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2Timothy 3:6-12
Thursday Evening Bible Study
May 31, 2018
Introduction
The history recorded in the book of Acts ends around AD 60, with Paul being confined under house arrest in his own apartment in Rome.
We believe that Paul was released after a couple of years, and would travel to Ephesus, Macedonia, Crete, Nicopolis, and then be rearrested in Troas and taken back to Rome.
In AD 64 Nero burned Rome, blamed it on the Christians, and kicked off a period of persecution.
This time, Paul would be confined in the Mamertine Prison.
Everyone has abandoned Paul except for his friend Luke the physician.
(2 Timothy 4:11 NKJV) Only Luke is with me.
It’s from here that Paul writes this letter, his final letter somewhere around AD 66-67, just prior to his death.
Paul is hoping that Timothy would come to him, but that isn’t going to happen.
Paul will shortly be taken outside the city of Rome where he will be beheaded.
Paul’s second letter to Timothy was written around AD 66-67 while Paul was in prison in Rome, being held in chains in the Mamertine prison.
These are Paul’s last words, written just days away from being led out of the city where he will be beheaded.
The account is recorded in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs:
“Paul, the apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail and unspeakable labors in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this first persecution under Nero. Abdias, declareth that under his execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring him word of his death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they might believe; who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptized at His sepulcher. This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.”
(don’t forget this when we get to the end tonight…)
Paul has expressed a concern for doctrinal purity throughout the letter.
Some were teaching strange doctrines.
Timothy needed to be “rightly dividing” the Word.
Timothy, as a servant of God, needed to be able to help those who were going off track in doctrine.
Paul warned that in the last days men would stray far from God.
They would look religious on the outside, but inside they would be impure, proud, and cruel.
(2 Timothy 3:5 NKJV) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Paul now takes this peek of the future and brings it back to the present to warn Timothy about people who already have these traits working I their lives.
2:1-9 Perilous Times
:6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
:6 For of this sort are …
Paul gives an example of the kinds of false teachers he’s warning Timothy about.
I imagine there may have been people in Ephesus where Timothy was that Paul had in mind.
:6 those who creep into households
creep – enduno – to put on, to enter.
It’s a word usually associated with putting on a piece of clothing.
The idea is that these false teachers are “slipping” into people’s lives like a person slips into a coat.
There’s an old Arab fable about a man who allows his camel to stick his nose in his tent, then other parts of the camel follow until the entire camel is in his tent.
The Arab’s had a proverb that stated, “Beware of the camel’s nose”.
:6 make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins
make captives – aichmaloteuo (“with a spear” + “take captive”) – to make captive, take captive, capture
It’s capturing something by force, pointing a weapon at them.
Paul also uses the word in a positive way, talking about our mighty spiritual weapons and the battle in our mind.
(2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
That’s a cool picture – we don’t have to be frightened by our own lustful thoughts, but we have the ability to point a spear back at them and take them captive, towards obeying Christ.
Paul uses the word to describe how our sin nature can trap us and make us “captives”.
(Romans 7:23 NKJV) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
We’ve experienced this “captivity” when we get caught in repetitive sin.
In our text, these false teachers are preying on vulnerable people (“gullible women”, or, literally, “little women”) who are struggling with the shame and condemnation from their sin.
These false teachers use this guilt to manipulate people into going down bad paths.
They use guilt like a “spear” to take them captive.
These concepts make me think of some of the various cults that get people caught and trapped in their mind games.
Or there are the televangelists…
Video: NBC News – Televangelist Asks Followers for $54m jet
gullible women – gunaikarion – a little woman: used contemptuously
loaded – soreuo – to heap together, to heap up; to overwhelm one with a heap of anything; metaph. to load one with the consciousness of many sins
:6 led away by various lusts
lusts – epithumia – desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust
various – poikilos – a various colours, variegated; of various sorts
The gullible women are being let astray by the false teachers who are exploiting the cravings and lusts of the women. And probably directed by the lusts of the men.
Some of the more notable examples of this might be:
Gnosticism
In Paul’s day, the heresy of Gnosticism was beginning to develop.
They claimed that you needed to know their special “knowledge” if you wanted to know God … and it was going to cost you.
One form of Gnosticism believed that there was nothing wrong for a believer to indulge in every sin imaginable since the body wasn’t going to heaven, only the soul.
Joseph Smith
Touted as a “prophet”, but don’t forget that after establishing his new “religion” he began to espouse marriage with multiple wives. In 2014 the Mormon church finally admitted that he have up to 40 wives, one as young as 14 years old.
His successor Brigham Young had 55 wives.
David Koresh
The Branch Davidian leader also practiced polygamy. It’s not sure how many wives he had at the end, but he said he was entitled to 140 wives – 60 as his “queens” and 80 as his “concubines”.
