P2 - A Biographical Sketch Of The Apostle John, The Man Who Loved Jesus: He Had Fervancy For Jesus

Luke 9:51-56 "When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village."

Introduction:

I can recall in my childhood days hearing my parents tell me:

"Mahlon, you are sometimes like a bull in a china closet".

Admittedly, they were more than justified in their assertions. I was (and still can be) strong-willed, stubborn and singular-focused, to a fault. I find it humorous to discover that the Apostle John (and his brother James, known as "James the Son of Zebedee) were together called by Jesus: "sons of thunder". This comical point is highlighted by Mark in Mark 1:37 - 

"and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”)."

John the Apostle was bold by nature. It is hard to imagine the man who loved Jesus with such strength of grace and courage in his latter years was the sort of man you would rather had avoided in his youth. Yet, as is often the case with all new converts to Christ, the process of sanding off the rough edges must begin with the rough edges. Amazingly, what are often liabilities in our personalities are transfigured into benefits for the Kingdom.

In today's post, we once again take a look at the Apostle John to understand how we can better love the Lord Jesus Christ. We saw last time that, like John, we too must begin this journey of love by following Jesus (for the previous post, click here: http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/06/p1-biographical-sketch-of-apostle-john.html ).

In today's post, we will add on a second trait: fervency for Jesus.

John's fervency to follow Jesus

Luke 9:51-56 records an episode where Jesus was transitioning his ministry from primarily focusing upon Galilee to the North to gradual priority upon Judea and Jerusalem to the South. In Luke's version, stretching from chapters 10-17, we find unique material devoted to Jesus' ministry in Perea along the Western side of the Jordon River. Jesus and his disciples were looking to lodge in Samaria for the night before continuing their journeys (see map below):

As Luke's narrative reports, Jesus sent a couple of his disciples to inquire about lodging. Their request was denied due to the animosities between the Samaritans and the Jews. As a historian, Luke then reports the responses of the disciples, especially a then young apostle John. As a "son of thunder", John makes the astonishing suggestion in Luke 9:54 -

 "When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Wow! One would think that the man "whom Jesus loved" would never had made such a radical suggestion. John expressed untampered zeal. Yet, John did. How many of us, in our Christian walks, have made those impetuous choices or inserted our foot in the mouth? John's statement is met with a rebuke from Jesus, reminding him in Luke 9:55-56 - 

"But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village."

A.B. Bruce's classic study on the disciples: "The Training Of The Twelve", page 234, give the following insight:

"It shows how slow the best are to learn the heavenly doctrine and practice of charity. How startling, again, to think of the same John, a year or two after the date of this savage suggestion, going down from Jerusalem and preaching the Gospel of Jesus the crucified in 'many of the villages of the Samaritans', possibly in this very village which he desired to see destroyed!"

Bruce's reference to John's change of heart is found in Acts 8:14-17 - 

"Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit."

John's fervent temperament spilled-over in those early days of his conversion. In the hands of Jesus, John's fervency in the flesh was ever-slowly transformed into a fervency of love for Him. For sure, John and his brother both exhibited strong passion in their life. At one point in their journey's with Jesus, they request of Jesus to sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom (compare Mark 10:35-40). Jesus tells them that they are ignorant of the manner of their request, and warns them of the possible implications (namely, martyrdom). John and James both assert they're able to take whatever consequences, if it will mean the granting of their request. 

We may look at John's behavior and cast a swift verdict. However, how many times have any of us, even after walking with the Lord for many years, who name "the name of Christ", gotten wobbly, excessive or out-of-turn? Thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ is merciful. Patient.

Like all Christians, John bore the left-over remnants of the old nature. Like rust on a car, the fragments of that old way of thinking clung to the newly regenerated nature.  Excesses are traced to the flesh - or "old man" (see Colossians 2-3). John had his boxing ring, set in the heart, with the new nature duking-it-out with his old-ways. Still, the fervor characterizing John's temperament became useful in Jesus' hands.

Fervency of the flesh gradually gives way to fervent love for Jesus

Whenever we look at John's progression in discipleship, we witness transformation. The fervency of the flesh is slowly melting away to the fervency of God's love coursing through his heart. The scenes of John with Peter and James upon the Mount of Transfiguration gives us a glimpse into the beginnings of such changes (see Matthew 17; 2 Peter 1:16-21). While Peter is peppering Jesus with frantic questions and excitement, we hear not a word from John's lips (compare Matthew 17:1-13).

