To the Man of the Earth

Having put enmity between the seeds of the serpent and the Woman, and then judging the Woman, John now judges the Man.

The Covenantal Significance of 3 John

The third epistle of John takes elements of the second epistle and turns them inside out. The result is a “double witness” — a corroborated exhortation for rulers in the household of faith. Since the brief letters are addressed to a faithful woman and a faithful man, these two witnesses are complementary.

The canonical logic of John’s epistolary triptych now becomes clear, and the names of the addressees confirm that logic. We are familiar with the words kyrios (lord) and gaia (earth), but 2 and 3 John were written to “Kyria” (lady) and “Gaius” (man of earth). Why? 1 John separates the seeds of the woman and the serpent, 2 John addresses the Woman, and 3 John addresses the Man. This completes the allusion to Genesis 3:14-19, and it is fitting that this archetypal trio should appear just before the “decreation” of the sacrificial order in John’s book of Revelation.

Moreover, 1 John was primarily written to the Jew, kyria is a Greek name, and Gaius is a Roman name. This not only represents the entire oikoumene (a world order that was about to be torn down) but is also a literary representation of the triune office: the “plenipotent” Firstfruits Church in its fullness is a heavenly trinity comprised of elements from the earth. What is really fascinating is that the triumvirate in this case is not comprised of three men. The combined testimony is now centered upon the co-regency of the Spirit-filled Church, a corporate queen-prophetess who is no longer deceived.

The fact that the “Greek” and “Roman” letters are written to rulers of households has great typological significance. The acts of God are always architectural in nature. There are five “household” signs in the New Testament and they herald the imminent end of the Abrahamic order. Instead of a sign related to physical seed—blood, family, tribe, and nation—the circumcision that spoke of the promise of the fruit of the land and the womb was replaced with a sign that spoke of the blessing to all nations, a sign related to spiritual seed—the investiture of baptism, a robe of righteousness for Adam and for Eve. Once again, the female is at the center of the construct, ruling against the serpent just as Queen Esther, charged with half the kingdom, pointed out Haman the murderous deceiver and utterly condemned him and his seed.

The new order concerned not the sons of men but the Sons of God, the mediators of a better covenant. Contrary to the claims of paedobaptists, this sequence of signs was not establishing a new household order but heralding the judgment of the oikoumene, the Jew-Gentile household that was the culmination of the Abrahamic Covenant.¹Greek oikoumenē, from feminine of oikoumenos inhabited, present participle middle of oikein to inhabit, from oikos house, habitation. Thus the Abrahamic “Garden” had reached its telos, via the Jewish “Land,” in the Greco-Roman “World.” The tent of Abraham and the household baptisms were bookends to a process of holy construction.

Although the first step in this pattern relates to the Spirit, the position of the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) indicates that this sequence is actually the second half of a greater architecture. Each of the four Gospels culminates in the crucifixion of Christ, depicting in literary terms the daubing of the four horns of the earthy Bronze Altar with the blood of the sacrifice. This obedience prepares the Land for the descent of the holy fire of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The subsequent four household signs thus correspond to the four winds of heaven, the decree of the fourfold Gospel sent out as swift horses (indeed, these are the “four horsemen” of the apocalypse of John). Those four winds relate to the four cherubic beasts that represented the four “peaks” of the Gentile empire as the post-exilic extension of the household of God. These relate to the four living creatures that surround the throne in heaven. The complete construct—the earthly and heavenly altars measured out in the testimony of holy individuals—is thus an ascension from earth to heaven:

The Court of God: Four Winds – SMOKE: Prophecy
Crispus and Justus (Mighty Man-Beast: Herodian Rome)
The Jailer (Winged Four-Headed Leopard: Greece)
Lydia (Devouring Bear: Persia)
Cornelius (Winged Lion-Man: Babylon)²For a detailed analysis of the book of Daniel, see James B. Jordan, The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel.
↑
Acts (Pentecost) – FIRE: Kingdom
↑
The Court of Man: Four Horns – BLOOD: Priesthood
John (Eagle)
Luke (Man)
Mark (Ox)
Matthew (Lion)

The sequence of blood, fire, and smoke is obviously sacrificial. If all this seems a stretch, remember that Peter himself refers to this threefold process in his employment of a quote from the book of Joel.

“…in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke…” (Acts 2:18-19).

