Bible: 1 John 2:18-29; 3:2-12; 4:1-6

Warning About False Teachers

2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists 1  have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained 2  with us. But 3  they went out from us 4  to demonstrate 5  that all of them do not belong to us. 6 

2:20 Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 7  2:21 I have not written to you that 8  you do not know the truth, but that 9  you do know it, and that 10  no lie is of the truth. 2:22 Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ 11 ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. 2:23 Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also. 12 

2:24 As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain 13  in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 2:25 Now this 14  is the promise that he 15  himself made to 16  us: eternal life. 17  2:26 These things I have written to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 18 

2:27 Now as for you, the anointing 19  that you received from him 20  resides 21  in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his 22  anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as 23  it 24  has taught you, you reside 25  in him.

Children of God

2:28 And now, little children, remain 26  in him, 27  so that when 28  he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back. 29  2:29 If you know that he is righteous, you also know 30  that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered 31  by him.

3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat 1  of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; 3:3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, 2  or else you will die.’ 3  3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, 4  3:5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open 5  and you will be like divine beings who know 6  good and evil.” 7 

3:6 When 8  the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, 9  was attractive 10  to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, 11  she took some of its fruit and ate it. 12  She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 13  3:7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The Judgment Oracles of God at the Fall

3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about 14  in the orchard at the breezy time 15  of the day, and they hid 16  from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. 3:9 But the Lord God called to 17  the man and said to him, “Where are you? 18  3:10 The man replied, 19 I heard you moving about 20  in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 3:11 And the Lord God 21  said, “Who told you that you were naked? 22  Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? 23  3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave 24  me some fruit 25  from the tree and I ate it.”

The Story of Cain and Abel

4:1 Now 1  the man had marital relations with 2  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 3  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 4  a man just as the Lord did! 5  4:2 Then she gave birth 6  to his brother Abel. 7  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. 8 

4:3 At the designated time 9  Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering 10  to the Lord. 4:4 But Abel brought 11  some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest 12  of them. And the Lord was pleased with 13  Abel and his offering, 4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. 14  So Cain became very angry, 15  and his expression was downcast. 16 

4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast?

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