1 Peter 2:¹⁸ Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person endures grief when suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

Christ Is Our Example

²¹ For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps, ²² He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ²³ and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. ²⁵ For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

This is the 2nd article on the suffering of the diaspora Christians in 1 Peter. Please read the first article for background. This article looks at the 2nd main section in the letter on suffering. Several key points;

1) It starts with servants (slaves) who suffer from harsh masters. (AI) “Estimates suggest that slavery was widespread in the Roman world, with anywhere from 25% to 40% of the population being enslaved. This means a substantial number of early Christians would have been slaves or former slaves, as the early church drew members from all walks of life within the Roman Empire.” Peter tells them be subject to (obey) and respect those harsh masters. God is pleased if such a suffering slave can endure it faithfully. He makes the point that there is no credit (kleos: Glory, Renown, Fame) if you suffer for doing something wrong. I have beloved brother and friend who suffered 25 years in prison for something he did wrong. He used that time to grow into a strong believer, so it all worked out well. But in the early church, believers were tortured, imprisoned, and killed for their faith, not for something wrong they did. If they can suffer with patience, that “finds favor with God’.

2) Christ is our example of “unjust, undeserved suffering”. Why did Jesus have to suffer so much in the scourging and crucifixion? He did have to die for our sins, but couldn’t God have allowed him to die without so much suffering and still accomplish God’s mission of saving sinners from sin? Of course he could have. He could have. just allowed Jesus to be poisoned or smothered by some enemy and die a quick, relatively painless death. He could have allowed a soldier to pierce Jesus through with a sword causing quick death. But God allowed him to undergo terrible suffering before he died. Jesus had seen many crucifixion victims hanging on crosses on the Roman roads, a warning to all about rebellion to the empire. That’s why he was in such agony in the Garden of Gethsemene, sweat as blood (that sounds like a “panic attack” to me). Such suffering from the nails on the cross that he cried out “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me”? He hang for 6 long hours suffering on the cross. Was this really a necessary of God’s plan? It was. Not essential to save us, but to give suffering Christians an example to follow when they suffer unjustly. God knew that Christians would suffer for their faith through much of the 2,000 years of church history and He wanted to give them an example of how to suffer faithfully, not returning insult for insult, etc. Don’t retaliate or seek vengance: just trust God who will repay those who persecute His children. The Roman arenas where Christians were killed, Foxes Book of Martyrs, even torturing and killing Christians by the Catholic church, suffering in Muslim controlled countries or atheistic countries like China. We don’t experience persecution in the U.S. but Jesus’ example of suffering even helps us as we go through various trials that test our faith. How should you respond when insulted or mocked b/c of your faith? When you suffer from a harsh boss? When you suffer from an abusive husband (Peter deals with that later)? Is Jesus giving an example for passive resistence: “a way of opposing the government without using violence especially by refusing to obey laws.” This was what Ghandi did in India as he opposed the oppressive British colonialism rule over India. He was committed to non-violence, but he did led protest Marches like his 240 mile Salt March to protest British policies that took advantage of the Indians. Martin Luther King might be the perfect example of one following Jesus’ example. King was inspired by Ghandi, but more so by Jesus. He was totally committed to non-violence although he did lead non-violent peace marches and boycotts. He never encouraged breaking any civil laws. Jesus stood up to the corrupt leaders of the Jews. He didn’t just ignore the corruption. He never encouraged any opposition to the cruel Roman authorities. He told Peter to pay the temple tax. He did resort to some turning over of the tables in the temple but he never retaliated when he suffered personally. So, Jesus’ suffering was necessary in God’s plan, not to save us but to give suffering Christians an example of how to suffer. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:¹² Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

3) After his suffering on the cross, He completed God’s plan of salvation by dying on the cross for our sins. “By his wounds” (the scourging, the crown of thorns) we are healed. This has to mean “spiritual healing”. Jesus can still heal physical sickness but this is not a promise of physical healing to those who become Christian. I know a saved lady who is still in a wheelchair due to spinal bifida even after becoming a Christian. Isaiah predicted Jesus’s non-retaliatory suffering: Peter probably alludes to Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.
⁵ But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.

Thus Hebrews 2:10 10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect (teleioó: To complete, to perfect, to accomplish, to bring to an end.)through what he suffered.” His sufferings made God’s plan of salvation “complete” b/c it was an important part of the plan.

I Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who reside as strangers, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

Peter wrote this letter to the Jewish Christians scattered (diaspora: Dispersion, Scattering) over several countries. That would be the Jewish diaspora: “The term diasporas is only ever applied to ethnic Jews in biblical texts (John 7:35; James 1:1; in the Apocrypha, 2 Maccabees 1:27; Judith 5:19), so if it were taken to mean Gentiles in 1 Peter 1:1, it would have to be a remarkable exception. It certainly wouldn’t be a natural reading of the verse.” (Derek Demars) Some say 1 Peter 2:10 shows that the letter was written to Gentile Christians, but I refer you to my article on 1 Peter 2:10-17 to discuss that verse which I do not think means Peter is writing to Gentile Christians. Also remember that Peter is the “apostles to the Jews” (Galatians 2), so it is more likely that Peter would be writing to the Jewish Christians among the Jewish diaspora than to Gentile Christians scattered. Gentile Christians were never scattered. The Jewish diaspora were the “chosen” remnant of the Jewish believers who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. They were sanctified in the Spirit and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. John 7:35 NAS: to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks.

Usually we speak of the diaspora as the scattering of the Jews after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, but Wikipedia says this: “A Jewish diaspora existed for several centuries before the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Jewish diaspora in the second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE) was created from various factors, including through the creation of political and war refugees, enslavement, deportation, overpopulation, indebtedness, military employment, and opportunities in business, commerce, and agriculture.^[7] Before the middle of the first century CE, in addition to Judea, Syria and Babylonia, large Jewish communities existed in the Roman provinces of Egypt, Crete and Cyrenaica, and in Rome itself.^[8] In 6 CE the region was organized as the Roman province of Judaea.” All Jews in the diaspora suffered wherever they were scattered, but Peter was writing to Jewish Christians who were scattered before 70 AD for whatever reasons to Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia (Pontus) and Galatia. Peter died in 65 AD, so he wrote I Peter before that.

Much of 1 Peter deals with the suffering and trials that the diaspora faced. So let’s look at the sections that deal with their suffering.

1 Peter 1:³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, ⁷ so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ⁸ and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Several points from this section.

1) Christians have a “living” hope b/c of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Why “living”? B/c our Savior is not still dead like other religioius leaders of world religions, like Mohamed, Buddha, Zoroaster, the Bab, etc. Our Savior still lives to be our HIgh Priest forever. Also the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate proof that He is the Son of God and Savior. No other world religion can offer such irrefutable proof of its validity.

2) The diaspora Christians had an imperishable inheritance, a salvation “ready to be revealed in the last time”. This indicates a future salvation of some kind. Vs 9 also:  “⁹ obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” That would be a future salvation of some kind. But weren’t they already saved? Of course they were. So what is this salvation that is still in their future? Is it heaven? Could be. But it could be the same “immortality” that Paul said believers would receive at the resurrection of the dead which he said some of those he was writing to would still be alive to receive (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). That would have to be the resurrection of the dead at 70 AD, predicted by Daniel 12:1-2 to happen at the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD. Paul said in Acts 24:15 that there “is about to be (mello, which always in the NT means “about to happen”) a resurrecton of the righteous and the unrighteous just as the Law and Prophets predicted. This is the “already, not yet” phase of salvation for the transiton Christians (those living between 30AD and 70AD): already saved but not yet received immortality until the resurrection in 70 AD.

3) They could rejoice even in he midst of “distressing” (lupeó: To grieve, to cause sorrow, to distress) suffering and trials, looking forward to that future salvation.

