The Fisherman’s Warning (2)
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Peter 2:1 NASB
Destructive heresies – What are “destructive heresies”? How would Peter understand his Greek words, haireseis apoleias? The word hairesis has an interesting background. Its classical Greek background yields meanings like “seize, take, win.” The LXX uses it for the idea of “choice, resolve.” Josephus uses the word to contrast sects within Judaism. Those who choose another way, another school of thought, another teacher are “heretics.” But the word doesn’t take on the technical sense of “contrary to acceptable doctrine” until the early Church fathers. From that point on in Christianity, heresy becomes anything not officially sanctioned by the Church. By the time Constantine declares Christianity Rome’s official religion, those who held an Hebraic worldview were classified heretics. But for Peter, hairesis describes people who seek to create a separate community, a community that departs from the ways of Torah.
What about apoleias (“destructive”)? The assumed root of this word is apollymi, a word that means “to destroy, to abolish, to put to an end in ruin, to render useless.” It has a violent tone when it is used for “to kill, to put to death, to be utterly lost.” What kind of separatism would be described with such a term? If Peter is the unifier that Paul is, then the answer would have to be, “Any teaching that irreconcilably divides the community.” And nothing would divide the Jewish Messianic community more than the denial of Torah.
Wait! You might say that what Peter has in mind here is the heresy of denying the divinity of Christ. Doesn’t he go on to say, “even denying the Master who bought you”? Isn’t that that ultimate dividing line? And if this is true, then the Jews who denied Jesus are the real heretics, right?
Not so fast. First, Peter is addressing the community of those who have already accepted Yeshua as the Messiah. The false prophets will arise within that community, a community that is Torah observant because it rests on a Jewish understanding of the world. Since those in the community embrace Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah, and that’s what makes them a community, how do false prophets get any mileage by denying the very reason for the community members’ affiliation?
Secondly, the conjunction kai, here translated as “even,” is usually translated “and.” On what basis is the translation “even” rather than “and’? Doesn’t translating kai as “even” shift the “heresy” from a teaching that affects the community and denies the redemptive efficacy of Yeshua’s act to a heresy that is only about Yeshua’s sacrifice? What if the heresy Peter has in mind is the same one Paul deals with in Galatians, one common to the community in the first century? That heresy was the attempt by some legalistic Jewish schools to claim that all believers in YHWH must first become Jews before the favor of God could rest upon them. Paul fought this heresy tooth and nail. If Peter is facing the same pressure (and why wouldn’t he?), then the destructive heresy is the proclamation that Torah obedience is essential for salvation. This teaching would split the community and deny the atonement of Yeshua. Torah obedience is not necessary for God’s grace to be poured out. But it is necessary if we are going to live to the maximum potential God has in store for us, if we are going to fulfill His purposes in us after we have been shown grace. The misunderstanding of the place of Torah caused all sorts of problems in Galatia and Rome, as Paul’s letter clearly attests. Why would we imagine that same issue, the biggest issue facing the community in the first century, namely “How does a Gentile become part of God’s Kingdom?” be any different for Peter?
What divided the community two thousand years ago still divides the community, thanks to hundreds of false teachers (many of whom are totally ignorant of this historical development). It’s time to change all that.
Topical Index: destructive heresies, haireseis apoleias, 2 Peter 2:1
Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of G-d, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! -What a Savior!
Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of G-d was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew tHis song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Who believes our report? To whom is the arm of ADONAI revealed? For before Him He grew up like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground. He was not well-formed or especially handsome; we saw Him, but His appearance did not attract us. People despised and avoided Him, a man of pains, well acquainted with illness. Like someone from whom people turn their faces, He was despised; we did not value Him. In fact, it was our diseases He bore, our pains from which He suffered; yet we regarded Him as punished, stricken and afflicted by G-d. But He was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on Him, and by His bruises we are healed. We all, like sheep, went astray; we turned, each one, to his own way; yet ADONAI laid on Him the guilt of all of us. Or: and in fellowship with Him. Though mistreated, He was submissive – He did not open his mouth. Like a Lamb led to be slaughtered, like a sheep silent before its shearers, He did not open his mouth. After forcible arrest and sentencing, He was taken away; and none of His generation protested His being cut off from the land of the living for the crimes of my people, who deserved the punishment themselves. He was given a grave among the wicked; in His death He was with a rich man. Although He had done no violence and had said nothing deceptive, yet it pleased ADONAI to crush Him with illness, to see if He would present himself as a guilt offering. If He does, He will see His offspring; and He will prolong His days; and at His hand ADONAI’s desire will be accomplished. After tHis ordeal, He will see satisfaction. “By His knowing [pain and sacrifice], my righteous Servant makes many righteous; it is for their sins that He suffers. Therefore I will assign Him a share with the great, He will divide the spoil with the mighty, for having exposed Himself to death and being counted among the sinners, while actually bearing the sin of many and interceding for the offenders.” (Isaiah 53)
“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of G-d in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5.21)
“This is a trustworthy saying that deserves complete acceptance: To this world Messiah came, sinful people (all have sinned..) to reclaim. I am the worst of them.”
