2 John 1:7

Deceivers (planoi). Late adjective (Diodorus, Josephus) meaning wandering, roving ( 1 Timothy 4:1 ). As a substantive in N.T. of Jesus ( Matthew 27:63 ), of Paul ( 2 Corinthians 6:8 ), and here. See the verb (twn planontwn uma) in 1 John 2:26 of the Gnostic deceivers as here and also of Jesus ( John 7:12 ). Cf. 1 John 1:8 . Are gone forth (exhlqan, alpha ending). Second aorist active indicative of exercomai, perhaps an allusion to the crisis when they left the churches ( 1 John 2:19 , same form). Even they that confess not (oi mh omologounte). "The ones not confessing" (mh regular negative with the participle). The articular participle describes the deceivers (planoi). That Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh (Ihsoun Criston ercomenon en sarki). "Jesus Christ coming in the flesh." Present middle participle of ercomai treating the Incarnation as a continuing fact which the Docetic Gnostics flatly denied. In 1 John 4:2 we have elhluqota (perfect active participle) in this same construction with omologew, because there the reference is to the definite historical fact of the Incarnation. There is no allusion here to the second coming of Christ. This (outo). See 1 John 2:18 1 John 2:22 ; 1 John 5:6 1 John 5:20 . The deceiver and the antichrist (o plano kai o anticristo). Article with each word, as in Revelation 1:17 , to bring out sharply each separate phrase, though one individual is referred to. The one par excellence in popular expectation ( 1 John 2:22 ), though many in reality ( 1 John 2:18 ; 3 John 1:7 ).