By Dr. Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ President

The Second Epistle of John is not only one of the shortest books of the Bible but also one of the most ignored ones. Most of 2 John is of a salutatory nature and only a few verses give short doctrinal admonitions and encouragements. Yet one of these short statements has gripped my attention lately.

“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.” (2 John 1:7)

Most commentaries agree this verse referred to a new movement in the Church called Gnosticism, whose influence is still being felt today. Gnosticism was a Greek-influenced school of mystical thought. One of their teachings held that Jesus was merely a spiritual being who could not die on the Cross. This attacked a core tenant of faith for the early Church. The Cross is central to the Gospel, just as Paul declared: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) So, it is clear why the Apostle John saw the need to confront this erroneous doctrine as an anti-Christ spirit.

Another stream of Gnosticism believed the God of the Old Testament was not the same as the loving God revealed by Jesus. The God of Israel was called the Demiurge and was portrayed as an evil, harsh God who then was overcome by the more powerful and loving Spirit-God called Jesus. Consequently, the Old Testament was discarded, and this opened the door to a strong anti-Jewish undercurrent among many early believers.

Such Gnostic teachings became attractive to Gentiles, since Jesus as a spirit-being was suddenly no longer born to a Jewish virgin from the House of David. His Jewish lineage described in Luke and Matthew became irrelevant. Many Gentile believers preferred a non-Jewish Jesus. Paul even warned in Romans 11 that some followers of Christ had already become arrogant against their Jewish roots.

On this point, it is noteworthy that the epistles of John are among the last additions to the New Testament, written in the late First Century. Before then, most of the teachers and apostles in the Church were Jewish. But as the Gospel spread and many more Gentiles were being added, the Church changed dramatically into an international movement reaching every province of the Roman Empire, where Jews were often a hated minority.

Thus, the new heresy of Gnosticism found fertile ground. In John’s third epistle, we read that Jewish “brethren” were no longer welcome in that particular church (3 John 1:5-7, 10). Even the Apostle John himself was not welcome anymore (3 John 1:9). One wonders why? Was he too Jewish?

The Apostle John was clear this new stream of thought could not be tolerated in the Church. He called it the spirit of antichrist, which could cause Christians to “lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.” (2 John 1:8)

The reason I am addressing this topic is that we see these same tendencies in many church circles today. I remember speaking once at a church in Germany where a brother complained to me afterwards that I called Jesus a Jewish Messiah. According to him, Jesus gave up his Jewish ancestry after the Resurrection and is now in heaven as the “universal brother of mankind.” But the book of Revelation is clear that even in heaven Christ remains the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5) and “the Root and the Offspring of David.” (Revelation 22:16)

This is extremely relevant today! A prominent Bible teacher in America is calling on believers to “unhitch” from the Old Testament. He contends the God of the Old Testament cannot be reconciled with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. Also consider that Pope Francis recently inaugurated a Nativity scene with a baby Jesus lying on a black-and-white kaffiyeh – a symbol of Palestinian nationalism – thus giving credence to the fabricated myth of a “Palestinian Jesus.”

So, the same deceptive spirit of antichrist is still alive today, denying that Jesus came in Jewish flesh. The Apostle John had a clear warning to the Church: ‘Watch yourselves, lest you lose your reward!’ (2 John 1:8) Let us take heed and embrace the full counsel of Scripture. Jesus the eternal Word became flesh – Jewish flesh – and dwelt among us (John 1:14). What glory awaits those who hold fast to this amazing “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”

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