4) A tested, proven (dokimion: Testing, trial, proving) by enduring trials faithfully would result in “praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (i.e. his 2nd coming). Again, that is a reward in their future. While most say this 2nd coming revelation (apokalupsis: Revelation, unveiling, disclosure) of Jesus, full preterism would say that this 2nd coming was at 70 AD. 1 Peter 4:13 calls this 2nd coming a “revelation of his glory”. So what is the “glory” that these diaspora believers would receive at 70 AD if they remained faithful? Romans 8:¹⁸ For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory about to be (mello) revealed in us. ²¹ that also the creation itself shall be set free from the servitude of the corruption to the liberty of the glory of the children of God; ²³ And not only [so], but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting — the redemption of our body; (Young’s Literal Translation). Notice that this glory to be received by believers was “about to be revealed”. Many try to make this some, still in our future, restoration of the created earth to its Garden of Eden state, but this event is “about to” happen in the lifetime of those Paul is writing to, so it can’t be something in our future. So this must refer to the 2nd coming in 70 AD when God would destroy the temple and send the Romans to kill 1 million evil Jews in Jerusalem who rejected Jesus as the Messiah. When He did that, it would be obvious that the Jewish remnant believers in Jesus were the true children of God, not the unbelieving Jews who still claimed to be the children of Abraham and of God (John 8). The believing Jews would be “glorified” at the 2nd coming in 70 AD. 1 Peter 5:1 Elders who [are] among you, I exhort, who [am] a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and of the glory about to be revealed (again, mello)a … This glory of 1 Peter 1:7 was “about to be revealed” to them at 70 AD. It would indeed be “glorious” as they would be given immortality and imperishable, spiritual bodies that would live forever even after physical death (1 Corinthians 15).

5) They could rejoice even while “distressed” in their suffering and trials with “joy inexpressible and full of glory” over the prospects of receiving glory and immortality at the 2nd coming of Jesus in 70 AD. Again, we can’t ignore the fact that this is all “about to happen”.

In a way, we can’t relate to these suffering diaspora Christians. The Voice of the Martyrs constantly tells us about believers in foreign countries who are suffering just as the diaspora Christians were. This letter is more applicable to them than us, and they probably love this letter more than we do in the U.S. where we really don’t suffer persecution. While our lack of suffering is a good thing, it probably makes us weaker, materialistic Christians. Even if these verses mean heaven when one dies instead of 70 AD, a suffering Christian can rejoice at the prospect of the glory to be received in heaven in eternal life. Suffering believers long for that release from their suffering. They rejoice in their suffering for Jesus, and they even rejoice when a believer is martyred for his/her faith.That just sounds foreign to believers in the U.S. who don’t really suffer persecution.

But that doesn’t mean that we can’t rejoice over the prospects of eternal life after we die. After 70 AD, all believers receive their immortal, spiritual bodies when they become Christians. That allows them to “live even if they die physically” (John 11:24-26). We might not suffer persecution as the diaspora did, but we still go through a lot of trials or testing of our faith. We have a lot of “1st world” problems to endure. Our faith is constantly tested by the agnostic and atheistic attacks on the Bible, God, and Jesus. We are being mocked for our conservative stands on LGBQT and abortion. Bellevers are “distressed” by things like divorce, death of loved ones especially children, child abuse, infidelity of one’s mate, one’s children addicted to drugs, serious or even fatal illnesses of ourselves or loved ones, mental or physical abuse by one’s mate, poverty for some, the terminal illness especially in old age that brings a lot of physical suffering, etc.. These things might not be some Muslim terrorists killing us, burning our church buildings, and putting us in. prison for our faith, but they are real trials nonetheless. We can rejoice in those. trials, knowing that we will live on after death in eternity in our immortal spiritual bodies.

Here is a neat site with a timeline of Peter’s life: https://totallyhistory.com/biblical-history/simon-peter-the-apostle/ It has the main events and timeline along with the verses which I am not including below. Here is my summary of all the events in Peter’s life.

Peter starts his first letter to the Jewish Christians who were scattered over several countries with the words “Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ”. He was a Galilean fisherman and married. His brother Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, found Peter and told him that he had found the Messiah. Jesus changed his name from Simon to Cephas, which translated means Peter (Gk petros, a stone). Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to. follow him and they do. Jesus heals Peter’s sick mother-in-law. After fishing all night and catching nothing, Jesus tells Peter to cast his net into the water and he caught many fish. Peter is part of the inner circle of Peter, James, and John who see Jesus raise a dea d girl. Jesus walks on water to the boat the apostles were in during a storm, and Peter asks to walk on water to Jesus. He does so until he looks at the waves and sinks, but Jesus pulled him up. Peter makes the great confession, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God”. Jesus tells Peter, “Upon this rock (either the apostle Peter or the confession that Peter made) I will build my church. Jesus would give Peter the keys to the kingdom. Peer rebukes Jesus when he tells him that he must suffer, be killed and rasied on the third day. Along with James and John, Peter sees Jesus transformed on the Mt of Transformation (he also sees Moses and Elijah). Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him 3 times but Peter says that he will never deny Jesus. Jesus leaves Peter, James and John to pray for him as he agonizes in the Garden of Gethsemane over his coming death. When Jesus is arrested in the Garden, Perter cuts off the ear of a servant. Peter goes to Pilate’s palace where he denies knowing Jesus 3 times. Mary Magdelene tells the apostles that the tomb of Jesus is empty and Peter and John run to the tomb. Jesus makes a separate appearance to Peter at some point after his resurrection. Jesus appeared to the 11 apostles, including Peter, the Sunday night of his resurrection that morning, and then again to the 12 apsotles, including Thomas, one week later. Jesus appears to Peter and 6 other apostles while fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and gives them a miraculous catch of fish. While eating with them that morning after the catch, Peter tells Jesus that he loves him three times as Jesus tells him to “feed my sheep”. Peter and the 10 apostles (judas is gone) see Jesus ascend into heaven from Galilee. Peter leads in the choosing of a replacement for Judas who had hanged himself (Matthias was chosen). After speaking in tongues (foreign languages) along with the other apostles, Peter preaches the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 are baptized for the remission of sins. Peter and John heal a man at the temple who had been lame since birth. Peter and John are taken into custody by the Sadducees and warned not to preach Jesus any more. Peter confronts Ananias and Sapphira about their lying about their giving money and they are struck dead. Peter and John go to Samaria to lay their hands on those baptized there by Philip who had not received the Holy Spirit and Simon the Magician is rebuked for trying to buy the power to impart miraculous gifts. Peter heals a paralyzed Aenaes in Lydda and raises Dorcas from the dead in Joppa. Peter is sent by God to Cornelius, a Gentile centurion, in Caesarea. Peter preaches the gospel to him and Cornelius speaks in tongues to show that God will accept Gentiles for salvation and inclusion in the church. Cornelius is baptized. Back in Jerusalem, Peter is confronted by Jewish Christians for associating with Gentiles, but they are appeased when they hear about Cornelius speaking in tongues. Peter is put in prison by Herod who had just executed James the brother of John, but is released by an angel and goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. In Antioch of Syria, Paul rebukes Peter because he, influenced by some brethren from James the Lord’s brother in Jerusalem, has quit eating with the Gentile believers. Tradition says that Peter is crucified upside down in Rome by Nero because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus was.

We have so much more information about Peter’s life than any other apostle. Was he more important than the other apostles? Yes. He became the “apostle to the Jews” according to Paul. Galatians 2:⁷ On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised ⁸ (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles).” But was he the first pope, the head of the church? No. The whole claim that Peter was the first pope comes from Jesus telling Peter: Matthew 16:¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” I have read the debates: Is the “rock” Peter himself or the confession that Peter made that “Jesus is the Christ the Son of God”? But even if the rock is Peter, does that mean that he will be the first Pope, the head of the church? No. Ephesians 4:11 gives the leadership offices of the early church: “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers”. Don’t you think that the position of “pope” would be included in that list if such a position was authorized by Jesus. Paul called Peter one of the “pillars of the church” along with James the Lord’s brother and John the apostle. Peter is not singled out as being above James and John. Many other arguments could be made against Peter being the first pope, but that will suffice for now.

