2 Peter

If you would, turn to 2 Peter. We're continuing. We were doing general epistles, as you recall. We did not do cybercast last quarter. Our attendance drops dramatically at both Texarkan and Rustin when we do the cybercast. That's one of the reasons.

Plus, the summer, a lot of people traveling and all of that. So we didn't do it during that time. 2 Peter continues. It's the second time he writes to them. Look at 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 1. In 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 1, you'll see it says, this is the second epistle that I have written to you. One of the problems that plagued the first century church was that of Gnosticism. If you look at 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 4, and 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 4, Paul writes, don't give heed to endless genealogies.

What is that about? In Colossians, Paul talks about denying the flesh, a form of asceticism and will worship. The Apostle John, in writing 1 John, he talks about we have held him with our own hands.

We have seen him, whereas the Gnostics claimed that God didn't really exist. So one of the things that's going on in 2 Peter is he is combating Gnosticism, ascetic Gnosticism. And so I'll demonstrate with a diagram here briefly about ascetic Gnosticism. Asceticism has to do with denying the flesh to purify the soul, denying flesh purifies soul. So thus, the Gnostics taught a dualistic view of man that encased, in fact, what the commentator says, incarcerated within the human body is the good side, is the soul. Dualism, and that is flesh, which is evil and soul, which is good.

And the goal in Gnosticism, in basically all religions, is for the soul to get back to the spirit world into... it's already immortal, so you can't say to attain immortality. You'd have to say to escape hell or with the Hindus to go through several other cycles of life in a lower form to eventually reach the sufficiently purified state to merge with the spirit world.

And once again, I remind you of... I'm thinking about writing a book I would title it, Is God So Cruel? Is God so cruel that he would create human beings subject to sin and death, turn around and create a good pure, quote, immortal soul, place it in this flesh that is subject to sin and death, then turn around and say, save your soul. And then in order to do that, he would have to send his... the one who, the word, who agreed to humble himself and become the only begotten and eventually the firstborn among many brethren in order for this immortal soul that doesn't exist in the first place to be saved.

It is... I mean, it makes no sense whatsoever. And one of the things in reading the commentaries that makes it difficult is that they can give a lot of good information in some places, but ever before them is the preservation of the Trinity, Orthodoxy, and also immortality of the soul. I mean, that doesn't depart. And then, of course, coupled with that is where are you going to spend eternity? Will it be in heaven or will it be in hell? So the Gnostics and in Greek Gnostic is G-N-O-S-T-I-C and if you want Gnosticism and Gnosticism is taken from the Greek word Gnosis, which is knowledge.

We're going to note in Peter's epistle that he speaks of Gnosis and he speaks of Epinosis. Epinosis is superior above and beyond. Now, what was happening in the churches that Peter was writing to, the Gnostics had come in and said, we have special knowledge for you. I mean, we have insight into the Scriptures that Peter and others have not taught, so you really need to be attuned to this.

I'm reminded somewhat of some of the main things that go around today that cause people to get all upset, some form their own little organizations and whatever. All the calendary. I mean, you're not keeping the feast on the right day. And don't you know that Passover is a part of Unleavened Bread. There are really only seven days where the Bible clearly says eight, but that's so why. I mean, you got to get the sarcasm there. And then the calendar.

Or what about the name? I mean, if you got a call, it's a sacred name and you can't really communicate with God unless you use the right name. And so people get, and if you just knew this or you just knew that, one little pile, one little bit of gnosis and this deeper understanding that we have, you really need it. And so one of the reasons why Peter is writing 2 Peter is to combat this gnosis, this notion of knowledge, Gnosticism.

And Peter speaks of Epinosis, which we will try to point out the superior knowledge that comes from knowing God. It's above and beyond the normal, the Epinosis that comes from God. Now basically, to try to diagram what the Gnostics taught, we'll do it this way that the Gnostics taught that God, the highest spiritual level, was pure light. And as you went away from God, there were emanations from God. These emanations were lesser bands of light.

And in these lesser bands of light, there are beings, spirit beings, spirit beings who have the greatest light nearest to God, and then spirit beings who have lesser light and lesser light and lesser light and lesser light. And finally, you come to no light. And here is the Prince of Darkness, the one who is responsible for the physical creation. He is called by the Gnostics the Demiurge, D-E-M-I-U-R-G-E, the Demiurge, the Prince of Darkness. And so, since God is good and pure and cannot be defiled by flesh, cannot be defiled by flesh, they taught that here is this one who is completely cut off from God, and down here, the Prince of Darkness, he's responsible for the physical creation.

Of course, now this created a problem when it came to Jesus Christ, because here is one who claims to be of the Godhead who comes to earth and is in the flesh. So, they adopted a philosophy that was called Docetism. Docetism is a Greek word that essentially means seamism that he just seemed to be. That Jesus was somewhat like a phantom in human form. When he walked, he didn't really make footprints. He just seemed to be sort of floated along out there.

