1 John 4:1 Cross References - JMNT

¹ Beloved ones, stop believing (or: you must not continually believe or put trust in; being loyal or pledging allegiance to) every spirit (or: expression of some influence; breath-effect; attitude), but rather, you folks must constantly examine, test and prove the spirits (influences; attitudes) to assay (or: prove) if they are existing from out of God, because many false prophets have gone (or: come) out into the ordered System (world of societal culture, government, economy and religion) and continue there.

¹⁵ "Constantly apply yourselves to holding off the false prophets – whatsoever ones that are habitually coming to you folks in clothing belonging to sheep (= disguised as sheep; pretending to have the covering or appearance of sheep), yet inside they are ravenous, savage wolves. ¹⁶ "You will come to be recognizing and fully knowing them from their fruits. People are not normally picking or gathering clusters of grapes from thorn bushes (prickly plants), nor ripe figs from thistles or briers.

⁴ Then making a discerning reply, Jesus says to them, "You men be constantly looking, seeing, and staying alert, [so that] nothing and no one can mislead or should deceive you folks. ⁵ "You see, many people will be coming, upon [association with; the basis of, or, the supposed authority of; on the reference to] My name, one after another saying, 'I, myself, am the anointed one (or: the Christ;),' and they will be leading astray and deceiving many people.

²³ "At that time, if anyone should say to you folks, 'Look! Here [is] the Anointed One (or: the anointing; or: the Christ; or: = the Messiah)!' Or, 'There [He/it is]!' – you folks should not trust or believe [it]. ²⁴ "For you see, false christs (or: false anointings; phony anointed ones; = counterfeit messiahs) will one after another be raised up, and they will continue giving (presenting; = performing) great signs and miracles (amazing things; wonders) so as to continuously mislead (deceive; cause to wander; lead astray) – if able (if in [their] power; or: since [it is] possible) – even the picked out and chosen folks. ²⁵ "Look and remember – I have already said [this] before to you folks (or: Look, and consider – I have told you beforehand and have forewarned you people). ²⁶ "Therefore, if they should say to you folks, 'Look! He is within the desert (wilderness; desolate place),' you should not go out, [or], 'Look! [He is] within the inner chambers (interior rooms; storehouses; barns; closets),' you should not put your trust in [it] or believe [them].

²¹ "Then, at that time, if anyone of you folks should say, 'Look! Here [is] the Christ (the Anointed One; or: the Anointing)! Or See, there [He is]!' – be neither trusting nor believing [them].

⁵⁷ "So why are you people not also habitually discerning and deciding for yourselves [what is] right (just; the fair and equitable course to follow which accords with the Way pointed out)?

⁸ Now He replied, "Continue looking. You should not at any point be deceived or led astray. You see, many people will continue coming – on the [basis of] My name (i.e., claiming to be My representative and have My authority) – one after another saying, 'I am (or: I, myself, am [he; the one])!' and 'The appointed season (or: fitting situation) has drawn near and is now present!' You folks should not at any point go from place to place behind them.

¹¹ Now these folks were (or: existed being) more noble (well-born; = noble-minded and having the character that comes from being raised in a good family) than those in Thessalonica. [They were] folks who received and welcomed the Logos (the Word; the message; the idea) with all eagerness (rushing forward), repeatedly examining again, separating back and sifting up and down the Scriptures – day by day – to determine if these continue having it thus (or: holding it in this way).

²⁹ "Now I myself have seen and am aware that, after (or: with) my spreading forth as dust and ashes (= going away, so as to be out of reach), heavy (= burdensome and oppressive) wolves will enter into the midst of you folks – folks by habit not sparing (or: treating with tenderness or forbearance) the flock,

¹⁸ for such folks are not habitually performing as slaves for our Lord Christ, but rather for their own belly (cavity; bowels or stomach; = appetite), and through the useful smooth talk (profitable words) and complimentary speech (blessings!) they continuously deceive (mislead; seduce) the hearts of the folks without malice (those with no bad qualities; blameless and innocent ones). ¹⁹ You see, [the report of] your obedient hearing and compliance has reached (or: arrived) unto all people. Therefore I constantly rejoice upon you (or: = over [this news of] you), yet I am wanting you folks, on the one hand, to be wise [leading] into the midst of The Good, yet, on the other hand, unmixed into the bad (mixtureless as to the worthless, evil and ugly).