For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.” (Ezekiel 18:20-32)
Carnal men argue that God is not right to disregard the righteous past of a man who turns, becoming wicked. Some carnal men argue that God is not right to regard the righteousness of a man’s repentance, if he has previously been wicked.
To our Eternal Father and His Son Yeshua HaMashiach, whose ways define righteousness, repentance determines life or death. “Therefore, [G-d adjures us] repent and live.”
Throughout the chapter of Luke 15, Christ expands upon this theme. Our Savior paints a touching and instructive picture:
Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
And He told them this parable, saying,
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of G-d over one sinner who repents.”
Does G-d receive sinners? Jewish sinners? Yes. Gentile sinners? Yes. – For “all” have sinned and are (now) in need of a Savior. Why do we need a Savior? or do we need Him? Now, today..-moment-by-moment- do we need Him?
For if, when we were G-d’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! (Romans 5.10) Hallelujah for the cross!
For dear friends..(lest we forget)- He has risen, (just as He said!) and He ever lives to make intercession for us. SomeONE is praying for me!
Skip, you did it again, with another thoughtful post. The word “heresy” only makes sense against a backdrop of a credo, a confession, a statement of belief. The issue today is that there is virtually no “heresy” because there is no credo. The idea of “no creed but the Bible” becomes a mantra that hides what the Scriptures might really teach. “I believe.” Not because I’m the author of those statements, but because followers of YHVH and His Son, have declared what is the true faith. Thus, wrong teaching is tolerated, the word “heresy” thrown around as if people understood the difference between heresy and orthodoxy, but in the meantime, real heresy continues unabated. The Judaizer’s of Paul’s day were just as heretical as the antinomians of our own time; both groups misunderstood Torah.
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Messiah died for our sins according to the scriptures;and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (just as “it is written”)..(1 Corinthians 15.1-4)
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53.5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=_vcSl2rgnbA
“By the time Constantine declares Christianity Rome’s official religion . . .”
Skip, did Constantine declare Christianity the “official” religion or merely one of many “officially” accepted in the Empire? Just send me to the reference for this info will do.
Constantine made christianity legal, but it became the official religion under Theodosius some years later.
So what was the “official” religion before Theodosius made Christianity the “official” religion? Or was there none?
I would have to look that up in my history books, but there were various cultic practices and emporer worship that went on in Rome. Various religions were tolerated in Rome. According to Josephus the Jews were exempt from Roman Cultic practices and were allowed to practice Judaism while being a part of the Roman Empire. I hope my ramblings help a little:)
I seems to me, then, that making Christianity the “official” religion was a step in the right direction.
I am a bit surprised by this remark. The religion of Yeshua was Judaism. The religion of the early believers in Yeshua as Messiah was Judaism. The religion of Paul was Judaism. There can be no doubt about this since all of the NT texts make this assertion. Christianity as a religion does not begin to be developed separately from Judaism until about 150-200AD, initiated by a group of men whose work never appears in the canon. It is abundantly clear that the doctrinal basis of contemporary Christianity owes a lot to the influence of Hellenism that began with these men. For example, my doctoral thesis demonstrates that our Christian idea of omniscience is not a development of the Hebrew texts but rather a development of the philosophy of Parmenides, revised by men like Augustine and Aquinas.
It seems to me that making “Christianity” the official religion was a huge step in the wrong direction. Yes, we could argue that it had ethical benefits. Yes, we could point to the good works that followed. But there is also a long history of torture, suffering and death “in the name of Jesus,” as most intellectual Jews will point out. Furthermore, endorsing a religion that had already abandoned its essential connection to Judaism doesn’t seem to have helped much in furthering God’s purposes as outlined at Sinai. I will not object to the fact that the Judeo-Christian legal framework provided significant benefit to the West. But I will argue that the official RELIGION of Christianity allowed the West to turn a blind eye toward the system of governance God established at Sinai – and that the West is now the inheritor of this long history, resulting in a decline of civilization because of the fundamental denial of Torah observance. The West is a Greek cake with Judaic icing. The icing has melted. Now we are eating the Greek cake.
What would have happened if Augustine, Clement, Origen and the boys had embraced the Messianic Judaism of Paul and Peter and John? What would have happened if “the Way” became the dominate religion? Yes, I know that Hellenism had already infected rabbinic Judaism by at least 200BC (more on that to come in TW), but think of the powerful witness to the one true God that could have resulted if it were not for the deliberate effort to remove Christianity from its Judaic base and practice. Today we have a Christianity that in practice (not words) is essentially no different than a high ethical standard (which is systematically not employed). Christians are not distinctively different than altruistic, noble, ethical pagans. They claim doctrines they do not follow. We as Christians have nothing radical to SHOW (not speak) to the world. How did that happen? I submit that Christianity is essentially, in practice, ethical humanism derived from Greek philosophy, not biblical Judaism. Furthermore, Christianity’s emphasis on the afterlife (getting to heaven) excuses behavior in this world that demonstrates a lack of honor toward the Creator God and a serious misunderstanding of the stewardship assigned in Genesis. In sum, making Christianity official has had enormous impact on Mankind. I do not believe we can simply assert that the impact was good. Jeremiah tells us that God determines what is good and I do not see God endorsing what Christianity became. Now Islam will test the West’s commitment to this religion that came into being in the 2nd century. I suspect that Islam, a religion much more akin to ancient Israel – a religion of obedience, not philosophical principle – will overcome the West because the West no longer has the obedience required by God.
