JUNE 29, 67 AD - Paul and Peter Are Martyred

• According to early church tradition, this is the day that Paul is beheaded.
• MAP – Paul Beheaded

December 69 AD

• Vespasian is officially proclaimed Emperor of Rome.

70 AD

• Vespasian is occupied in Alexandria.
• MAP – Vespasian in Alexandria
• While he is away from Rome, he puts his elder son, Titus, in charge of military affairs.
• His younger son, Domitian, is given authority to act as Ceasar to the Empire.
• Domitian exiles John, the apostle, to the Isle of Patmos for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
• MAP – John on Patmos
• Because church tradition says that Domitian exiled John to the Island of Patmos, many scholars have dated the Book of Revelation to be during Domitian’s reign as Roman Emperor in the 90s.
• However, Domitian served temporarily as Emperor in A.D. 70 when his father was away from Rome.
• The little known fact of Domitian’s temporary reign complicates the dating of Revelation.
• John is sentenced to labor in the mines of the island. (The Island of Patmos is eight miles long and five miles wide and sits 50 miles southwest of Ephesus.)
• MAP - Ephesus

The Roman Siege of Jerusalem May-August 70

• The population of Jerusalem is now 600,000.
• MAP - Jerusalem
• Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian, marches into Jerusalem with his troops and overtakes the city.
• The Roman army breaches the first and second walls of Jerusalem.
• Mass execution of the escapees begins.
• There are up to 500 crucifixions per day outside the city.
• According to Josephus, The Romans chopped down so many trees to make crosses that they completely stripped the hills of Jerusalem of the woods that covered them.
• Famine begins within Jerusalem.
• As the famine takes its toll, some of the Jews resort to infanticide and cannibalism to survive.
• The Romans destroy the Tower of Antonia and are shocked at the conditions inside the city, including the cannibalism.
• The Romans take the temple and the city.
• They enter the temple and set it afire by a reckless Roman torch.
• The temple is desecrated and utterly destroyed.
• Remembering Jesus’ warning in Luke 21:20-24, the Christians have already fled the city.
• Eusebius, the church historian wrote how the Christians were supernaturally warned by the Lord to flee Jerusalem before the bloodbath began.
• Many of them moved to the Greek city of Pella in the region of Perea, east of the Jordan River (the Transjordan).
• MAP – Pella in Perea
• No less than one million perish in the seige and over 90,000 are led into captivity.
• The Jerusalem church is dispersed again.
• The Jewish Christians are now forced to sit down and eat with their “unclean,” Law-free Gentile brethren in the Gentile churches that Paul and his coworkers have planted all throughout the Roman Empire.
• A few stubborn ones founded the Ebionite heresy, which rejected Paul’s writings, the virgin birth, Christ’s Divinity, and espoused that all followers of Jesus must follow the Law of Moses.

 
The Church After 70 AD

• John, the apostle, is released from his banishment on the Island of Patmos.
• He moves back to Ephesus where he lives out the rest of his life.
• John dies of natural causes in A.D. 98 at the age of 100.
• The apostasy that Paul and Peter prophecied about continues to flourish.
• Silas brings the gospel to the Island of Rhodes.
• MAP – Island of Rhodes
• He later moves to Northern Greece where he dies.
• Philip, one of the Twelve apostles, has a powerful ministry in Carthage, North Africa.
• MAP - Carthage
• He then travels to Asia Minor where he converts the wife of a Roman governor (proconsul).
• In retaliation, the governor has Philip arrested and cruelly put to death.
• Matthew (also called Levi), one of the Twelve, opens doors to the gospel in Persia, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
• MAP – Persia & Ethiopia
• He is killed with a spear in Nadabah, Ethiopia.
• Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas Iscariot, preaches Christ in Asia Minor and Syria.
• MAP - Syria
• He is burned to death in Syria.
• Other traditions say he was stoned to death and beheaded in Jerusalem by the Jews, he was killed with a lance or axe by the Jews, or he was crucified by the Romans.
• Thomas (also called Didymus), one of the Twelve, brings the gospel to Syria and India.
• MAP - India
• He preaches to Parthians, Medes, and Persians.
• Thomas is stabbed to death by Brahman priests in Mylapore, India in A.D. 72.
• MAP – Parthians & Medes
• Barnabas is martyred in Salamis, Cyprus in 73 AD.
• MAP - Salamis
• Simon the Zealot and Judas (also called Thaddeus), two of the twelve apostles, bring the gospel to Great Britain.
• MAP – Great Britain
• They then go to Persia to proclaim Christ where they are torn apart by a Persian mob in 79 AD.
• James, the apostle and son of Alphaeus, also preaches the gospel in Persia where he is beaten and stoned to death by the Jews at the age of 94.
• In 96 AD, Titus dies on the Island of Crete.
• MAP - Crete
• Timothy dies a year later in Ephesus.
• He is stoned to death after protesting the festivities in honor of the pagan goddess Diana (Artemis).
• Following the death of the apostles and their coworkers, the light and glow of the first-century church begins to fade.
• Man-made systems and humanly-devised traditions slowly evolve to replace her glory and dim her light.
• Yet God does not give up on His eternal purpose.
• Throughout the centuries, the Lord progressively works toward restoring her pristine simplicity and glory… until the time that she—the ekklesia—the community of the King—the Bride of Christ, has made herself ready for her Bridegroom.[1]

[1] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: An Extraordinary Guide to Understanding the New Testament. Destiny Image. Kindle Edition.