So, that was a part of it, because you have to account for the Bible saying that he was made flesh and dwelt among us while they're saying, oh well, the flesh of man is evil, only the soul is good. So, how are we going to answer this thing about Jesus? So, one of the things in the various orders of the day, for example, the fraternal orders such as masons, elks, knights of Columbus, the Mormon Church, and there are others. This is just a sampling of better-known ones, have what they call degrees.

So, you've heard of a 33rd degree Mason. That means that he has gone through the various levels back to pure enlightenment. And so, whether it be masons, elks, knights of Columbus, Mormons, whatever, it's really from this system here. So, they taught that the way back to pure light was gnosis, was God. And in this, there were genealogies of angels. You remember in Colossians 2, it talks about the voluntary worshiping of angels. In 1 Timothy 1.4, as we mentioned, it talks about endless genealogies. So, these endless genealogies, the worship of angels, was all a part of this Gnostic system. And one of the things that nearly all false teachers do, they try to, on the one hand, they lay the truth out and they preserve some elements of the truth. And then they put this alongside, in addition to, like the various things that trouble today, the calendar, the names, the sacred names movement, of various notions about the nature of God. Oh well, we've got the core. We all believe in the, now, but if you just had this extra knowledge here, you'd really be on your way. And if you join up with us, you'll get it. But sadly, Nala Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8.1, knowledge puffs up, charity edifies. If knowledge could get you there, then there would be a lot of folks awaiting the resurrection that aren't. Some people memorize the Bible, but that in and itself won't get you there. So in Gnosticism, the way back to the Enlightenment was through knowledge. And somehow connected with this had to do with your connection with the next level in the genealogies and the names of the various beings. I don't know who listed or named these beings to get back to pure enlightenment.

And so the world is filled with these secret societies who fancy themselves as the enlightened ones. Too bad you guys are not there, but they are. That's the way it goes. Whereas Peter's saying, look, you have superior knowledge. You have epinosis that far surpasses any knowledge, and that knowledge is sufficient under salvation. Whereas this knowledge, the Gnostic knowledge, is not. Gnosticism became a syncretic blend, syncretic, a mixture of it had elements of Greek philosophy. It had elements of Zoroastrianism.

Zoroastria claimed he was the seed of actually Nimrod. It might have been even one of the names Nimrod took on in Persia, ancient Persia. Zoroastrianism, some elements of Judaism, and some elements of Christianity into this syncretic blend of special knowledge. So with that backdrop in mind of Peter is combating all of this and more in this epistle.

You know, like once again, the Gnostic said, well, Jesus just seemed to be. So in 1 John chapter 1, long about verses 2 or 3, he says, we have seen him with our own eyes. We have handled him. We have touched him. He is real. He didn't just seem to be. So especially Paul and Peter and John, in their epistles, oftentimes combatting one of the principal heresies of the first century church. But it just it remorse and it continues to this very day. It's undisputed that Peter is the author of this. Of course, anything you want to say, there are a few people who dispute it, but it's practically, and there is nothing that is not disputed. I know of on this this earth. And the writing of it is somewhere between 60 and 65 A.D. is what most people give us the date for the writing. Simon Peter, a servant. The word servant here is DULOS, D-O-U-L-E.

And it means a bond servant. A bond servant. One who is bought for and paid for with a price, a bond servant, and an apostle of Jesus. Now, in his greeting to the salutation to 1 Peter, let's read that salutation in 1 Peter chapter 1. In 1 Peter chapter 1, let's note the salutation there, the difference. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered abroad.

Here he doesn't he doesn't bring out the bond servant. The strangers scattered abroad Peter closes the epistle by saying that it is written from the first epistle from Babylon.

So even though Peter was the apostle to the circumcision, he went eastward on some of his journeys. He went eastward. And remember, the Jews were taken into captivity, both ancient Israel and the northern kingdom, and the southern kingdom eventually into Babylon. And there, of course, many remained, and some migrated westward and so on. But Peter also, not only the apostle to the circumcision, but he also went eastward to these areas.

So continuing here in 2 Peter 1, Simon Peter, you know, Jesus gave him this name of Peter, Cephas, meaning a rock, a servant, and an apostle, Apostolos, an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us.

Now, the word through in this epistle, every time you see the word through, it doesn't mean that it's the same word. In fact, this word through here is the Greek en, and it means in, whereas in the verse below, in verse 3, where through is used, it is a different word. It means the channel through which something occurs. But it is like precious faith with us in the righteousness of God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We have this opportunity to have this precious faith and this righteousness because God and Jesus Christ have been faithful in carrying out their plan, like precious faith with us in the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In verse 2, grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge. The knowledge. And this word here for knowledge is epinosis. This is the superior knowledge.

