I. The Advocate
The word parakletos in the Johannine writings, derived from the verb parakaleo, literally 'to call beside', has been interpreted both actively and passively; actively as meaning one who stands by and exhorts or encourages, whence the KJV (King James Version) "comforter" in John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7; passively as meaning one called to stand by someone, particularly in a law-court (though as a friend of the accused rather than a professional pleader), whence the KJV "advocate" in 1 John 2:1. Many versions simply translate the Greek; hence the "Paraclete" for the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit).
In 1 John, Yah'shua (Jesus) is described not only as a sacrificial offering, but also as someone to speak to on our behalf to the Father, Yahweh - our Advocate and Spokesman. The image is that of a royal court at which a supplicant needs someone greater than himself, who has the ear of the king, to plead his cause. Yah'shua (Jesus) performs this rôle with the Father on behalf of believers. Parakletos is used in the Gospel of John for the Ruach (Spirit) who is to succeed to Yah'shua's (Jesus') position as defender and strengthener of the disciples after His death (Jn.14:16f,26; 15:26; 16:7). But in the Gospel, Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself is, if not the, then certainly a Parakletos, for in John 14:16, the Ruach (Spirit) is "another comforter". In 1 John, however, the rôle is different. Yah'shua (Jesus) is now not the disciples' defender in the face of the world or the strengthener of their common life, but their spokesman in relation to the Father.
II. Antichrist (Anti-Messiah)
The expression antichristos is found only in the Bible in the Johannine epistles (1 Jn.2:18,22; 4:3; 2 Jn.7), but the idea behind it is widespread. We should probably understand the force of anti as indicating opposition, rather than a false claim, i.e. the antichrist is one who opposes Christ rather than one who claims to be Christ [1]. If this is so, then we should include under the heading 'antichrist' such Old Testament passages as Daniel 7:7f,21f, and those in 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation which deal with strong opposition that the forces of evil are to offer Christ in the last days.
The concept is introduced in John as already well known ("you have heard that antichrist shall come", 1 Jn.2:18). But though he does not dispute the fact that at the end of this age there will appear an evil being called "antichrist", John insists that there is a temper, an attitude, characteristic of antichrist, that already exists. Indeed, he can speak of "many antichrists" as already in the world (1 Jn.2:18). He gives something in the nature of a definition of antichrist when he says, "He is antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son" (1 Jn.2:22). This becomes a little more explicit when the criterion is made the denial that "Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) has come in the flesh" (1 Jn.4:3). For John it is basic that in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) we see Elohim (God) acting for man's salvation (1 Jn.4:9f). When a man denies this, he is not acting simply out of doctrinal error but is undercutting the very foundation of the Christian faith. He is doing the work of Satan in opposing the things of Yahweh. At the end of the age this will characterise the work of the supreme embodiment of evil. And those who in a smaller way do the same thing now demonstrate by that very fact that they are his henchmen.
III. Truth
Truth, like its relation knowledge, is used in the Old Testament in two senses: (1) the intellectual, of facts which may be ascertained to be true or false (Dt.17:4; 1 Ki.10:6); or (2) for more commonly, the existential and moral, of truth as the attribute of a person (e.g. Ge.42:16). In Greek literature, however, the words for truth (alétheia, aléthés, aléthino) do not have the same personal and moral connotation. Rather, truth is intellectual. It is the complete or real state of affairs, i.e. reality. As in forensic language, alétheia is the state of affairs to be proved, over against the various assertions of the parties, so in the historians it is the historical state of affairs over against myth, and in the philosophers that which really is, in the absolute sense. In the New Testament these Greek words occur commonly, and bring with them both their Old Testament and classical and Hellenistic Greek meanings, so that it is often an extremely delicate matter to decide which nuance predominates [2].
(i) Dependability, truthfulness, uprightness of character (the Hebrew sense predominating). This applies to Elohim (God) (Rom.3:7; 15:8) and to men (2 Cor.7:14; Eph.5:9) alike. The use of the actual word 'truth' in this sense is not common, but the thought of an Êl (God) who can be trusted to keep His Word is implicit throughout the New Testament.
(ii) Truth in the absolute sense of that which is real and complete as opposed to what is false and wanting (Mk.5:33; Eph.4:25). The Christian faith in particular is the truth (Gal.2:5; Eph.1:13). Yah'shua (Jesus) claimed that He was truth personified (Jn.14:6 cp. Eph.4:21). He mediates the truth (Jn.1:17) and the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) leads men into it, the sense in which it is used in John's Epistles (Jn.16:13 cp. 14:17; 1 Jn.4:6), so that Yah'shua's (Jesus') disciples know it (Jn.8:32; 2 Jn.1), do it (Jn.3:21), abide in it (Jn.8:44), and their new birth as Yahweh's children rests upon it (Jas.1:18). This truth is more than a credal formula, it is Yahweh's active Word which must be obeyed (Rom.2:8; Gal.5:7).
(iii) The adjective aléthinos especially sometimes carries the 'Platonic' sense of something real as opposed to mere appearance or copy. The Messiah (Christ) is thus a minister of the true tabernacle (Heb.8:2) in contrast with the shadows of the Levitical ritual (Heb.8:4f). In clear allusion to the words of institution of the Lord's Supper, Yah'shua (Jesus) declares that He is the true bread (Jn.4:32,35) and the true vine (Jn.15:1), i.e. that He is the eternal reality symbolised by the bread and wine. Similarly, the true worshippers (Jn.4:23) are not so much sincere as real. Their worship is a real approach to Yahweh who is spiritual, in contrast to the ritual which restricts Him to Jerusalem or Mt.Gerezim (Jn.4:21), and which can at best symbolise and at worst distort Him.
The word "truth" in 1 John may be expressed in the formula "as the 'light-darkness' antithesis is in giving an account of reality, so is the 'truth-sin' antithesis in the area of morals". The correspondence is not perfect in that 'righteousness' also occurs as the opposite to 'sin', and 'truth' carries in part an ontological reference. It overlaps with 'light' in describing the sphere of Yahweh's rule into which the believer is brought and in which he dwells. Nevertheless, it is not a deeply philosophical or abstract word, either in 1 John or in the Gospel of John. The expression "acting according to the truth" means something like "behaving with integrity" (1 Jn.1:6). It is, literally, "doing the truth", and occurs also in Jn.3:12; it shows clearly the word's practical and ethical bearing. Truth is genuineness and soundness, and the background is formally Hebrew. In this sense, Yahweh's conduct can be spoken of as characterised by "truth" (cp. Ex.34:6), and the Dead Sea Scrools (DSS) have the very phrase - the members of the community at Qumran, like those of the Johannine congregation, are to "do the truth" (1QS 1:5; 5:3; 8:2).
The more obvious opposite of truth, falsehood, also occurs in 1 John 1:6 & 2:4 where the two words are placed together. To lie is however not (except partly in 1 Jn.4:20) to tell untruth: it is to act dishonestly - to go against the demands of integrity; and in 1 John 5:10, failure to trust Yahweh is seen as tantamount to accusing Him of such dishonesty.
Endnotes
[1] The Hebraic Roots Version (HRV) renders the Aramaic of 1 Jn.2:18 as "a false Messiah" and "many false Messiahs". (28 February 2004)
[2] This problem, brought to us by the Greek translations of the originals, is simplified in the Hebrew and Aramaic versions. Here the original Old Testament Hebrew sense prevails. (28 February 2004).