JUNE 29, 67 AD - Paul and Peter Are Martyred

• According to early church tradition, this is the day that Paul is beheaded in Rome during Nero’s reign.
• Around the same time, Peter is found confounding the magic of Simon Magus, who is favored by Nero.
• Peter is imprisoned and leads a captain of the guard to Christ, along with many others.
• Peter is scourged, then crucified upside down because he does not feel worthy to die as did his Lord.
• Aristarchus from Thessalonica, Erastus from Corinth, Trophimus from Ephesus, Joseph Barsabbas from Jerusalem, and Ananias of Damascus, along with many other Christians, are all martyred under Nero’s reign in A.D. 68
• Andrew, the apostle and brother of Peter, is crucified in Patras, Greece on an x-shaped cross.49
• Luke is crucified with him.
• After preaching the gospel in India, Armenia, Southern Arabia, and Ethiopia, Bartholomew (also called Nathanael) one of the Twelve, is beaten and crucified in Albanopolis, Armenia.
• John Mark brings the gospel to Alexandria, Egypt.
• While there, he enrages a mob by telling them that the pagan god, Serapis, is worthless.
• Mark is dragged with a rope around his neck through the streets by horses and then imprisoned for the night.
• The following morning, the same ordeal is repeated until his death.

 
Nero and Vespasian June 9, 68

• After fourteen years of Nero’s reign, the Roman people can no longer tolerate their cruel and embarrassing emperor.
• So they revolt against Nero.
• The Senate declares him to be a public enemy of the State, and soldiers pursue him.
• Upon hearing this, Nero hides at the home of one of his freedmen in a villa outside of Rome where he commits suicide.
• His famous last words are: “What an artist the world is losing in me.”

 
Crisis in the Churches of the Dispersion

• False teachers have subtly infiltrated the dispersed Jewish churches and are spreading a false doctrine that perverts God’s grace to be license to sin.
• These false brethren have successfully disguised themselves as true believers and have managed to partake of the Lord’s Supper with the church.
• These false teachers can be described as follows: They are distorting the gospel by advocating sexual license under the banner of God’s grace.
• They are “dreamers,” seeing visions that originate from themselves and not from the Lord.
• They slander angels, which means they despise the Law of Moses that was delivered by angels.
• They indulge their own needs when eating the Lord’s Supper.
• They are grumblers and malcontents, pursuing their own will rather than God’s.
• They are arrogant and use flattery to take advantage of God’s people.
• They are scoffers, laughing at moral purity and Divine judgment.
• They are devoid of the Spirit of God and provoke divisions in the church.
• Jude possesses a copy of Peter’s second letter.
• In it, he sees the fulfillment of Peter’s prediction about the coming of false teachers coming to pass before his eyes.54
• Jude, the half-brother of Jesus and brother of “James the Just,” is burdened about this problem.

 
JUDE WRITES THE LETTER OF JUDE Year: A.D. 68

• To: The dispersed Jewish Christians in and outside of Palestine Provocation: Jude exposes and announces condemnation on the false teachers who have infiltrated the churches.
• He also reminds and exhorts the believers to return to and contend for the original faith that the apostles delivered to them.… [1]

 
GREETING
JUDE
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:

• Jude reveals himself to be a bond-servant of God, or a willing servant of God, because of His mercy and grace.
• Jude, being the brother of James, was likely also the brother of Jesus.

To those who are the called, loved, by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.

• God the Father is keeping all of His children for Jesus Christ.
• This is a passage that speaks very clearly of eternal security.
• Believers are kept by God and offered as a gift to Jesus.

2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

• A true knowledge of God results in mercy and grace from God, which breeds peace and contentment within the lives of believers.
• We are dearly loved by God who has done everything we need for a safe and secure salvation.

 
JUDE’S PURPOSE IN WRITING
3 Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.

• Jude wants his readers to fight for truth because it is the very message from God to the world.
• This Gospel of grace is what God has handed down to the saints for delivery to the world.
• Jude is concerned about the message of God’s grace being perverted and leading people to deception.

4 For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago,, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

• The false teachers encouraged a life of celebration of sin and also had some form of denial of Jesus’s identity.
• All false teachings, as defined by the Bible, deny some aspect of Jesus, and encourage godless behavior.
• In this context the godless behavior is abusing grace through sinful behavior.
• The false teachers were likely appealing to eternal security as a reason to sin all-the-more.
• Such teachings are often the result of having heard the truth about God’s grace in Christ.
• If God’s grace is truly free, then it can naturally be twisted to encourage sin.
• A legalistic Gospel would never yield false teachings.

 
APOSTATES: PAST AND PRESENT
5 Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe;

• The believers knew the Gospel and knew God at the core of their beings.
• Jude is appealing to this reality as he reminds God’s children about the truth.
• The Gospel of grace is indeed free, according to James, but it will never lead to sinful behavior.
• God is not a fan of sin which is precisely why Jude recounts the Old Testament story of the Exodus.

6 and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day. 7 Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions, and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

• Sodom and Gomorrah have been personified as the epitome of sexual immorality.
• These two cities are an example of what happens to those who reject the Gospel in general, and the false teachers encouraging sin in particular.
• There is an eternal punishment which awaits all who are not in Christ through faith.

8 In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones. 9 Yet when Michael the archangel

• The false teachers seem fascinated by communication with angelic beings.
• Yet these teachers know nothing of true angels or demons.

was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body,

• No Old Testament data, or New Testament data, testifies to the argument mentioned in this passage.
• We do know that Moses died and was buried, so perhaps Satan accused Moses after his death.
• Satan may have been arguing that Moses was not deserving of resurrection.

he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

• Michael did not appeal to his position as an archangel to rebuke Satan.
• Instead, Michael appealed to the Lord’s power to fight the devil.

