Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Female): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: The study of Second John. Apparently, this lady and her children were hosting itinerant preachers in their home, and perhaps she was using her home for the assembly, for the church to gather together, and Yohanan is writing to her, but he's writing to her as an elder.

In twofold, he was an elder in the local assembly at Ephesus, but he was also an older man. That expression here for elder, it comes from the Greek *presbyteros*. It simply means *zaken*, an elder. He was older, but he was an elder at the same time.

Because he loved her and her children, but not only he loved her, but also all the other believers with whom he was, who loved her, appreciated this elect lady. In verse two, he's telling her that the truth of God dwells in her. It dwells in a believer, and it will ever dwell. Every person that has acknowledged the truth of the word of God, verse two, he said, "For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever."

In other words, here, elect lady, I'm writing to you this letter. It is for the truth's sake. I want to tell you something because I want to present for you the truth, which you already know, it is in us, it dwells in us, and it will always remain in us.

People may come, people may go. People will give us all sorts of ideas of their own. False teachers always come and go, and not necessarily staying, because when they stop to get success with their influence upon others, they leave, so they can go somewhere else. And they influence someone somewhere else.

You see what he's really saying to this elect lady, the truth of God is dwelling in you, and not only this, it will remain in you because you are a child of God. It will remain in you forever.

Then he's telling her now in verse three, he's giving her the greetings. I think it's so beautiful. Notice he's using three words that are mentioned here together. Number one, "Grace be unto you." Number two, "Mercy." Number three, "Peace." From God the Father and from the Lord Jesus the Messiah, the son of the Father in truth and in love.

You notice those three expressions mentioned in the beginning, grace. In Hebrew it's *hesed*. Mercy, in Hebrew it's *rachamim*. And peace is the Hebrew *shalom*.

Again, I would like to remind you that John knows this expression for what he has already understood from the Hebrew scripture, because after all, when he was writing the epistles of John, he only had the Tanakh in his hands.

He was writing from the Hebrew text in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse four, where Moshe was pointing to the grace of God, to the mercy of God, to the peace of God. He's saying in verse four, "He is the rock. His work is perfect. All his ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." Moshe, Moses, was already singing the praises of God. He is a God of truth.

Look what Moses said about God. Exodus chapter 34 and verse six. "And the Lord passed before him, and he proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious." The same words that Yohanan is mentioning here. "Longsuffering and abundance in goodness and in truth."

He's again speaking about the grace of God, the truth of God, the mercy of God. And here Yohanan is writing to this elect lady, and he's greeting her in verse three. He says, "Grace be unto you and mercy and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the son of the Father in truth and love."

Now, don't you think this lady, just like you and I, needed the grace of God? The *hesed*. You remember the verse in Ephesians chapter two? "By grace are ye saved." We have been saved by grace.

The word mercy, *rachamim*, is God did not give us punishment that we deserve. Grace is God gave us what we don't deserve.

Then he adds the word *shalom*, peace. We have peace with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Romans chapter 5 and verse one.

Really now it's not a matter here of salvation, but it's a matter that we needed and she needed ongoing grace, ongoing mercy, ongoing peace of God, *shalom Elohim*. That's what we need every day of our lives.

We are facing conflict, friction, challenges, opposition, all sorts of things such as this, the believer is experiencing in his or her life. And John is introducing himself, writing to this elect lady, telling him the importance of truth, and so far, beloved brothers and sisters, in these three verses he used four times the word truth.

I would like to mention this to all of us. It is very important that God's people will know the truth. If somebody tells you something, check it with God's word.

Don't allow everyone to tell you all sorts of things that are not found on the basis of the word of God. But remember, 2,000 years ago, she couldn't go to Second John. She simply heard the truth of the word of God from the apostles and from those who were preaching the message of the gospel. They knew what they knew at that time in the early church, so they needed constantly to be aware of the fact that maybe another preacher is going to come, and he's going to start to tell us things that are not the truth of the word of God.

We don't have to go far, even though we have the word of God in our hands today, there are those who are walking about today, who are teaching us things that are not found in God's word. They are teaching us false teaching.

That's where Yohanan is warning this elect lady, and he's warning you and I today. God's people need to know God's truth. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free," Yeshua the Messiah said before he had gone to the cross.

Now, he noticed he linked the name of Jesus the Messiah at the end of verse three. It's from God the Father, *Ha'avah*, but he added, "and from the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the son of the Father in truth and his love." Why does he add this? Because he knew very well that already in those days, people rejected the fact that Yeshua was the son of God.

That he was the son of the Father and that he became a man, just like you and I, in order to finish the work of redemption. And it was necessary for God to enter humanity and to take the form of man, to become literally a man, so he can take the punishment for sin upon himself.

Had he not become a man, he would not be able to identify with men and women such as you and I. And therefore, your salvation and my salvation will never be accomplished because we cannot get saved and receive forgiveness of sins unless God dealt with it in his own person when he took humanity, union with divine nature, and went all the way to the cross, to the tree where he laid down his life for the sin of this world.