There were those who were claiming, oh, we've got the knowledge. And Peter is saying, look, it is through this epinosis of God and of Jesus our Lord, through the superior knowledge. This knowledge is above all knowledge. It is the knowledge of God. It is what God and how do you attain unto this knowledge? The only way that you attain unto this knowledge is through revelation.

The superior knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power, divine power. It is from Theos, and it means God-like of the God-kind, of the God-head, according as His divine power. And the word here for power is dunamis. It's the word you get dynamite from. It is the word of supernatural power. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Lord Jesus Christ, or Jesus our Lord, according to His divine power, have given unto us all things. Notice that He's given unto us all things. You don't need the Gnostic teachers. You don't need others. You have the complete package. You have been given all the knowledge that is necessary to attain unto eternal life, given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through. And here, the word through me, it's a completely different word than the one that we noted in verse 2. This word here is di. It's a word from which you get diameter from. It means the channel through which. And the channel of an act, and it has a wide application. It can mean causal or casual or occasional, but is the channel through which an act occurs. And it has been given us through the channel of the knowledge of Him. And here, once again, it's Epinosis, the superior knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue, Him that has called us. You look in 1 Peter chapter 1, we spent a good bit of time on this when we went over this and talking about this, about our calling of how wonderful it is, elect according to the foreknowledge of God. That's 1 Peter 1, too. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God. See, no man can come to me unless the Father draw him. God is the one who calls you. And of course, our youth are not cut off. They are sanctified through the parents, as Paul brings that in 1 Corinthians 7. They are set apart.

If you want to use an analogy, it's like being in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, here was a tree of life, and Adam and Eve could decide, am I going to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or the tree of life? And so, youth who grow up in the church, they don't come in through the back door, as it were, any other way. They're in the ground floor, but they still have to choose. And it doesn't mean that, I mean, if you, growing up in the church, not cut off, if you want to be called, you can be called. In fact, one of our hymnals says, God is calling children. And one of our study papers talks about God is calling children.

The epinosis is superior knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue.

In this word, virtue, one of the definitions given is valor, manliness, to say, well, He's a real man or She's a real woman. They have courage. They have strength. They have honor.

They have virtue. They have excellence. It is called you to this valor, to this honor, to this excellence, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.

Of course, the greatest promise of all, as far as I'm concerned, is eternal life in the kingdom of God. Precious promises. Now, there are all these promises. I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. The hairs on your head are numbered. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground. My thoughts are ever toward you. There are just all kinds of promises that can be claimed in this life and the greatest eternal life in the kingdom of God.

Whereby given to us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these promises, you might be partakers of the divine nature.

Now, this partakers of the divine nature, if you were to go to, in fact, here, Esaur, if you look on that right-hand column, all of those things on that right-hand column, what is it? 3, 6, 9, 12, about 20 commentaries. You can click on any one of those, and it will give you their take on any particular verse. You just highlight that verse, and here they go with their commentary on that particular verse. So what is this? The partakers, this word partakers means sharers. You share in the divine nature of God. What makes that possible? Well, that is made possible through the Holy Spirit and the new mind. And of course, the Holy Spirit is that which makes up the new mind. So that this new mind, not only do you have the essence of God, His Spirit in you, but that Spirit consists of a conscience, of a knowing of right and wrong. You look at Hebrews chapter 9, where Paul is comparing and contrasting elements of the Old Covenant with New Covenant, and his take-off here is on about the Day of Atonement in the first several verses. But he comes to this point here, and he talks about in verse 13, the blood of bulls and goats purifying to the flesh. It was a covering for sin. It made them ceremonially clean, but it did not impart to them, it did not write on them in their minds and hearts the laws of God. So you note then, if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

So that through knowledge of the truth and the Holy Spirit in the new mind, there is a new nature that is imparted to you. And of course, that is imparted through the Spirit and the Word of God.

And you are to walk according to the Spirit, to this divine nature. Look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. There's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now, what is it that reveals the mind of the Spirit? Well, the Word of God reveals the mind of the Spirit. As John writes, which I quote off in John 6.63, the words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. So there is a new knowing that we are to be guided by. But we do not lose in being partakers of the divine nature.

We don't lose individuality. We do not lose personal responsibility. We do not lose the freedom to make a choice. We still have to choose to be led by the new mind, by the new nature, or be led by the flesh. So you notice in verse 13, which is like a summary, for if we live after the flesh, we shall die. But if you through the Spirit do mortify, put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. So we are sharers of the divine nature. That's a better translation than we do partake of it, in the sense we're a companion with. Let's turn to one other scripture. Look at Ephesians chapter 5, where this, now one of the commentators says, well, we become partakers of the material part of Jesus. And people, I can't understand how they jump off such deep ends based on not putting things together and giving it the spiritual import. Remember Ephesians 5, about husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church, gave himself for it.

No man ever hated his own wife. The twain shall be one. And he comes down to verse 30. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. How so? I mean, he that is God in Christ through the Spirit live in us. For this cause shall a man leave his father, mother shall be joined unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery. Okay, but what is the central lesson here? But I speak concerning Christ and the church.

See, we have this continual communion of Christ in us.

Nevertheless, it applies, as it says in the last verse there, to the marriage relationship.

So we are sharers of the divine nature. We have a new knowing within, a new mind. It's called a new man. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world. This word corruption means decay, that which is perishing, that in the world, the corruption that is in the world through lust. Epithomeia means desire, forbidden desire, wrong longing.

And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue. So here we're back with this word virtue, meaning honor, valor, strength, manliness. Be a real Proverbs 31 woman who can find a virtuous woman, a woman of excellence, a man of honor and valor and strength and courage and honesty and responsible and reliable and responsive. We need to have a sermon on the three R's. Reliable, responsible and responsive. And to virtue, knowledge. Now in this case, this word for knowledge is gnosis. And to virtue, knowledge, gnosis. And to knowledge, once again, this is gnosis. Temperance, self-control, and to self-control, patience.

The word patience, hoopon onae. Hoopon onae means enduring patient continuance while waiting, hopeful, and in this definition, even gives, cheerful. I'm cheerfully waiting on my wife.

Not many do that, but anyhow. Patience, and to patience, godliness and brotherly kindness.

The godliness, of course, means to... it is connected with holiness, piety, being like... in essence, it means being like God. And to being like God, brotherly kindness, Philadelphia.

And this word, brotherly kindness, comes from that root of Philadelphia. Brotherly love. And to brotherly kindness, charity, agape, spiritual love. For if these things be in you in a bound, they make you neither barren, you shall be neither barren, nor unfruitful. I mean, if these things are in you, you don't need what the Gnostics teach. If these things are in you in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and back it now it's Epinosis, the superior knowledge, barren or unfruitful in the Epinosis of our Lord Jesus Christ, but he that lacks these things is blind, cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. Now, it is very amusing to read the commentators with regard to this Protestant doctrine of eternal security of the believer. Of course, the great cop-out for any scripture that indicates that if you don't use it, you lose it, is, well, they were never converted in the first place. They were never really called. They were never really in the faith. If they'd really been in the faith, they would have continued in it. And it's like, if you give your heart to the Lord, you can go back and do what you've always done, but you've got this eternal security. We know that's false, but it's amusing to read the pains that some go to to try to justify that. It says to make your calling and election sure. If you have to make your calling and election sure, it seems to me that you could lose it.

For if you do these things, you shall never fall.

Petayo is the word for fall. A fin, stumble.

In essence, it means that you won't lose your calling. And, verse 11, for so an entered shall be administered unto you abundantly, and here's this principle goal, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. See, that is the ultimate, the ultimate goal. Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you in remembrance of these things, though you know them and be established in the present truth. And one of the things that we have been talking about—I had a long talk with the chairman of the council this week along these lines with regard to trying to get across to the ministry and to the church the deep things of God. Yes, we have a sort of a working, broad, cliche-like knowledge in which we can rattle off most anything, you know, clean and unclean meat. You keep the savage you're supposed to tie to keep the holy days. But the deep things of the how and why and understanding and really digging into and trying to mine and glean the precious truths that are inexhaustible in the word of God and to get excited about that and not just be passive participants as you sit in church services. I mean, how can this be done? I think we have quite an attentive audience, but in some cases, I think we basically put up our cell phones and that kind of thing and are paying attention, but that's not the case everywhere.

That's not the case everywhere from iPads to computers to cell phones to whatever it might be.

These deep things of God. Another thing that we we do, especially with the youth, is we take for granted too much that they know X, Y, or Z.

That is one of the main reasons why we have a Sabbath school program that is devoted to teaching the very fundamentals of relationship with God and Christ.

And Peter says, even though you know this, I'm going to put you in remembrance, knowing that shortly, so he's winding up toward the end of his days, like so many of us who have been in this fight for almost 50 years and some 50 years plus in the church, we know that we don't have a lot of time left, even if it's 10 years, but I doubt that. I doubt that for most, that there will be new leadership. There will be new people coming on the scene to take up the mantle, and we're just hoping that they are willing to get in there and dig out these precious nuggets of truth and to preserve them and to begin cradle to grave.

Cradle to grave education in these precious truths.

