The Elect Lady

We find the Apostle John, in his later years, writing "unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. It is a family letter, written to the mother and the children, the head of this godly household having, probably, passed away; and "the elder" John , whom this dear woman of God must have recognised as her "elder," writes to her "for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

He does not write to her for her sake, nor for her children's sake; he does not write because it is pleasant to write a letter, but "for the truth's sake which dwelleth in us.

The Elect Lady by George MacDonald

John's greeting was not formal; he gives it as a messenger in the Lord's message. And, doubtless, when the elect lady opened her letter she would be conscious that grace, mercy, and peace flowed in upon her soul. God teach us so to write that our letters may bring blessing with them, because they are written in the spirit of waiting upon God. If her children had gained Government positions, had passed with honours in the Universities, or gained any advantage for this world, it could never have so thrilled her heart with joy as to know that such a judge as this Apostle could speak of her children as walking in the truth.

And yet she needed to be taught, and her children also, and the same lesson which was the centre of all John's teaching was passed on by him to his correspondent. It was the new commandment "that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after His commandments. The only allowable debt for a Christian is to love one another Rom Just because this godly family walked in truth, they needed to be reminded to obey yet further. Love to the brethren and obedience to God are the safeguards from the deceiver and the Antichrist, and thus the Apostle bids her to abide in the doctrine of Christ, and to beware of those who bring not this doctrine.

It is the most godly who need the most to take heed, because they are, more than others, the mark for the enemy. The old Apostle is hoping soon to visit the elect lady, and passes on a message of greeting from her elect sister's children.

Who is the "elect lady" of Second John? - Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange

Probably he was known in both households as the beloved guest of the mothers and the children, and always left a blessing behind him for the household when he sojourned with them. This glimpse into the social life of the old Apostle shows us how fully his life was the Lord's, how his public and private life was all one, how he could have said with Paul, "To me to live is Christ. Who knows how soon after this he was called by persecution into the island of Patmos, there to abide in the purpose of God's will, that he might receive and write the Book of Revelation Rev 1: Who knows how much the prayers and the fellowship of this chosen woman, and others who were chosen in Christ, may have strengthened the faith of the blessed exile?

And who knows how He, who is waiting until His Bride hath made herself ready Rev Let us learn to say with Mary, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

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Keep me logged in! Did you forget your password? However, in this letter, we learn that Truth "dwells in us and shall be with us forever" v. Even Pilate's cynical question still echoes in our ears, "What is Truth? It would seem that John is using, here, Truth as a title of Jesus Christ, just as he so often uses the Logos , the Word. We should not presume that any of us is beyond the need for encouragement or exhortation. Why would Mary - a blessed but human believer - be any exception? Especially during a time when widespread attacks on the deity of Jesus Christ was the topic of the day!

Mary was subject to the same frailties as we are: A tendency toward pride could certainly have been her most serious challenge: And yet, having to live with the clouds of legitimacy, and other doctrinal issues, over her firstborn.

Read through the Second Epistle of John from Mary's perspective, and see what the Spirit confirms to you. On Paul's return from his third missionary journey, he met with the Ephesian elders at Miletus some 30 miles south of Ephesus and delivered to them that touching farewell address in which he warned them of the forthcoming false teachers. It would seem that II John was written to this very community, but at an earlier date than I John since the false teachers, the "Gnostics," evidently still had access to the church in II John, but had seceded from it in I John. By the time that John is subsequently in exile on the isle of Patmos, Ephesus was prominent as the first of the seven churches in Revelation for which Jesus includes a report card.

The church at Ephesus, by then, had apparently exercised effective diligence regarding false doctrine, but had "left their first love. The apostle John, according to tradition, spent his final years in Ephesus, where he died and was buried. In any case, John's letters focus on our walking in love, in truth, and in the intimate knowledge of God.

ELECT LADY

However I would argue against this. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is 7 days long. It is my belief that this Feast of Ingathering is the reason for the 8th day of the Feast of Booths. Coincidentally, this year's Feast Days, mirror the feast days the year Christ was Crucified. So is it quite possible the men of Ninivah, a gentile woman from the south and the 7 wicked spirits are here?

It is quite possible when the signs we CAN and cannot see are taken into consideration. I guess we shall soon see. Thank you for your interest in this question. Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site the association bonus does not count. Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?

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Home Questions Tags Users Unanswered. To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: Dan 6, 3 35 According to the NET translators notes: Commentary on 2 John. We know this because like 1 John he is beholden to the man Jesus: NIV 2 John 1: What were the teachings of the earthly Christ?

He taught the law of Moses: For the author of 2 John the elect lady is the messianic community. The same was true for Peter: James likewise is writing to the messianic communities: So 2 John is written to the messianic community which is personified as a woman, which we see also in Revelation: And he is not beholden to the earthly, Jewish messiah: