Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 169:675 (Jul 2012)
Article: What Is The Meaning Of “Idols” In 1 John 5:21?
Author: Benjamin L. Merkle

BSac 169:675 (July-September 2012) p. 328

What Is The Meaning Of “Idols” In 1 John 5:21?

Benjamin L. Merkle

Benjamin L. Merkle is Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina.

John ended his first epistle by stating, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (Τεκνία, φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων, 1 John 5:21). This ending has long been a source of confusion and debate. To some, it is so unexpected that the phrase is judged to be “linguistically non-Johannine.”1 Others simply note that the verse is “introduced abruptly” and forms “the abrupt ending of the letter.”2 John’s last verse is somewhat unexpected for several reasons: (a) there is no connecting particle or conjunction, (b) there is a shift from the indicative mood in verse 20 to the imperative mood (φυλάξατε),3 (c) the terms φυλάσσω and εἰδώλον are not used elsewhere in 1 John, and (d) the epistle has no formal doxology or concluding farewell. Of these four reasons the use of the term “idols” (εἰδώλων) is perhaps the most difficult to explain.

Why did John end his letter in this way? Were his readers prone to idolatry? If this issue was so important, why did he wait until the end of the letter to mention it? The thesis of this article is

BSac 169:675 (July-September 2012) p. 329

that the ending of John’s letter reiterates and emphasizes the main point of his letter and does not introduce a new thought. In support of this view this article considers the purpose of John’s letter, the meaning of the term “idols,” and how John’s understanding of idols relates to the entire letter.

The Purpose Of 1 John

First John was written to give assurance to believers: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (5:13). But the assurance John offered is like a two-edged sword. By explaining the difference between those who are believers and those who are not, he gave assurance to the former and exposed the latter. As Kruse comments, “The author’s purpose was to bolster the assurance of his readers by the double strategy of showing the secessionists’ claims to be false and showing his readers that they are in th...