So Peter says, I must shortly put off my tabernacle, my sca-no-ma, the sca-no-ma, this thing I'm living in, the flesh, even as our Lord Jesus, Jesus Christ has showed me. You remember that encounter in the last few verses there of John, the Gospel of John, John 21, where, you know, Jesus talks about John and, well, Peter says, well, what about John? And Christ says, you don't have to worry about John, but here's how you're going to live your life, Peter. The way you're going to get out of the flesh, you'll be crucified, and they'll carry you where you don't want to go. So here is Peter. I call Peter the Apostle of Hope.

He lived his life knowing that at the end, he'd be crucified. So he says, before I die, the way Christ said I would, I want to tell you these things.

Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease. This word, decease, he means obviously death, literally it means departing or death. The word is Exodus, exodos, exodos, or exodos. To have these things always in remembrance.

I will endeavor that you may be able after. So that's one of the great concerns after, and knowing the way that this world is going. How in comity is it upon us to try to prepare the youth? And if this church has a future, I believe it will be basically in-house. By that, I mean through the best-obeyed commandment of be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the church, and retain those that I give you. I mean, we talk about hits on the internet. We talk about how many booklets have been sent out, and we talk about this, but as far as people walking through the door, they're not coming. The old movie, if you build it, they will come. Well, we're in that period of time of testing, I believe, of those who have come.

And he says, we have not followed, and here he puts the shot across the bow for the Gnostics.

For we've not followed cunningly devised fables. We don't claim any kind of special knowledge or that kind of thing, something that somebody's made up when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. What is that about? That is about the fact that Peter, James, and John went with Jesus to what is called the Mount of Transfiguration, and there they got a glimpse of Jesus Christ coming in glory. They saw that vision that Jesus permitted them to see of Jesus coming in His glory.

And along with that, Moses and Elijah, and they said, oh, should we build tabernacles when they saw it? And Christ said, see that you tell the vision to no man. But that's what this reference is to. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory. In other words, when this vision was going on, when Peter, James, and John were seeing this vision, the Transfiguration, there was a voice saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And of course, that voice also, or a voice, said a similar thing after Jesus came out of the baptismal waters, the Spirit in the form of dove, lighting upon His head, a voice from heaven, this is my beloved Son. So Peter says, I've been there, I saw it, I heard it, I know. I don't need a cunningly devised fable. And this voice which came from heaven, we heard, and we were with Him in the holy mouth. Why was the mouth holy? Because of God's presence.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy.

Now, commentators go back in two on this word, prophecy with regard, does it mean the whole Bible, or does it just mean prophecy? Some take the viewpoint, it just means prophecy, foretelling.

I would take the view that it is the whole Bible. As we read through it, I think you would agree.

We have also a more sure word, and that word is the word logos.

Here they have it hyphenated as logos. A lot of people say logos.

The word of prophecy. A sure word of prophecy.

Whereon to you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

You look at the last couple of verses there of Revelation, chapter 22, the very end there.

Verse 17, the spirit and the bride say, come, and let him that hears come, and let him that is a come, and who shall ever will let him take the book of life freely. For I testify unto you every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall take away his part from the tree of life. He which testifies these things, surely I come quickly amen, amen, even so come quickly, Lord Jesus. The word of prophecy is absolutely sure that Jesus Christ is coming back again to this earth to set up his kingdom. Now, these last two verses are somewhat misapplied. The first meaning of this is what we shall cover first. Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

What is he talking about here? He said up front, we have not followed cunningly devised fables. We saw this transfiguration, heard the voice. How did the scripture come to be written?

It came to be written through inspiration from God through the Holy Spirit.

Inspiration from God and Christ through the Holy Spirit. It didn't come from a private source.

It wasn't some guru out in Buddha land making up a fable of how you get back to Nirvana or any other place to merge with the spirits. It came from God as in verse 21, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So how did we come to have the Word of God, the written Bible, through this process, through the inspiration of God? Paul writes, 2 Timothy 3 16, All scriptures given of inspiration of God, it is profitable for reproof doctrine and able to make you wise unto salvation. Now, what we have oftentimes said, the Bible is of no private interpretation, that the Bible interprets the Bible, and so it does. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, as Isaiah writes that in Isaiah 28.

But what is the first, the point that Peter is making is how did we get this, the prophecy, the Word of God? We got it through verse 21. It didn't come from a private source as in verse 20.

Now, once again, one of the handouts that I give, I probably have given it here, of 15 practical rules of interpretation, and one would be the Bible interprets the Bible, the line upon line, precept upon precept, and that is valid. The Bible does interpret the Bible.

Of course, you have to arrange it. You have to sequence it. You have to put the line upon line, the precept upon precept. Paul writes, well, first of all, Isaiah writes in Isaiah chapter 1, come let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool.

And Paul reasoned with them on the Sabbath out of the Scriptures.

So, but the great lesson here, the greatest lesson is the source. How do we get it?