That's why here it's very strongly connected, not only greeting, grace, mercy, peace from God the Father, but also grace, mercy, and peace from Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Mashiach, the Messiah. Notice, he adds "the son of the Father in truth and in love."

So really, what we have here, five words in Second John and verse three: grace, mercy, peace, truth, love. *Hesed, rachamim, shalom, emet* and *ahavah* in Hebrew. Beautiful, because for us, those of us who are coming from a Jewish background, it's so important for us to grasp this because John, Yohanan, is really linking this with what he had already heard long time ago through reading the Hebrew text from what Moses has already provided for the people of Israel.

So, God's people need to know God's truth. In our head. Secondly, in verses 4, 5, and 6, we need to walk in God's truth every day of our lives. He's pointing to the necessity of walking in the truth. Look at how much joy Yohanan, John, had in his heart when he knew that a believer was walking in the truth.

He says in verse four, "I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received the commandment from the Father." Again, remember that John was writing to the family of God.

Every believer has become part of the *mishpachah*, and like children are part of the family, it's so wonderful to see them walking in the truth. You ask any Bible teacher who teaches the word sincerely, "What gives you joy?" And he would say, "It would give me joy to see those that I have been teaching now growing and walking in the truth that they have been taught from the word of God."

It will give him joy to see that this is happening in the life of the people of God. So here John is saying, "Listen, I rejoice. I have joy in my heart greatly," he says.

In other words, he's writing to this elect lady, to this mother who had children of her own. He says, "It gives me such a joy to see that your very own children are walking in the light of the truth that they have learned." That is a result to all the lessons that you have heard from the word of God.

You know, Paul also in First Thessalonians chapter two and verse 19, he said, "For what is our hope or what is our joy or our crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy."

You know, Shaul, Paul, also was writing to the Thessalonians. It was a young church, young assembly, young believers. They were not many years walking with the Lord. But he says, "What a joy!" He says, "You are my joy. You are our crown. When we're going to get to heaven, and we're going to get the crown, the rewards, those crowns is the fact that you gave me joy when you walked with the Lord."

It gives joy to the servant of the Lord. It gives joy to anyone who sees others have been influenced by their teaching and walking with the Lord. Now John, Yohanan, beseeches this elect lady and her children to love one another, to continue in this.

Notice now in verse 5 and 6, he says, "And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment that as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it."

What does it mean? Notice he used this expression, "from the beginning." Every time we read this expression, it takes us back to the incarnation of the Messiah. When God became a man, First John chapter one and verse one, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life."

He's speaking about the incarnation of the Messiah, when God became a man in the person of Yeshua from Natzeret. Yeshua gave instruction to his disciples. In John 13, verses 35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one towards another."

That is the commandment that Yeshua had given from the beginning of his incarnation. Of course, God always wanted our people of old, the people of God, to love one another. But this expression, "from the beginning" in the context of First John, takes us not to creation, Genesis chapter one, not to eternity, John chapter one, but it takes us to the incarnation. First John chapter one, where the Messiah Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, and there as man, he taught his disciples.

Now this is wonderful, to understand the truth in our mind and our hearts, in the way which we relate to the people of God. By the way, he calls her "lady." It's *Kuria*, K-Y-R-I-A, in Greek. In Hebrew, *giveret*.

He is really giving her respect, and he's saying to her that we have to love one another. Again, if he's applying this to a local assembly, can you imagine how beautiful when the brothers and sisters have an unconditional love towards one another? Not only emotion, but sacrificial love. It's wonderful to experience in a local assembly, in a local church.

Then he continues in verse six, "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandments that ye have heard from the beginning." Again, he's taking us to the commandment of Yeshua in the upper room in John chapter 13, "that ye should walk in it, in love."

Wonderful, what Yohanan is challenging the believers and this elect lady, "walking in love." You know, there are many expressions in the New Testament that have to do with walk. You know, every time you read the word walk, it has to do with practical walk with the Lord.

Let me give you an example. In Romans chapter 6 and verse four, Paul says, "walk in newness of life." In Galatians chapter 5 and verse 16, Paul says, "walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse two is, "walk in love." In Third John is, "walk in truth." And then in First John chapter one and verse seven is, "walk in the light." What does it mean? It means that your life is to be characterized by love, by light, by the influence of the Holy Spirit of God, by newness of way, not like in the old way we used to live, but in a new way.

Ultimately, as we have this here, walk in love. That means that it's going to be practical. It's not something that we only talk about it, but it's going to be practical. Walking in light, walking in love, walking in truth, walking under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God which is producing walking in new type of life.

Imagine when a believer accepted Yeshua and received forgiveness of sins, and then he says, "Thank you. Now I can go back to live the way I used to live." Imagine how it grieves the heart of the Lord when we receive love and transfer not love to others. We receive light and walk in darkness. We receive the Holy Spirit of God indwelling us and walking in the flesh. It's not pleasing to the Lord.

