I wrote 2 weeks ago that @aimeebyrdPYW seems to be apostatizing. You can read it here: We say Goodbye to Aimee Byrd
More bad news confirming Aimee’s drift has emerged. In her newest essay published October 10, Aimee lauds Catholic mystic Teresa of Avila. According to the Roman Catholic Church, Teresa was a bridal mystic; this is a woman who so intensely desires God she has bodily ecstatic experiences she later writes about, using language of erotic passion.
THE ECSTASY OF SAINT TERESA. RENAISSANCE: ITALY, this is a description of a sculpture from the artist Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini done in 1645-1652 AD. “Saint Teresa’s love of God and her desire for spiritual union with him found expression in a vision in which an angel pierced her heart with a golden spear and sent her into a trance. The erotic intensity of her vision is vividly suggested in this image by Teresa’s swooning expression and languid pose, and by the deep folds of drapery, which convey her agitation.”
If that kind of language makes you uncomfortable, as it should, then by all means refrain from reading any of Teresa of Avila’s actual writing because the descriptions of her mystical and ecstatic unions with her Groom get more obvious.
Teresa was a female ascetic, and a female version of a monk, and a mystic bride. This means not only does she swoon with erotic passion for her god, but also has constant visions and visitations from ‘him’.
That Aimee Byrd is reading one of Teresa of Avila’s books and is entranced with the notion of this heretic’s outlook on religion is more proof that this once solid Bible teacher is apostatizing.
In her essay, Aimee promotes Teresa of Avila, says she is enjoying reading Teresa’s book, then Aimee talks of our ‘souls’ deepest longing’. No. Avoid Aimee!
Tim Challies wrote a series on the False Teachers, and included Teresa of Avila as one of the more famous false teachers of history. You can read his essay here. And let us not believe that the influence of these female mystics has waned. Challies noted, “We can also spot her direct or indirect influence in the works of bestselling authors like Sarah Young (Jesus Calling) and Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts).”
As for Aimee, I read in her writings a longing, one that she herself claims to possess. That she longs for the One True God is obvious, and also obvious is that she does not have Him. If you feel led, please pray for Aimee, that her soul’s deepest longing will be satisfied by having been given the gift of repentance, that her soul will be saved, and that Jesus would get the glory.
We ALWAYS live with an expectation that in the leading up to that blessed moment of Jesus’ return, sin will heighten and grow worse- for all humans but especially for Israel.
What is going on in Israel right now is an expression of the always present, but not always seen, hatred satan has for Israel. Some horrific stories are coming out of that area, which I won’t repeat, but as Justin Peters said,
“This is not normal human animosity. The hatred Hamas and its supporters and enablers (a few of whom are in the US Congress) have towards the Jewish people is a demonic hatred. This level of barbarism and degeneracy is nothing short of demonic. Satan and his fellow fallen angels know the scriptures. They know God has a plan for Israel (Romans 11) and they hate it. They know their doom is sure… and it is.” –end Justin Peters
What people don’t often contemplate is HOW AWFUL sin is. We don’t often see visible expressions of it, or if we do, such as in a school shooting, or a serial killer unmasked, we think it is an anomaly. But horror of this kind is not an anomaly. It is normal, given man’s depravity. We either don’t see it, or we ignore it if it comes our way, or if we can’t ignore, we look away and explain it away.
God’s restraining Hand has kept the earth from tottering like a hut and collapsing under the weight of its sin. Once in a while He lifts his hand a bit and this is what happens. Chaos and violence on a wholesale scale.
We forget the Bible tells us over and over, HOW MUCH satan hates Jews and Christians. Eruptions like this in Israel are what can be called a blessed reminder, blessed because in His mercy, God shields it from us most of the time. Once in a while though, it is a blessing also, to be reminded that:
–satan is present on the earth igniting hatred passions of many, –that things can and will get really bad in the end of the end. If people think THIS is bad, just wait, –and God is still in control.
I believe that is how we should think of the events of the day happening in Israel. Pray always.
In part 1 I looked at definitions of false doctrine and heresy and whether they were two sides of the same coin, or totally different theological issues. In Part 2 I looked at heresy and named some examples of old and heresies coming around again repackaged, naming some modern people who teach them.
In this part I’ll focus on the issue of repentance for the false teacher and the heretic. Does a false teacher or a heretic ever repent? Can they? Should we even pray for them?
After our salvation, some of us become teachers. It’s a weighty and sober task, for teachers will be judged more strictly.
And because we are all human, sometimes even teachers of the Bible sin. They may sin by teaching error, or promote someone who is a false teacher themselves. It is here that the path diverges. Some of these teachers, when alerted to their error, repent publicly. I have read occasionally of these teachers publicly repenting of their false teaching and/or promotion of false teachers. It’s always encouraging to see this.
