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1 John 02 General Notes
Special concepts in this chapter
New and old commandments
The old commandments are contained in the law of Moses. The new commandments are those given to the church after the death and resurrection of Jesus. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lawofmoses and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/resurrection)
Antichrist
This chapter refers to both a specific Antichrist and many different antichrists. The word "antichrist" means "opposed to Christ." The Antichrist is a person who will come in the last days and imitate the ministry of Jesus for evil. Before this person comes, there will be many different people who work against the cause of Christ and are referred to as "antichrists" because they are working against Jesus. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/antichrist and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lastday and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/evil)
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Metonymy
There are many different metonymies used in this chapter. They are used to teach and to give instructions that are generic and can be applied in many different circumstances. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"By this we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments."
This appears to contradict John's earlier statement that Christian do not always keep God's commandments. John has just stated that all Christians sin. John explains that the desire to serve God is born from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the new life or nature given to Christians. The word "know" can be understood in many different ways and this range of meaning can cause confusion here.