name’s sake. _ . . - «And then shall many be offended, ana shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. „■ «And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matt. 24:23-26; Mark 13:22, 23). (See also 2 Tim. 3:1; 2 Pet. 2 :1 ). Remember that “ One day with Him is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," and then read again v. 22 : “ W h o Is a liar but he that denleth that Jesus Is the Chrlstf He Is autl“ ehrlst, that denleth the Father and the Son.” A liar is one who says that Jesus is not the Christ, i.e., the Anointed, prophesied One — God’s Son God manifest in the flesh. Such a denier is not the Antichrist, but an Antichrist, that is— he has all the characteristics of the Antichrist. John goes on to say in v. 23 that to deny the Son is to deny the Father. This is logical, because God cannot be known as Father, excepting through the Son, Jesus Christ (John 14 :6 ): «Jesus salth unto him, I am the way, the truth aad the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” The Son is the Revealer of the Father. The men who prate about “ the Fatherhood of God” “ and deny that JesuB Christ is the Incarnate Son of God, are blasphemers. They are Antichristian (Matt. 11 :27 ): «A ll things are delivered unto me o f my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, «ave the Son, and he to whom soever the Son w ill reveal Him.* John’s method is to state a truth both negatively and positively. "To deny” is "not to honor.” To "ac knowledge” is to "honor.” This is simple and plain. It is well, in these dayB, to note how the history of the church verifies this statement and to note how rapidly men who deny Christ as God’s only begotten Son, drift from the whole Bible truth. (V. 19 ): "They went out from us” because they belonged outside. They should never have been taken in, and when in they should have been put out. They were “ church members”
(Isa. 2: 2) : . «And It «hall come to p a .« In the last d a y ., that the mountain o f the Lord’, house .h a ll be established In the top o f the mountain«, and «hall be exalted above the h ill«, and all nation« «hall How unto It.” A better rendering of the phrase “ It is the last time” would be, "It is the last hour,” i.e., the laBt hour be fore the Second Coming of Christ; not the last hour before the death of John, nor before the destruction of Jerusa lem, as some Would have us believe. The tendency of men to frame a theory and then make the Scripture fit into it, is very unfortunate. The rising of the Antichristian spirit, which was even then manifest, signified something very definite. The Antichrist is one who is opposed to Christ— a rival of Christ—-not merely a •counterfeit. The develop ment of the Antichristian character is a forerunner of the Antichrist who must come before Christ can come (2 These. 2 :1 -8 ): «N ow w e beaeeeh you, brethren, by' the com ing o f our I.ord Jenna Chrlnt, and by ou r (gathering: togrether unto him. «That ye be not toon «baleen In mind, or be troubled, neither by «plrlt, nor by word, nor by letter a« from ua, a« that the day o f Chrlat In at hand. «L et no man deceive you by any mean«, fo r that day «hall not come, ex cept there come n falling: away tlrnt, and that man o f «In be revealed, the «on o f perdition ; «W h o oppooeth and exalteth hlmnelf above all that 1« called God, or that 1« worshipped I ao that he a« God «Itteth In the temple o f God, «hew ing hlmnelf that he 1« God. «Rem ember ye not, that, when 1 wa« yet w ith you, I told you these things f «And now ye know what wlthholdeth that he m ight be revealed In hi« time. «K or the mystery o f Iniquity doth al ready* w o rk , on ly he w h o now letteth w ill let, until he be taken out o f the way. «And then shall that W icked be re vealed, whom the Iiord «hall consume w ith the spirit o f hi« mouth, and shall destroy w ith the brightness o f his com ing The Old Testament prophets prophe sied of the coming of the Antichrist (Dan., 8:24, 25): “ And hla pow er shall be mighty» but not by hla own pow eri and he shall destroy wonderfully» and shall prosper, and prac The First Epistle of John Outline of the Epistle: (1 ) Introduction (1 :1 -4 ). (2) God is Light: Fellowship with God in light (1 :5 to 2:28). (3 ) God is Love. The Sonship of the believer (2:29 to 3:24). (4) Source of Sonship: Possessed by the Spirit (4 :1 to 5:12). (5) Conclusion. The law of love (5:13-21). Outline of Chapter 2: (1 ) The Mediatorial W o r k of Christ, vs. 1, 2. (2 ) Profession and Practice, vs. 3- 11 . (3 ) Safeguarding the Saved, vs. 12- 17. (4 ) Christians and Anti-Christians, vs. 18-29. LESSON SEVEN We come, now to the last division of the second chapter, (4 ) CHRISTIANS and ANTI-CHRIS TIANS, vs. 18-29. “ L ittle children, It Is the last times and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists| whereby we knoiy that It Is the last time. “ They went oa t from as» ba t they were not o f ass fo r If they had been o f os, 'th ey would no doubt have continued w ith uss but they went out» that they m ight be made manifest that they were not all o f us. “ But ye have an unction from the H oly One» and ye know all things. “ I have not w ritten unto you because ye know not the truth» but because ye know It» and that no lie Is o f the truth. “ W ho Is a liar but he that denleth that Jesus Is the Christ? He Is antlehrlst» that denleth the Father and the Son. “ W hosoever denleth the Son» the same hath not the Fathers (bu t) he that ac- know ledgeth the Son hath the Father also. • “ Let that therefore abide In you, whleh ye have heard from the beginning. I f that whleh ye have heard from the be ginn ing shall remain In you» y e also shall continue In the Son» and In the Father. “ And this Is the prom ise that he hath prom ised us» even eternal life. “ These things have I w ritten unto you concern ing them that seduce you. “ But the anointing whleh ye have re ceived o f him nbldeth In you» and ye need not that any man teach yout but as th e ' same anointing teaeheth you o f all things, and Is truth, and Is no lie» and even as It hath taught you» y e shall abide In him. “ And now . little children» abide In hlmt that, when he shall appear» w e may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his com ing. “ I f t e know that he Is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righ t eousness Is born o f him.*9 Note that the expression in v. 18, "Little children,” is the same as that in v. 12 , referring to all of the believ ers, as children of God. "Last time" is an Old Testament phrase (Gen. 49 :1 ): “ A id Jacob called on to his sons, and ■aid, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that whleh .h a ll befall y w In the last day«.” (Num. 24 :14 ): «And now , behold, I g o nnto my hoo pla, come therefore, and I w ill advertise thee what thla people shall do to thy people la the latter day«." “ It helps to create an atmos- phere of reverence for the Word.” . Thus writes a Mon tana reader with reference to the sonnd and helpful material appearing regularly in Hie King’s Business.
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