Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
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Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information

1 John 2

1 - My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
2 - And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
3 - This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.
4 - One who says, "I know him," and doesn't keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn't in him.
5 - But whoever keeps his word, God's love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him:
6 - he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
7 - Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
8 - Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.
9 - He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now.
10 - He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
11 - But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn't know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 - I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 - I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.
14 - I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15 - Don't love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father's love isn't in him.
16 - For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn't the Father's, but is the world's.
17 - The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God's will remains forever.
18 - Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.
19 - They went out from us, but they didn't belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
20 - You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
21 - I have not written to you because you don't know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22 - Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23 - Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn't have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24 - Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
25 - This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
26 - These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray.
27 - As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don't need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
28 - Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29 - If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
1 John Images and Notes

The Book of 1 John

1 John 1:1-3 - 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; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:1-4 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 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. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

1 John 4:10 - Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

1 John in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

St. John the Evangelist by Guido Reni
Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620

Introduction to The Book of 1 John

Brief Summary. John encourages believers that Jesus was Jehovah God who had come in the flesh, that God is Light and he encourages Christians to walk in the light by keeping His commandments, and the main commandment was to love God and love one another. Anyone who does not love is an antichrist, and anyone who teaches that Jesus was not Jehovah come in a fleshly body is from the spirit of error. Whoever is fellowshipping with the world and sin is not from God. Christians should love one another and they will be assured that they know God and have Eternal Life.

Summary of The Book of 1 John

Purpose. The purpose of the first book of John was to encourage Christians to "love one another" because "God is love". The other purpose was to combat various forms of heresies which had crept into the church. False teachers  had gone out from the church and had begun to teach another doctrine. John refers to these false teachers as "Antichrist" and "false prophets." John went so far as to say that there was a spirit of error and the only way to detect the spirit of error was if the person denied that Jesus was Jehovah come in the flesh. John also addresses the Christian attitude, that the original enthusiasm of the believers needed to be renewed, and that they should not yield to the pleasures of the world. He also continually encourages them to love Christ and one another.

Audience. John clearly wrote to all Christians throughout the world to encourage them to love one another, and to guard against the Gnostic heresies which denied that Jesus was Jehovah come in the flesh.

Author. Although the book does not name the author, most scholars agree that the apostle John was the writer of 1 John, and early Christian writers often quoted from 1 John as having come from the apostle John.

Date. Many scholars believe that John the apostle had stayed in Jerusalem to care for Mary as Jesus had commanded him, and after the destruction of Jerusalem he went to Ephesus. Most Bible teachers believe that 1 John was written after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, although there is no evidence of this.

Place. According to church tradition John spent the last years of his life in Ephesus, as a center point to write to the churches. He lived to a very old age having written the gospel of John, the three epistles, and the book of Revelation. Among his students were Polycarp, Pappias, and Ignatius.

Outline of the Book of 1 John

Fellowship with God - Chapter 1-3
Brotherly Love - Chapter 4
Victory over the World - Chapter 5

Jesus written in Hebrew
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

1 John Maps and Resources

Map of the Roman Empire (14 A.D.) - This map reveals the Roman Empire during the time shortly after the birth of Jesus, in 14 AD at the time of the death of Augustus. The order which prevailed in this extensive empire, the good military roads, and the use of Koine Greek as the general language of culture throughout the area were among the factors which multiplied the rapid spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Color Map)

Map of Paul's First Missionary Journey (48 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia Minor where Paul visited in his first missionary journey. Around 48 AD, in the springtime, Paul and his companions Barnabas and Mark were sent on a mission from the church in Antioch. This would be the first of Paul's Missionary Journey's. (Color Map)

Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey (51 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his second missionary journey. Paul re-visits a couple cities in Asia, one of which was Lystra where he was stoned and left for dead a few years earlier. He later has a vision that leads him over to Greece and Paul and his companions travel and minister in various cities in Greece (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth. Later Paul returns to Ephesus and finally to Caesarea and Antioch. (Color Map)

Map of Paul's Third Missionary Journey (54 A.D.) - This map reveals the areas in Asia and Greece where Paul visited in his third missionary journey. On Paul's third missionary journey he returned to the cities he had first visited on his first missionary journey. During this time he decided to remain in Ephesus for about 3 years, and this city was the main focus of his activities and an important Christian community (Acts 19). (Color Map)

Map of the New Testament World - This map reveals the "Nations" within the ancient world during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the areas of Israel, Asia, Greece, and Italy. (Color Map)

Map of New Testament Greece This map reveals the cities within Greece in the ancient world during the first century A.D.,The map includes the principal cities of Greece like: Athens, Corinth, and Thessalonica, and provinces like Macedonia and Achaia. (Color Map)

Map of New Testament Asia - This map shows the cities within Asia Minor during the first century A.D., the time of the New Testament. The map includes the principal cities of Asia including Tarsus, Ephesus, and Colossae, and provinces like Galatia and Pamphilia. (Color Map)