10 But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand. And what they do understand by instinct—like irrational animals—by these things they are destroyed.

• The false teachers are acting as authoritative representatives of God, but they actually do not know anything.
• If one invests in their message, they will find only immorality and discontent.

11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

• The “way of Balaam” is merchandising one’s gifts and ministry just for the purpose of making money.
• It is using the spiritual to gain the material.[2]
• The story of Core (Korah) is found in Numbers 16, and it too centers on rebellion against authority.
• Korah and his followers resented the leadership of Moses and dared God to do anything about their rebellion.[3]
• All 3… the tragedy of rejecting authority.

 
THE APOSTATES’ DOOM
12 These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted.

• Jude is clearly not speaking about Christians.
• This presents an important factor in who the Bible labels as false teachers.
• True biblical false teachers are never true Christians.

13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
14 It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.”

• All that we know about Enoch from Scripture is found in Genesis 5:18–24; Hebrews 11:5; and these two verses in Jude.
• He is called “the seventh from Adam” to identify him as the godly Enoch, since Cain had a son of the same name (Gen. 4:17).[4]
• Bible scholars tell us that this quotation is from an apocryphal book called The Book of Enoch.
• The fact that Jude quoted from this nonbiblical book does not mean the book is inspired and trustworthy, any more than Paul’s quotations from the Greek poets put God’s “seal of approval” on everything they wrote.
• The Spirit of God led Jude to use this quotation and make it a part of the inspired Scriptures.[5]
• All who reject Christ will experience judgment and conviction.
• Jude, therefore, believes these false teachers to be under condemnation and awaiting an everlasting darkness.

16 These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Notice that Jude differentiates between those false teachers and believers.
• Jude has not been addressing believers in a condemning way.
• Instead, he recognizes their holiness in the midst of the false teachers and insists that they were even warned of such teachers.

18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.

• The false teachers did not have the Spirit of God within them.
• Therefore, they were not Christians, nor were they led by the Spirit.
• This would have been critical for the early church to grasp so they did not embrace the lies being taught.

 
EXHORTATION AND BENEDICTION
20 But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith,

• The Gospel builds up God’s children.
• Whereas it condemns all who reject Christ, it continuously encourages and matures Christians.

praying in the Holy Spirit,

• This is not speaking of talking in some sort of mystical tongue.
• Instead, Jude is describing the location of the Christian in Christ and calling Christians to pray to God with their location in mind.

21 keep yourselves in the love of God,

• Jude encourages Christians to remind themselves constantly of God’s love.
• It is God’s love that will always lead us into a deeper understanding of the truth.

waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. 22 Have mercy on those who waver; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

• Jude is making it clear that there are different types of people.
• Some, likely believers, doubt aspects of God’s truth.
• These people are to be encouraged through gentleness and patience.
• Others, who do not know God, are to be loved to Christ that they may be rescued from the fire.

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.[6]

• Jude ends with an encouragement to Christians.
• Our salvation and security are God’s problem and agenda.
• It is God’s job to keep us spiritually safe and to help us persevere in the Spirit.
• God is able to make us stand in the midst of any attack of the world, and also at the final judgment.
• Christians will stand proudly in the love of Christ as God judges all who have rejected His Son.
• This includes the false teachers mentioned in this letter.[7]

[1] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: An Extraordinary Guide to Understanding the New Testament. Destiny Image. Kindle Edition.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 554.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 555.
[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 557.
[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 557.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jud 1–25.
[7] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. Jude.

Day of the Lord

• I don’t know…

THE DAY OF THE LORD
2 PETER 3
1 Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, 2 so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles.

• Peter is reminding them of the good news in the midst of the false teaching.
• This is how we can find encouragement and power to endure the trials of the world.
• As long as our thoughts are fixed on Jesus we will not become distracted by lies. 

3 Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires, 4 saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”

• There existed then, as today, unbelievers who are critical of the Christian belief of Christ’s Second Coming.
• But Peter is quick to explain why Christ is waiting: The repentance of the world.
• The same authoritative word of God that brought about creation and the flood, will bring about the return of Christ after the world has had an adequate time to repent.
• After the time of salvation, Jesus will return, and there will be a day of reckoning. 

5 They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water.

• God is eternal, without beginning or ending, and He dwells in eternity.
• Eternity is not just “extended time.”
• Rather, it is existence above and apart from time.[1]

6 Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded. 7 By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

• In contrast to humans who live but a little while, God invented time as we know it.
• Time is nothing to God.
• So, it is not difficult for God to wait for the right time for Christ’s return.
• He waits so that all people will believe.
• He wants all people to come to repentance, and all who are in Christ escape the impending judgment.

9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.

• In a moment, God destroys the heavens and the earth.
• This means that humans do not ultimately destroy the world.
• Rather, Christ returns to whatever state humans leave the world in and creates a new heavens and earth. 

11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness

• God hates sinfulness and fallenness because it is not of His eternal nature.
• Because this reality is passing away, Christians ought to live righteously and not flirt with their old way of living in sin.
• Because we are godly by nature, we can live righteously.

12 as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.

• This is a glimpse of the manner in which Jesus will remake the heavens and the earth.
• Apparently, there is a one-time intense event that Jesus uses to bring about a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
• Notice that this is not God making this current earth better.
• This is a completely new earth.