Or consider how few of words he is at the final meal between Jesus and his disciples in John 13:22-25. It is at this juncture that we find John reclined on Jesus. The practice of leaning on one another at an oriental meal, on the ground, would explain why John was pressed in on Jesus' side. Once Jesus reveals that He is going to undergo betrayal, John (described in John 13:23 as "the one whom Jesus loved) asks Jesus in 13:25 - "Lord, who is it?" John's listening and watching of the Master takes over those earlier episodes where he would boldly stride in like the proverbial "bull in a china-closet".

John's fervency is reined in by an ever-increasing Christ-like humility. The forging together of fervency and humility yields that Biblical alloy of meekness (compare Moses in Numbers 12:3, KJV). By the time we arrive at the foot of the cross in John 19:25-27, we see the fervency of love most poignantly displayed:

"Therefore the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household."

John's fervent love for Jesus grew despite the pressures and persecutions

John's place at the foot of the cross, beside Jesus' mother according to the flesh, befits this disciple as the man par excellence in matters pertaining to love for Jesus. Jesus knew John was the only one able and willing to care for Mary. None of Jesus' half-brothers per the flesh were given this privilege (besides the fact they were not-yet-followers of Jesus as Messiah). John's fervency of love for His Lord is observed by being the first disciple to reach the empty tomb. John would express faith (albeit, the beginnings of such), that Jesus had risen (John 20:6,8). John was there with the other 120, awaiting for the promise of the Spirit spoken of by Jesus (Acts 1:13).

It was this same John that partnered with Peter in launching out the initial apostolic mission in and around Jerusalem and Judea (see Acts 3:1,3,4,11; 4:13,19; 8:14). John's brother, James, was martyred for his faith in Christ, echoing the fervent love of his brother (Acts 12:12). John's fervent love was so much so that he was known in the early church as a "pillar" of the church (compare Paul's remarks in Galatians 2:9). 

Closing thoughts and applications: fervent love, expressed in John's writings

By the time John reaches his mid-eighties, he has already followed Jesus with fervent love for some 50-60 years. The three epistles that bear this include this term "love" 26x in 1 John, 4x in 2 John and 3 times in 3 John. John's Gospel, penned very shortly before or at the same time as his little letters, mentions love from Christ or towards Christ nearly 40x. The final book John would pen under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, his Apocalypse or Revelation, mentions such fervent love as central to Christian living. Revelation 12:11 states -

"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."

John's fervent love is deeper, higher and wider for Jesus as he pens that glorious book of Revelation on that small Island of Patmos. Life got harsher for this apostle. Yet, the love of Jesus grew only sweeter. Can the same be said of you and me, dear reader. Loving Jesus certainly begins with following Him. However, the fervor of love for Him ought to grow all the more sweeter. Might we consider John's example and by the power of the Spirit, love the Lord Jesus with such fervent love.  

Healthy Christian Souls Aim for a Good Testimony - 3 John 1:10-15 & Conclusion

3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

Today's post concludes a series of posts that have been derived from the smallest book in the Bible - John's 3rd Epistle. The above opening verse is identified as the key verse and spells out the theme of 3 John, namely "Healthy Christianity". The phrase within 3 John 1:2 that has governed this study has been the statement John makes regarding his readers as those who have "prospering souls". In this series we have explored the idea of "the healthy Christian soul". Thus far we have looked at how healthy Christian souls....

1. Prize walking in the truth

2. Prize faithfulness to the Lord

3. Love the work of God

4. Love to do what is right

As we conclude this series, we will consider one more trait of a healthy Christian soul, namely...

Healthy Christian Souls Prioritize a Good Testimony

3 John 1:12 points to  amn who had a good testimony - "Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true." I am sure the reader has heard it said that a good testimony results from a "test" and that any message flowing from a testimony came after a "mess". 

Within the book of 3 John, we see the mess that a villian, Diotrophes, was making in the small church to which John wrote. We saw yesterday how Diotrophes typifies unhealthy Christianity by how he was self-centered, self-sufficient, accusing, divisive and argumentative. According to 3 John 1:10, Diotrophes was abusing his leadership power to the point of excommunicating people who were otherwise spiritually healthy!