Others double down and continue teaching the false. Their path marches ever onward toward destruction. Purposeful persistence in error would seem to indicate a hardening of heart of that person. Repentance becomes more distant possibility, but it’s never out of the realm of possibility- because there is only 1 sin that is eternal, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
But is there a moment on that path when a teacher who has taught falsely can return? At what point does God give them over to their error? We know God does this, Romans 1:18-32 describes a hardening process. We know He gave Pharaoh over to his persistent refusal to see or accept God’s truth. We know in the end, judgment comes upon the ungodly heretics (Jude 1:4).
Example: Hymenaeus
We read of Hymenaeus, who is mentioned twice in the New Testament. The first time is in 1 Timothy, written in about A.D. 62-64.
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
We learn that Hymenaeus rejected the faith, made a shipwreck of it, and didn’t keep it. Is he restorable? More on that question in a minute. We learn that Paul put him out of the church for his false teaching.
The second time we read of Hymenaeus it’s a couple of years later in 2 Timothy. This book was written in about 66-67 AD.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid godless and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their word will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. (2 Timothy 2:15–18).
Hymenaeus is lumped in with people who promote empty and godless chatter, and what he was teaching was poison (gangrene, other translations, cancer. The Greek word is literally gaggraina). He has gone astray from the truth and is teaching something totally false.
But in the first verse, Paul put Hymenaeus out of the church for a reason. The reason is always restoration. Paul said “so he may be taught not to blaspheme.” So it seems if one can be taught something, there is wiggle room. If someone can be taught something there is room for the light to come and error to be repented of. If he can be taught, the door to restoration isn’t shut, it would seem. Hymenaeus is being punished with a hope for restoration in mind.
EPrata photo
Paul didn’t write, “I put him out so he may be condemned.” Excommunication was a last resort to be sure, a serious consequence of Hymenaeus’ error, but this punishment had the purpose of possibly Hymenaeus learning the truth and perhaps changing his ways.
To that end I have no doubt Paul prayed for Hymenaeus. Paul was a prayer, and a carer of souls.
The situation does not look to be improved a couple years later, Hymenaeus is not recorded as having been restored to the church, but is worse in his teaching. He is persisting in error. This is one of the marks of a false teacher and a heretic.
We also read in 2 Timothy 2:25,
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may give them repentance leading to the full knowledge of the truth,[underline mine]
This word “if” does not refer to God dithering about whether to grant repentance that a person is begging for. He is not in heaven saying, ‘Hymenaeus is repenting, hmmm, shall I accept it? He did make me pretty mad…’Maybe, maybe not…”
It is simply an acknowledgement from the writer that repentance is in the hands of God. (Acts 11:18). HE gives the person a spirit of repentance. We do not know on our side of heaven which false teacher will be given the opportunity to repent and which will persist unto death and condemnation. So we pray for the person who is in error.
“Repentance of the heart is the work of God the Holy Spirit.” ~Sproul
It is a weighty situation when we see someone sliding into error and then apostasy. We do know that at some point, God gives them over to their error. They will remain in their sin since that is what they have persistently and continuously striven for. God gave Pharaoh over. He gave Saul over. Perhaps He gave Hymenaeus over in between the Books of 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.
And we know this too, Hebrews 6:4-6 LSB says it is impossible to restore some:
For in the case of those once having been enlightened and having tasted of the heavenly gift and having become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and having fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
These verses do NOT mean a person who is saved and has the Holy Spirit indwelling them, can lose their salvation. No. The New Testament is replete with assurances that faith, once given to a penitent, is of God and will never be snatched away by anyone or anything, including God.
You notice the words in the Hebrews verse- the person was enlightened (had cognitive knowledge) was ‘partaking’ of the heavenly gift, (around Godly events, but not indwelled), and ‘tasted’ (not digested, or consumed). These descriptions describe only a surface believer. Remember, many will say to Jesus on the Day, didn’t we do many works in your name? And He will cast them away because He never knew them.
It’s these people, the surface workers, not the committed believers, who will fall away. If a false teacher is genuine, they WILL repent. Same with a heretic. Of the sad people who ‘deconstruct’ their faith and make a once for all rejection of it, they are impossible to restore. They came close to the Light but turned away to darkness, never to see the Light again.
Should we pray for them?
So, if we accept that the spirit of repentance is a gift from above, and if we accept that some are impossible to restore, and we know that God gives some over to their sin, should we pray for false teachers, heretics, and apostates?
YES.
There is only 1 unforgivable sin, and that rejecting Jesus and dying in one’s sin. Jesus prayed to the Father for forgiveness of those blaspheming Him and mocking and spitting on Him on the cross. But if one blasphemes the Holy Spirit & dies outside of the door of Jesus, then…his sin is eternal. Until the person dies, we never know what his or her heart is doing, and we never know what God has in store for them. False teachers, heretics, and apostates are in SUCH danger, we should actually pray for them more!