So what are the highlights of Peter’s life? Would it be walking on water? Would it be the miraculous catches of fish? Would it be his confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? Would it be seeing the resurrected Jesus on several occarions? Would it be preaching the first gospel sermon in Acts 2? Would it be healing the sick and raising the dead? Would it be converting the first Gentile Cornelius?

What would be the “lowlights” of Peter’s life? Would it be sinking as he walked on the water? Would it be rebuking Jesus for saying that he would die and be raised, only to be rebuked by Jesus? Would it be denying Jesus 3 times, the last time with Jesus glancing out at Peter from Pilate’s hall? Would it be his time in jail, especially right after James was killed by Herod. Would it be his confusion about eating the meat in the sheet vision and what that meant relative to the conversion of Cornelius? Would it be the conflict with Paul in the church at Antioch (Galatians 2) over eating with Gentile believers? Would it be his last imprisonment in Rome before he was crucified?

Overall, this man’s life is amazing. He is usually the first one to speak out his opinions, questions, or doubts. He ends up being rebuked by Jesus more than any other apostle. He has the faith to walk on water (none of the other apostles did) but then he sinks. He is the only apostle to make the great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, but then he denies Jesus 3 times. But instead of committing suicide like Judas, Peter becomes the chief spokesman apostle in the establishment of the first church. God confirms that the Gentiles like Cornelius are accepted in full fellowship with the Jews, and yet he acts hypocritically when men from James in Jerusalem influence him to quit eating with the Gentile Christians in Antioch. He is an “enigma”: “If you call a person an enigma, you mean that they’re hard to figure out—the reasons behind what they say and do are not easily understood.” Peter can be so weak and then he can be so strong. Maybe Jesus summed up Peter in Luke 22:³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, ³² but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” As soon as Jesus said that, ³³ Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” ³⁴ Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” Peter bragged that he would die for Jesus instead of denying him, and yet within 24 hours later he denied Jesus 3 times just like Jesus predicted. After his 3rd denial: Luke 22:60 And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.” It is amazing that Peter did not commit suicide like Judas did. It is amazing that Peter made a comeback like Jesus prayed for him: “but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”” Jesus knew he would brag about not denying Jesus but would fail. The key was how he responded to his failure.

Isn’t that the main lesson we get from Peter. How many times have you failed in your faith journey or let Jesus down? How did you feel? Guilty? Ashamed? But Jesus is always there to love us, forgive us, and use us “if” we will “turn” back to our faith. Yes, Peter failed when he walked on water, but he was the only one with the faith to try. Maybe he learned a valuable lesson from that (it had to be very scary). Would you have even tried to walk on the water? Do you ever venture out in your faith to attempt amazing things for Jesus?

1 Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea; ² and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ³ and they all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were spread out in the wilderness.”

Paul is going to warn the Corinthian believers that they could fall from grace, so he uses the example of the Israelites in the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The Israelites were baptized also, but in the cloud and the Red Sea. How is that? “Baptized” in Greek is baptizó: To baptize, to immerse, to dip. They had the cloud above them and the walls of the Red Sea on both sides of them as they passed through, so literally they were “immersed” in the cloud and the sea. The Israelites ate the manna in the wilderness, their “spiritual food”, just as the Corinthians ate Jesus, the bread of life. John 6:⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Israelites drank the water from the rock which “followed them”. (AI) “The idea that a single rock followed the Israelites in the wilderness is an ancient Jewish interpretation of the Bible. In the Bible, Moses struck two rocks in the wilderness, one at Rephidim and one at Kadesh, and named both “Meribah”. Some ancient Jewish interpreters concluded that these two rocks were actually one and the same rock, and that it followed the Israelites as a portable water source.” That rock was Christ. Was Jesus in his pre-incarnate form actually in that rock, or is it just a type of how Jesus gave the water of life to the Corinthians? John 4:¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Here is a picture of the “split rock at Horeb (Mt Sinai in Saudi Arabia east of the Gulf of Aqaba that some say could be the rock that water flowed from in the wilderness.

So the Israelites were blessed spiritually just as the saved Corinthians. God redeemed them from slavery in Egypt just as he redeemed the Corinthians by the blood of Jesus. “Nevertheless” (alla: but, rather, on the contrary), in spite of the blessings of God and His continual provision for them in the wilderness, they disobeyed God and God was not pleased with them. He punished them by making them wander in the wilderness for 40 years and. everyone 20 and older would die in the wilderness. There were about 1 1/2 million Israelites who came out of Egypt. According to Exodus 12:37 there were 600,000 fighting men (age 20 and older)who came out of Egypt. So probably the same number of women age 20 and older. So possible 600,000 husband and wives. If they just had one child, that’s 600,000 children. You can see why some estimate that there were over 2 million Isrealites who came out of Egypt. But that means that about 1.2 million men and women age 20 and older died in the wilderness. There were 1.2 million bodies scattered all over he wilderness during the 40 years they wandered.

On a side note, is there any archaeological evidence of the exodus from Egypt? Any evidence of the corpses for 1.2 million bodies in the Sinai wilderness? There is some evidence of chariot wheels found on the bottom of the Gulf of Aqaba where Israel crossed the Red Sea, but other than that there is no archaeological evidence. Here is a site (https://www.discovery.global/chariot-wheels-discovered-in-the-red-sea) that claims evidence of chariot wheels similar to those of the 18th century Egyptian dynasty, and human and horse bones in the Gulf of Aqaba, which means that the real location of Mt Sinai is east of the Gulf of Aqaba in Midian, which is now Saudi Arabia. Here is a site that discusses the real location of Mt Sinai east of the Gulf of aqaba. https://www.discovery.global/the-real-mount-sinai-in-saudi-arabia

Should we not find archaeological evidence for he 1.2 million bodies in the wilderness? Not necessarily so.. “The last stage of decomposition is skeletonization, which leaves behind nothing but, you guessed it, a skeleton. This can take anywhere from 1 month to several years, depending on the environment, burial, etc. You may be wondering: will a skeleton also decompose? The answer is yes. If animals do not destroy or move the bones, skeletons normally take around 20 years to dissolve in fertile soil. However, in sand or neutral soil, skeletons can remain intact for hundreds of years.” (From https://crimeclean-up.com/blog/human-decomp-without-embalming That’s just normal decomposition rates. If God can bring water from a rock and manna from heaven, then He can decompose bodies at any rate He chooses. But even with natural decomposition rates in a hot wilderness desert, the 1.2 million corpses could have completely decomposed and left no trace that they were ever even there. Just speculating!

Back to the real lesson in 1 Corinthians 10. The Israelites coming out of Egypt were saved from slavery, blessed with manna and water, protected by God. All they had to do was trust and obey God and they could in a short time have entered and possessed the Promised Land of Canaan. But they didn’t and God punished them with 40 years wandering in the wilderness and everyone 20 and older died. The Corinthians had been baptized, partaking of the spiritual manna of Jesus, drinking the water of eternal life. All they needed to do was trust and obey and they could enter the Messianic “rest” of Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. ² For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” It is fascinating that there is a parallel between the 40 years in the wilderness and the 40 years from 30-70 AD. 70AD and the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem would be a critical date for those believers living in this transition period from 30-70 AD. The Hebrew Christians were tempted to leave Christ and fall away as 70 AD approached. Hebrews 10:²⁴ and may we consider one another to provoke to love and to good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as a custom of certain [is], but exhorting, and so much the more as ye see the day (day of judgment in 70 AD) coming nigh. ²⁶ For we — willfully sinning after the receiving the full knowledge of the truth — no more for sins doth there remain a sacrifice, ²⁷ but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery zeal, about to (mello) devour the opposers.” The Hebrew writer is saying that there is “about to be” (mello) a judgment which could only refer to 70 AD judgment on the evil Jews. The Corinthian believers would most likely not have been caught in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD, but the event still had a significant impact on them. 1 Corinthians 15 tells how Christ would come at the “end” of the Jewish Age (70 AD), destroying spiritual death, and giving immortality to believers dead or allve. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:⁵¹ lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed; ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we — we shall be changed: ⁵³ for it behoveth this corruptible to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality; ⁵⁴ and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, `The Death was swallowed up — to victory” So the Corinthian believers needed to remain faithful till they would receive their immortality at the 2nd coming in 70 AD.