13 But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
 
CONCLUSION
14 Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace.

• Peter is speaking of the active part of Christianity.
• We are saved by grace but empowered by grace to be active in the kingdom.
• Christians are built to live righteously and express the Spirit moment-by-moment and celebrate truth in all that we do.
• Peter encourages this kind of diligence so that we live according to our new natures and make the best of our time when Christ returns.
• He is not threatening Christians with divine judgment.
• We are spotless and blameless in Christ.
• But our behavior can be judged by people.
• By our behavior and demeanor, people will know who we are as Christians.  

15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.

• Peter again highlights God’s patience in waiting for the end.
• The reason for this slowness is God’s desire and willingness for all people to repent and believe in His Son. 

16 He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

• Peter regarded Paul’s writings as Scripture despite his often-confusing language.
• This is encouraging because it shows that Peter regarded Paul’s letters as Scriptures.
• The apostles had a special understanding of the Holy Spirit’s movement within one another. 

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position.

• The false teachers were encouraging an abuse of Christian freedom by sinful lifestyles.
• Peter is warning the Christians to protect themselves from believing in such nonsense.
• Instead…

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.[2]

• Christians are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
• Remembering the true Gospel of grace is the key to standing firm against false teachings.[3]

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 464.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Pe 3:1–18.
[3] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 2 Peter 1

Judgment

• Deception - This theme runs throughout the entire chapter.
• To begin with, these teachers’ message is false; Peter called what they taught “destructive heresies.”
• The word heresy originally meant simply “to make a choice,” but then it came to mean “a sect, a party.”
• Promoting a party spirit in a church is one of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.[1]).[2]
• When we hear the thought of judgment on false teachers, we have a tendency to start thinking locally and personally.
• We start judging pastors and teachers in our community or who we group up hearing.
• James 3:1 - Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.[3]
• Well… stop! You are not the judge.
• And don’t ask me what I think… I am not the judge.
• Stay focused on the Truth.
• It is good for you to be a critical thinker and judge the message you are hearing.
• Trust what you know and let God be God.
• We are definitely not the judge of people’s eternity.

THE JUDGMENT OF FALSE TEACHERS
2 PETER 2
1 There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.

• Peter is comparing Old Testament false prophets to New Testament false teachers.
• Both are types of teachers that are intentionally leading people astray with false teaching.
• False teaching is always destructive because wrong spiritual beliefs can destroy people.
• These heresies always deny the identity of Jesus.
• Heresy in Scripture is almost always connected to this denial while encouraging sinful living.

They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them.

• The false teachers were likely using the name of Jesus to exploit others to deceive the masses for money.
• In modern times, we see this type of heresy in prosperity theology.
• This theology argues that Christ accomplished health and wealth on the cross for believers.
• Yet this heresy focuses too much on monetary gain and distorts the work of Christ.
• Teachers will use the Word of God to gather their audience/followers.
• They will earn their trust.
• Trust has magnificent value.
• Then, they will enter into their teachings, their own beliefs, values, and agendas.
• Our society today calls this “grooming”.

3 They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. 4 For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment;

• The first example is that of fallen angels.
• This refers either to their fall with Satan in his rebellion against God (Ezek. 28:15) or to the sin of angels in Genesis 6:1–4.
• Since Peter’s other two illustrations in this section are from Genesis (chaps. 7; 19), perhaps this one is too, though it is difficult to be sure.
• If God in His justice punished angels, surely He would not hesitate to punish people.
• He plunged the angels into hell, literally, “tartarus” apparently a prison of custody (gloomy dungeons) between the time of the judgment and their ultimate consignment to the eternal lake of fire.
• There will be no future trial for their doom is already sealed.
• False prophets, Peter argued, will taste the same judgment as the rebellious angels.[4]

5 and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly;

• The flood was a very real historical event, according to Peter.
• The story of Noah and the flood is used here to illustrate the coming divine judgment upon unbelievers.
• But Noah, who was righteous, was spared.
• This is significant because Peter argues for the Christian’s safety in Christ throughout his letter.
• Christians all possess righteousness through faith in Jesus.
• Therefore, we have no reason to fear judgment.

6 and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--

• Peter is speaking of spiritual DNA.
• When God saves a person, they are righteous to the core.
• This new righteous nature grates against the ways of the world.

9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

• Peter is speaking of godliness as a nature, not as a spiritual track record.
• When we believe in Jesus, we are made godly to the core of our beings.

10 especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; 11 however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. 12 But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed.

• Peter is speaking of the destruction of these false teachers trying to mislead the church.
• This is a clear presentation of eternal judgement that awaits all who reject the Gospel.
• Peter leaves no room for a theology of universalism in his letter.

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight.

• The false teachers were encouraging a celebration of sin that was unfitting for Christians and incompatible with the righteous nature of the Christian.
• False teaching, as defined by the New Testament, is almost always characterized by licentiousness and immorality.
• Believers cannot continue in sin in this way and, therefore, can never be considered false teachers according to the New Testament definition of the term.
• Those teachers who are compatible with sin, in this context, are considered stains and blemishes.

They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!

• Accursed brood (NIV)
• Dead souls (Message)
• Our souls can be influenced by all types of beliefs even though our spirit is righteous and new.

15 They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness 16 but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

• Peter knew his Old Testament Scriptures.
• He had already used Noah and Lot to illustrate his words, and now, he used the Prophet Balaam.
• The story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22–25.
• Balaam is a mysterious character, a Gentile prophet who tried to curse the Jews.[5]

17 These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm.

• Peter speaks of the impending judgment and destruction upon all who reject the Gospel.
• In the specific context, the false teachers are in focus but all who reject Jesus will be judged.