To contrast Diotrophes, John mentions to Gaius and his fellow church members the testimony of a man named Demetrius in 3 John 1:12. Though we are given scant detail about this man, it is very clear that he was a man who had a very healthy Christian soul. Everyone had nothing but good to say about Demetrius and his level of Christian piety was to such a degree that even the Apostle John could say that not only God's Word, but even the Apostles themselves recognized his testimony. Ought Christian people be the type of people who can be spoken well of, whether in the church, at the workplace, the school yard or even in the lips of enemies? Demetrius' reputation seemed nearly second to none. 

Closing thoughts

As John closes out his little letter, it is clear he has much more to say as indicated by his words in 3 John 1:13-15. Healthy Christianity is what John is urging Gaius, the church to which Gaius was a part of in fellowship and what the Holy Spirit is urging us to desire. Remember, healthy Christian souls...

1. Prize walking in the truth

2. Prize faithfulness to the Lord

3. Love the work of God

4. Love to do what is right

5. Aim for a good testimony

Would we as Christ followers attain unto being those with healthy Christian souls. 

Healthy Christian Souls love to do right - 3 John 1:9-11

3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

Today's post continues a series of posts derived from the smallest book in the Bible - John's 3rd Epistle. The above opening verse is identified as the key verse and spells out the theme of 3 John, namely "Healthy Christianity". The phrase within 3 John 1:2 has captured my attention in that the Apostle describes his readers as those who have "prospering souls". In this series we are exploring the idea of "the healthy Christian soul". Thus far we have looked at how healthy Christian souls....

1). Prize walking in the truth

2). Prize faithfulness to the Lord. 

3). Love the work of God

We continue onto the fourth trait of the healthy Christian soul expressed by the Apostle John in his third letter, namely...

Healthy Christian souls love doing right

3 John 1:11 reads - "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God." A healthy Christian does not view good works as duties to perform but as delightful expressions of love. When the heart of a person is regnerated and converted in saving faith, God begins to take what are "have to's" and turns them into "want to's". 

Why would John urge his readers not to imitate what is evil? There was a man at the small church to which he wrote who was exercising tyranny over the flock - a man by the name of Diotrophes. The irony of Diotrophes was that even though his name in the original Greek means "nourished by love", the kind of love he fed upon was not God's love, but self-love. The result? Chaos. A quick summary of Diotrophes unhealthy soul provides a contrast to what John is urging his readers to be: namely healthy Christiani souls. Notice quickly the signs of unhealthy Christianity in Diotrophes:

1. "loves to be first", i.e self-love 

3 John 1:9

2. "does not accept what we say", i.e self-sufficiency. 3 John 1:9

3. "unjustly accusing us with wicked words", i.e accusing. 3 John 1:10

4. "does not receive the brethren", i.e argumentative. 3 John 1:10

5. "he forbids those who do so", that is, Disotrophes opposes those who are united around the cause of those advancing God's Kingdom in Christ. Hence, Distrophes is divisive .

When we take all five of the traits of unhealthy Christianity: self-loving, self-sufficient, accusatory, divisive, argumentative; we can see why John is urging his readers not to imitate such a man. Instead, John is urging his readers to not just be good people, but to be the kind of people that have works flowing from God's goodness flowing through them. Galatians 5:22-23 explains perfectly what such a lifestyle ought to be: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Therefore healthy Christian souls love to do right.

More tomorrow

Healthy Christian Souls love God's work - 3 John 1:6-8

3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

Today's post continues a series of posts derived from the smallest book in the Bible - John's 3rd Epistle. The above opening verse is identified as the key verse and spells out the theme of 3 John, namely "Healthy Christianity". In this series we are exploring the idea of "the healthy Christian soul". Thus far we have looked at how healthy Christian souls prize walking in the truth and aim at being faithful to the Lord. Today we continue by noting a third traith of healthy Christianity, namely...

Healthy Christian souls love God's work

3 John 1:6-8 tells us - "and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth." We can never seperate the Person of Jesus Christ from His work. God's presence and His work are inseperable. A healthy follower of Jesus Christ cannot claim to love Jesus with all of their heart and yet not have some interest in wanting to serve Him and encourage others to do the same. John's readers both loved the church and loved those who were advancing the cause of Christ outside in the mission field. This is one of the most detailed descriptions we have in the New Testament of how early churches sent forth missionaries. Healthy Christian souls light up whenever there is opportunity to do anything for Jesus. Hence, healthy Christian souls love God's work.

More tomorrow...