Paul then gives several examples where Israel disobeyed God in the wilderness. The Corinthians would be tempted in the same way to disobey God. 1 Corinthians 10:⁶  Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they indeed craved them. 

1) Idolatry and sexual immorality: The golden calf. ⁷ Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”  That would be the incident of the golden calf in Exodus 30:When Moses was up on Mt Sinai receiving the 10 commandments, the poople persuaded Aaron to make them a golden calf to worshp. Exodus 30:⁶ So the next day they got up early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to engage in lewd behavior.”

2) Sexual Immorality: The sin at Peor. ⁸ Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.” Balak, the king of Moab, had hired the prophet Balaam to curse Israel as they passed through Moab on the way to Canaan. Balaam tried 4 times to curse Israel, but the Spirit each time blessed Israel through Moab. But Balaam got his money later. He counseled Balak to get the Israelites intermingling with the Moabites at Peor, which led to having sex with the Moabite women. God sent a plague among the Israelites which was only stopped when Phinehas rammed a spear through an Israelite man having sex with a Moabite woman brazenly in the camp. Numbers 25:⁷ When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the inner room of the tent and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through the abdomen. So the plague on the sons of Israel was brought to a halt. ⁹ But those who died from the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.”

3) Complaining: The snakes and the bronze serpent. ⁹ Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and were killed by the snakes.” As they were passing around the land of Edom on the last leg to Canaan, even the new generation after the 40 years began to complain. Numbers 21:⁵ So the people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we are disgusted with this miserable food (i.e. the manna). ⁶ Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.” It was then that God told Moses to put the bronze serpent on a staff so that someone bitten could, if he had faith, look at the serpent and be healed. Jesus referred to this in John 3:¹⁴ And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him.”

4) Grumbling: Korah’s rebellion. ¹⁰ Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer.” This incident would be Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16 (not the incident with the 12 spies as some have suggested). Korah, a Levite, and 250 leaders of Israel complained about the power God had given Moses and Aaron (especially the high priesthood given to Aaron and his sons). Numbers 16:²⁸ Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not my doing. ²⁹ If these men die the death of all mankind, or if they suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.” ³¹ And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. ³⁴ Then all Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” ³⁵ Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.” But the grumbling mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:10 occurred on the next day. Numbers 16:⁴¹ But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people (i.e. Korah, Dathan, Abiram and the 250 leaders)!” Because of their grumbling, God sent a plague among them. The plagued was only stopped when Aaron put incense from the table of incense in the tabernacle on his censer, making atonement for the people, and ran into the assembly, standing between the living and the dead. Numbers 16:⁴⁹ But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who died on account of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.” “The destroyer” of 1 Corinthians 10:11 would be the “angel of death”, the “destroying angel”, called Shammael by the Jews. This would be the same “angel of death” that destroyed the 185,000 Assyrians who were sieging Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s reign. 2 Kings 19:35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of the 185,000 were dead.”

The Warning. Paul then makes the application to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 10:¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 

Idolatry. Sexual immorality. Complaining. Grumbling. These were the sins that caused Israel to fall. The Corinthians were guilty of the same sins as the letter constantly points out. The example of the Israelites was “written” for instructing the Corinthians (and any readers of the Old Testament). Thank God for his written word. Romans 15:⁴ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” The warning: 1 Corinthians 10:¹² Therefore let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall.”

Apparently the Corinthians were an arrogant group who did not think they could fall from grace. From AI: Yes, the Corinthian church, as depicted in Paul’s letters, exhibited traits of arrogance and pride, which were significant problems for the church’s health and unity. 

Evidence of Arrogance in the Corinthian Church:

Disregard for the Cross:The Corinthian church was tempted to embrace worldly philosophies and values, diminishing the importance of Christ’s crucifixion. 

Spiritual Superiority and Boasting:Some Corinthians boasted about their spiritual gifts and knowledge, creating divisions and factions within the church. 

Disregard for Paul’s Authority:Some questioned or even denied Paul’s authority as an apostle, indicating a lack of humility and respect. 

Sexual Immorality:The Corinthians were known for their tolerance of sexual immorality, even exceeding the norms of the surrounding pagan culture, which Paul condemned as a sign of spiritual immaturity. 

Legalistic Disputes:The church members engaged in lawsuits against each other, demonstrating a lack of love and a reliance on worldly legal systems instead of resolving conflicts within the church. 

Misuse of the Lord’s Supper:The Corinthians were criticized for their disorderly and uncaring participation in the Lord’s Supper, turning a sacred act into a social event. 

Emphasis on Human Wisdom:Some in the Corinthian church were more interested in human wisdom and philosophy than in the simplicity of the Gospel message, which Paul saw as a sign of spiritual immaturity. 

Am I guilty of arrogance and pride, thinking that I can’t fall? From David Guzik: “Temptation works like rocks in a harbor; when the tide is low, everybody sees the danger and avoids it. But Satan’s strategy in temptation is to raise the tide, and to cover over the dangers of temptation. Then he likes to crash you upon the covered rocks.” We staying in Tamarindo in Costa Rica for a few days. Our beach was a very rocky beach like the one below. When the tide was in, the sea covered all the sharp lava rocks and it looked like you could swim safely in the water. When the tide was out, you could see the dangerous rocks that would have dashed you into pieces if you had swam when the tide was in, when it looked safe.”

The Encouragement. 1 Corinthians 10:¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.“

After reading the example of the Israelite sins, I’m thinking, “I do those sins all the time! How am I going to keep from falling?” We see the temptations others face, but we tend to think that our temptation is worse or unique. Nope. Others have experienced the same temptation. But this verse sounds like God will not let you ever face a temptation that we would succumb to. But He is not doing a good job if that is the case since I give in to temptation often! But the truth is that, with enough faith and trusting God’s wisdom, I could handle every temptation I face without sinning. Satan would use temptation to totally destroy our faith and get us to fall if he was allowed to. But, as with Job, God put limits on how much he could test Job with. Job handled the loss of everything he had, including his children, and the terrible boils all over his body and the pain. But maybe there was some temptation or test that Job simply could not handle. God would not let Satan use that test. So I think there could be a temptation that God knows that, even with faith and trusting God’s wisdom, I could not handle. For example, if my 3 children, their mates, Deborah’s mother and brother and sister, and all 10 grandchildren died in a house fire at a party while I was on my way home from school, I don’t know if I could handle that like Job did. That might be my breaking point. God knows the breaking point of each believer. Maybe that’s Jesus’ prayer: “Lead us not into temptation”.

God will provide a way of escape.From Guzik: ” Barclay says the word for a way of escape is really a mountain pass, with the idea of an army being surrounded by the enemy, and then suddenly seeing an escape route to safety. Like a mountain pass, the way of escape isn’t necessarily an easy way.” But one must be looking for the way of escape. Then he must choose to run to the way of escape instead of just staying in the midst of the temptation. From Guzik: “At a market, a little boy standing by some candy looked like he was going to put some in his pocket and walk out the door. A clerk watched the boy for a long time, and finally spoke to him. “Looks like you’re trying to take some candy,” the clerk said. The boy replied, “You’re wrong, mister. I’m trying not to.” For the time being, he was able to bear it.”

