"You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come." 
(2 Timothy 3:1 NRSV)

Our fellowship recently received "homework"; why did Paul tell Timothy to consider what he said (2nd Tim 2:7)? We were only to use 2nd Timothy, no other sources whether biblical or otherwise. It was a fun study and yet it revealed a somewhat sad commentary of Paul's last days concerning the gospel he spread for Christ, and for those who believed this gospel (past tense). The aim of this post however is to look at chapter 3, verses 1-7. Please read them and think about your first impression.

Why did Paul tell Timothy "that in the last days distressing times will come."? Did Paul believe they were living in the last days? The last days as in the end? Christ was coming soon? The end of the world? The answer is no! Paul was not speaking of "the last days" as most of christianity thinks of it. Read the list Paul gives of the behaviors people will have. 

"For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,..." 
(2 Timothy 3:2-4 NRSV)

Lovers of self, lovers of money, arrogant, haters of good, slanderers, and many more. Do you think people already displayed such behavior in Paul's day? Of course! They practiced such things well before Paul was born, right? It would  be very accurate to claim that the human race displayed such nonsense going back to the first family! Were the days of Adam and Eve the last days? I read one commentator describe today's public schools and their anti-God curicculems as to what Paul was speaking of, attacking the "church". Another looked at the current state of christianity as the lesson as if Paul was telling Timothy of a coming future time.

The key is found in verse 5. "...holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power." Who would hold to an outward form of Godliness? Certainly Paul must be refering to believers! Read 2nd Timothy and find some of these even named in Paul's letter. Paul tells Timothy earlier in the letter that all of those in Asia have left him. The Asia Paul speaks of is modern day Turkey, where paul was born. Timothy was in Ephesus which is in Asia. Paul was well traveled throughout Asia. Though we only read of letters directly attributed to Ephesus and Colosse, Paul no doubt left believers who gathered in various ways throughout Asia. Look at a map of Paul's travels and you will see multiple stops throughout the region. In verse 5, Paul is speaking of people that either he himself had given the evangel or, others we read of who traveled with Paul spread the word. According to Paul they have "all" left him; most likely Paul is simply refering to the leaders and not every single believing soul in Asia.

Paul was telling Timothy that he was in "the last days" right now! Timothy was in them, he was about too experience them if he had not already. Paul is not prophecying about our current times or some time far ahead of us. Paul is not indicating to Timothy that some "rapture" is coming any day. Paul is bracing Timothy for what is about to happen in Asia as soon as Paul is executed by Rome under Nero. Those who became believers under Paul's gospel are not even waiting until Paul is gone; they are already moving in to completely change the revelations which Paul received from Christ. The "church" of Paul's day is about to collapse. 

I imagine Timothy meeting with folks from Ephesus, shocked by what he is hearing and witnessing. Timothy may begin to lose faith in the message Paul proclaimed as he is being singled out and attacked. This was Paul's point in this letter, get ready Timothy and hold fast, look for others who remain faithful to continue spreading the true evangel. It is encouraging to read Paul's closing words; he is confident that he has performed his best for Christ and exhorts Timothy to continue on in faith. Paul solidifies this thought in chapter 1.

I believe we should be careful when jumping to conclusions about "the last days". Yes, there are those among believers today who behave as Paul warned. There were those when Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, they were around before also. 2nd Timothy was a personal letter to Timothy! We are blessed to have access to this letter and it is filled with many practicle truths; "the last days" that many believe in today are not one of them. 

The letter of Paul to the Colossians is probably my second favorite next to Philippians, followed by Ephesians. For reasons I will not discuss here, I believe these 3 letters hold the key for today's believer in the Body of Christ. So much confusion and error is found by attempting to lump these three with the rest of Paul's epistles not mention integrating them with the gospels! Are we part of the Bride? No! We are of the Body! Two different spiritual entities with distinct purposes.

As I read today, Colossians, a small phrase jumped into my brain that I have not payed all that much attention to in the past. It occurs as Paul describes his prayers of thankfulness to God for the saints in Colosse. In verses 5 and 6 Paul is saying that they have heard the truth, the gospel, and that as a result of their hearing Paul hears of the fruit that has gone forth from Colosse. The phrase Paul uses as to how this has happened occurs in verse 6; "...from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God." 