Healthy Christian Souls are faithful - 3 John 1:5

3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

Today's post continues a series of posts derived from the smallest book in the Bible - John's 3rd Epistle. The book of 3 John comprises only 215 words and fits on one page in the average Bible. Though small in size, this inspired text is just as profitable as the other 65 books in the canon of scripture. The above opening verse is identified as the key verse and spells out the theme of 3rd John, namely "Healthy Christianity". The phrase within 3 John 1:2 has captured my attention in that the Apostle describes his readers as those who have "prospering souls". In this series we are exploring the idea of "the healthy Christian soul". Yesterday we began by first noting that the healthy Christian soul walks in the truth. Today we consider the second trait of a healthy Christianity or a healthy Christian soul, namely... 

Healthy Christian souls are faithful

3 John 1:5 reads - "Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers." What does it mean to be faithful? Starting from conversion, every time I am faced with a decision to exercise faith in obedience or be disobedient out of fear determines how consistent I am in the walk of faith. Everytime I choose to trust God over myself, I am building in a track record of "faithfulness". Faithfulness always looks beyond self to the needs of others and the cause of God's Kingdom. Faithful people will never meet a stranger who is all about advancing God's kingdom work. God's kingdom is the domain of His reign in the hearts of men, the heavenly realms and will be made manifest in the soon return of Jesus Christ. Healthy Christianity thrives on faithfulness. Faithfulness, not success, is what defines healthy Christianity. 

More tomorrow.... 

Healthy Christian souls walk in the truth - 3 John 1:1-4

3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

Today's post begins a series derived from the smallest book in the Bible - John's 3rd Epistle. The book of 3 John comprises only 215 words and fits on one page in an average Bible. Though small in size, this inspired text is just as profitable as the other 65 books in the canon of scripture. The above opening verse is identified as the key verse and spells out the theme of 3 John, namely "Healthy Christianity". The phrase within 3 John 1:2 has captured my attention in that the Apostle describes his readers as those who have "prospering souls". Certainly his bidding for them to be physically healthy is worthy of a blogpost itself, however in couching such an command within an already existing state of healthy Christian spirituality makes me want to ask: "What does a healthy Christian soul look like?" It is with these thoughts in mind that we will explore over the next several posts the idea of "the healthy Christian soul". 

To get started, we can note the first characteristic of a healthy Christian soul, namely....

Healthy Christian souls walk in the truth 

John writes in 3 John 1:3-4 "For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." When Christians are regularly conducting themselves around the Word of God, it causes joy in the hearts of other Christ-followers who have given their lives to the truth. Truth is the food and drink of the Christian and commitment to the truth of God's word is a premier sign of true conversion. (see John 14:21) We are told in Ephesians 4:1 to "walk worthy in the manner of our calling". What is the manner of our calling? To walking in the truth, the light of God's presence. (1 John 1:5-7) Jesus Himself is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and thus believers are urged in 1 John 2:6 to "walk as Jesus walked". Hence a healthy Christian soul will prioritize walking in the truth.

More tomorrow...

The Greatness of Jesus Christ in the General Epistles

Hebrews 1:1-4 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."

Introduction: A quick word on the general Epistles

Michael Harbin in his survey of the Bible entitled: "The Promise and the Blessing", notes - "As we approach the end fo the apostolic age, we note a change in the letters (That is the New Testament Epistles). Outside of James, the letters we have seen thus far were written to individual churches, that is, to all the believers in a given city. By contrast, the letters written in the sixties or later (60 A.D or later) were written either to larger geographical regions or to specific individuals."  Harbin later notes: "Those letters written to larger geographical regions are often called Catholic or General Epistles because they were written to believers in general, not to a specific individual or city."  Harbin's comments relate to the 8 books in our New Testaments we classify as the general epistles, namely: Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter. 1,2,3 John and Jude. These books are many times not read as often as the thirteen letters of Paul (Galatians-2 Timothy), which is to the Christian's detriment. Why? Because in exploring the general epistles, one can better understand for example the relationship of suffering to the Christian life or how the Old Testament and New Testament fit together. Today's post is about briefly considering the most important person and topic that could be pondered - Jesus Christ. What I aim to do in this post is list one text from each of the general letters of the New Testament that shows to us the greatness of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that this post edifies and encourages every reader.

1. Jesus Christ is Supreme - Book of Hebrews

Hebrews 1:1-4 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they." The theme of "better" occurs over a dozen references in Hebrews, all pointing to how Jesus Christ is supreme above all things. 

2. Jesus Christ's authority - Book of James

James 5:7-9  "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28:18 that all power and authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He is the judge, having authority and Divine power. 

