What is your understanding of 2 John 1:7?

Question

Just looking at various individual understanding.

Answer 1

One of the stumbling blocks to Christians is the many deceivers who subtly blur the truth about Jesus. Walking in the truth means responding to deceivers by guarding against and rejecting them. Coming in the flesh refers to the Incarnation, the fact that Jesus is the God-man. The humanity of Jesus provides a test by which false teachers can be identified. The gnostic heresy, against which John wrote in 1 and 2, included a denial of the physical body of Christ. People who deny the physical body of Jesus are not Christians but antichrists.

Answer 2

2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

There is a difference between an antichrist and THE antichrist, the man of sin. In the greek text the word for antichrist in 2Jn 1:7 is antichristios ( ἀντίχριστος ) meaning an opponent of the Messiah. More simply antichrist simply means against (anti) Christ. To say that Jesus did not come in the flesh is antichrist.

If you read on to the next verse, you see that the scriptures teach that there are many who are antichrist.

1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Keep reading and we learn in verse 22 that anyone who denies christ is antichrist.

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Also see 1 Jn 4:3

1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Simply put: To deny Christ is to go against Christ or to have a spirit of antichrist.

Answer 3

From the verses before #7, John is talking about how principled love would identify true Christians. If people came to them without this love among the organization, they would be part of the anti-Christ. They would try to deceive many. True Christians should shut them out.

Today there are so many claiming to be Christian. Though Jesus taught we were all ministers, the clergy teaches many varied beliefs. Most are not from the Bible and some are directly against the Bible teachings. These are part of that anti-Christ today.

We should as 1John 4:1 says "to test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth in the world."

Answer 4

2 John
7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

John is speaking about the false teachers he warned about in his first letter (1 john)
These are the Gnostics who believed that the Son of God did not become flesh,but that he temporarily came upon the man Jesus between His baptism and crucifixion.

Answer 5

It is pretty clear. Stating that anyone who doesn't believe in Christ is the anti-christ.

Typical Christian doctrine, that seeks to put down disbelief before followers have a chance to reason.

Answer 6

Its pretty self explanatory in the KJV, it means that all of those who teach there is another way to heaven than through Jesus Christ are wrong.

Answer 7

I am not a Christian but I believe in Jesus Christ. You should have placed the verse, so that every one could know.

Answer 8

I think it refers to those who will be out there teaching that Jesus did not exist, was not who he said he was. If you take the verse in context, we are to be wary of other doctrines and test them. antichrist is also a general term.

Answer 9

It is simply a warning about false teachers who do not acknowledge Christ for who He is.

Answer 10

See http://www.bcbsr.com/books/2jn.html