1 John 2:11

11 But he who hates his brother man is in darkness and is walking in darkness; and he does not know where he is going--because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

1 John 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 John 2:11

But he that hateth his brother is in darkness
As is before expressed in ( 1 John 2:9 ) , to which is added,

and walketh in darkness;
he goes on in it, and takes delight in it, as dangerous and uncomfortable as it is:

and knoweth not whither he goeth;
he cannot discern between good and evil; he puts darkness for light, and light for darkness; he sees not what is before him, nor what stumblingblocks lie in the way; he is not aware of the snares, pits, and traps he is in danger of falling into; nor does he know and consider what these paths of darkness, of sin, and ignorance, and infidelity, lead unto, even unto utter darkness, where is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth: and the reason is,

because that darkness hath blinded his eyes;
either Satan, the god of this world, who blinds the minds of them that believe not, and who is darkness itself, and the cause of darkness in himself and in others, and one of whose names this was with the Jews F5; (See Gill on Luke 22:53); or that natural darkness which sin has brought upon the understanding, and has blinded the eyes of it, called the blindness of the heart, ( Ephesians 4:18 ) , so that a man under the power of it is ignorant of himself, and knows not that he is blind and miserable; is a stranger to the way of peace, and life by Christ, and knows not what he is about, and where he is, or whither he is going, and what his end will be.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 Yalkut Simconi, par. 2. fol. 44. 4.

1 John 2:11 In-Context

9 Any one who professes to be in the light and yet hates his brother man is still in darkness.
10 He who loves his brother man continues in the light, and his life puts no stumbling-block in the way of others.
11 But he who hates his brother man is in darkness and is walking in darkness; and he does not know where he is going--because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, dear children, because for His sake your sins are forgiven you.
13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the very beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
The Weymouth New Testament is in the public domain.