Observations for discussion and questions: Here again we see John ministering to a community that are suffering from the impact of the schism he mentions later in this chapter. He gives them tests both as...

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Observations for discussion and questions: The overall unity of 1 John 2:28-3:10 is supported by the recurrences of manifested, everyone, who does/does not do right, children of God, born of him/God. The subsections are demarcated...

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Observations for discussion and questions: The principle occasion for the writing of 1 John was most likely a serious schism of the Johannine community over teaching about Christ. There are two well defined passages that...

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Observations for discussion and questions: 1 John 2:12-14 is puzzling. The fact that the author says almost the same thing in each stanza with a shift of verb tense in “writing” and “wrote” may be...

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Observations: 1 John 1:5-2:2 is carefully crafted in terms of structure where between an introductory proposition and a concluding application and exposition we have three false claims reflected in if-clauses, “if we say that we…,”...

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Theme: Confidence in the Prophetic Gift Leading Question: How does one develop confidence in the “prophetic gift”? If one starts with the question of how one develops “confidence” in a person, or in anything, for...

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Theme: Blessings of the Prophetic Gift Leading Question: Is the prophetic gift more important for blazing a new trail or defending old landmarks? In Adventist History, two key words represent the poles between which any...

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Theme: Interpreting the Prophetic Writings Leading Question: Can a person be saved who has never heard of the Bible or listened to its message? 1. Interpreting prophetic writings: helpful, but not essential (Rom 2:14-16).  In...

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Theme: The Message of the Prophets Leading Question: To what extent is it the responsibility of prophets to help God’s people retain doctrinal integrity? While it is very important for a believing community to hold...

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Theme: The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift Leading Question: When speaking of prophetic messengers, what does the word “integrity” mean, as in the phrase, “The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift”? When scholars in the 19th...

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