The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.

• False teachers are destined for eternal judgment if they remain unrepentant.
• This is because genuine false teachers are not born again.

18 For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error.

• The false teachers live in error inherently.
• Those young believers whom they mislead are barely escaping the false teaching because they are saved but immature and consequently influenced by the lies being promoted.

19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.

• Christians are not slaves of sin and corruption.
• Rather, we are slaves of righteousness and of the Holy Spirit.
• Therefore, this is another label for the false teachers.
• These teachers were evidently spreading false beliefs and causing corruption in the community.

20 For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first.

• The “they” spoken of here is likely Christians because this particular group is said to have escaped the world.
• However, their Christian maturity is suspect because they are influenced by false teachings, at least to some degree, and need to remember the gospel of grace, which saved them.
• If they continue to be deceived, they will continue to be miserable because their behavior is incompatible with the new heart given to them by God.
• This is why their last state is worse than before, they believed.
• Unbelievers are compatible with sin and can participate in it freely.
• Christians who participate in sin are miserable.

21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them.]

• Peter is not speaking of the law of Moses but rather loving one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34; 1 John 3:23).
• These are the New Covenant laws of God.[6]
• There is no indication that the false teachers had ever experienced the new birth.
• They had knowledge of salvation and could use the language of the church, but they lacked that true saving experience with the Lord.
• At one time they had even received the Word of God (2 Peter 2:21), but then they turned away from it. They never trusted Christ and became His sheep.[7]

22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”[8]

• Proverbs 26:11
• The Jews called the Gentiles “dogs” because a dog was nothing but a filthy scavenger who lived on garbage!
• It was hardly a title of respect and endearment![9]
• The pig was washed on the outside, but remained a pig; the dog was “cleaned up” on the inside, but remained a dog.
• The pig looked better and the dog felt better, but neither one had been changed.
• They each had the same old nature, not a new one.[10]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 5:19–21.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 447.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jas 3:1.
[4] Kenneth O. Gangel, “2 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 870.
[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 455.
[6] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 2 Peter 1
[7] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 460.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Pe 2:1–22.
[9] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 460.
[10] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 460.

67 AD

• Peter knows that his time on Earth is also ending.
• He is burdened to write one last letter to the churches in the Diaspora (the Jews who are dispersed into Gentile nations).
• He has it on his heart to remind them of the things of Christ that have been deposited in them, to encourage them to continue to walk steadfastly in the Lord and to warn them of coming false teachers.
• The differences between these two epistles are also significant.
• The first epistle ends, "Stand firm in it [grace]" (5:12).
• Its theme is the sufficiency of God's grace.
• We need to stand fast in grace as Christians.
• The second epistle ends, "grow in … grace" (3:18).
• Its theme is the responsibility of grace.
• We need to keep growing in God's grace.
• This second letter builds on the first: We do not only need to stand fast in grace, but we also need to keep growing in it.
• PETER WRITES 2 PETER
• Year: A.D. 67
• From: Rome
• To: The churches in northwest Asia: Pontus, North Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia.
• Provocation: Peter reminds the churches of the true apostolic message, which is being threatened.
• He also encourages the believers to cultivate their spiritual lives.
• Peter warns the church about the coming of false teachers and their destructive heresies, exposing their motives and teachings in detail.
• He also informs the churches that his time on this earth is closing.
• Peter ends the letter by commending to them Paul’s letters, which he calls “Scripture.”

 
GREETING
2 PETER 1
1 Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ:

• Simon was Peter's Hebrew name, and Peter is the Greek translation of the nickname Cephas (Rocky, cf. Matt. 16:18).
• There is only one Peter mentioned in the New Testament
• Peter establishes his identity as an apostle to establish his authority and encourage the church to guard against false doctrines that violate the true faith.
• Peter was not a newcomer onto the Christian scene.
• He had walked with Jesus, learned from Jesus, and knew the Gospel very well.
• Therefore, he was able to speak with such authority.

To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

• Peter encourages the church not with a different message but with the same Gospel that he has always taught.
• This Gospel involves the righteousness of God given to all through faith in Jesus.

2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

• All believers understand the Gospel on some fundamental level.
• However, every Christian is also maturing in their knowledge, not of religious rules and customs, but of this grace of God.
• The more we understand the Gospel, the more grace and peace will multiply in our lives experientially.
• This will allow for general stability in Christ despite individual struggles we may encounter.

 
GROWTH IN THE FAITH
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life

• Through the true knowledge of God, the Gospel of grace, we have been equipped fully with everything we need for life and godliness.
• This is because Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, is alive within us.
• This startling reality means that we do not need rules and regulations for the Christian life.
• Furthermore, we do not need to perfect ourselves or equip ourselves somehow.
• What we need to do is learn all that we already have in Christ.
• We have total forgiveness for sins and an entirely new nature.
• When you proclaim the Gospel, don’t give me a website… give me the Scripture reference.

and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

• If the God we know is not excellent then we need to rethink the God in whom we believe.
• We don’t need to try to be thankful or try to celebrate God.
• We must recognize his awesomeness and allow natural thankfulness to arise.
• His excellence is manifested fully in the Gospel of Grace and the person of Jesus.
• As we focus on everything Jesus has done, we will truly understand God's nature.
• If the Gospel we believe is anything but magnificent, then we believe a false Gospel.
• "Each man must make a choice. Either he becomes freed from sin or further enslaved to sin."