Throughout his letter, the author of Hebrews warns his audience of this danger. In the past, they have professed faith in Jesus and claimed to embrace him. Now, because of pressure and persecution from unbelieving Jews, they are tempted to abandon Jesus to restore their peace and comfort. They have experienced remarkable measures of grace in association with the new-covenant people of God (Hebrews 6:4–5), but now they are nearing the brink of falling away from Christ — and Hebrews warns them of the peril: having known the truth, and rejected it, are they now coming into a kind of settled hardness of heart from which they no longer will be able to repent and thus be forgiven?
For Christians today, we need not fear a specific moment of sin, but a kind of hardness of heart that would see Jesus as true and yet walk away — with a kind of hardness of heart incapable of repenting. Again, it’s not that forgiveness isn’t granted, but that it’s not sought. The heart has become so recalcitrant, and at such odds with God’s Spirit, that it’s become incapable of true repentance.~Dave Mathis
Has one persisted so long in their sin that they have become seared to it? THAT person cannot repent.
But do WE know when that moment is? No. When Pharaoh rebelled after the first plague, was he unredeemable? No. Or the second, third, fourth? We do not know the exact moment when God gives a person over to their sin, so we continue to pray.
Prayer changes US. It acknowledges we are finite, helpless creatures who need God to do anything. It also puts the other person on our mind instead of our own selves, prayer in this way helps us be humble and other-centered.
If you see a person sliding into falsity, or someone who has been church-disciplined and put out, pray for them. It is a serious, serious situation with their eternal soul at risk.
I’m often asked discernment questions, which pleases me because that means a woman is thinking about her faith, wants the truth of the Bible, and pursues holiness in her walk. I was recently asked ‘Are false teachers and heretics the same thing, and can they repent? Should we pray for them?’
In the first part, I looked at the question: What is the difference between a false teacher and a heretic? The 3rd part will look at the issue of repentance. CAN a false teacher repent? Can a heretic repent?
Now, in this part 2, let’s look at a definitions of heretic and heresy:
The Heretic is the most prominent and perhaps the most dangerous of the false teachers. … The Heretic is the person who teaches what blatantly contradicts an essential teaching of the Christian faith. ~Tim Challies
And so, heretic is worse than a false teacher: “I think we need to say that there are some absolutely non-negotiable truths that you are false to teach: if you deny the Trinity, if you deny the deity of Christ, if you deny His sinless life and substitutionary death, salvation by grace through faith, the gospel. That’s the drivetrain of truth, saving truth. Those are not negotiable.” ~John MacArthur
The main characteristic of a false teacher was their teaching springs of off the Bible but is twisted or wrong in some way. They might teach about baptism, but baptismal regeneration. They might teach about food, but introduce food laws. They might teach about fasting, but become legalistic in their teaching of this practice. They might teach about prayer, but slide in some Gnostic practices about prayer. And so on.
The main identification of a false teacher is that when their theological error is pointed out, they display an unwillingness to make a correction. Either when the Spirit points out in scripture, or when another person points it out, if the teacher refuses to listen and continues on teaching it, they are a false.
False teachers reject biblical correction and continue teaching falsely, refusing to repent or even listen. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
As for heretics, their teaching is not even IN the Bible, it is a doctrine of their own making, from their own mind, and is their choice to believe. They have shown they are divisive. (Titus 3:10) The word ‘division’ in the verse means heretical.
HERESY—from a Greek word signifying (1) a choice, (2) the opinion chosen, and (3) the sect holding the opinion. In the Acts of the Apostles (5:17; 15:5; 24:5, 14; 26:5) it denotes a sect, without reference to its character. Elsewhere, however, in the New Testament it has a different meaning attached to it. Paul ranks “heresies” with crimes and seditions (Gal. 5:20). This word also denotes divisions or schisms in the church (1 Cor. 11:19). In Titus 3:10 a “heretical person” is one who follows his own self-willed “questions,” and who is to be avoided. Heresies thus came to signify self-chosen doctrines not emanating from God (2 Pet. 2:1). Source for this definition of heresy- Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
In around 144 AD Marcion taught that the Old Testament should be rejected and that the God of the New Testament was the true God, the OT God being vengeful and false. This heresy is called Marcionism and it’s alive today. Kevin DeYoung wrote a great article about it and noted that some preachers today teach their followers to “unhitch” from the OT and reject it because Jesus is nicer… that old Marcionic heresy.
Pelagius. From Wikipedia
Sadly, thought is is 2023, many of the ancient heresies – which never disappeared – are making a comeback. Another one is Pelagianism, the heretical belief that denies original sin, and promotes that babies are born innocent. Lori Alexander “The Transformed Wife” believes and teaches this, for example. Lori’s mentor and idol, Michael Pearl, is also a Pelagian, teaching this heresy in these modern days.
Sadly, Alexander and Pearl are not the only heretics believing this, this heresy is more common than one may think. Pelagianism is believed by 71% of respondents according to results of the 2022 Ligonier State of Theology survey.