It is through inspiration. Now, in chapter 2, really there's not a chapter break, because what he's doing is contrasting. This is how the word not cunningly devised fables, not false teaching, verses 20 and 21 is how we got the prophecy, the more sure word of prophecy.

But there were, and this is chapter 2 verse 1, but in contrast to that, there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies. The word damnable, apoleia, has to do with destruction, with perdition, with ruin, with loss. They are destructive teachings from the high heveresis, heresy.

And the literal meaning has to do with a sect or a disunion, a teaching that is contrary to the truth. Even denying the Lord that brought them, the Gnostics denied that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, as we have noted up here. They taught the docetism or docetism that he just seemed to be, denying even the Lord that bought them.

The 1 Corinthians 6, you're bought with a price, you're not your own.

1 Peter chapter 1, you're bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction, the false teachers.

Of course, there's a heavy weight upon anybody who would deign to stand up, sit down, speak, write, whatever the Word of God, as James talks about in James chapter 3 verses 1 and 2, they shall receive the greater judgment.

Many shall follow their pernicious ways. A lot of people will be taken in. This word pernicious is the same one that is translated damnable in verse 1.

Apoleia, destructive, ruin, loss, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

I mean, if you were a bystander and you had watched what is going on, had some kind of real knowledge of what is going on in the churches of God over the past few decades, what is the bystander to think?

How many people from the local community flood in here? Ever! Ever! All of you are transplants from hither and yon, hardly anybody.

So it is, once again, it goes back to that rather see a sermon than hear a sermon, or it just very difficult to overcome the baggage once it is put out there.

And through covetousness, covetousness, this word covetousness, plan on ex-ra, or ex-ah, not raw.

Abrance means greed, fraudulence, extortion.

It goes back to the James, we'll talk, we'll return there, to James chapter 3, which I've mentioned several times in recent years.

It will plague us to the very end. It plagued the disciples, and that is, who's going to be number one?

Am I going to get the respect, the promotion, the whatever that I deserve? Who is a wise man and a dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of good conduct his works with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and not against the truth, and lie not against the truth, this wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish, for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

So through covetousness, oh, of course, the covetousness and the envy and all of that is hidden. Shall they with feign words? You know, in the book of Proverbs, several times it talks about the the flatterer and the flattering tongue that God has no respect for the flatterer or the flattering tongue. Now, I think in the past, maybe we have gone to the other ditch and have a command, without you not ever offering a compliment. But anyhow, with feign words, molded, artificial, I know just what to say to ingratiate myself, to promote myself, or to put across what I want. Make merchandise of you. This word is from merchandise in Emporiummahe, from which we get Emporium, like drug Emporium, a place where you buy and sell merchandise of you, whose judgment now the long time lingers not, and their damnation, and this is the same word, this word apalea is translated up in verse one, is damnable, is translated verse two is pernicious ways, it's translated verse three is damnation, waste, loss, slumbers, not. In other words, it's coming, it's coming. Then he gives the example of the various ones who went astray and how judgment came upon them. Now, judgment came upon them. How would you think that you would escape the judgment? That's what essentially is being said. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartaru, a condition of restraint. Remember the 1st Peter 3 18? What does it say? Look at that, the 1st Peter 3 18, that when the ark wasn't preparing, that through the Spirit, the one who became Jesus Christ, went and preached to the lost spirits in prison. See, much of the difficulty that existed there in the pre-flood world was Satan, the devil, and the demon, stirring up problems, the thoughts, and the intents of the heart of man was continually upon evil. It became so wicked that God said, I've got to do, I've got to bring this to judgment. And he spared eight people. In 1st Peter 3 18, for Christ also has suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, by quickened by the Spirit, by which he also went and preached under the spirits in prison, when, which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.

Now, the more I read that, I tend to think that perhaps that was later, that after that took place. But, I mean, I'm not entering into that debate right now.

So, the angels were judged and put in a condition of restraint, that is, the ones who became demons, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness.

And you can go back and count the persons, Noah, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. There were at least two righteous people before the flood. And if you go by the genealogies, that was a period of 1656 years, and those two, Enoch and Noah.

And then, another great judgment, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, and in recent archaeological discoveries, they have, seems to be verifying the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the area of the, that area was once a very lush green valley.

You remember that when Abraham and Lot had their big dispute about their herdsmen got into a big argument, and who's going to get the good grazing land, and who's going to do this or that. And so, Abraham said, let us not, let there not be strife among us. You choose which direction you want to go. I'll go the other way. And so, Lot pitched his tents towards Sodom. And if you pitch your tent towards Sodom, guess what? You wind up in Sodom, and all young people should remember that.

If you pitch your tent towards Sodom, you'll wind up in Sodom.