1 Corinthians 10:¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” This verse leads into a temptation that the Corinthians were facing over the eating of meats, the weak/strong brother issue. So I will save the. rest of the chapter for future blog. But the “therefore” tells us that the last warning is tied to vs 1-13 and the bad examples of Israel in the wilderness. Apparently idolatry was the worst of the sins he cited. Idolatry might be the worst of sins in the church today. I close with these verses from Paul in Ephesians 5:³ But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints; ⁴ and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. ⁵ For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Greed is idoltry b/c we end up worshipping the things we lust after.

First of all, who is Bart Ehrman. (AI) “Bart Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar who studies the historical Jesus, the origins of Christianity, and the New Testament’s textual criticism. He is a James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.”

According to Bart Ehrman, Jesus was a false prophet. ” Historical scholars for over a century have maintained that Jesus predicted that the end of history as we know it was to come in his own generation. Conservative Christians — laypeople and scholars alike — have insisted that this is a complete misportrayal of Jesus. And many people — possibly most? — believe that if Jesus really did preach this message, not only was he obviously wrong but also Christianity cannot possibly be true. A Jesus who was *demonstrably* mistaken about a central element of his preaching could not be a prophet of God, let alone the Savior of the world.” (Bart Ehrman Blog, May 1, 2023).

“But then God would intervene in an act of cosmic judgment in which he destroyed the forces of evil and set up a good kingdom here on earth, an actual physical kingdom ruled by his representative. This cataclysmic judgment would affect all people. Those who had sided with evil (and prospered as a result) would be destroyed, and those who had sided with God (and been persecuted and harmed as a result) would be rewarded.Moreover, this future judgment applied not only to the living but also to the dead. At the end of this age, God would raise everyone from the dead to face either eternal reward or eternal punishment. And so, no one should think they could side with the forces of evil, prosper, as a result, become rich, powerful, and influential, and then die and get away with it. No one could get away with it. God would raise everyone from the dead for judgment, and there was not a sweet thing anyone could do to stop him.And when would this happen? When would the judgment come? When would this new rule, the Kingdom of God, begin? “Truly I tell you, some of you standing here will not taste before you see the kingdom of God come in power.” The words of Jesus (Mark 9:1). Jesus was not talking about a kingdom you would enter when you died and went to heaven: he was referring to a kingdom here on earth, to be ruled by God. Or as he says later, when asked when the end of the age would come, “Truly I tell you, This generation will not pass away before all these things take place.”” (Bart Ehrman blog, April 2,2022).

Of course, the test for a false prophet is found in Deuteronomy: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously….that prophet shall die” (Deuteronomy 18:22, 20). So, Bart Ehrman would be correct in saying that Jesus is a false prophet and certainly not the Savior of the world. Christianity would fall also since it is built on Jesus Christ.

The Quest for the Historical Jesus was written by Albert Schweitzer (Lutheran theologian, 1875-1965 AD). He believed that Jesus and his followers expected the world to end soon and that Jesus believed he was living at the end of time. Schweitzer’s book The Quest of the Historical Jesus summarizes his views on the subject: Schweitzer studied and cross-referenced many Bible verses that promised the Son of Man’s return. For example, he noted that Jesus told his disciples that the world would end before their generation passed. First-century Christian: Schweitzer believed that first-century Christians literally believed that Jesus’s promise would be fulfilled soon. Modern Christianity: Schweitzer believed that modern versions of Christianity ignore the urgency of Jesus’s message.

Schweitzer’s views on Jesus were different from those of his liberal contemporaries. He believed that Jesus was a heroic figure driven by an apocalyptic vision.” But, of course, Schweitzer believed that Jesus and the apostles were mistaken about their predictions of an imminent 2nd coming. Schweitzer would conclude that Jesus was a “heroic figure” but a false prophet nonetheless.

Schweitzer is technically correct when the says that “modern versions of Christianity ignore the urgency of Jesus’s message.” Allow me to explain why I say that.

Jesus only made 4 predictions about a “2nd coming” or “coming again”.

Matthew 10:²³ `And whenever they may persecute you in this city, flee to the other, for verily I say to you, ye may not have completed the cities of Israel till the Son of Man may come.” This states that the “2nd coming” must occur within the generation of the apostles and their commission to preach the gospel to all of Israel and to the whole world.

Matthew 16:²⁷ `For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work.” The Greek for “about to” is mello and it always means something about to happen or about to be in a certain place.” https://parousiafulfilled.com/mello-about-tohappen/index.php#:~:text=Clearly%20the%20authors%20of%20the,very%20SOON%E2%80%A6%20in%20their%20lifetime. Jesus clearly predicted that He was “about to come” back in judgment. BTW only Young’s LIteral Translation and a few others translate mello consistently as “about to”, including its usage in “end of time” eschatological passages like this one. Most translatations just translate it as “certainly will come” when it is used with eschatological passages although they translate it as “agout to” in non-eschatological passages. Why would they do that? Probably because the translators realize the implications if Jesus falsely predicted an imminent 2nd coming that did not happen soon.

Matthew 24:³⁰ and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth smite the breast, and they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of the heaven, with power and much glory; ³⁴ Verily I say to you, this generation may not pass away till all these may come to pass.” The Greek word for generation is genea and it always means a period of about 40 years or the people living in a period of about 40 years. Thayer explains it, giving Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30 as examples, “the whole multitude of men living at the time . . . used especially of the Jewish race living at one and the same period” (Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979, p. 112). G. Abbott-Smith writes that the Greek word genea means “race, stock, family,” but in the New Testament always “generation” (G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 2nd ed., Edinburgh: T.&T. Clarke, 1923, p. 89). Arndt and Gingrich note that the term means “literally, those descended from a common ancestor,” but “basically, the sum total of those born at the same time, expanded to include all those living at a given time, generation, contemporaries” (W.F. Arndt and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957, p. 153). (From Thayer explains it, giving Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30 as examples, “the whole multitude of men living at the time . . . used especially of the Jewish race living at one and the same period“. From Jews for Judaism, which is not a Jewish Christian site. Here Jewish non Christians are saying that Jesus definitely predicted that his 2nd coming would be within the next 40 or so years and that Jesus was mistaken. It also says that any attempt to make the word generation mean simply “race” is wrong and goes against reputable Greek lexicons.

Mark 8: ³⁸ for whoever may be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also shall be ashamed of him, when he may come in the glory of his Father, with the holy messengers.’ Mark 9:1  And he said to them, `Verily I say to you, That there are certain of those standing here, who may not taste of death till they see the reign of God having come in power.'” Jesus clearly predicted that some of those he was speaking to would still be alive when he came back (his “2nd coming”). If someone still wants to say that generation just means “race”, and that Jesus is only predicting that the Jewish race will still exist at his 2nd coming, this verse is a killer. It says that some would still be alive. Period. That is either true of Jesus is a false prophet.

Matthew 26:⁶⁴ Jesus saith to him, `Thou hast said; nevertheless I say to you (i.e. Caiaphas the high priest), hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming upon the clouds, of the heaven.'” We don’t know for sure how long Caiaphas lived, but I believe Jesus that he lived long enough to at least see the beginning of the events of the 2nd coming. Or else Jesus is a false prophet.

There are no other predictions (other than the parallel passages in Mark and Luke which read the same) from Jesus about his 2nd coming or the time of his 2nd coming. That’s it. Any doctrine about the 2nd coming must be taken from these passages. Period.

Schweitzer is right that “modern versions of Christianity ignore the urgency of Jesus’s message.” In other words, most Christians and Christian scholars simply read these predictions and ignore the fact that Jesus is clearly saying that his 2nd coming will be within the next 40 or so years. They might try to use the “generation” is “the Jewish race” but we see that isn’t the Greek meaning, and that doesn’t explain Mark 8:38-9:1 “some will still be alive”. Or they may say, “yes, Jesus predicted an imminent 2nd coming but postponed it due to his rejection by the Jews”. But Hebrews refutes that idea: Hebrews 10:³⁵ Ye may not cast away, then, your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward, ³⁶ for of patience ye have need, that the will of God having done, ye may receive the promise, ³⁷ for yet a very very little, He who is coming will come, and will not tarry (chronizó: To delay, to tarry, to take time); ³⁸ and `the righteous by faith shall live,’ and `if he may draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him,’ ³⁹ and we are not of those drawing back to destruction, but of those believing to a preserving of soul.”