Another heresy that was surprisingly widely held according to the survey is Arianism. This heretical belief states that Jesus is not God. Whether someone says, “Jesus was a good teacher, but not God” or that “Jesus was a created being” (something the Mormons claim) or any statement that denies His divinity, it’s Arianism and a heresy.
In another modern example, TD Jakes is a heretic because he teaches and believes that God is One but is also ONE person, not three persons in one. Jakes says God manifests Himself in different modes. This heresy is called Modalism. This is a concept striking at the heart of the Trinity, and therefore is a heresy.
Challies: “Modalism has long been labeled as a heresy meaning that if you believe it in place of the biblical understanding of the Trinity, you are not and cannot be a true Christian.”
More here by Chris Rosebrough on the heresy of Modalism and modern people who teach it.
Phil Johnson has preached a 6-part series on old heresies that aren’t really old, they are alive and well today. Here is Phil Johnson’s introduction to his series A Survey of Heresies:
“It’s important for Christians to have a grasp of heresies that the church has battled over the centuries, because they often return with new clothing, and the unprepared Christian is likely to fall into these old pits. Phil does an excellent job of looking at some of the major heresies that are revisiting the church today: Socinianism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Gnosticism, and Judaizing. This is an excellent 6 part series that will shore up some weak points in the church today.”
Heresies are serious. Heresies are alive and well today. They are completely distinct from anything taught in the Bible and are dangerous because they draw the unwary into sinful teachings on the road to apostasy and/or condemnation.
False teachings turn to heresy when they lift off from the Bible and become a doctrine completely separate from anything that can be found in God’s word. You think it might not happen to you, but see how many millions of people believe today in Pelagianism, Modalism, Arianism, Marcionism, Modalism, and so on. There are many warnings in the Bible about not falling for myths.
People believe these dastardly things because there is some kind of sin in them that rears its desire (2 Timothy 4:3) and the sin attaches itself to the false doctrine with tentacles that can only be pried apart by repentance. Heretics would not have an audience unless their followers propped them up. Notice the phrasing in the 2 Tim verse, “accumulated for themselves” these heretics.
It’s one reason we need to stay ‘repented-up’ all the time. Sin desires to have us and it’s not only sinful actions but sinful minds that enjoy false doctrines and heresies.
In the next and final part, we will look at repentance. What it is, whether a false teacher can repent, and whether a heretic can repent.
Should we pray for false teachers? Are false teachers and heretics the same thing? Can a false teacher repent? Can a heretic repent?
I’m asked these questions now and then. Since I do a third of my ministry here as discernment, it’s logical I get asked discernment type questions. I’ve wondered the same thing myself. I’ll answer in three parts. I’ll look at false teachers, then heretics, then whether either or both of them can repent.
First, let’s look at the question:
What is the difference between a false teacher and a heretic? Is there a difference?
God’s truth, it is the only thing that matters, the sole standard by which we live.. Yet from the beginning, satan has energized people (or serpents) to pollute the truth.
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. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
The distinctions between what makes a teacher false and what makes a heretic can be muddy. Suffice to say, both are bad, but heresy is worse. Here, Mark Jones at Reformation 21 wrote:
What makes someone a heretic?This topic may be more important than we might think, especially in the world of online discourse. There is a distinction between willfully committing a soul-destroying heresy and committing a theological error.
Yet also this:
To call someone a “false teacher” is to say they are unsaved (see 2 Peter 2:1). …
But then again, Jones said, All heresies are errors, but not all errors are heresies… I understand heresy in the way described by George Gillespie, a Scottish commissioner to the Westminster Assembly:
Heresy is a gross and dangerous error, voluntarily held and factiously maintained by some person or persons within the visible church, in opposition to some chief or substantial truth or truths grounded upon and drawn from the Holy Scripture by necessary consequence.
The key words above are “voluntarily” (not ignorantly) and “factiously” (not quietly, but “stubbornly” [see Ames]) in terms of the manner in which a heretic promotes his or her view(s). Conversely, we may hold to an error, but (thankfully) that error is not sufficiently severe enough that it overthrows the fundamental articles of the Christian faith. –end Mark Jones quote.
The Bible speaks a great deal on false prophets (Old Testament), false teachers (New Testament), and false doctrine. Every New Testament book except Philemon warns or says something about falsity.
As to the difference between a teacher teaching falsely and a teacher who is a heretic, for example, there’s Pelagianism (a notion that original sin did not taint human nature) which is a heresy, but teaching that one must eat or not eat certain foods is a theological error. It’s a false teaching but not necessarily a heresy that makes one outside orthodoxy.
A biblical example is Peter briefly ‘behaving’ falsely. Because his behavior had a teaching component, his behavior undermined the Gospel. Therefore, Paul said he must oppose Peter to his face. Denny Burk said, “In Galatians 2, Paul says that he opposed Peter for not being “straightforward about the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14).”