So, Lot went towards Sodom, and you know the story, rampant homosexuality, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. Oh, but not today. Oh, no. I mean, God loves everybody. Yes, he does. He loves the vilest sinner, and he loves the most righteous. He accounts the righteousness of the righteous as a thing well pleasing to him, but he is angry. It says in the scripture, he is angry with the wicked every day. He is not pleased with wickedness, so you hate the sin and love the sinner, which we have known so well, but they twist it around. And today, these people are receiving more praise, more applause than anybody else that walks out on the stage.

And when a certain person so-called courageously comes out of the closet, he might get a call from the President of the U.S. congratulating him for making the choice. And it should be an example. Deliver just lot vex with the filthy conversation of the wicked.

This word conversation really has to do with conduct behavior. The word filthy means lasciviousness, wantonness, licentiousness. Licentiousness means license to sin. We can just do anything we want to do. I mean, it doesn't matter. And more and more, it's creeping out through the internet of the gross sins. Of course, it's been in the news for a long time of the Catholic Church and the priest, now of Hollywood and the abuse of teens in Hollywood.

And some of the people that might receive the Academy Award, not to name names, get applause and, oh, we got to cover that. Celebrity news is more important than 43 students taken away in Mexico by gain and killed.

How can that happen? They just disappear. And more and more disappearing. They showed a shot last night of this farmer on the evening news. This farmer and friends, they're sort of collectivizing for security, in a sense, of some standing guard while they're out there trying to cultivate their fields because they are afraid that gangs or members of a gang will come in and kidnap some of them and take them away.

That's not too far from here.

For that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with unlawful deeds. It says, it talks about that Lot sat in the gates of the city. So apparently, Lot tried to persuade people to go a different way. And of course, they just laughed at him and mocked him. And when it came time to get out of Sodom and Gomorrah, of course, Lot's wife looked back. The son-in-laws didn't even go with him.

And the two daughters got him drunk and seduced him. And he became the father of two of the most ill-spoken of peoples on the face of the earth, the Moabites and the Ammonites.

But hopefully Lot will be in one of the resurrections that is not under death.

But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government. Nobody is going to tell them what they can do. This word, government, kuri-odyssey, rulers, dominion, government, mastery, they despise. The word despise has to do with think against, to think against it. Presumptious are they, self-willed, they're not afraid to speak evil of dignities. The word for translated dignities there is the word doxa, d-o-x-a. It is a word from which you get, sometimes it's translated glory, dignity, honor, praise, worship. Not dignities is probably as good a translation as any.

Whereas angels, now these are, this is talking about the good angels, which are greater in power and might bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

I mean, all of us probably have a lot to learn here. You look at Jude as one chapter. Jude and the second chapter of Peter are very much alike. So you look at Jude as a similar part. Verse 6, the angels that kept not their estate. Verse 7, Sodom and Gomorrah, this is Jude. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, speak evil of dignities. Yet, Michael, the archangel, this gets very specific, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses. Dared not bring a railing accusation, or dare not to bring against him a railing accusation, but said the Lord rebuke you. I believe that all of us have a lot to learn in this area. Verse 12, 2 Peter 2, verse 12, but these as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.

Very few people really have the facts about situations. You know, I read some of these so-called tell-all books about the church. I don't ever read the whole book, but I've read bits and pieces on the internet about this, that, and the others. Some even have my name in it.

This is as bald-faced lies you can tell. It didn't happen. It wasn't that way.

And so, and there are people who claim they had this so close of personal relationship with the pastor general. They no more had that than a man in the moon did. And the man in the moon is a shadow, I think. Not real. For 25 years, the last 25 years from the 70s to 95, I was on that scene.

And a lot of these people who do the talking was never on the scene. And many of the others were sometimes there, and by here, there, I meant headquarters, and sometimes somewhere else.

But anyhow, people do a lot of talking about things that they really don't know anything about.

But these as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed speak evil of the things that they understand not and shall utterly perish in their own corruption and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness as they count it pleasure to riot in the daytime spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. So it's not talking about people that are not attending with you. Having eyes of an adulteress. Having the eyes of an adulteress. That is the correct translation. And adulteress. And of course, the eyes, the light of the soul, as they say, the light of the body, and tells so much about the eyes and a person and all that. And that's one of the focuses of people who try to be seductive and that kind of thing.

You go through the newsstands and you see the magazines there and you see the eyes of an adulteress. They cannot cease from sin. Of course, this is a broader sense, not just specific. They cannot cease from sin. Beguiling. Beguiling.

Enticing. To entrap. Deluding. Deleazzo. Deleazzo. Beguiling.