4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

• Believers have escaped their previous way of life in which they were enslaved to sin.
• We now have God’s very nature within us.
• God is so fused to us that we participate in His godly nature.
• This is the heart of the true Gospel.
• We are not only perfectly forgiven but righteous to the core of our beings.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

• Because we are partakers of the divine nature, and because we have everything we need for life and godliness, we can mature into our salvation through new behavior and mindsets.
• Each of these characteristics listed come from the very nature of the Spirit.
• These traits are His traits produced within His children.
• So, we don’t need to work on conjuring attributes such as self-control.
• We simply let God produce self-control and all of His fruit within us.
• We receive it and transmit it to others.
• Power steering in the car has progressed over the years.
• Model T > Tesla

8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.

• The one who lacks: Those believers who lack these characteristics or commit sins have forgotten their identity.
• As we think about Christ and our purification from sins, these qualities will increase in our behavior.
• As we understand grace better, we will see God’s amazing fruit coming through as we enjoy rest in Him.

10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.

• This is not an encouragement for Christians to doubt whether or not they are true believers.
• This is a behavior verse.
• Peter wants Christians to embody their identity through behavior consistent with their righteousness in Christ.

11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

• Peter, while potentially referencing Heaven, is more likely speaking about the kingdom being actively supplied to us in the present.
• God’s kingdom has come in Christ, and we can participate in it through behavior fitting with our identity in Christ.

12 Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, 14 since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. 15 And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

• Believers know the truth of the Gospel, but we need to be continuously reminded of God's grace.
• We need to be reminded of our forgiveness, newness, and closeness to God.
• Peter made it his mission to remind the church of the Gospel so they could recall the truth whenever needed, even after his death.
• This is especially pertinent in the midst of the false teachings they were encountering.

 
THE TRUSTWORTHY PROPHETIC WORD
16 For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

• Peter is speaking of the first coming of Jesus Christ.
• Because he and the other apostles saw Jesus and learned from Him directly, they had an authoritative message from God.
• This message was the pure Gospel of grace, free from odd theology or cleverly devised tales.

17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!”

• Jesus’ identity as God’s Son was validated visibly during His earthly ministry.
• Thus, we must believe in Jesus’ true identity to be saved.
• This is the message that the apostles brought to the world.
• The gate to God is narrow, not because being a true believer is so hard, but because of the exclusivity of Jesus.
• He is the one path to God, and this is a difficult message for the world to hear.

18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it,

• The prophetic word is the identity of Jesus as God’s one and only Son.
• This is the message spoken by the Holy Spirit.
• The Spirit is forever perpetually communicating to the world about Jesus.
• If we hear something that contradicts the Gospel, then it is not from the Spirit.

as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

• Jesus, the lamp shining in the dark, wants to save everyone.
• When we agree with the prophetic word about Jesus’ identity, we are given God’s light in a dark world.
• According to Peter, the key to Christianity is not moralism or ethics but knowing the person of Jesus, who is life itself.[1]

20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.[2]

[1] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 2 Peter 1
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Pe 1:1–21.

Holy Week
Sunday

• Jesus enters into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
• Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!
Look, your King is coming to you;
he is righteous and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. [1]
Monday

• Jesus clears the temple
• Matthew 21:12-13 - Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”[2]

Tuesday

• Jesus delivers the Olivet Discourse at the Mt. of Olives with His disciples.
• Matthew 21:23 – 24:51.

Wednesday

• No record in the Scripture

Thursday

• Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare for the Passover Meal.

 
“Thank You Jesus for the Blood” –            Charity Gayle


THE LORD’S SUPPER
MATTHEW 26
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”[3]

• They left singing and went to the Garden of Gethsemane
• Jesus asked them stay awake and pray with him three times.
• Matthew 26:39 - Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.[4]
• Judas came and betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
• The religious mob arrested Jesus.
• Peter cut off the High Priest’s servant's ear.
• Jesus healed the ear.
• The disciples scattered.
• Jesus’s trial with the Sanhedrin took place in the early morning hours.
• Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.

Friday

• Before 9 AM (third hour), Jesus had been through trials and sentenced to death on the cross.
• As He was led away, He was mocked, spit on, beaten and had a crown of thorns placed on His head.
• He was mocked as Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross and hung between two thieves.
• Jesus gave seven statements on the cross.
• The first was, Luke 23:34 - Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”[5]
• On the 9th hour (3 PM), Jesus breathed His last and died.
• No bones were broken, as was prophesied.
• By 6 PM, Jesus was taken down and placed in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb before sundown.

 
“At this point, I am going to ask that you sit in silence for just a minute. There is no reason for you to be alarmed, trust me. But I would like to speak with our safety team in the parking lot right now. There is nothing to worry about.”
 
Saturday – The Day with No Name

• What were you experiencing in the room while I was gone?
• What were the disciples experiencing on that day?
• The crowds are gone.
• Their minds and hearts were numb.
• And they were not sure what’s next.
• Do you ever feel like you are living in the day with no name?
• You’re just waiting…
• While the whole time life is going on around you.
• Matthew 27:62-66 - The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
• 65 “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.[6]

 
Sunday

• Early Sunday morning, several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the mother of James) went to the tomb and discovered that the large stone covering the entrance had been rolled away. An angel announced:
• Matthew 28:5-7 - The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”[7]
• Jesus appeared to the disciples.

Matthew 28:16-20 - The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[8]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Zec 9:9.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 21:12–13.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 26:26–28.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 26:39.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Lk 23:34.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 27:62–66.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 28:5–7.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 28:16–20.