As a side note I’ll mention here that Peter’s brief foray into falsity was a behavioral action. He was impacting the truth of the Gospel by his behavior- he withdrew from the Gentiles, not sitting with the Gentiles out of fear of man. Often when I write about a truly false teacher’s behavior, her defenders come out of the woodwork screaming that her behavior is an untouchable component because it’s (supposedly) ‘private’, i.e. separate from her teaching. No.
‘Stop judging our favorite false teacher’s behavior and lifestyle! It’s none of your business!’ Oh, yes it is, screeching harridans. Yes it is…
A Bible teacher’s or minister’s behavior is never separate from their identity in Christ, life AND doctrine matters, as Peter’s brief deviation into falsity shows and Paul’s immediate reaction to it.
Apollos briefly taught falsely. “Apollos was a man mighty in the scriptures who taught accurately about Jesus but who nevertheless was only familiar with John’s baptism. In Apollos’ case, his deficient teaching was an error of omission.” ~Denny Burk
Neither Peter nor Apollos could really be termed a false teacher because their theological error was brief and they immediately corrected themselves eagerly with open heart and with humility.
False teachers exist on a spectrum. They can be detected of course by examining their teaching, but if they have been confronted with truth to slay their error and they take some time to consider this, pray. If they take a long time and come out the other side with still believing and teaching the falsity, then they are false. If Peter and Apollos had continued teaching what they taught, after a while we must accept that they are not correcting their error and are false.
When is a false teacher a false teacher? It’s when he teaches falsehood. And the chief characteristic of his teaching is falsehood. ~RC SProul
In modern times, we have seen several known false teachers claim to repent. Naïve Christians should be wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove in these matters. Too many people take these claims of a false teacher’s supposed repentance at face value without a proper measure of wisdom and patience to see of they truly correct over time.
Costi Hinn here with a 1-minute tip on how to detect if a teacher’s repentance for teaching something in error is real or not. Remember, the chief characteristic of a false teacher is that their teaching is identified with error, i.e. “its chief characteristic.”
I would just add that I think there is in the New Testament a clear reservation of that title [false teacher] not just for one who teaches falsely but for one who is uncorrectable and who resists correction. ~Al Mohler
Next part: Heretics, what is heresy and what makes a person a heretic?
Paul made three major missionary journeys. Acts 20 records the 3rd. He had spent 3 months in Greece, then planned to get on a boat in Corinth and set sail for Jerusalem via Syria, but he learned that some Jews were plotting to grab him for nefarious purposes on the voyage, so he decided to return to Macedonia by land. So Paul went from Corinth to Berea, Thessalonica, and Philippi, caught up with Luke again and observed Passover.
From Philippi, Paul and Luke set sail for Troas, arriving there five days later and meeting Paul’s traveling companions who had gone ahead of them: Timothy, Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus, and Trophimus. This is where we meet Trophimus.
And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. (Acts 20:4).
Miletus was about 36 miles from Ephesus. Map source
Trophimus was mentioned three times in the Bible, in verse above in Acts 20:4, and also Acts 21:29, and 2 Timothy 4:20.
For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. (Acts 21:29).
Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus. (2 Timothy 4:20).
Trophimus was from the Roman province of Asia and was living in or was from Ephesus. He was a Greek Christian. As we saw from the first mention of him in the verse, Trophimus was one of seven disciples mentioned by name who accompanied Paul on his return to Macedonia (Acts 20:3–4), meaning, the others to whom Paul was writing probably knew Trophimus personally, or knew OF him. These seven men formed an envoy from the various churches at Asia. They protected Paul, as it was better to travel in numbers. They also helped deliver the contributions from the churches of Asia to the saints in Jerusalem at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey (2 Corinthians 8:2–3). The delegation left Paul in Macedonia and traveled to Troas to wait for Paul and Luke to join them (Acts 20:4–6).
When they met up again, the men, including Trophimus, stayed together for a week. Imagine the theological conversations they must have held! The joy of being together!
Next time we read of Trophimus, it isn’t so joyous. We read of poor Trophimus being accused of having gone into the Temple with Paul, which uncircumcised Gentiles were not allowed to do. The Jews at that time were insisting that one had to become a Jew first in order to become a Christian. They leaped on the opportunity to accuse Paul of bringing Trophimus into the temple in order to get to Paul. And they did as much, dragging Paul out to be murdered. Of course, the accusation was false, but Trophimus’ name was used for evil purposes and he was innocently at the center of this controversy.
The modicum of fact lying at the root of this false accusation was that they had seen Paul and T. in each other’s company in the city. On this slender basis “they supposed” that Paul had brought T. past the barrier or middle wall of partition (Eph 2:14; see PARTITION), beyond which no Gentile was allowed to penetrate on pain of death. They supposed that T., who was neither a Jew nor a proselyte, but a gentile Christian, had been introduced into the temple itself by Paul—which would have been profanation. Hence their fury against the apostle. Source: The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (ISBE),. 1915.
