Did John make a mistake thinking Jesus will come in his day?

koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

Nearly all commentators on 1 John 2:18 claim that this verse states that John thought Jesus will come in his day.

In this writing we wish to point out the following:

1. Nowhere in the Johannine literature do we find any similar theme.

2. Being taken up in the day of the Lord experience (see Revelation 1:10) with the periods of 1260 years involved in Revelation 12, it is hard to conceive that John would thought the Lord is coming in his day.

3. Scholars thought that 1 John 2:18 is a reference to Matthew 24:5 and 24 (see the Greek bottom register with the references there cited), but it actually is not referring to those words of Jesus.

Let us analyse 1 John 2:18 carefully:

A postulated question was asked by John's audience:

[Teacher John, tell us when the last days will be?]

John answered in 1 John 2:18:

"Children"

This is a reference to the audience  above.

"last hour is . . . "[begging for a definition or explanation of the phrase]

John looked at his audience and said to them: if you really want to know when the last hour is, I will tell you. He did.

"Just as" is the comparative particle that connects to the second different aspect compared by using kai but then has a particle hothen inferentially connecting back to the source of the concept linked with kathoos.  

The two are connected with a link that is inseparable. Many scholars missed this very important link.

Kathoos is connected to hothen and hothen refers to kathoos. They are connected because the actual combination of hothen is the relative pronoun ho and the enclitic then which indicates “motion from a place”. That motion is the Scriptural reference cited in the first part of the verse following kathoos. Hothen means, “from the source [Bible] from which a thing is known”.

Kathoos is normally the first member of a comparison that has outoos as a second member in a subordinate clause or kai.

Comparing on the one hand the Scripture and contrasting on the other hand the newspaper.

"Just as you have heard"

Heard what or from what? In those days the Scripture was read and the audience listened to the Scriptures. They heard the Bible speak.

"Just as you have heard that the Antichrist comes".

How many? One. This is a very important point.

Scholars connect this verse to Matthew 24:5 and Matthew 24:24 but in both Jesus are speaking about plural [anti/substitute/pseudo christs] coming. It is not singular.

Yet in the verse, John tells them they have heard that a singular Antichrist is coming. One entity.

Is it from Jesus' words in Matthew 24? Yes. Matthew 24:15:

Jesus is talking about the abomination of desolation that will stand in the holies, thus referring to the role of the little horn of Daniel 7:8-13 and Daniel 7:25-29. It is a reference also to Daniel 8:11 within the window of verses 10-12 and Daniel 9:27.  The entity is singular. It was to come in 538 and for 1260 days persecute until 1798. It did.

That is the Bible.

But what about the newspaper in John's days?

John refers to the newspapers they knew well in their own day.

"and now many antichrists have arisen" (NEWSPAPER DATA)

This is part of the question of the audience that they wonder if Jesus is coming since so many antichrists have arisen as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:5 and 24.

But, John's answer is different than this common thinking.

"from which we know"

From what?

From the NEWSPAPERS or the BIBLE?

It is clear that the newspapers talk about plural antichrists but the Bible talks about singular antichrist.

John is trying to say, the two statements are not related.

"from which we know"

Not the newspaper but the Bible.

"from [Daniel] we know that the last hour it is".

It appears thus as if John is asking them not to be confused by newspapers but to keep their eyes fixed on Daniel and the Bible to determine when the last hour is. He is indicating that they should read the Bible accurately.

Is John thinking that Jesus would come in his day?

I do not find a similar concept ever in the works of John and it is highly unlikely that he would personally have harbored these thoughts but his audience were carried away with newspaper reports (kai nun) in his day.

End item

7 August 2009