In contrast, Paul has already told Timothy,
(2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV) Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
:7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
:7 always learning and never able to…
always – pantote – at all times, always, ever
learning – manthano – to learn, be appraised; to increase one’s knowledge, to be increased in knowledge; to hear, be informed
never – medepote – never
knowledge – epignosis – precise and correct knowledge; used in the NT of the knowledge of things ethical and divine
able – dunamai – to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom; to be able to do something; to be capable, strong and powerful
This is talking about the “gullible people” who have been led astray.
They have no discernment.
Illustration
In his book The Gospel According to Starbucks, Leonard Sweet tells the story of Ed Faubert. Faubert is what you call a “cupper”—in layman’s terms, he’s a coffee-taster. And his perspicacious taste buds are actually certified by the state of New York!
So refined is Faubert’s sense of taste for coffee that even while blindfolded, he can take one sip of coffee and tell you “not just that it is from Guatemala, but from what state it comes, at what altitude it was grown, and on what mountain.”
Leonard Sweet, The Gospel According to Starbucks (Waterbrook Press, 2007), p. 54; submitted by David Slagle, Atlanta, Georgia
The “gullible” person doesn’t take time to learn to discern one “taste” from another.
These poor women (and men) who followed the false teachers were continually learning more and more, but none of their learning lead them to the truth about Jesus Christ.
This is the life of the person caught in a cult.
Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, etc.
Today, one of the strange teachings out there is about “identity”, that you can “identify” as anything you want. So instead of fixing a problem, people get worse.
Video: Truth is Compassion – Man identifies as little girl
Can you tell what’s wrong?
:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
:8 as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses
Jannes – Iannes – “be oppressed”
Jambres – Iambres – “foamy healer”
resisted – anthistemi – to set one’s self against, to withstand, resist, oppose; to set against
Aorist active indicative
This is the only time we see these names in the Bible.
The ancient rabbis had a tradition that these were the names of the magicians that tried to match Moses’ miracles before Pharoah, such as the time when Moses threw his staff down and it became a serpant. (Ex. 7:11-13)
(Exodus 7:11–13 NKJV) —11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
Video: Ten Commandments – Let My People Go - serpents
The rabbis taught that Jannes and Jambres didn’t stop opposing Moses in Egypt, but tried to mess with Israel at the Red Sea, were the guys inspiring the golden calf, and had been counsellors helping Balaam lead Israel astray.
We don’t know that they did any more than oppose Moses in Pharaoh’s court.
:8 so do these also resist the truth
resist – anthistemi – to set one’s self against, to withstand, resist, oppose; to set against
Present middle indicative
The tense here is “present”, meaning this is a continual action. These guys are continually causing grief to the truth.
:8 men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith
corrupt – katphtheiro – to corrupt, deprave; corrupted in mind
from – phtheiro – in the opinion of the Jews, the temple was corrupted or “destroyed” when anyone defiled or in the slightest degree damaged anything in it, or if its guardians neglected their duties
When you add the prefix “kata” in front, it intensifies the word.
These bad teachers are coming from a really bad place in their minds.
disapproved – adokimos – not standing the test, not approved; properly used of metals and coins; that which does not prove itself such as it ought
The word “faith” here refers to what is correct doctrine – “the faith”.
These false teachers are teaching false truths.
Their teaching was not healthy good doctrine.
:9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
:9 they will progress no further
progress – prokopto (“forward” + “to smite”) – to beat forward; metaph. to promote; advance
That’s an interesting way to describe the way these things “progress”. People have to be “beaten” or “struck”.
:9 their folly will be manifest to all
folly – anoia – want of understanding, folly; madness expressing itself in rage
manifest – ekdelos – evident, clear, conspicuous
Just as Jannes and Jambres couldn’t keep up with God’s miracles through Moses, the folly of the cults is ultimately exposed.
Joseph Smith claimed to translate the book of Mormon from “reformed Egyptian”. That’s easy to claim until the scholars tell us there is no such thing.
He claimed to translate the “book of Abraham” from a scrap of material from a mummy, which was easy to claim until scholars learned how to actually translate Egyptian.
Lesson
Truth is revealed
The truth usually comes out eventually, as long as you’re willing to do the work.
We get surprised each time some crazy cult pops up, but there’s nothing new.
Think of that strange “Heaven’s Gate” cult in Rancho Santa Fe about twenty years ago (1997) – 39 people committed suicide thinking they were joining up with some space ship.
George Jacob Schweinfurth
I found an interesting story about a fellow in Illinois, back in the 1880s and 90s who led a cult named the “Church Triumphant”. (Schweinfurth is mentioned by A.T. Robertson as well)
George had been following a woman named Dorinda Beekman who declared she was Jesus, and after she died, he claimed that her spirit moved into his body.
So he claimed to now be Christ, and he set up a large house he named “Heaven”, and lived in it with his “angels”, beautiful young women.
The other members of the sect lived down the street in a house called “Hell”. They were the ones that worked to pay for the expenses in “Heaven”.
Eventually many of the angels got pregnant (a miracle!) and the whole scam was exposed. The kids all had red hair … just like George. George moved to Chicago, took up Christian Science, and became a realtor.