Some might be so bold to say that “Jesus did predict an imminent 2nd coming but was “mistaken”. The classic on this is from C.S.Lewis who claimed that Mattew 10:23 and 24:34 were the most embarrassing verses in the Bible b/c Jesus was mistaken, thinking that his 2nd coming was imminent and within the generation of those he was speaking to. So, even though Lewis became a Christian, here is how he tried to explain Jesus’ mistaken beliefs: …” But there is worse to come. ‘Say what you like,’ we shall be told, ‘the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, “this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.” And He was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.’

It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. Yet how teasing, also, that within fourteen words of it should come the statement ‘But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.’ The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. That they stood thus in the mouth of Jesus Himself, and were not merely placed thus by the reporter, we surely need not doubt. Unless the reporter were perfectly honest he would never have recorded the confession of ignorance at all; he could have had no motive for doing so except a desire to tell the whole truth. And unless later copyists were equally honest they would never have preserved the (apparently) mistaken prediction about ‘this generation’ after the passage of time had shown the (apparent) mistake. This passage (Mark 13:30–32) and the cry ‘Why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Mark 15:34) together make up the strongest proof that the New Testament is historically reliable. The evangelists have the first great characteristic of honest witnesses: they mention facts which are, at first sight, damaging to their main contention.

The facts, then, are these: that Jesus professed Himself (in some sense) ignorant, and within a moment showed that He really was so. To believe in the Incarnation, to believe that He is God, makes it hard to understand how He could be ignorant; but also makes it certain that, if He said He could be ignorant, then ignorant He could really be. For a God who can be ignorant is less baffling than a God who falsely professes ignorance. The answer of theologians is that the God-Man was omniscient as God, and ignorant as Man. This, no doubt, is true, though it cannot be imagined. Nor indeed can the unconsciousness of Christ in sleep be imagined, nor the twilight of reason in His infancy; still less His merely organic life in His mother’s womb. But the physical sciences, no less than theology, propose for our belief much that cannot be imagined.”

Wow! Lewis says that Jesus was mistaken in his belief in an imminent 2nd coming, but that’s okay b/c he then said that Jesus admitted his ignorance since “no man, not even the Son, knew the exact day of his 2nd coming. That is not an acceptable explanation! Jesus did not say that he “might be coming back soon”. He said that he was coming back soon. The test for a false prophet is Deuteronomy 18:“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously….that prophet shall die” Jesus would be a false prophet to be stoned to death if his prediction did not come true. Period. William Miller predicted that Jesus was coming back on March 23, 1843 and it didn’t happen. He will go down in history as a false prophet. Why would our assessmenet of Jesus be any different? Jesus added that he did not know the exact day, but that doesn’t take away his prediction about the 2nd coming to happen within that generation whild some were still alive. Jesus gave signs to look for the 2nd coming, but he never gave the exact date of it. If he gave the exact date, most would wait till that day to repent! I’m glad C.S.Lewis became a Christian in spite of his questioning of Jesus’ predictions, but he was wrong, and any atheist, Muslim, Jew, or agnostic can see the fallacy of his reasoning.

So, Jesus predicted he would come back (his 2nd coming) within that generation (Matthew 24:30,34)that he was speaking to (within the next 40 years or so), while some listening to him were still alive (Mark 9;1). Well did he? Yes. He came in judgment on the wicked Jewish nation in 70 AD when He sent the Romans to destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem, which they did under Titus.

That coming is described with a lot of figurative language similar to judgments on nations in the Old Testament. For example, Matthew 24:²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” That had to occur within that generation (24:30), within the next 40 years or so. But did the “stars fall from the sky” withiin the next 40 years? Not literally. But Isaiah 13 predicted the fall of Babylon, which happened in 539 BC, using similar language. Isaiah 19:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.” Did the stars quit shining (there are billions of stars) when that predicttion was fulfilled? No. That is tyypical apocalyptic figurative language, a way of saying a big catastrophic event was going to occur, a change in the way things were governed on earth. Isaiah 34:4 is another example: “For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.” This again was a judgment on nations back in Isaiah’s time. So the stars did not have to fall in 70 AD for Matthew 24:30-34 to be fulfilled in 70 AD.

I hope this challenges you to study this topic if you haven’t already done so. Too many Christians just ignore the seriousness of this topic. We must defend Jesus as a true prophet. The alternative is that he was just another false prophet and our faith in Christianity is void and He is not the Savior of the world.

 

2 Timothy 4:1  I do fully testify, then, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge living and dead at his manifestation and his reign —² preach the word; be earnest in season, out of season, convict, rebuke, exhort, in all long-suffering and teaching, ³ for there shall be a season when the sound teaching they will not suffer, but according to their own desires to themselves they shall heap up teachers — itching in the hearing, ⁴ and indeed, from the truth the hearing they shall turn away, and to the fables they shall be turned aside. ⁵ And thou — watch in all things; suffer evil; do the work of one proclaiming good news; of thy ministration make full assurance,

Another one of those “full preterism” verses in 4:1. Jesus is “about to” (mello, always means about to happen or about to be at a place). https://parousiafulfilled.com/mello-about-to-happen/index.php#:~:text=So%2C%20whenever%20something%20was%20%E2%80%9Cabout,(Matt%2017%3A12). For example For example, when Jesus prophesied his coming crucifixion, he told his disciples that the Son of Man “is about to” [Gk: μέλλει : mellei] suffer at the hands of certain men (Matt 17:12). Matthew 3:7 – But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to [Gk: μελλούσης : mellouses : which is about to] come (i.e. the judgment on the Jews in 70 AD). But mello is used in several eschatological passages like 2 Timothy 4:1 (a judgment of the living and the dead passage at his manifestation (epiphaneia: Appearing, Manifestation; used in 2 Thess 2:8 NAS: and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming) so this is a 2nd coming judgment passage. Matthew 16:27 – the Son of Man is going to i [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” Acts 17:31 – because he has fixed a day on which he will i [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”Check the site just given for more uses. Luke 21:36 – But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to i [Gk: μέλλοντα : mellonta : are about to] take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21 is all about the end of the age in 70 AD and the destruction of the city and the temple in 70 AD, so the use of mello in 21:36 makes sense. Revelation 1:19 YLT – Write the things that thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is (are) about to] iii ) come after these things.” Revelation was written in about 63 AD about things “shortly to take place” (Rev 1:1-3), so mello makes sense here also.

Preach (kérussó: To proclaim, to preach, to herald) the word. The verb κηρύσσω (kérussó) is used in the New Testament to describe the act of proclaiming or announcing a message publicly. It often refers to the preaching of the Gospel. That is something an “evangelist” like Titus would do, to preach the gospel (good news) message to sinners. We call our sermons “preaching”, but technically our sermons are just teaching (occasionally preaching the gospel good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and how to be saved), but not preaching. Semantics I guess. I’m sure Titus preached the basic gospel message to unconverted sinners everywhere he could. There would be a season when people will not listen to sound (hugiainó: To be sound, to be healthy, to be well; the word we get “hygiene” from) teaching. They will have “itching ears” and will “heap up teachers” that will scratch their itching ears. (AI) “In the Greco-Roman world, rhetoric and philosophy were highly valued, and speakers often tailored their messages to please their audiences. This cultural context helps illuminate the metaphorical use of “knéthó” in the New Testament, where it warns against the tendency to seek out teachings that align with personal desires rather than divine truth.”