67 AD (4 years later)

• Paul is in prison in Roman
  
  

FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY
2 TIMOTHY 4
1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom:

• “Before God and Jesus Christ” – they are watching you
• Judge the living – Judgment Seat of Christ
• 2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.[1]
• “good” = righteousness or “evil” = self righteousness
• Judge the dead – Great White Throne Judgment
• Revelation 20:11-15 - Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.[2]
• “his appearing” – Everything had to be prepared to perfection.

2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

• “preach” – aloud, publicly in all seasons
• “correct” (point out) those in error (an appeal to the emotions).
• “rebuke” those in sin (an appeal to the mind).
• “encourage” those living in harmony with God's will (an appeal to the will).
• Christian reproof without the grace of long-suffering has often led to a harsh attitude intensely harmful to the cause of Christ.

3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.

• Who are “they” – those following his teaching now? (believers)
• In the future, “they” would only listen to speakers who told them what they wanted to hear (false doctrine, entertainment, etc.).
• They would choose to believe myths rather than the truth (e.g., evolution, humanism, reincarnation, legalism, etc.)

5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

• JOB OR MINISTRY?
• A job is one you choose;
• A ministry is one Christ chooses for you.
• A job depends on your abilities;
• A ministry depends on your availability to God.
• In a job you expect to receive;
• In a ministry, you expect to give.
• A job done well brings you self-esteem;
• A ministry done well brings honor to Jesus Christ.
• In a job, you give something to get something;
• In a ministry, you return something already given to you.
• A job well done has temporal pay for service.
• A ministry well done brings eternal rewards.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.

• Paul believed that he would die very soon.
• "poured out" - like the daily drink offerings in Judaism
• After the Jewish priest offered the lamb, ram, or bull in this ritual, he poured wine beside the altar.
• Symbolized the dedication of the believer to God in worship.
• The apostle believed that Nero would not release him from prison but would execute him.
• Christian tradition confirms that Paul died as a martyr in Rome.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

• Paul probably meant that he had run in the noblest race of all, namely, the ministry of the gospel.
• NOT that he had done his best in the contest.

8 There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.

• This reward will go to all Christians like Paul who, by the way, they lived, demonstrated a longing for the Lord's return.
• Not all Christians are anxious for the Lord to return since some know they need to change their way of living.

BELIEVERS' CROWNS
Title                      Reason         Reference

• An Imperishable Crown         For leading a disciplined life                        1 Cor. 9:25
• A Crown of Rejoicing             For evangelism and discipleship                 1 Thess. 2:19
• A Crown of Righteousness    For loving the Lord's appearing                   2 Tim. 4:8
• A Crown of Life                      For enduring trials                                       James 1:12; Rev. 2:10
• A Crown of Glory                   For shepherding God's flock faithfully         1 Pet. 5:4

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS
9 Make every effort to come to me soon,

• Paul evidently had reason to believe that his execution was imminent.[3]

10 because Demas (Dee-moss) has deserted me, since he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens (Creese-kees)) has gone to Galatia (Gala-tia), Titus to Dalmatia (Dalma-tia).

• The constitutional method of inflicting capital punishment on a Roman citizen was by the lictor's (emperor’s bodyguard) axe.
• The criminal was tied to a stake; cruelly scourged with the rods, and then beheaded.
• Demas loved this present world. He gone!

11 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments.

• Luke is most likely transcribing for Paul
• Mark had just previously left Paul & Barnabas.
• Mark had caused division between Paul & Barnabas.
• This is a statement of encouragement & affirmation after the incident.
• Tychicus was sent to relieve Timothy, whom Paul was requesting, and his cloak… winter was coming… he was frail… looking for comfort.
• Parchments – OT, or even his own writings… still wanted to study.

 
14 Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works. 15 Watch out for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.

• Possible reference to 1 Timothy 1:20 – Turned him over to satan.
• Not a salvation issue.

16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them.

• Customarily, under Roman law, accused prisoners underwent a preliminary hearing before their trial.
• At this hearing, witnesses could speak on behalf of the accused.
• In Paul's case, no one came to his defense.
• This was probably because when Rome burned in July of 64 AD
• Nero blamed the Christians.
• From then on, it was dangerous to be a known Christian in Rome.
• Neither local Christians nor Paul's fellow workers were willing to stand with the apostle.
• Paul hoped the Lord would not hold their failure against them.

17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

• Evidently, Paul could give a word of witness at his hearing that furthered his mission to the Gentiles.
• He had so far escaped death, though he was ready to die as a martyr.
• The "lion's mouth" may refer to the lions in the Roman Coliseum that were devouring Christians at the time.
• However, the Romans would have beheaded Paul rather than thrown him to the lions since he was a Roman citizen.
• More a general allusion to Satan's instruments of evil that have always sought to destroy God's faithful servants.

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

• Paul knew he would die a martyr's death (vv. 6-8), but he saw death as God's vehicle to deliver him from an evil deed (his execution) and to bring him into his Lord's presence.
• For this prospect, he glorified God.

 
BENEDICTION
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

• Greetings to his old friends Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila, who then lived in Ephesus.
• He also greeted the loyal family of Onesiphorus, whom he had written about earlier (1:16).

20 Erastus has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimus (trophy-mose) sick at Miletus (Mee-Le-toes).

• Erastus and Trophimus were old associates of Timothy

21 Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens (Poo-dees), Linus (Lean-ose), Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.