​" Truly comprehended the grace of God."  Do we truly comprehend? Are we often silent because we do not truly comprehend? Are we not thankful for everything because we do not truly comprehend? Possibly so! Paul continues to say that they learned of this miraculous grace from Epaphras, obviously one who did truly comprehend and shared this grace eagerly with those from his home town. The saints of Colosse did not learn it from Paul, but from one of Paul's faithful students. At this time Paul had not been to Colosse and was writing from prison.

We have no firm writings that tell us exactly  what Epaphras used other than his own words and the spirit of knowledge and wisdom. No doubt he probably had some writings of Paul's with him, maybe some other scriptures as well. There is much doubt among scholars regarding the origins of Ephesians as some manuscripts lack any language attributing it's being to Ephesus. Some argue that Ephesians was actually a circular letter that was shared among the various churches of Asia and probably Greece as well. Is Ephesians the letter mentioned in Colossians 4? Maybe. Whatever the possibilities, they are encouraged to share letters with Laodecia. 

If we stay right in Colossians we can read of the grace that they truly comprehended. Chapter 2:11-15 talks well of the grace that they have truly comprehended; of course we could go elsewhere to find this grace as well but I believe that the most important and logical places to find it are in the prison letters. Paul repeats what Epaphras most likely has told them already, that they have been spiritually circumcised from the flesh through the baptism of themselves in Christ's death. They were subsequently raised with Christ and made alive with Him. All trespasses and legal failures have been removed, nailed to the cross! Not only this but Christ made a heavenly appearance and paraded this very grace publicly to the celestial rulers! That is grace to truly comprehend!

Not only do they truly comprehend, but in verses 6 and 7 of chapter 2 Paul tells them something truly rare. The saints of Colosse ARE "rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith..". What a blessing and encouragement this must have been to Paul. It should be to us as well. Here is a group of folks who had limited access to scripture, who were surrounded by Judaisers and gnostics, yet they were living the gospel. We have full access to the scriptures and countless resources yet we are often lazy and lack this true comprehension. Due to such laziness or confusion many truly do not even begin to grasp what grace has been poured out towards us. 

I encourage you to read the three letters, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians. Stay there for a good bit with dozens of readings and contemplation. Do your best not to compare them with the gospels, general epistles or even Paul's other writings. These are loaded with your true reality in Christ now, today, and your future purpose!

Finally, imagine what grace Paul is speaking of in the closing of his letter! God is blessing you.

                                         "What more can I do for my vineyard
                                           beyond what I have already done?
                                   When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
                                        why did it produce sour ones instead?"

Most Christians would probably say that God will always get what God expects. Why? Because God plans out everything, so why would He not get what He expected? This seems fairly reasonable if God truly orders every action, every happening, and every motion leads to what God has planned all along. There are however at least two instances where God does not get what He expected.

Isaiah 5:1-4 gives a very nice, and honest, example of something not turning out as God had expected. I say honest because some will say that God is not being honest at all. The common thought is that God already knew the outcome; if so then why even use language that would seem to imply God was surprised? That, at least to me, does seem honest. God is honest, right? Of course He is; so when the scriptures use language that indicates that God is surprised by the outcome of a situation then I believe it.

Isaiah speaks of God singing a song about His true love, Israel. The picture is of a vineyard which is very well cared for. As with Job, there is a hedge about the vineyard to protect it from wild beasts and those who would destroy it. Think of the Judges; when Israel was under a Judge things went well, they were protected. When the Judge died, Israel went astray and the protection fell away with terrible consequences. The adversary complained to God that Job was protected and this was the reason that Job worshiped God. The difference is that Job did worship God when protected by the hedge, Israel on the other hand did not.

One would expect that a vineyard so well cared for would produce very fine grapes. The husbandman was none other than God. This vineyard had divine protection and nurturing. What else could possibly happen beside perfection? Sour grapes, the unexpected. The husbandman is certainly surprised and dismayed. Isaiah 5:4 describes this unexpected turn of events. Just as in Jeremiah 3:7 where God thought something would turn out a particular way, it did not. In Isaiah, God sincerely asks, or wonders, what more could I have done? God seems to be going over a list in His mind, checking off all He has done to ensure sweet wine grapes. It would appear that everything possible was done yet the result was far less than satisfactory.