Sometimes being Paul’s friend was dangerous!
The third time we read of Trophimus is when he had become too sick to travel. Paul had to leave him in Miletus.
As a side note: IF the miracle gifts had still been ongoing, why didn’t Paul just lay hands on his friend so he could continue the mission? Why doesn’t the verse say “Trophimus was sick in Miletus but I laid hands on him and by grace of God he used me to heal my friend.” Or something to that effect. 2 Timothy was written in 64/65 AD, and the sign gifts were well and truly dying out by then. The were for a sign to authenticate the Apostles and since it was nigh on 30 years since Jesus had departed and at least 20 years since the first NT book was written, the need to authenticate the ministers of God was lessening by the day.
In the previous book, 1 Timothy 5:23 written a few years before, Paul had advised Timothy to take wine for his stomach ailments.
Anyway, Trophimus was sick a few years after we last read of him, we know not with what, but was serious enough to cause Paul to have to leave T. behind. But not alone. We read in Acts 20:17 Paul had previously sent for some elders to come from Ephesus, which they did. It was an easy travel jaunt. Therefore, Paul was not abandoning his trusted friend and traveling companion to the wilds,
“Trophimus, therefore, in his sickness, could easily reach Ephesus, or his friends from that city could quickly come to him at Miletus, and give him whatever attention and nursing he might require.” ISBE
Keep in mind that these people we read about in the Bible are real people. They are alive now. We will meet them in heaven and commune with them. We can sit with Trophimus and talk with him about his sickness, his association with Paul at the temple, his missionary journeys. That’s why I write about the ‘little known’ Bible characters. Someday we will fully know them, and they will fully know us. What a day that will be.
Our teaching pastor went over a section in Matthew 9 on Sunday. The passage had a mention of mourners.
Professional mourner was a job in ancient Palestine. In our culture we are self-contained. We don’t sob at the Wake or the Memorial. We try to keep a stiff upper lip and contain the tears at funerals.
In ancient Palestine, it was considered acceptable, even required, to sob loudly, wail, and express one’s self with high emotion upon the occasion of a death. Professional mourners were brought in to help create an atmosphere of bereavement, and they didn’t hold back.
Mourning: The practice of grieving through crying and vocalization, most typically for the loss of someone.
Family members’ mourning typically involved sitting on the ground and trembling, tearing one’s clothes, putting ashes on one’s head, wearing sackcloth, or walking barefoot. Family members on a rotating basis would stay with the body so it was not left unaccompanied. Burial was rapid, as embalming was not a customary practice among Jews.
Until burial, though, during the grieving period, “To enhance the atmosphere of grief professional women mourners would be invited (Jer. 9:17).” Negev, A. (1990). In The Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land.
Professional mourners were usually women, who tend to express emotions more easily and was more socially acceptable for that gender. Professional mourning was actually an acceptable job for a woman in ancient Israel. It was a good way to make money if a woman needed to. The more professional mourners there were the wealthier a family was seen to be. Hired mourners helped the family through their grief and offered comfort.
And when Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, (Matthew 9:23).
The word in the verse, ‘disorder’ is from the Greek thorubeó and it means “to make an uproar”.
Their job was to make a clamor. They wailed, lamented, chanted praises in death songs, played instruments. You can imagine the noise with all this lamentation, crying, flute-playing, plus the regular noise any crowd makes as people talk, cry, and move about.
“These mourners are neither somber nor reserved. “Commotion” is from the Greek root word thorubos which means noise, clamor, and public disorder. “Wailing” is from the Greek root word alalazo. It’s the “alala” sound soldiers made when rushing into battle, similar to what is referred to as ululation.” Source: BibleRef.com.
Jeremiah 9:17 mentions professional mourners, one of many places in the Bible that mentions this job: “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Carefully consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come; And send for the skillful women, that they may come!“
The amount of time spent mourning for the dead varied in the Bible from person to person. Jacob was mourned seventy days (Genesis 50:3); Aaron (Numbers 20:29) and Moses (Deuteronomy 34:8) were mourned thirty days; and for Saul only seven days (1 Samuel 31:13). In 2 Samuel 3:31-35, we have a description of the great mourning for the death of Abner. (Source Christians Answers).
Also Amos 5:16, Mark 5:38 mention professional women who mourn on behalf of a family. Professional mourning as a job was quite common, very normal. Here is a short Youtube clip of some professional mourners in Sardinia, filmed in 1963. This gives you an idea of the ‘clamor and disorder’ mentioned in the Matthew verse above:
Professional Mourners of Sardinia, from “Women of the World”. Filmed around 1963, from the Italian documentary “La Donna Nel Mundo” and is narrated in English by Peter Ustinov. Clip is 1:55. Sardinia is a large Island of Italy in the Mediterranean sea and north of Tunisia.