It should also be noted that this “four winds” sequence has Pauline “bookends.” It began with the martyrdom of Stephen, the responsibility for which was symbolically laid at Paul’s feet in the garments of the murderers (Acts 7:56-59). It ended with Paul shaking out his garments and making the terrifying oath: “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6). Paul’s context is the oath of Pilate and the response of the murderers of Christ.

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. (Matthew 27:24-26)

That oath was the reason Peter reminded those Jewish men on the Day of Pentecost that God’s oath to them in Christ was greater, and that they and their children could be saved from the curses coming upon Jerusalem and Judea.

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:36-41)

Those who reviled Paul had hardened their hearts and would be judged like Pharaoh. After the completion of Herod’s Temple, Jesus would gather them to Jerusalem at Passover. Titus Vespasian, in his cunning, used the feast to besiege the city when the Jewish leaders from across the empire were in attendance. They had rejected the flesh and blood of Jesus and now their table would become a snare (Psalm 69:22; Romans 11:7-10).

Household Gods

The purpose and arrangement of John’s three preserved epistles might be an allusion to the lares or household gods that were central to Roman culture. These domestic guardians, often depicted in a lararium—a miniature “house of lords”—were believed to observe, protect, and influence all that occurred within their designated domains, a localized model of the triune office. They were not limited to households, however, but like the later patron saints were also seen as the heroes of travel routes on land and sea, of livestock and agriculture, and of entire towns and cities.

Rather than wrongly assuming (as so many modern academics do) that John by the Spirit is drawing upon pagan culture for inspiration, it is more likely that the Roman practice of invoking a cultic blessing, though erroneous in its conclusion, was an instinctual reference to the very first blessed household, the Garden of Eden. Numerous lararia feature the inhabiting guardians standing upon a serpent or serpents, indicating dominion over the curse.

The Latin word “lar” is the source of the English word “lord,” and derives from the Etruscan lar or lars, an honorary title that was prefixed to the name of the firstborn.³Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, 1879. This highlights the purpose of baptism as an investiture of prophetic authority, the power to bless and to curse in the name of Jesus. By the Spirit of Christ, Adams and Eves are finally “gods,” wise judges between good and evil. Baptism is not a rite that denotes the boundaries of the realm, but instead identifies the guardians of the realm. After all, the New Covenant realm, the rule of Jesus, knows no boundary. Just as Roman shrines were often situated at crossroads, Christian churches were now established across the entire empire. The demise of the old gods was imminent. Those in whom the image of God was now restored in Christ were bringing about the end of substitutionary sacrifice not only in the Jewish order but also in the realm of the Gentiles.

OVERVIEW

Following the structure of 1 and 2 John, 3 John consists of two cycles. As with 2 John, the first is a commendation (past: Alpha) and the second is an exhortation (future: Omega). The first cycle is all positive, a ziggurat that works top down from John via Gaius to Gaius’ ministry and the resulting testimony to the nations. The second cycle contrasts two Christians in the way that the Bible contrasts Esau and Jacob, culminating in the rivalry between Herod and Christ. In that cycle, Diotrephes is just like the censorious Pharisees, filled with jealousy and hatred, a tabernacle “formed” but not “filled.” In contrast, following the Pentecost step, Demetrius is the true brother, with a reputation ratified by the Church.

Cycle One

 

Cycle Two

 

ANALYSIS

Cycle One

TRANSCENDENCE

• The beloved disciple addresses his own beloved disciple with literary ḥesed, that is, covenant-shaped love.
• As the Genesis stanza, John is the lord and Gaius is the Adam.

HIERARCHY

• The thesis of the Genesis stanza becomes the Genesis line of the Exodus stanza.
• “All things” alludes to the Ten Things engraved now on tablets of flesh.
• John prays that Gaius’ own body and household would be as healthy as his spiritual life. He was clearly seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). In Christ, the Adamic allusion is inverted, since Adam was given the world but lost his own soul (Matthew 16:26).

ETHICS: Priesthood

• At Ascension, there is a sacrifice of praise instead of a sacrifice of blood. These Christian brothers are on the altar as the new priesthood, and they are of one mind with Gaius in their life and testimony.

ETHICS: Kingdom

• The Kingdom stanza takes us from the promise of the land to the Promised Land. Of course, the heirs and champions of the New Covenant were better judges.
  The “things” once again allude to the laws of God, but here they are laws not only received but also obeyed out of love for Yahweh.
• Notice that the joy that began the Priesthood stanza is now at the Ascension step of the Kingdom stanza.