Way back in Exodus 33:5, God had a similar problem with Israel. God had to ask, 'what am I going to do with you'? At that point God decided not to travel with them  based on what little he had seen already. This seems to be a recurring issue in their relationship, God's and Israel's. God asks a similar question in Hosea 6:4; God asks what is He to do with them? The case in Hosea certainly seems to be more of a sarcastic question, if you read the book you will understand why.

​So by now you might be wondering how is it possible that God did not know the vineyard would yield sour grapes? God genuinely thought that at some point the relationship would work out for the good that He expected. Clearly, it did not.

Isaiah 5:7 gives us at least some of the reason why the hedge is to be removed. Israel is unjust to others and those they oppress, from among their own kind, are crying out to God for justice. Things that God definitely expected not to happen among a people that He provided, protected, and cared for so deeply.

                                   "What more can I do for my vineyard
                                      beyond what I have already done?
                            When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
                                 why did it produce sour ones instead?"

​I believe this verse is an honest assessment of a situation which God had not planned on. Therefore, God was genuinely surprised and honestly wondered what could have been done differently. The answer is nothing, God did all He could. What does God desire? Hosea 6:6 gives us what God was looking for all along.

Hosea 6:6 NRSV
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Steadfast love, the kind God gave Israel, is what God expected. In a true relationship there are two people and both must be completely involved for the other for the relationship to be fruitful. Israel and Judah both failed to be faithful so God walked away from the relationship, at least temporarily.

Some claim that Jesus spoke of hell more than he spoke of heaven. Is this really true?
When Jesus spoke of hell, the few times that he actually did, he was speaking of a specific place that was well known to those that were listening. In the gospels Jesus is speaking primarily to a specific people, the lost house, or sheep, of Israel. There are many places we can go to understand this.

In Matthew 15:24 Jesus said that, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Jesus instructed his disciples in Matthew 10:6 to "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

​The gospels are more properly associated with the Old Testament as Israel is still the key that God is using for the salvation of the world. We see the need to become a Jewish proselyte well into the book of Acts to be able to enter the kingdom. This does not really change until the final rejections of the Messiah by the Jews through the Acts period and finally in Acts 28 where the apostle Paul states with final authority that he will go to the gentiles. Why is this so important to understand? We need to know who is being spoken to if we want to understand a particular passage. This is very important regarding "hell" as Jesus used the word.

Using the KJV, we find Jesus mentions hell 17 times and, incidentally, he used the word heaven 168 times. So, Jesus did speak of heaven far more frequently. Of the 17 mentions of hell Jesus used two specific words; Gehenna and Hades. Two words for hell and both are completely different places. If both are two separate places then why translate them as one word? Earlier we saw that Sheol, a Hebrew word for the grave or unseen place, is also translated as hell frequently but not always. There is even a fourth word that has been translated as hell in the Bible but it will not be discussed today.

Let's focus on Gehenna as it is the word used with slightly more frequency by Jesus, 11 times out of 17 in the KJV. It is also notable that I mention the KJV specifically; in its various forms of the 1611, the KJV3, and the modern KJV, hell appears in differing numbers. Really? Yes! Do some research on this one. If you continue to search you will find some translations actually use the word Gehenna and do not even have the word hell in their entirety. Two notable and popular translations are the "literal" Young's and Rotherham Bibles- no hell to be found.

Matthew 5:22 is the first occurrence of Jesus using the word hell. If you have a concordance look up the word hell and find its index number which is g1067. Look to the index of Greek words and you will find the word Gehenna is associated with g1067. What exactly is Gehenna?

According to Jeremiah 7:31 Gehenna is called the valley of the son of Hinnom. God says, "And they go on building the high place of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire--which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind." The children of Israel were following a sacrificial custom of the gentiles which burned their children alive in the hands of the god Molech (Jeremiah 32:35), or Topeth. Also see 2 Kings 23:10.

Where was Gehenna, or this valley of the son of Hinnom? In Jeremiah 19:2 God commands the prophet to go somewhere and speak; "and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you." The Potsherd gate is one of the gates of Jerusalem. The valley is south of the city. Later in verse 16 God changes the name of this horrid valley to "the valley of Slaughter".

We now have a word, Gehenna, which is an actual place that has historical meaning for the Jews. It was a place that God was disgusted with due to its use and God was also disgusted with His people for doing such an abomination. It was a place of burning children. The god was represented by a very large statue of metal that was also a furnace. This furnace was kept continually burning. The fire went up the interior heating outstretched hands where the children were laid bound.