3. Jesus Christ's comings - 1 & 2 Peter

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."

2 Peter 3:9-10  "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in whichthe heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up."

4. Jesus Christ as Savior - 1,2,3 John

1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." Jesus as Savior provides assurance of salvation for everyone who responds by grace alone through faith alone in Him alone.

2 John 1:9 "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." It is not enough to say one believes in a Jesus, but in the right Jesus. The Jesus that saves people from their sins is the One revealed in the Bible, the Word of God.

3 John 1:7 "For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles." The term "Name" is shorthand for everything that Jesus is and accomplished and is still doing today. Acts 4:12 reminds us that no other "name" is given under heaven to people whereby they can be saved. 

5. Jesus Christ is the God of mercy - Book of Jude

Jude 1:21 - "keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." Jesus Christ is "Lord", which is a title of Deity, and He is merciful, which reminds us of the fact He is the God of mercy. Jude closes out his book and our study of the greatness of Jesus Christ in the General Epistles with these words from Jude 1:24-25 - "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

The theme of endurance & healthy faith in Daniel & 3 John

Daniel 12:13 "But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”

3 John 11 "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God."

Some thoughts on the book of Daniel in general and Daniel 11-12 in particular

As we close out our time in the Book of Daniel today, we need to make a general observation about the book and then say something specific about Daniel 11-12. First, the Book of Daniel functions as a padlock, meaning that at the end God through an angel tells Daniel that the vision is sealed and must wait and appointed time. When read in concert with the Book of Revelation, the message and contents of the book open up, being that Revelation functions as a perfect key to unlock Daniel. 

With regards to some specific observations about Daniel 11-12, we are seeing the most detailed prophecy of God's Word. 

1. Daniel 11:1-2 begins by predicting four Persian Kings that would follow Darius that history defines as being from Cambyses (529-522 b.c) all the way to Xerxes I who ruled Persia in the days of Queen Esther in 480 b.c. Remember Daniel was writing this portion of his prophecy in along 515 b.c. 

2. As you do down through Daniel 11:3-45, prediction is made concerning the Greek Empire that would be led by Alexander the Great in 333 A.D and that would divide into four parts given to each of his generals following his death. Those four divided kingdoms in their detail and description of leadership are remarkably detailed and completely accurate as they lead you to an evil king in Daniel 11:29-35. 

This evil King would be known in history as Antiochus Epiphanes who ransacked the temple in Jerusalem in 168 b.c but was overturned by a group of Jews called the Maccabees. The Jewish holiday known as Hanukkah commemorates that event. God through Daniel then uses the predicted events of history as patterns for what will be a prediction of the Anti-Christ in Daniel 11:36-45. 

3. When will the Anti-Christ arise? Daniel 12 gives the timing of his rise, as well as God's faithfulness to preserve the Jewish remnant who will had believed upon Jesus the Messiah in the event of His second coming. 

4. Daniel 12 closes with reference to the resurrection of the righteous at the beginning of His earthly reign and then that of the wicked dead which, in comparison to other scriptures, will occur at the end of Christ's millennial or 1,000 year reign in Revelation 20. 

How the Book of Daniel aims to encourage the believer in the present to endure with prophecies of things to come

Daniel's book closes with an encouragement, much like his intent at the beginning of Daniel 11. The encouragement is for Daniel and those of like precious faith to endure to the end. 

The Book of 3 John is all about cultivating a healthy Christian faith that will endure to the end

When you turn to 3 John, the theme has to do with having a healthy Christian faith. 

1. We see the encouragement to healthy Christian faith (3 John 1-8)

2. We see warnings about unhealthy faith (3 John 9-10) 

3. Then we see a final section on the importance of having a good testimony (3 John 11-15). 

Conclusion

As Daniel and John's writing teach us, through the grace of God and His word, we can endure to the end and have this promise that He Who begins a good work in us will bring it unto completion unto the day of Christ.

Importance of Imitating a Good Testimony - 3 John 11-15

3 John 11-12 "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true."

Introduction:
Over the past month I have written two posts that draw material directly from the book of 3 John.  We have noted that John's main purpose in writing this shortest of all the Bible books is to detail the healthy Christian walk. John's little letter is addressed to Gaius and features two other men: Diotrophes and Demetrius.  The first post (7/20/13) was entitled "Marks of a Healthy Christian faith" and listed out three traits that we find of a healthy Christian faith from 3 John 1-8:
1. Sound Faith.                        3 John 1-2
2. Strongly Committed Faith.   3 John 3-4
3. Sharing Faith.                      3 John 5-8
In that first post we focused attention upon Gaius and noted how he emulated all three traits.  

