DECEPTION HUMILITY, CONFESSION and JUSTIFICATION February 9, 2020 Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican Revision E GOSPEL: Luke 18:10-14 EPISTLE: 2 Timothy 3:10-15 Table of Contents Epistle: 2 Timothy 3:10-15 ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Deceivers Who Are Also Deceived ......................................................................................................................... 2 The Magicians Who Opposed Moses ................................................................................................................. 2 The Deception of Adam and Eve ....................................................................................................................... 4 The Jewish Leaders Opposed Christ .................................................................................................................. 9 Simon Magus: A 1st Century Equivalent of Jannes and Jambres ..................................................................... 10 The Antichrist .................................................................................................................................................. 13 The Demons Are Involved with Deceit ............................................................................................................ 15 The Result of Deceivers: Persecution of Christians ............................................................................................... 18 Antidotes to Deception: ......................................................................................................................................... 19 Knowing the Scriptures .................................................................................................................................... 20 What Are the Scriptures? ............................................................................................................................ 21 Abraham: Godliness Prior to the Scriptures ............................................................................................... 22 The Scriptures Are More Trustworthy Than an Angelic Appearance ........................................................ 23 The Treasures of the Scriptures .................................................................................................................. 24 The Mind of the Scriptures ......................................................................................................................... 26 Study of the Scriptures ............................................................................................................................... 28 Ignorance of the Scriptures ......................................................................................................................... 33 The Application of the Scriptures .................................................................................................................... 37 For Teaching Children ................................................................................................................................ 37 As Examples for Teaching the Control of the Passions .............................................................................. 39 For Teaching Piety ..................................................................................................................................... 40 The Scriptures Confirm What God Has Said ............................................................................................. 42 For Refuting Heretics ................................................................................................................................. 45 Living Godly in Christ ..................................................................................................................................... 48 Being Wise for Salvation ................................................................................................................................. 54 Today’s Gospel and Epistle lesson begins the journey into Lent and toward Pascha. Following the Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican (today) comes the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, then Meat Fare Sunday, then Forgiveness Sunday and Lent. In the Western Church, today’s Gospel lesson is used in either July or October. Today’s Epistle lesson, however, is used in the West only in part. Verses 14-17 are used in late October, but verses 10-13 are not used at all. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16) is a well-known rallying point for many Bible-based churches; but the context is often overlooked. Copyright Mark Kern 2008 Epistle: 2 Timothy 3:10-15 Deceivers played a major role in the life of the Early Church. A few mentioned in the Scriptures are Simon Magus, Nicholas of Antioch, Demas, Hermogenes, Phygellas, Hymenaeus and Philetus. Simon had been a follower of John the Baptist, and four of the others had been numbered among the original Seventy Apostles. This presented a real problem for the Early Churches, since these men were not just newcomers, but they had real apostolic credentials. They abandoned the Faith in the face of temptations with the things of this world, and they attempted to lure others in the Church to follow them in their heresy. Deceivers Who Are Also Deceived Paul stated, “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:13). Paul gives an example of who these evil men are: Jannes and Jambres, the Egyptian magicians1 who resisted Moses, “As Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the Faith” (2 Timothy 3:8). The Magicians Who Opposed Moses In the first encounter between Pharaoh and Moses and Aaron, Aaron’s staff turned into a snake. Pharaoh then called in Jannes and Jambres and they turned their staffs into snakes also, using their secret arts. Aaron’s staff (snake) then swallowed those of Jannes and Jambres (Exodus 7:9-12). Pharaoh’s heart had hardened and he wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron; thus began the ten plagues. Jannes and Jambres were able to duplicate the first two plagues (see Table 1), but not the third and following. They reported to Pharaoh that the third and following was “the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19), but Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. Athanasius of Alexandria wrote2, “Magic arts were taught among them, and oracles in diverse places led men astray, and all men ascribed the influences of their birth and existence to the stars, having no thought of anything beyond what was visible. And God alone, and His word, was unknown, although He had not hidden Himself out of men’s sight, but had unfolded the knowledge of Himself to them in many forms and many ways” (On the Incarnation of the Word). Even though Jannes and Jambres recognized the Lord as a Power beyond their secret arts, they did not repent. As a result, the plagues affected them as well as the rest of the Egyptians (Exodus 9:11). Paul comments that people who are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and who have a form of piety, but deny its power will come into contact with Timothy. Like Jannes and Jambres, they will have corrupt minds, having the characteristics Paul described (2 Timothy 3:2- 4; 1 Timothy 6:3-5), and will resist the Truth. Paul refers to them as “evil men and impostors, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 8:13). Yet, Paul says, “They will advance no farther, for their folly will be clear to everyone as was that of Jannes and Jambres, when Egypt was destroyed by the plagues and in the Red Sea” (2 Timothy 3:9). 1 Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago, 1967, p. 554. John Chrysostom, Homilies on 2 Timothy, VIII, v. 8. 2 Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word, XI, 6-7. Table 1 Egyptian Plagues Duplicated by Jannes and Jambres Plague/Event Moses & Aaron Jannes & Jambres Initial Meeting Staff became snake Staff became snake #1 Nile became blood Nile became blood #2 Frogs came Frogs came #3 Dust became gnats See Exodus 8:19 #4 Insect swarms #5 Pestilence on livestock #6 Soot became skin boils Magicians got boils also #7 Thunder, hail and fire #8 Locusts #9 Thick darkness (3 days) #10 The first born John Chrysostom pointed out3 that this may seem contradictory, since Paul had just said, “They will increase to more ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:16). “He means that beginning to innovate and deceive, they will not pause in their error but will always invent new deceits and corrupt doctrines, for errors are never stationary. But here (2 Timothy 3:9), he says that they shall not be able to deceive, nor carry men away with them; for however at first they may seem to impose on them, they will soon be easily detected. ‘For their folly, will be clear to everyone, as Jannes’ and Jambres’ deceit was also’ (2 Timothy 3:9). If errors flourish at first, they do not continue to the end. For so it is with things that are not attractive by nature, but attractive in appearance; they flourish for a time, then are detected and come to nothing. But not such are our doctrines, and of these, you (Timothy) are a witness. For in our doctrines there is no deceit, for who would choose to die for a deceit?” John Chrysostom stated4 that God allows magicians and imposters to rise up in order to show their limits compared to those of God. In this way, imposters do us good. In any encounters, we should concentrate on our