• Winter severely restricted travel in some parts of the Roman world.
• Timothy needed to leave Ephesus soon to reach Rome without difficulty.
• Paul relayed the greetings of four other brethren, probably local, whom Timothy evidently knew, as well as the greetings of all the local Christians.

22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.[4]

• Paul first wished the Lord's ministry of grace on Timothy's spirit, perhaps encouraging him to remain faithful.
• Paul’s last recorded written words.
• Then he wished God's grace for all this epistle's readers (plural "you" in the Greek text).
• Paul avoided indulging his disappointments.
• Paul could rejoice in the victory won in the life of Mark.
• Paul found no room for vindictiveness toward those who hurt or opposed him."

______________________________________________
“Understanding the Spirit's role, how would you communicate this message if your eighteen-year-old son had made up his mind to walk away from everything you have taught him, morally, ethically, and theologically, unless he had a compelling reason not to?”

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Co 5:9–10.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Re 20:11–15.
[3] A. Duane Litfin, “2 Timothy,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 759.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Ti 4:1–22.

67 AD (4 years later)

• Paul is in prison in Roman
  
  

DIFFICULT TIMES AHEAD
2 TIMOTHY 3
1 But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.

• Last days = Season before the Lord Returns (Tribulation, etc.)?
• Today, we live in the last days, that period between Christ’s exaltation and his return.[1]
• So why worry about how bad things are?

 

• When an individual's center of gravity shifts from God to self, a plethora of sins can spring up.[2]

2 For people will be lovers of self (self-centered, narcissistic, self-absorbed)1, lovers of money (money hungry), boastful (of their own importance, self-promoting), proud (in attitude, arrogant, stuck up), demeaning (abusive to others, scoffing at God, profane), disobedient to parents (unresponsive to parental discipline, contemptuous), ungrateful (unthankful, unappreciative, crude), unholy (impure, nothing is sacred, coarse), 3 unloving (heartless, callous, hateful, dog eat dog), irreconcilable (unforgiving, unbending), slanderers (of others, speaking with malicious gossip), without self-control (impulsively wild), brutal (uncivilized, cruel, savage), without love for what is good (antagonistic, haters of good, no interest of good, cynical), 4 traitors (betrayal of friends, treacherous), reckless (headstrong, rash, ruthless), conceited (puffed up with pride, wrapped in a mist of self-delusion, bloated windbags), lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (devoted to personal pleasure, addicted to lust and allergic to God), 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power (religious). Avoid these people!

• This last characteristic clarifies that those individuals described in verses 2-4 would even claim to be Christians (i.e., false teachers and their followers).
• Timothy was to avoid association with people who demonstrated these characteristics except, of course, for purposes of evangelism and instruction.
• Who influences who?

6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

• These false religious leaders take advantage of the problems people have and promise them quick and easy solutions.[3]
• TV evangelists are a great example for today.
• They were listening to the false teachers and Judaizers.
• They had an insatiable curiosity about religion but little discernment to distinguish truth from error.[4]
• Today we have Google doctors, tik tok scientists and Facebook selective knowledge.

8 Just as Jannes (yawn-ees) and Jambres (yawm-brees) resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mind and worthless in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.

• Paul used the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in the plagues (Exod. 7:11; 9:11) to illustrate the fate of these false teachers.
• 1,400 years earlier… they are still mentioned by name.
• They turned staffs into snakes but couldn’t compete with Moses in boils.
• Jewish oral or written tradition preserved their names even though the Old Testament did not.
• As these magicians, the false teachers opposed God's revealed truth, possessed corrupt minds, and were outside the fold of the faithful.
• They would proceed only so far, as their Egyptian predecessors did.
• Their foolishness would become common knowledge when their power proved inadequate.

 
STRUGGLES IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
10 But you have followed my teaching (ministry), conduct (ministry), purpose (ministry), faith (life), patience (life), love (life), and endurance (life), 11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all.

• The fact that Paul was delivered from his persecutions was to be an encouragement to Timothy.

Romans 8:38—39 -- For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[5]
12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

• Some “prosperity” messages will not filter here.
• This course is in opposition to the world system.
• Confrontation and conflict are inevitable.

13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.

• This statement does not contradict what Paul said in verse 9.
• In verse 13 he meant that evil becomes more intensive as time passes.
• In verse 9, he meant that teaching evil does not necessarily become more extensive and captures a wider audience as evil worsens.

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

• Jewish parents were expected to teach their children the Law from age five onwards.
              - Bate Safair (Torah – First 5 books)
              - Bate Talmude (Law & Prophets)
              - Bate Midrash (rabbi disciple)
• 1:5 - I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.[6]
• What you know is reliable and powerful.

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.[7]

• It is God's Word, the expression of His person (heart, mind, will, etc.).
• This was the view of the Old Testament that Jews in the first century commonly held.
• 2 Peter 3:15-16 (67 AD, same year as 2 Timothy) - 15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. 16 He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things that are hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they do with the rest of the Scriptures. [8]
• They are profitable for doctrine (what is right),
• for reproof (what is not right),
• for correction (how to get right),
• and for instruction in righteousness (how to be right)."

 

• “man of God” – direct reference to Timothy
• Also to those who commit themselves to God
• What completes you for every good work?
              - The Helper
              - The Scripture
• “good work” is not the goal… it is the byproduct of what we have been given.

[1] Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (1992). 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (Vol. 34, p. 223). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (1992). 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (Vol. 34, p. 224). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 250). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (1992). 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (Vol. 34, p. 228). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ro 8:38–39.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Ti 1:5.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Ti 3:1–17.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Pe 3:15–16.