It also gives rise to a question in my mind. Death came frequently in ancient Israel. Sickness and tragedy were common. In the clip, it was stated that this group of professional mourners left their hired place of mourning at 4:00 am so as to attend another mourning job in a different village. What was it like to spend one’s days crying and lamenting? Was it hard to work up tears after a while? Or easier? Did their natural outlook become depressed and gloomy, since their entire professional career was to express sadness and grief? Did it take a toll on the emotions of the woman after a while?
In any case, the custom of professional mourning women was a thriving job for these women who chose it. It was a job for which there would always be a need.
I long for the day when death will be no more! No more wailing, crying, no more funerals, no more professional mourning industry! What a day that will be.
Funeral passing by below our hotel room, Elba, Italy
Fun fact: the name for professional mourners is moirologists
I’ll do an occasional entry in this new series, looking at memes and where they take our mind from Jesus and put it on wrong tracks.
Where does false doctrine happen? The Bible warns us repeatedly to make sure we are absorbing healthy doctrine and not taking in any polluted doctrine. Our souls need it. Staying as doctrinally pure as possible is best for our spiritual health. And yet, we are often confronted with false doctrine.
‘But my pastor preaches solid sermons!’ I can hear you saying. If that’s so, then wonderful! But sermons are not the only place we can unfortunately absorb poor doctrine.
‘I read good Christian books by credible authors!’ I can hear you saying. That’s great! But sermons and books are not the only places we can unwittingly absorb false doctrine.
False doctrine is sneaky. Jude 1:4 says “For certain people have crept in unnoticed,” these are the false teachers who craftily twist the truth in subtle ways and in subtle places.
Like in music? Yes, music.
You might or might not go about your day with scripture verses popping into your head and circling around your brain, but chances are, you’ll more than likely have a song lyric that sticks with you. Like this one-
And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me I am his own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known
No. Just no. The joy Jesus shared with the Spirit and the Father is like no joy anyone else has ever known- because it was perfect, sinless joy. And, guess what? Jesus doesn’t talk with us.
Another insidious place false doctrine comes in is through memes. Memes are especially dangerous because they are put in front of everyone. Your pastor is probably solid, you can carefully choose your own books to read, you switch radio stations when something bad comes on, but memes are ubiquitous. They are on the sides of web pages, in friends’ threads, just everywhere.
They are subtle because they are short and pithy with logical sounding statements. They don’t take much thought, they’re not supposed to. This is why they are dangerous. After you read one, you go, ‘Oh! That makes sense!’ but…does it?
Like this one.
I’ll take it apart bit by bit.
“Train your mind”. Correct. Our sanctification begins in the mind. The scriptures transform the mind and then we gradually become more like Jesus, the whole point of sanctification. The mind is the battlefield.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
Ephesians 4:23, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds;
1 Peter 1:13, Therefore, having girded your minds for action, being sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The first few words of this short meme are good. So you keep reading. Here is where we get into trouble. It’s trouble because it’s partly true. Most memes are half true. Charles Spurgeon said of discernment, “Discernment is not the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.”
Satan does send fiery darts into our mind. (fiery darts of Ephesians 6:16 are thoughts). But here are a few more errors:
God isn’t whispering to us. God doesn’t only whisper in the Bible, He thunders, shouts, uses creation to speak, and more. The devil doesn’t only shout.
Memes will often pit one thought against another thought when both are true. Or neither. Yes, we should not listen to the devil, and we should ‘listen’ to God- in His word. We also should not listen to our flesh, where in fact most of our wrong thoughts come from, not the devil.
Anyway, watch out for Christian memes. They are often either outright wrong, or subtly wrong. They often are the exact fiery darts we are warned about!
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. (Matthew 13:19).
In the beginning parts of the parable, Jesus had given the vivid picture of the sower scattering seeds along the ground. The seeds fell on different types of ground, hard, rocky, thorny, and good. Later, the disciples asked Jesus to explain the meaning of the parable. He did, and His explanation of the different types of ground and the destinies of each seed is above.
The “path” mentioned is the path that the farmers and other people would walk in between fields. It was so heavily trod that they became hard packed, almost like cement. In Leviticus 23:22 it’s mentioned as a rule that the farmers were not to harvest to the very edges of the field, so that those who are traveling or poor could glean from the stalks that were alongside the path. You might remember Ruth gleaning Boaz’s field. (Ruth 2:2-3). As Jesus and His disciples walked along the fields, they plucked some grain to eat as they passed. (Matthew 12:1). These paths were very hard and well-traveled.
In Barnes’ Notes it’s explained about the paths. As expected, the vivid picture of the hardened path, the seed, and the birds scooping away the exposed seeds is visually understandable.
He is represented by the fowls that came and picked up the seed by the way-side. The gospel is preached to people hardened in sin. It makes no impression. It lies like seed on the “hard path;” it is easily taken away, and never suffered to take root.