In contrast to Gaius we looked at the life of Diotrophes in a post (7/30/13) entitled "Marks of an unhealthy Christianity, and how to cure it."  Diotrophes is the villain of John's short epistle and evidences three traits of unhealthy Christian faith in 3 John 9-11:
1. Resistance.             3 John 9
2. Rebellion.                3 John 10
3. Rottenness.             3 John 11

Gaius shows us the qualities necessary for a healthy Christian faith, whereas Diotrophes shows us what not to have.  We concluded that last post with a prescription from 2 Peter 1:4-10 for curing an unhealthy Christian faith.

The importance of imitating a Good Testimony
In today's post we aim to close out our study of 3 John by looking at the third man in John's little letter: Demetrius.  If Gaius shows us the internal qualities to have in a healthy Christian faith, then Demetrius' life illustrates a good testimony that flows from such faith.  Gaius' life illustrates the roots of healthy faith and Demetrius' life highlights the fruits of healthy faith. Therefore in today's post we will consider the topic: "The importance of imitating a good testimony." Note the following imitable qualities of a good testimony from 3 John 11-15, with the main focus on verse 12:

1. A Good Testimony should be imitated.   
3 John 11-12
John exhorts Gaius in 3 John 11 to "imitate what is good. The one who does good is of God." Diotrophes is the illustration of what not to imitate.  John mentions Demetrius to illustrate by example what a good testimony is to both Gaius and us. John is actually exhorting Gaius to consider and imitate Demetrius' testimony.  In 3 John 12 we read the following about Demetrius, namely that he "had received a good testimony from everyone." The one verb in the original language translated "had received a good testimony" is in the perfect tense, meaning that Demetrius' testimony was good from the moment he got saved and is still a good testimony even to John's present day.  Demetrius is the type of Christian whom you can rely upon and who has been consistent from the beginning of faith up until now.  

Testimonies by nature are to be of such a quality as to be imitated.  The Apostle Paul encourages this practice in Philippians 3:16-17 "however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us."  Why is it good to imitate a good testimony? Not because of the person so much as the fact of what the person is imitating.  Demetrius had a good testimony that was worthy of imitation due to the fact that he imitated scripture.   

2. A Good Testimony should imitate scripture. 3 John 12
John writes in 3 John 12 "Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself....".  Three times in this one verse is the word "testimony" mentioned.  The Apostle John himself undoubtedly would had been imitated by Demetrius, since out of all the New Testament authors, no one wrote more on the subject of testimony than John (nearly 50 times in all of his writings).  A good testimony will pattern itself after what it sees in scripture, and build its elements from the Bible.  The Bible Knowledge Commentary draws out this interesting observation about 3 John 12:
"In accordance with the Jewish law of witnesses (Deut. 19:15), the apostle adduced a threefold testimony to the character of Demetrius. (1) He was well spoken of by everyone who new him. (2) He was also vouched for by the truth itself. Here the truth is personified as a "witness" and John no doubt meant that Demetrius' character and doctrine were in such conformity with that truth that the truth itself virtually spoke on his behalf. (3) As a third line of testimony, John wrote, we also speak well of him, and you know our testimony is true." Think of how often the Bible itself instructs us to pattern our lives around its words. (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17) So if a good testimony is to be imitated and if it is marked by how it imitates scripture, then why imitate scripture? Because when you imitate scripture in your testimony, you are imitating Jesus Christ.

3. A Good Testimony should imitate Jesus Christ. 3 John 12-15 
Demetrius' testimony imitated scripture and was worthy of imitation because of the fact He aimed to imitate Jesus Christ.  How do we know that? Other scripture speaks about the imitation of Jesus Christ as being the chief mark of a good Christian testimony.  John writes the main purpose of his Gospel in John 20:31 "but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."  Later on John writes in John 21:24 "This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true."

Or consider these words about imitating Jesus in 1 John 2:6 "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."  The Apostle Peter mentions Jesus' example as the basis of our Christian testimony in 1 Peter 2:21 "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps." Then finally, consider these thoughts in Hebrews 12:2-3 "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Conclusion
John urges Gaius and us to imitate Demetrius because a good testimony should be imitated, due to the fact it imitates scripture, and thus in doing so it imitates Jesus.  This is why a good Christian testimony is so important to imitate.