Some claim that the valley eventually became the city dump where trash was burned continually and that the bodies of the unlawful who were not fit for burial were burned there as well. Others claim that there is no evidence of this. Either way, the valley was known by the Jews as a place where people were bound and laid on hands of fire for sacrificial reason to a god of pagans, a ritual the Jews copied and performed outside of there own city. This knowledge becomes very important to us as we read the passages where Jesus makes reference to Gehenna. It will become apparent that Jesus is not making reference to an place of eternal torment!

Disciples in danger!

Matthew 5:21-22 KJV
(21) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
(22) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:1 tells who Jesus was talking to, it was not the masses but his disciples. The masses followed Jesus and he escaped them by going up the mountain where hos disciples found him. The following verses are spoken to the disciples. It appears at first glance Jesus is giving them a stern warning about some of the reasons one might end up in hell. I often wonder why Adam was not given such a talking to. Interesting as well that Cain, the first murderer, was banished from his homeland but never threatened with hell.

What actually happened then to these tragically murdered innocents? They died. They perished. When one perishes they are no more. What a sad situation Israel found themselves in.

So, Jesus tells his disciples, not the masses, that if their eye or hand offends, pluck it out or cut it off and throw it away. The implication is made that by doing so they can avoid being tossed into an eternal burning hell. If they call their brother a moron or idiot, they may suffer hell as well. What does Jesus say happens to one who is thrown into hell fire? They perish, they die. And what kind of death is one suffered in hell fire? A worthless death. Consider the word that Jesus used when he spoke "hell"; he actually was saying Gehenna. The "Gehenna of fire" or "Gehenna fire" would have been the phrase. It is now interesting to note that some translations actually use the word Gehenna. How much does this make sense! It really does because sometimes Jesus used the word Hades instead which gives an entirely different meaning.

Matthew 5:22 EWB-Companion Bible
(22) But I say unto you, That every one that is angry with his brother without a cause shall be liable to the council of three in the local synagogue:and every one that shall say to his brother, You ! , shall be liable to the Sanhedrin: but every one that shall say, Thou wicked reprobate, shall be liable unto the Gehenna of fire.

What happened to those thrown onto the hands of Gehenna fire? They died a worthless death. Bullinger's Companion Bible is the KJV with some revisions. The point is that the use of the proper name gives all of the meaning we need to understand, and it is NOT about burning forever in hell.

Gehenna as a place used from the result of Judgement

Jeremiah chapter 7 is a warning of what might come upon Israel should they not repent. The warning is tied to Gehenna, the Valley of the son of Hinnom, or the valley of Topeth. The nation of the north will come through and utterly devastate Jerusalem. The death toll will be such that the bodies will be buried in this valley, so many that they will run out of room. The bodies will be so many that they will not be buried and will be food for birds and wild animals. As others pass by Jerusalem and see this they will be appalled! Read Jeremiah 7:31 and 32.

Jeremiah 19:8 NRSV
And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters.

Isaiah 66:24 similarly mentioned a fire that is unquenchable, a fire that is burning dead bodies. These are the bodies that are dead and tossed in the valleys surrounding Jerusalem due to the judgement of God. This actually happened! The disciples would know of this. Mark 9:43-48 draws from Isaiah regarding the unquenchable fire. The danger in Matthew 5 is not of eternal burning in a mythical hell which was invented by Jewish sages during the time between the Testaments, but of the results of judgement. Jesus is simply stating, get right, walk right, it is better to do so then to face judgement.

Josephus in his Wars of the Jews book 5, chapter 12, verse 3, states that during the Roman siege of Jerusalem the Jews were no longer able to bury the dead in the city. These unfortunate dead were thrown over the walls into the valleys surrounding the city where they rotted.

So, we can connect Gehenna fire with human sacrifice and a valley in which the bodies of Jerusalem will be thrown due to the lack of burial space after God removes His hand, or hides His face from them, so they will face judgement. One action they will face judgement for is burning their sons and daughters alive. These are the visions that fill the disciples minds when Jesus speaks of Gehenna fire, not an eternally burning fire. We can also say that this example involves Jews only, not gentiles. Finally, we can see that not only was this a historic fact that the Jews could relate to, it was something that happened again to which Jesus himself prophesied (think the narrow and wide gates).

There is much more to this topic that can be looked at another time!

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