The number of false prophets and false teachers is amazing. Marshall Applewhite of Heaven’s Gate cult; Jim Jones of People’s Temple (Guyanaa tragedy). David Karesh of Branch Davidians cult. Charles Manson and the Manson Family. David Berg of the Children of God cult. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the Rajneeshpuram,cult. Here is a site that discusses each of these false prophets and cults. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/most-famous-cults-history These are just a few of the many! Add Joseph Smith of the Mormons. Ellen G. White of the 7th Day Adventists. Rutherford and Russell of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mary Baker Eddy of the Christian Science. L Ron Hubbard and Scientology. Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That list doesn’t include the many, many false prophets who falsely predicted dates for the 2nd coming.

But what is amazing to me is why so many people can be drawn to these false prophets. These false prophets and cult leaders obviously had charismatic appeal to people. But what was it that caused so many to be drawn to Joseph Smith and his Book of Mormon. Or to Marshall Applewhite and to Jim Jones, joining in mass suicide. (AI) “Cults prey upon the vulnerable among us, such as teenage runaways, drug addicts, abuse survivors, those who have lost someone close to them through death or a breakup, those suffering from insecurity or mental health issues, or anyone who feels disconnected from society.” But many are just well meaning people who like the personality and teachings of some preacher. Surprisingly the majority of those drawn to cults have higher education. Most have less religious and spiritual upbringing. Again it just amazes me that so many people would fall into the false teaching of cults and cult leaders. I’m not sure what the “fables” in 4:4 are that the false teachers are teaching, but the fables of the Book of Mormon would to me be a prime example. There are 17 million Mormons worldwide.

Next Paul turns to his expected imminent death. 2 Timothy 4:⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering (spendó: To pour out as a drink offering, to make a libation, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” The Law had drink offerings (Exodus 29:40), libations poured out in worship to God. His death would be like that. The Christian life is a constant battle against sin and evil. Paul fought the good fight. It is a race filled with obstacles and difficulties. Paul finished the course. It is life filled with doubt and bad things that challenge your faith in God. Paul kept the faith. He would get his crown stephanos: Crown). (AI) “In the New Testament, “stephanos” primarily refers to a crown or wreath, symbolizing victory, honor, or reward. Unlike a royal diadem, which signifies sovereignty, a “stephanos” is often associated with the wreath awarded to victors in athletic contests or given as a mark of honor and celebration. It is used metaphorically to describe the eternal rewards and honors bestowed upon believers by God.”

Next is Paul’s personal concerns. Remember that this is last winter, spent in a Roman dungeon. He wants Timothy to come to him in prison soon,, before he dies. He is sending Tychicus to Ephesus, probably with this 2 Timothy letter, to relieve Timothy in his work there so that Timothy can come see Paul in prison. He is cold and wants his overcoat he left in Troas. He feels deserted by many. He is lonely, having only Luke with him at the time he wrote. We wonder why he left his books and parchments in Troas, but he wants Timothy to bring them. We are happy to see that Paul says that Maark is useful him for service. We assume that is John Mark who deserted Paul and Barnabas on the 1st missionary journey. That caused a big argument between Paul and Barnabas over whether to take Mark with them on the 2nd journey as Paul refused to take him. Paul and Barnabas split up after that, with Paul taking Silas on his 2nd journey and Barnabas taking John Mark with him on a journey somewhere. In his hour of need, Demas deserted Paul, having loved this present world. Maybe that means that Demas was afraid to stick around with Paul in prison for fear that he also might end up in prison. He was deserted by all at his first defense (possibly a trial during his 2nd imprisonment in Rome). Can we even fathom how Paul felt in his last few months in a cold dungeon in Rome? If you were writing your last letter before you died, who would you write to and what would you say?

Paul did not expect to get out of prison this time like he did after house arrest in Acts 28. He expected to be released from the 2 year house arrest of Acts 28. He wrote Philippians during that 2 year house arrest, his 1st imprisonment, and wrote Philippians 1:²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” Not so this time in his 2nd imprisonment. But even if he died in prison this time he expected to be brought safely into the heavenly kingdom (i.e. wherever eternal life is).

2 Timothy 4: ⁹ Make every effort to come to me soon; ¹⁰ for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Take along Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. ¹² But I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the overcoat which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. ¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. ¹⁵ Be on guard against him yourself too, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.

¹⁶ At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

A reminder of Paul’s possible 4th journey after he was released from 2 years in house arrest in Rome (Acts 28). Notice Troas which is where he left his overcoat, books, and parchments. He left Titus in Crete and Timothy in Ephesus. He went through Troas where he left his overcoat and books and parchment. He planned to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Titus 3:¹² When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there) and apparently did not make it there before being arrested and carried to Rome for his last winter during which he wrote 2 Timothy. He would have written the letter to Titus and the 1st letter to Timothy probably from Macedonia on his way to Nicolopis.

If you just had to try to read Paul mind as he is about to die, what do you think were his main concerns? 1 Timothy had a lot of instructions for Timothy to teach to the church about elders, deacons, roles of men and women members, widows, and false teachers. But 2 Timothy is more about instructions to Timothy to not be ashamed of Paul in prison, to be strong, to peach the word and rebuke false teachers. It is more personal as Paul mentioned Timothy’s mother and grandmother. He is very concerned about Timothy carrying on the work.

That concludes the study of 2 Timothy. Hope you enjoyed it.

2 Timothy 3: 1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. ⁶ For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, ⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith. ⁹ But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres.

More verses on the last days. 2 Peter 3:3-4 ESV Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 1 Timothy 4:1 ESV Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” Hebrews 1:2 ESV But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” Micah 4:1 ESV It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it.” Hosea 3:5 ESV Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.” Isaiah 2:2 ESV It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it.” Daniel 10:14 ESV And came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” 1 Peter 1:20 ESV He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” Jude 1:18 ESV They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” Jeremiah 30:24; 23:20  ESV The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” Ezekiel 38:⁸ After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war ¹⁶ You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these.”

My church taught that the “last days” was the Christian Age that started in 30 AD in Acts 2 and is still going. I believe the phrase refers to the last days of the Jewish Age, the period from 30-70 AD. In 70 AD In 70 AD the temple and city of Jerusalem were destroyed. Hebrews 8:¹³ When He said, “A new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34),” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.” That was written in about 60 AD. Some say the old covenant ended in 30 AD, but this verse clearly says that the old covenant did not disappear till shortly after 60 AD, which would fit 70 AD as the date it disappeared. So we start to see that it makes more sense that the last days are the last days of the Jewish Age, ending in 70 AD.

The passage that really shows that is Acts 2:17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; ¹⁸ And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. ¹⁹ And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. ²¹ And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Peter was quoting Joel 2:28-32.

The “great and terrible day of the Lord” was predicted by Malachi 4:⁵ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Of course, the coming of Elijah was fulfilled figuratively in John the Baptist. Matthew 11:¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” 17:¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did ^[d]to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” That great and terrible day of the Lord would be when Jesus came in judgment on the evil Jewish nation, using the Romans, in 70 AD, killing a million Jews in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. That would be his 2nd coming. A lot of people say that the last days were the days between the 1st and 2nd coming, which is correct. They just think the 2nd coming has not happened yet. If you understand that the 2nd coming happened in 70 AD, then the last days were the days between the 1st and 2nd coming. See my blog articles on the “2nd coming” if what I just wrote sounds heretical! That imminent judgment day on the Jews in 70 AD is why Peter would cap off his sermon with a warning: Acts 2:⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” It was that generation of evil Jews that would be judged. Matthew 23: ³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

I think that establishes that the last days were the last days of the Jewish Age from 30 to 70 AD. We are not living in the “last days” today as many would have you believe. The apostles believed that they were living in the last days, and it doesn’t make sense that the last days would last going on 2,000 years now. During those last days the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit would be poured out on “mankind”. Of course, that would mean that it was available to all mankind b/c the only way the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit was given was by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. In the OT only a few received the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit (prophets mainly and Moses and the 70 men), but in the early church the miraculous would be given to all believers, men and women, servants and masters, as long as the apostles laid their hands on them. In Acts 8 the Samaritans were baptized but Acts 8:¹⁴ Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ (For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ¹⁷ Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.” Paul laid his hands on the 12 men in Acts 19:1 Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.” They received the miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The only exception to this practice was when God directly poured the Holy Spirit, the miraculous, on Cornelius to show the Jewish brethren and Peter that the Gentiles could be saved just s they were. Also God poured out the miraculous on Saul when Ananias came that Saul might be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9). Ananias was not an apostle so I assume God just gave Saul the Spirit.