ETHICS: Prophecy

• Just as the theme in stanza three alluded to the third step of the liturgy (the ascension of praise), the theme in stanza five is the offertory. This corresponds to the mustering of the Israelite troops and their tribute at the Feast of Trumpets.
• Gaius is commended for doing what Israel mostly failed to do throughout the nation’s history, that is, serve the nations as priests. In Jesus’ time, the house of God had become a den of thieves. In John’s time, it became a house of murderers. The fifth step of the pattern also corresponds to the testimony of the martyrs.

Oath/Sanctions

• The Oath/Sanctions stanza consists of an oath and a blessing upon these itinerant labourers for Christ, perfectly imaging the commendation of God upon them as overcomers.

Succession

• The Booths stanza hammers home the message of the Trumpets stanza.
• “The name” of Jesus possibly is an allusion to “the name” coveted by the nations who united to build the tower of Babel.
• “Nothing accepting” alludes to the reliance of the Levites upon the offerings of their fellow Israelites. In this case it would refer to fellow Christians, whether Jew or Gentile.
• “We therefore ought to receive such” reminds us of the obligation of hospitality to the prophets of God (Matthew 10:14, 42; 25:31-46).

Cycle Two

Creation – Ark

• The second cycle begins with the self-exaltation of an earthy firstborn, a “lord” in the vein of Adam, Cain, Esau, Saul, and the Herods. Diotrephes considers himself to be the head of the body, the ultimate source of blessing and cursing. Fittingly, his “kingly” name is an uncommon one, and means “nourished by Jupiter,” the king of the gods in Ancient Roman mythology.

Division – Veil

• In the cruciform Tabernacle pattern, the Veil divides the head from the body, making the heavenly throne of God invisible to the earth. The reference is to slander behind closed doors, the use of religion as a disguise for envy and hatred. Not only had the Veil of the Temple been torn, but the Mosaic veil had now been removed from the eyes of those who were in bondage to earthly Jerusalem. John would expose—reveal—what was really going on, and not through gossip but in a direct face-to-face confrontation. Notice that the “memorial” is placed in the priestly line. Unlike Diotrephes, John is not censorious but desires reconciliation and unity.

Ascension – Bronze Altar & Table

• The Christians were now banned from the Temple as liturgical “lepers,” and Diotrephes had imported the practice into the assembly of God.

Testing – Lampstand

• The central stanza contrasts the false light of this Jovian “king” with the light of the Spirit. Just as the saints were cast out in the final line of the Priesthood stanza, so the final line of the Kingdom stanza is missing. The eternal inheritance of Diotrephes was on the line. He would be cut off if he did not repent.
• The position of “do not imitate” in line two ties it to the closed Veil, the darkness of the firmament. The saints were to keep that particular avenue closed. The position of “not has seen God”, however, ties it to the open Veil of the Day of Atonement. Diotrephes was unforgiving because he had not grasped the grace of God towards him in Christ.

Maturity – Incense Altar

• In contrast, Demetrius (“follower of Demeter,” the Greek goddess of corn and harvest) is the abundant fruit-bearing saint, surrounded by a fragrant “cloud” of witnesses.

Conquest – Laver and Mediators

• Once again, the phrase “mouth to mouth” alludes to Yahweh’s close relationship to Moses, with whom He spoke plainly and not in riddles or dark sayings (Numbers 12:8). Clearly this was the plan for Adam and Eve once they received the Spirit of God following priestly obedience, the “meekness” of Moses. This was also the context of Jesus’ statement that He could finally speak with His disciples as “friends,” confidants, rather than servants. Gaius was considered to be a fellow prophet, and his ministry seems to have consisted mainly of weaponized hospitality. Generosity is very often the front line of Christian witness. How brilliant of God to make something so mundane a key to the transformation of the world.
• Notice that the writing occurs in line two, alluding to the finger of God, and in line four, alluding to the hand of the king writing out the law (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). Also notice the transition from “external” written law via “internal” spiritual law to an “equality” with John as a New Covenant “god” or judge, a member of the Council of Yahweh with access to His holy table.

Glorification – Shekinah

Peace to you. (Word)
The friends greet you. (Sacrament)
Greet the friends by name. (Government).

• The final stanza might be fivefold but it seems to work best as a triune construct that replicates the three levels of the Tabernacle. And now we know that the “friends,” like Abraham, are prophetic confidants of Yahweh. The last word is a capstone upon John’s household of faith.

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