But I’d like to focus on the part of the parable verse that mentions that the evil one comes along and snatches the seed away. I ask myself, how does the evil one do this? In what manner? Thanks to the visual nature of the parable we can readily understand that he does, but how?
Someone asked me recently how does the devil do his work, how does spiritual warfare operate. It’s a good question and it is something that though the parable’s images are understood, it what is meant by ‘digging deeper.’ Ask yourself questions as you read. Listen to others ask questions. Pray and ponder a while. Do a parallel verse search. Look up the important words in the verse in Greek or Hebrew. Consult commentaries.
In the Greek, the word for hearing is in the continuous present tense, setting an immediacy to the situation. As stated here in Vincent’s Word studies in the New Testament, “the action is exhibiting action in progress, and the simultaneousness of Satan’s work with that of the gospel instructor. ‘While any one is hearing, the evil one is coming and snatching away, just as the birds do not wait for the sower to be out of the way, but are at work while he is sowing.'”
I am reminded of fishing boats and shrimp boats pulling up a catch, and the cloud of seagulls and other scavenging birds are plucking the fish from the nets even as they are pulled to the boat’s deck. The ground is so hard the seed of the Word never makes any impression in it, and the birds come snatch it almost immediately.
Here is Gill’s Commentary on the subject of how the devil snatches away the seed. This is aimed at the unsaved, but the point has lessons for the saved, which I’ll explore below.
Besides, the word only fell “upon”, not “into” his heart, as into the good ground, as the metaphor in the parable shows; and it made no impression, nor was it inwardly received, but as soon as ever dropped, was “catched” away by the enemy; not by frightening him out of it, by persecution, as the stony ground hearer; nor by filling the mind with worldly cares, as the thorny ground hearer; but by various suggestions and temptations, darting in thoughts, presenting objects, and so diverted his mind from the word, and fixed his attention elsewhere; which is done at once, at an unawares, secretly, and without any notice of the person himself; so that the word is entirely lost to him, and he does not so much as remember the least thing he has been hearing:
The saved can never have the Gospel seed snatched away from Jesus’ hand. This is because it takes root immediately. John 10:28 explicitly says so. But even though satan cannot destroy the salvation of the saved by snatching the gospel seed from the ground into which it is sown, he can diminish our effectiveness. We, too, can be tempted as the unsaved Gospel-hearers can be tempted. The word will never be “entirely lost” to us, as Gill said it will be of the hard ground unsaved, but we can be tempted by–
–various suggestions and temptations, –darting in thoughts, –presenting objects, –and so diverted his mind from the word, and fixed his attention elsewhere –which is done at once, at an unawares, secretly, and without any notice of the person himself;
Here is John MacArthur on his version of how the devil snatches the seed away from the unsaved, but has application for us in satan’s ever-present attempt to divert us from our effectiveness:
In other words, when someone does not respond to the gospel initially, when they’re hardhearted and stiff necked, Satan just snatches it away. He just blinds them to its true value. How does he do that? Well, there are a lot of ways. One way he does that is send false teachers along to say all of that stuff was lies. Don’t believe that stuff. Another way he snatches the seed is by the fear of man. People don’t respond to it because they’re afraid they might lose their reputation or they might be kicked out of their little group or somebody might think they’re a religious fanatic.
Sometimes Satan uses pride. People are just know-it-alls. They just don’t want to admit that they need some help, that they need some information, that there’s some things they don’t know. Sometimes Satan snatches it away through doubt. Sometimes he snatches it away through prejudice, sometimes through stubbornness. Sometimes through the love of sin the person doesn’t want to give up. Sometimes through procrastination. But one way or another or a combination of ways, when it hits that hard stuff, Satan snatches it away and the person so easily forgets that it ever came.
When we believers procrastinate in repenting, delay reading the word, become only intermittent church-goers, become stubborn, prideful, doubtful, follow false teachers, or fear man, satan is snatching away our effectiveness of His word and our growth. He cannot snatch away the gospel, because that has already entwined with our soul and the Holy Spirit proptects it, but we can reduce our effectiveness for the Lord.
Snatching the seed of the word away from a non-believer and reducing a believer’s effectiveness is spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare isn’t done by being against people. No, our battle is against the evil one who is prince of the power of the air. Also, it is a battle of the mind. Spiritual transformation happens in the mind, and what we think becomes what we say and then what we do. Don’t let satan steal your effectiveness. If we’re saved then that means the word was sown on good soil. Keep aerating the soil of our heart by turning over His word constantly in our minds. Unearth sin and reject it, confessing and repenting. Let the roots of His truths grow deep into our heart and then we will stand like trees beside the waters, and cannot be moved. (Jeremiah 17:8, Psalm 1:3).
Maranatha!
Satan snatches away the seed that falls on the hard ground almost immediately as it it sown.
Satan snatches away the seed that falls on the hard ground almost immediately as it it sown.
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