1 Peter
The Pilgrim Path.
The journey and its end—suffering and glory.
“The pilgrim’s progress from this world to that which is to come.”
Note the place that “suffering” has in this Epistle.
1 The path through the wilderness.
1:3 Living hope.
1:4 Contrast with Jer. 2:7.
1:8 Christ apprehended by faith which worketh by love.
1:10-12 Prophetic testimony.
1:11 The inspiring Spirit—See 2 Pet. 1:20.
Sufferings of Christ—See ch. 2:19.
1:13-16 Exhortation to steadfastness.
1:17-21 Holiness based on redemption.
1:18 [last part] empty behavior, ancestrally handed down.
1:20 foreordained—foreknown.
1:22 Love based on regeneration.
2—4 The Separated life.
2:2 “unto salvation”—J.N.D. and R.V.
2:4-10 The spiritual house and the new priesthood.
2:4 Living stone—Matt. 16:18.
2:5 Living stones.
2:11-17 Exhortation. Responsibility to walk in holiness through the world.
2:18—3:7 Sanctified relationships.
2:19 Suffering wrongfully—See v. 20.
2:23 Suffering of Christ—See ch. 3:14.
3:1 without the word—i.e., without nagging.
3:12 Note how the quotation stops in the midst of a sentence—the Day of Judgment not yet come.
3:14 Suffering for righteousness’ sake.
3:17-18 Suffering for well-doing—Christ suffered for sins.
4:1 Sufferings of Christ—suffered in the flesh.
4:12 Suffering for Christ’s sake.
4:13 Partakers of Christ’s sufferings.
4:15 Not to suffer as evildoers.
4:16 Suffering as a Christian.
4:19 Suffering according to the will of God.
5 Service and reward.
5:1 Sufferings of Christ—See v. 10.
5:2 Acts 20:28—Shepherding the flock.
5:7 Ps. 55:22.
5:9 Whom—not which!
5:10 Suffer “a while.”
2 Peter
Steadfastness in view of apostasy.
1 Spiritual growth.
1:9 hath forgotten—“Forgetful Green.” Bunyan.
1:13 “Stir up”—connect with 2 Cor. 5. See ch. 3:1.
1:19 a more sure word of prophecy—the word of prophecy confirmed.
1:20 any private interpretation—of its own interpretation.
2 Apostate teachers.
2:1 Aspects of perdition.
2:15 Compare with the Epistle of Jude.
3 The Lord’s Return.
3:10 The Day of the Lord.
3:12 The Day of God.
3:13 See Isa. 65 and 66.
3:15 Is not Paul’s authorship of Hebrews here intimated?
3:16 hard to be understood—as in Heb. 6 and 10.
1 John
The Epistle of Fellowship. Light and Love.
In John’s Gospel: Eternal Life Manifested in the Son of God.
In first Epistle: Eternal Life Manifested in the Children of God.
1:1 i.e., The beginning of Christianity. Not “in the beginning” as in Gen. 1:1 and John 1:1.
1:2 “The manifested Life.”
1:7 Note: It is where we walk—not how. All real Christians walk in the Light.
2:3-11 Obedience the evidence of life.
2:4 He who knows God seeks to obey Him.
2:7-8 See John 12:49—The testimony given by the Father to the Son. The same Life in Him and in us.
2:12-28 The family of God.
2:2 9—3:15 The two families.
3:1 The Father’s love for His children.
the sons of God—and such we are. R.V.
3:3 See 1 Thess. 3:12, 13.
3:9 commit—practice.
3:16-24 Love, the manifestation of the new nature.
3:17 Active benevolence, a condition of answered prayer. See Prov. 21:13.
3:20-21 The heart may condemn—then real prayer is impossible. See Ps. 66:18.
4:1-6 The spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
4:7-21 Perfect love—its manifestation and results.
4:12 John 1:18—God manifest in us.
4:15 The indwelling God.
4:17 Perfect love.
Day of Judgment—See John 5:24.
5:1-13 Assurance through divine testimony.
5:1-5 Overcomers.
Summary—Love and Obedience overcoming proofs of divine life.
5:6-13 The witness—water for purification, blood for expiation. Others—like the prophets—came by water— proclaiming the Word for cleansing—but He only came by both water and blood. See Ezek. 36:25.
5:14-21 Epilogue.
5:14-15 Confidence. The prayer that God answers.
5:16-17 Sin unto death—Jer. 11:14; Isa. 22:14.
5:18-21 Divine certainties.
2 John
An appendix to 1 John.
Truth to be maintained at all costs.
Only Epistle to a lady.
1 the elect lady—Lady Electra.
3 The Son of the Father—the supreme test.
4-6 Love not inconsistent with loyalty to the truth.
8 Heb. 11:2 6—Reward for service—Rev. 22:12.
10-11 Responsibility to test false teachers and refuse them.
3 John
1 Love ever to be manifested.
8 Fellowship in the truth.
9-11 Warning against ecclesiastical pretension.
Jude
The Increasing Apostasy.
1 See Luke 6:16 as to the relationship of Jude and James, son of Alpheus.
3 The faith once for all delivered.
4 All creeping things were unclean—See Lev. 11:41.
unawares—clandestine work.
5-7 Destruction of apostates.
8-10 Despisers of the truth.
11 Threefold apostasy.
12-13 Divine indictment of evil workers.
14-15 Enoch’s prophecy.
16-19 Unholy separatists—Prov. 18:1.
20-23 Faith’s resources.
20 Studious, prayerful.
21 Trustful, hopeful.
22-23 Compassionate.
24 Compare with Eph. 3:20.
able—see Heb. 2:18.
The Revelation
The Book of the Throne.
Throne —27 times.
