4:5a

They: (Pronoun Reference) It needs to be clear in translation that this refers to the false prophets.

of the world: (Meaning) The false prophets are not children of God; they belong to the evil world of everything that is opposed to God.

4:5b

speak from the world’s perspective: (Meaning) John means that the teaching of these people is based on human wisdom, not on God’s revelation.

4:5c

and the world listens to them: (Logical Relationship) This is a second result of the fact that the false prophets are “from the world.” (The first result is in 4:5b.)

the world: (Multiple Senses) Here world has a slightly different sense from that which it has in the beginning of this sentence. Here it means the same as in 4:4d, “the people of the world who do not know God.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.