¹⁰ Yet in (to; for) another person [is given] the effects and results of inner workings and operations of abilities, powers and influences; still in (to; for; by) another [is given] a prophecy (or: light ahead of time), and in (to; for; by) another [is given] thorough discernings, distinguishings or discriminations pertaining to spirits (or: separations from spirits throughout [oneself]; [the] siftings and complete separations which lead to a thorough decision or judgment of spirits or attitudes). Yet, in (to; for; by) a different person [are given] races and species (families and classes) of languages (or: tongues), then in (to; for; by) another one [are given] translations and interpretations of languages (tongues).

²⁹ Now let two or three prophets be speaking, one after another, and let the other folks continue thoroughly sifting and sorting so as to fully evaluate and reach a decision.

²¹ but be continuously examining and putting all things to the proof (or: yet habitually test every person) – [then] constantly hold tightly to the beautiful, the ideal, the fine!

¹ Now the Spirit (or: Breath-effect) is explicitly saying that within subsequent seasons (in fitting situations and on appropriate occasions which will be afterwards) some of the faith (or: certain folks belonging to this trust) will proceed standing off and away [from the Path, or from the Community] (or: some people will progressively withdraw from this conviction and loyalty), habitually holding toward (having a propensity to) wandering and deceptive spirits (or: straying and seducing breath-effects and attitudes) and to teachings of demons (to teachings about and pertaining to, or which are, demons [note: a Hellenistic concept and term: = animistic influences]; or: to instructions and training which come from animistic influences [= pagan religions]), [comment: this prophesied about the future institutionalization of the called-out community, and the introduction of pagan teachings, all of which later came to be called "orthodox"]

¹³ Now people of a bad condition and of an harmful disposition (useless and malicious humans who bring misery and hard labor), as well as sorcerers (folks who wail and cast spells; or: impostors and swindlers; those who juggle a situation), will continue cutting a path forward upon the worse (or: will be advancing and making progress from bad to worse), repeatedly leading [folks] astray (or: causing [folks] to wander [from the Path]) and progressively being led astray (or: caused to wander).

¹ Yet false prophets also birthed themselves (or: Now of themselves folks who pretended to have light ahead of time, or who had false knowledge and spoke before folks, came to be) among the People – as also false teachers will continue existing (or: being) among you folks, ones who will proceed to stealthily introduce (or: will continue bringing in alongside or smuggling in) destructive choices (or: destructive sects or schools; heresies marked by, and which pertain to, loss or destruction) even repeatedly denying (disowning; disclaiming) the Sovereign Owner (or: Absolute Master) having purchased them (or: buying them at the gathering, or market, place), continuously bringing swift loss, ruin or destruction upon themselves.

¹⁸ O undeveloped ones or folks of the age to be educated (or: servants, little boys and little girls who might be hit in training and for discipline), it continues being (or: is progressively) a last hour (= an eschaton of the Day, or the closing moment [of the age]), and according as you hear (or: heard) that an antichrist (or: anti-anointing; that which is instead of, or in the place of, Christ or the Anointing) repeatedly comes [other MSS: the anti-anointing (or: antichrist) continuously comes], even now many anti-anointings (or: antichrists; many things or people taking the place of Christ or stand in opposition to the Anointing) have been born and are here (or: have come into existence and are at large), from which fact (or: whence) we constantly know by experience that it continues being a last hour (= a closing moment [of the age]).

⁷ Since many wandering-astray folks (or: many who lead astray; many deceivers) went out into the ordered System (world of religion, secular culture, economics and government) – those not continuously speaking like (saying the same thing as; confessing) Jesus presently coming in flesh (= a physical body; or: = in [their] inner self): this is the person wandering astray, even the one in opposition to Christ (the one instead of Christ; the one in place of Christ; or: the anti-anointing) –

² I have seen, and thus know, your [note: the pronouns and verbs are singular] works (acts; deeds), and your exhausting labor, and yourremaining-under (patient endurance), and that you are not able (have no power) to bear up (lift up to carry) evil ones (worthless ones; those of bad quality), and you put to the proof those declaring themselves to be envoys (representatives; "apostles") – and they are not – and youfound them false (liars; deceivers);