Book of the Lamb. Lamb—24 times.
1:8 See Isa. 48:12.
1:16 See Isa. 49:2.
2:1 John 20:26—Jesus in the midst—See ch. 5:6.
2:2, 9, 19; 3:1, 8, 15 I know thy works—the Lord’s estimate.
2:4 The greatest heresy of all is the want of love.
2:7, 11 Promise to the overcomer—tree of life—Gen. 3:22.
2:17 Promise—manna—Ex. 16.
White stone—division of the tribes.
2:20 Jezebel—A heathen princess linked to the people of God—the virtual ruler of Israel; Leader in apostasy and seducer of the people. The papal system—1 Kings 16:31.
2:26 Promise—conquest of Canaan.
2:28 Star out of Judah—Balaam’s prophecy.
3:5 [first part] Promise—priestly garments.
[last part] See Moses’ intercession. Contrast Ps. 69:28.
3:7 The key to the treasury—See Isa. 22:22.
3:9 The conflict with legality. Judaizers in the professed church.
3:12 Promise—the Temple of Solomon.
3:14 Laodicea—A Phrygian city of great wealth—Trading in costly mantles, unguents—Gold pouring in. The Church there largely patterned after the city—self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-righteous.
3:16 Neither enemy nor ardent friend.
3:18 Exhortation—The Lord in the guise of a traveling merchant.
3:20 Behold, I stand—what condescension! what patience!
Behold, I knock—By the Word, By adversity, By bereavement.
4:1 First opening—See ch. 11:19.
4:3 See Ex. 39:10, 13—Sardius—Reuben. Jasper—Benjamin.
4:4 Not king’s crowns—but rewards.
4:6 The eyes of the Lord—See Zech. 4:10.
4:11 Man is for God; not God for man—See Col. 1:18.
5:1 The title deeds—See Jer. 32:10, 11.
5:6 Jesus in the midst—See Matt. 18:20.
6:2 Bloodless victory—the triumphs of peace.
6:4 Internecine and universal warfare.
6:5 Famine—food doled out by weight.
6:8 Pestilence Added to the Horrors of War and Famine.
6:9 Jewish saints slain in the early part of the tribulation.
6:12 See Isa. 2:19, 21. Also Isa. 34:4.
6:13 Collapse of civilization. Downfall of orderly government.
7:2-4 144,000—the remnant of Israel—sealed before the last half of the 70th week begins.
7:9-10 Gentiles who welcome the message of the remnant of Israel in the tribulation days.
8:1 The calm before the coming storm of judgment.
8:3 The angel-priest.
9:2 Strong delusion blotting out the light.
9:7 Nahum 3:17.
9:8 Seductive.
9:10 The prophet that speaketh lies.
10:7 The mystery of God finished when the seventh trumpet sounds.
10:9 Eating the Word of God—Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 2:7; 3:1-3.
10:11 before—in respect of.
11:3 The two witnesses. Connect with Zech. 4—Royalty and priesthood.
11:5 See Jer. 5:14.
11:6 A testimony like to that of Moses and Elijah.
11:8 Jerusalem is called Sodom—See Isa. 1:10.
11:12 The mid-tribulation rapture of the witnesses who are slain under the beast.
11:15 The seventh trumpet ushers in the Kingdom and goes on to the judgment of the wicked, i.e., to the Great White Throne, thus completing a prophetic series.
11:19 Second opening—See ch. 15:5.
12 A “Sign” in Heaven—God’s thoughts of Israel. Jer. 4:31—See Isa. 66:7. The woman is not in heaven—but on the earth as verse 12 proves. Israel the mother of the Messiah—See Isa. 9:6; Mic. 4:10; 5:2, 3; Rom. 9-5.
12:2 See full description of this same scene in Micah 4:8 to 13.
12:14 The eagle—Ex. 19:4.
13:2 The nondescript beast of Dan. 7:7.
13:3 The imperial head wounded to death—but revived by satanic power. The imperial head once wounded to death, shall rise again in the last days—See Hab. 3:13.
13:11 The lamb-like beast—the false Messiah. See Dan. 11:36 to 45; 2 Thess. 2; 1 John 2.
13:15 life—breath. Contrast Hab. 2:19.
14:11 See Isa. 34:10.
14:13 Blessed—See ch. 16:15. “The returns are not all in yet!” W. P. White.
14:14 The Son of Man—last use of the term—See Matt. 8:20.
14:15 The harvest—discriminative judgment—See Matt. 13:30.
14:18 The vintage—Joel 3:13. The unsparing judgment of apostate Israel.
15:2 The saints slain in the great tribulation.
15:5 Third opening—see ch. 19:11.
16:1 vials—bowls.—Compare the judgments of the bowls with the plagues of Egypt.
16:12 The eastern confederation, “The kings of the sunrising.”
16:15 Blessed—Seech. 19:9.
17:5 Who are the daughters? See Ezek. 16:44.
18:7 Babylon’s proud boast—See Isa. 47:7.
18:14 “The fruit season of thy soul’s desire has gone from thee.”
19:9 Blessed—See ch. 20:6.
19:11 Fourth opening.
19:15-16 The winepress—See Isa. 63:1-10.
20:6 Blessed—See ch. 22:7.
20:11 Job 14:12.
20:25 Contrast Ezek. 42.
22:1 The river of God—See Gen. 2:10; Ps. 36:8; 46:4; 65:9; Cant. 4:15; Isa. 58:11; Ezek. 47:1-12.
22:7 Blessed—see v. 14.
22:10 Contrast with Daniel 12. See Isa. 29:10-12.
22:12 Reward at the judgment seat of Christ. See 2 John 8; Isa. 40:10; 62:11.
22:14 do His commandments—“wash their robes,” correct reading.