It would make sense that, since the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit was given by the laying on of the apostles’. hands that the gifts would cease as they died off. Peter says in Acts 2 that the miraculous would be poured out during the last days from 30-70 AD, so that fits perfectly. Plus it is obvious that the miracles of those last days are not being done today.

As I said, my church taught that the last days was the Christian Age that started on 30 AD and is still going today until the 2nd coming. That’s a real problem since my church is mostly cessationist (i.e. the miracles ceased in the first century). According to Joel 2 and Acts 2, the miraculous would be poured out in the last days. If we are still in the last days, then the miraculous should still be abundant today, the same miraculous gifts found in the early church (1 Corinthians 12-14). But my church doesn’t believe they do exist today. The charismatics who believe in the miraculous today see that inconsistent interpretation and scoff at us. A correct understanding of the last days eliminates this problem.

That’s a long way to get back to 2 Timothy 3:1 but I thought it was a good place to basically do a study of the “last days” in the Bible. So Paul is saying that in the last days from 30-70 AD that all these sins would be rampant. There would be a falling away, an apostasy before 70 AD. Jesus predicted that: Matthew 24:⁹ “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time (i.e. the time of the end in 70 AD) many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” All that had to happen within that generation of Jews: Matthew 24:³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Also 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” Paul spoke of this in 2 Thessalonians 2:1Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” That “apostasy” could be the rebellion of the Jews against the Romans in the years before 70 AD that led to the destruction of the temple and city, or it could be an apostasy of believers (as Jesus predicted) who don’t endure in the face of persecution from the Jews and Romans.

As Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:9-12, this apostasy and falling away of believers would be led by false teachers who “slip into households and captivate weak women who are led on by various impulses”. They would “oppose the truth” just as the magicians, Jannes and Jambres, did when Moses came to Pharoah. Their names are not mentioned in Exodus, but they are here.

Then on a personal note to Timothy: 2 Timothy 2:¹⁰ Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, ¹¹ persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! ¹² Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³ But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Paul commends Timothy. Paul makes an interesting observation: All who want to live godly in Jesus will be persecuted”. That has been the general rule for the 2,000 years of church and Christian history. Martyrdom and persecution of believers has been the rule not the exception. The church was its strongest in the first 3 centuries before Constantine legalized Christianity. It got weaker when it became fashionable to become a Christian. Millions of Christians are still being persecuted for their faith in India, North Korea, Muslim countries, Iran, China, and many other places. The lack of persecution of the church in the U.S. has made the church weaker actually.

Paul closes with one of my favorite passages on the inspiration of the Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:⁴ You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture (graphé: Scripture, writing) is inspired (theopneustos: God-breathed, inspired by God) by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” This is the only one occurrence of this Greek word theopneustos, but the idea of “inspiration” of Scripture is found elsewhere. 2 Peter 1:²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” “Men moved by the Holy Spirit to speak and write God’s word.” 1 Corinthians 2:¹⁰ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Notice that inspiration was in words. The Holy Spirit somehow allowed the inspired writers and speakers to use their own vocabulary and thoughts but guided their thoughts and words so as to give the actual word of God, without errors (infallible). The apostles were promised this inspiration of the Holy Spirit: John 16: ¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” So the Scriptures are verbal (in error free words) plenary (full truth, not just parts of the Bible but all of the Bible) inspiration (God breathed words by the Holy Spirit). Of course, only the original writings of the NT writers were error free. The copies and translations are not. However, a study of the transmission of the original writings will show that we have very, very accurate copies and translations even though we don’t have the originals We have over 5,000 partial or full manuscripts to use in making translations today.

This is AI and long but I think it is worth including:

The rejection of the inspiration of scriptures, often called biblical criticism or skepticism, stems from various viewpoints that challenge the traditional understanding of the Bible’s divine origin and authority. 

Reasons for Rejection:

• Historical and Literary Criticism:Some scholars argue that the Bible is a product of human authorship influenced by the historical and cultural contexts of its time, questioning its divine inspiration or inerrancy. 
• Scientific and Archaeological Discoveries:Some findings in science and archaeology have been interpreted as contradicting or challenging biblical accounts, leading some to question the Bible’s accuracy or reliability. 
• Moral and Ethical Concerns:Critics point to passages in the Bible that they consider morally problematic, such as violence, slavery, and discrimination, questioning its divine origin or relevance for modern society. 
• Internal Contradictions and Inconsistencies:Some argue that the Bible contains internal contradictions, inconsistencies, or errors that challenge its claim to be divinely inspired. 
• Humanist Perspective:Humanists, who emphasize human reason and experience, often reject the Bible’s claim to be divinely inspired, considering it a product of human culture and history. 

Consequences of Rejection:

• Loss of Authority:Rejecting biblical inspiration can lead to questioning the Bible’s authority as a source of moral guidance and religious truth. 
• Doubt and Uncertainty:Rejection of the Bible’s divine origin can create doubt and uncertainty about religious beliefs and practices. 
• Shifting Perspectives:Rejecting the Bible’s inspiration can lead to alternative interpretations of religious texts, emphasizing human agency and reason over divine revelation. 
• Conflict and Debate:The rejection of biblical inspiration can lead to conflict and debate between those who believe in the Bible’s divine origin and those who do not. 

Different Approaches to Biblical Interpretation:

• Literal Interpretation:Some believe the Bible should be interpreted literally, accepting its words as historically accurate and divinely inspired. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t figurative parts of the Bible. Context determines literal or figurative.
• Figurative Interpretation:Others argue that the Bible should be understood figuratively, recognizing its symbolic and metaphorical language.This method means that the Bible can’t be taken literally period.

The “sacred writings” that Timothy was taught from childhood would have been the OT scriptures, the 39 books of the OT as arranged into 22 books in 3 divisions: the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets (Luke 24:27). But as time went on, the writings of the NT inspired writers would be considered Scripture also. 2 Peter 3:¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, ¹⁵ and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” Here Peter is saying that Paul’s writings are Scripture just like the OT writings were Scripture. Paul was an inspired apostle although he was not one of the original 12.

It is the responsibility of parents to teach the word of God to their children, just as Timothy’s mother and grandmother did (2 Timothy 1:5). A correct understanding of the OT Scripture would lead one to faith in Christ. Romans 10:⁴ For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” John 5:³⁹ You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me; ⁴⁰ and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” The Law would convict men of sin and their inability to save themselves by animal sacrifices. The Prophets or Writings would make many messianic predictions which were all fulfilled with 100% accuracy although written hundreds of years ahead of time. The OT and NT Scripture is beneficial for correction and training so that the man or woman of God might be fully capable, equipped for every good work. The Scriptures do have all the basic doctrines of truth, but the ultimate goal of the Scriptures is to equip us to do good works for God.

This was AI interesting: According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 49% of Americans believe the Bible is inspired by God, but not everything in it is to be taken literally: Fables, history, and moral precepts: 29% of Americans say the Bible is a collection of fables, history, and moral precepts recorded by man. Literal word of God: 20% of Americans believe the Bible is the actual word of God to be taken literally.” There is a lot of semantics here that can confuse the issue. I consider myself to be a literalists, but there are many portions of Scripture that are figurative and not literal. Such as the predictions in Matthew 24 that the stars would fall within that generation (24:34) which was obviously figurative. A lot of that 49% probably consider the Bible to be inspiring but not the word of God, and perhaps not completed inspired but full of errors. Groups like the LGBQT movement obviously do not believe that the Bible is word for word the word of God.