Download or read book They Went Out from Us written by Daniel R. Streett and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most interpreters of 1, 2, 3 John believe that the author's opponents (called "antichrists", "deceivers", and "false prophets") advocated gnostic or progressive doctrines that denied or downplayed the humanity of Jesus Christ and the importance of ethical behaviour, and eventually split the Johannine community. Against this consensus, Streett argues that the opponents are former Jewish-Christians who have left the community to return to the synagogue after renouncing their belief that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.