Preach it Brother Skip! Your comment is very sad to me, but I thank God that people have the courage to speak up and proclaim the truth. I pray for that communities like this flourish so we can right the Christian ship.
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit speaks expressly, that in latter times some shall apostatise from the faith, giving their mind to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons (Darby Translation)
Abraham Joshua Heschel once said regarding the Vietnam War: “Some are guilty, but all are responsible.” Regarding the gentile church putting away the Torah we could reverse it and say “Some are responsible, but all are guilty.”
(with apologies to A.J. Heschel)
Skip, you and I are in agreement that the incipient “dispensationalism” that creates an Old/New dichotomy is wrong. We agree that “Christianity” today is in a mess, at the same time recognizing there are Christians who do not succumb to false ideas about Torah. After all, the name Christ=Messiah, so those who take the name of Christ really take the name of the author of the Torah and his standards. But I don’t think Christianity can be broad-brushed so easily. It would be interesting to apply your thesis as an explanation of how and why the West came to be the “sought after” culture in which to live — even if this is no longer true. But I don’t see too many Americans going abroad to live (except to New Zealand 🙂 ) Also, maybe one day you’ll explain why the Reformed tradition held the Law of God to be the way of righteousness, and why, in the non-Reformed tradition, the Law of God was put aside. Any good that Christianity brought to the table was its application of Torah. What I am suggesting that Christianity’s “nothing to show” is a more recent departure from historic Christianity that did hold to the Law of God, insisted on its application in everyday life, and did their best to create a “city on a hill” with the Puritan experiment in America.
Not to make too much of a fine point, but . . . I said Rome’s acceptance of Christianity was a “step in the right direction.” I did not say it was the ultimate step. And this seems preferable to suggesting the Romans should have remained with their paganism.
This is a great and important topic. Keep making the point about departure from Torah, but I think recognition needs to be given to those who accepted Torah, accepted the Messiah, and called themselves Christians. It’s the “other” Christians that create the bad name for everyone.
“Be good, because being good is good.”
I used to joke with a friend that this was the sum of every sermon we ever heard.
this is the “controversy” of Christ!- It is NOT a religion (any religion- pick one..) -it is a relationship. “Bring him to me” were the very words of the (very Jewish) Messiah. “Who is on the LORD’s side?” should be our concern.
In the end there are two classes of people: sheep and goats, “saved” and lost, children of Light and children of darkness. Yes, we (Goy) are the adopted ones, adopted into the covenant promises of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but the Jews (by birth) need to come to G-d the very same way as the rest of us “creatures” and that is by the blood of the tslav.
It is the preaching of the cross that is offensive to all, yet wonderfully good news (gospel) to us who are both saved and being saved. The wonderfully amazingly incredible good news to “both” the natural Jew (by first birth) and the pagan, heathen Gentiles (the rest of us..).
We all must come to G-d the Father through Yeshua the Son.. “Kneel at the cross” applies to every living creature- regardless of pedigree or profile- “all” have sinned cannot and must not be denied..
Torah is the Word of G-d. His word(s) are Law and His words (all of them- far beyond 613 or whatever the magic number is..) “Sanctify them by Thy truth- Thy Word is truth”.
The will of G-d, the ways of G-d and the wisdom of G-d are all fully contained (and revealed) in the Word of G-d which is living and active (Hebrews 4.12)
If we wish to be taught by the Master Rabbi (the LORD Yeshua)then we (all) must fully submit and surrender to the written words (our instructions) – G-d’s Torah (instruction) for living and for Life- more abundant and free.
He has said (and are we listening?) The words I speak unto you -they are spirit (breath) and they are Life. He has said (are we listening?) If you abide in Me and my words (which ones?- all of them- far more than 613) abide in you – you shall ask what you will and it will be done.” Why? Because we know what is pleasing unto the Father. Unto the Father- this is a word of “relationship”- not religion. Not Jewish, not “Catholic” (unless catholic is universal)- We (all- both Jew and Gentile) may enter into the blood covenant promises of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by way of the tslav of the Messiah. We must (continuously) “kneel at the cross.”- This dear friends is the only “place of blessing.”
Now, where may I kneel? – Right here, right now- in this very place- I have His permission to “enter in.” This is His invitation: “Come unto Me- “all” you who labor and are heavy laden and “I” (Yeshua HaMashiach) will give you rest..- Friends, “it is the LORD.” (only, and exclusively). “Bring him (or her) to Me..” This is the Word of the LORD: -(are we listening?) If “any man” hear My voice..