That's why he's saying to this elect lady and her children, "It's not as though I wrote to you a new commandment. You know, that which we had from the beginning. It's the same old truth that we have already received from Yeshua." I don't tell you something new. It's the same truth that we love one another. "And this is love that we walk after his commandment. This is his commandment, that ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in love." Among the people of God.

The important thing to understand is that the truth will never change. Generation changes, people change, time changes, events changing, but God's word remains the same.

God's never going to change. We read in scripture, for example, in the book of Malachi, when he wrote to our people, he says to Israel, "I change not." That's why, Jacob, you are not consumed. Because if I will change, I will judge you. But because I love you and I have a purpose for you, Israel, Jacob, I changes not.

In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse eight, we read Yeshua the Messiah, "the same yesterday, today and forever." He changes not. We change. I hope that when we become believers, we change to be walking in this newness of life. But at times, brothers and sisters, because we are human beings, we still have the sin nature. One day we are on the mountain, the next day we are in the valley. One day we love the word, the next day we don't like it as much. One day we want to follow the Lord, the next day we are influenced by other things. We change, but he remains the same. His love for us changes not. And his desire for us to walk in love does not change at all.

Walking in love, it is so important because the truth, known in our hearts and our mind, will produce the necessity of loving the brothers and sisters. So now, in the last part of this letter, he's emphasizing to this elect lady, not only that you need to know the truth, not only you should walk in the truth, but to remain in the truth. To abide and to stay true to that which is given to us in the word of God.

So he's giving her a warning in verse seven, of the fact that many deceivers have already entered into the world, in which they are seeking to influence the people of God. And he says in verse seven, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, is come in the flesh." This is a deceiver and an Antichrist, anti-Mashiach.

Now, he noticed he's giving us additional warning in this letter. I already talked about those Gnostics. They have taught that this Jesus, this Yeshua, that when he was baptized, the Spirit of the Messiah came upon him in his baptism. And when he died, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Messiah, was removed from him, and that he was what you call a temporary type of a person, was really a phantom. Just for the season he was here.

They did not believe in the fact that Yeshua the Messiah was a real man. That's the problem that existed at that time, and that's why John is addressing it. Apparently, already in the First Century, there were those who were traveling around and going from place to place, and they were coming to their homes, knocking on the door, and says, "I am coming to teach the word of God."

Because hospitality was very important, and it was commanded by the Lord Yeshua and by the early apostles, so to open your door to a guest speaker and to host him and listen to what he had to say was a privilege and a responsibility. In the book of Hebrews, in chapter 13, verse 1 and 2, it says here, "Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers. For thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Hospitality was very important, so now when somebody comes to your home and says, "I am an itinerant preacher, I'm coming to teach the word of God," it was a privilege to have that person come into your home, then host him until he goes to a next place. So here what Yohanan is saying, "Listen, many deceivers have entered into the world, who confesses not that Yeshua is the Messiah." In other words, he's giving this elect lady and her children a warning.

That word for deceivers, in Hebrew we call it *mat'im*. In verse seven, it's really those that divert you from the truth. The purpose of their coming to your home is to divert you from what you know already from the word of God.

See, Satan is a counterfeit. He always does exactly that which is against God and against his people. We read of him in Second Corinthians at the end of the letter to the Corinthian, that he is appearing and sending his messages to appear as angels of light, as if they are sharing the truth. But in reality, they're really diverting you from the truth of the word of God.

You see, it's amazing. When God's work began, Satan is seeking to copy what God is doing, except instead of leading mankind to God, he's really seeking to divert them from the knowledge of the truth of the word of God. You know, brothers and sisters, we have these deceivers who are still today, you hear them in various ways. You can read about them from the internet, certain magazines, or they would come even to your door, and they will knock on the door, and they are not coming there to ask what you think. But they're coming there to teach you what they know, and the purpose of their coming in order to divert you from what you already know from the truth of the word of God.

By the way, what he does is very similar to other brethren of John. Paul warned the elders at Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, verse 29. Paul said, "For I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." Verse 30, "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them." You see that?

He said, "Therefore, watch, and remember that by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears." You know, Paul, Shaul, was weeping. He wanted so badly that the people at Ephesus would be built up and not allow false doctrine to enter in their midst.

He says, "For three years I labored and I sought to build you up, and I know," he said, "that after my departure, grievous wolves will enter among you, and you know what, beloved," he's saying to them, "they will not spare the flock." See, Satan and those that follow him, don't care for the flock. They don't care for the people of God. They just want to have disciples after themselves.

You see, this is the danger that Paul warned like Yohanan here, who tells us, "many deceivers enter into this world, not confessing that Yeshua is the Messiah, who came in the flesh. This is a deceiver, and he's Antichrist," against the Messiah, against the Messiah. Let me read one more verse in Second Peter chapter two. Not only that Yohanan wrote about it, not only that Shaul, Paul, wrote about it, but also Shimon Petros wrote about this.

He says in verse one of Second Peter chapter two, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them."

Guest (Female): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.