Unstable souls and heart. They have exercised. And this word means practice. It's the same word. It's gumnazo. And it has to do with practicing in the games, in the Olympic games, in the Greek. They train, they exercise for the games. But here, they're training, they're exercising, covetous practices. Covetous practices. Covetous practices has to do with extortion, with fraud, with greediness. Paul writes in Colossians 3 verse 4, maybe it's 5. Perhaps we should turn there with regard to covetousness. I would say covetousness, though some people might not think of it, I would imagine that all of us are guilty from time to time of covetousness in subtle ways. And covetousness is idolatry. How do I know? In Colossians 3, verse 5, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. So when you focus on something that you want, that you don't have, and it becomes your thing. Covetousness, which is idolatry. They have been trained with covetous practices.

That's what the advertising world is all about. That's what Madison Avenue is generic for the advertising world. That's what it's all about. I read a book several years ago called Sexual Sexploitation. Sexploitation. How that sex is used to merchandise and to exploit the American populace on virtually every product that you can name.

So you go through, once again, back to the checkout counter at the grocery store and the news magazines. How to lose 50 pounds in two days.

Get off all the unfed. How to be sexy. How to improve your this life and that life and all of that.

Train with covetous practices. The literal translation of the last is, having children of curse. Having children of curse.

And a curse is on the children because of the way it's like Josea writes, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. And now we have come to a point in time in which all of the behaviors of generations, of the various generations, we have the perfect storm.

Look at Proverbs chapter 30.

Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs 30 verse 11.

There is a generation that curses their father and does not bless their mother.

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed with their filthiness. We have this generation X and others that, you know, we can't be bothered by what you people think or whatever. We are so far, we have such enlightenment that's so far above yours. You're in the stone age and here we are.

We are, I mean, we would save the planet. We would starve humans to save the planet.

But anyhow, there's a generation that curses their father, does not bless their mother. There's a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

There is a generation, oh, how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up.

There's a generation whose teeth are as swords and their jaw teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. So we got all of those rolled into the time in which we live. The spirit of the times encapsulates all of that, which are forsaken the right way and are gone astray following the way of Balaam.

You know, what was the chief thing that Balaam taught the children of Israel to do?

Just off the top of your head, you know.

He said to the leaders who hired him that what you need to do is to have the Israelites men, you need to have your women seduce the Israelites men, and you'll bring them down.

And so they did. And so they did.

The way of Balaam, the son of Bozar, who loved the wages of unrighteousness but was rebuked for his iniquity, lawlessness. The dumb ass, speaking with man's voice, forbade the madness of the prophet. Of course, he wanted, the one who hired him, wanted him to prophesy against Israel, but when he tried to prophesy against Israel, he couldn't do it.

These are wells without water, and then it's like a shift takes place to spirit beings and human beings.

These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with tempest to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever. Now, Jude has something similar about cast out into darkness of the angelic realm of those who disobeyed. Well, when they speak great swelling words of vanity. Now, vanity means depravity. It means it has to do also with temporarily transientness. Transientness means short time temporal. They allure through the last of the flesh much wantonous. How do they do it? See, from the time that a child is able to begin to think, reason, make any kind of decisions, the example it was so often used in the past of two children on the floor, each one wanting the same toy, that kind of thing, is a very simple example. So, the first thing you do is you take a child and you're going to take a child and you're going to take a child to the floor, each one wanting the same toy, that kind of thing.

People want to be able to do what they want to do. They don't want to be bound by rules.

Thou shalt remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. No, we're good people. I mean, we're good people. We do all kind of good works. Just look at what all we've done. Now, I've got... I'm now living with my sixth husband, but I've set up this school in Africa for underprivileged children. I mean, that's good. But if you think that has anything to do with salvation, you're wrong.

While they promised them liberty, I think I've told the story before. I walk into the last pastor general of World Wide.

Well, maybe it wasn't last, I don't know. But the one that wasn't Mr. Armstrong. But anyway, I walked in the office and he called me there to fire me. And the first thing he holds up are these emails that he's gotten from all over the world. And one of them quotes Martin Luther's I Have a Dream speech. Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last. That evil, old spiritual law, we can golf on the Sabbath. Okay. While they promised them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome, of the same as he brought in bondage. If anything, servants of corruption, whether it be covetousness or any other iniquity that you might want to name, if you succumb to that, then you become its servant. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, well, it says of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they're again entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning. You ought to see how the commentators try to scramble to try to preserve eternal security of the believer from this.

For if after they've escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge, and once again this is epidosis, the superior knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they're again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them, so many of them counseled for baptism. They went over all the things. Oh, yes. It's like Israel at Mount Sinai. We will do. No, we won't do.

Because there is some yearning in the nature of human beings to do their own thing. Like Paul says Romans 8-7, the flesh is enmity toward the law of God, not subject to it. Neither a deed can be. But now you have been enlightened. You have the new mind, the new conscience. You've been partakers of the divine nature. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog turned to his own vomit. That is pretty disgusting. And the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. There's no way to clean up a pig.