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Tag: gnosticism

7 Epistles of John with the same Revelation
~ A.D. 95 – from Patmos:

John, Pastor and Elder of the Church at Ephesus

As we observed in our chronology of ACTS of the Apostles, the Disciple John was a young man when he followed Jesus.

The Elder John and Leadership of the Church

Now, the Apostle has outlived the other Eleven, Paul, beloved family and many other first generation Christians.

The Elder John wrote the three short Epistles we are studying about ten years ago, but today we are looking ahead at John’s brief revelation to seven churches.
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I suppose you may not have thought of the introduction to 'The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John' as — SEVEN pointed epistles to 7 different churches. 
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~ A.D. 80’s – 90’s – a Cultural context for JOHN’s 10 Epistles

The Greco-Roman world at the close of the first century A.D. was in a state of cultural, philosophical, and religious ferment. Religious syncretism and inclusivism.. ‘the combination of various ideas and beliefs from different sources to form new or aberrant religions. This was the age of developing mystery religions, the age of the occult, the age of the proliferation of Gnostic sects.’

The MacArthur New Testament Commentary 1-3 John

Throughout Italy and the broader empire, new challenges arose: major earthquakes in Campania, famine and pestilence in Rome, and volcanic eruptions ranging from Mount Etna to the cataclysmic destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum by Vesuvius in AD 79.

The Julio-Claudian dynasty—embodied by Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—witnessed both grand construction projects (like the amphitheater at Alba Fucens) and notorious episodes of tyranny and scandal. .. After Nero’s fall in AD 68, civil war engulfed the empire until Vespasian founded the Flavian line, ushering in reconstruction efforts (such as the Colosseum) and culminating in the more stable governance of Nerva and Trajan by century’s end.

source: RomanHistory.net

an A.D. First Century culture of 7 Asian churches

Do you remember from back in Acts of the Apostles how the Spirit, at first, had instructed Paul NOT to preach in Asia?

Acts on Mission to Macedonia

And do you recall that Ephesus (in Asia) became a major city for Christian worship where later Paul had appointed Timothy as Pastor of the Ephesian Church?

PLACE AND TIME OF WRITING.

–The best authorities among the Fathers state that John was exiled under Domitian (IRENAEUS [Against Heresies, 5; 30]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA; EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 3.20]). VICTORINUS says that he had to labor in the mines of Patmos. At Domitian’s death, A.D. 95, he returned to Ephesus under the Emperor Nerva. Probably it was immediately after his return that he wrote, under divine inspiration, the account of the visions vouchsafed to him in Patmos ( Rev 1:2, 9 ). However, Rev 10:4 seems to imply that he wrote the visions immediately after seeing them.

source: Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Introduction to Revelation
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Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει καὶ ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννῃ
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The Revelation of Jesus Christ

which God gave Him
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The Disciple who knew the Lord best refers to GOD THE FATHER simply, as God.
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to show His servants

that is, the saints or followers of JESUS, bond-servants redeemed by His blood on the Cross

—things which must shortly take place.

The Elder writes this same introduction to ALL seven churches who John has shepherded in the Way of Christ Jesus.

What he means by ‘shortly‘ is much debated in the immediacy of what these beloved saints have endured through the end of this A.D. first century. — Or perhaps God intends this epistle of revelation more millennially for all saints of every age.

Christ makes certain that Christians know the cost of faith until the unknown Day of His return.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:1b-2 NIV

The risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ sends an apokalypsis via and angelic messenger to John on Patmos — and the Elder to these seven churches consequently, by his apostolic duty, sends out this same ‘disclosure of divine things formerly unknown’ and testifies to the truthfulness of what is to follow.
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It makes little difference if John had opportunity to send it from Patmos with a human messenger much in the way the Apostle Paul sent epistles to his churches OR if the Elder would have written it later upon John's return to Ephesus. 
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“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” – Question of the angel messenger in Revelation 5:2

a Book Sealed within: Addressed to 7 mortal Elders

What does John’s epistle enjoin each Elder to do?
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Set aside for a moment the imagery of the apocalypse with its angels, seven stars and seven candlesticks — the Elder John is FIRST to address issues of his own current church. 
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Most Christians know both exhortation and encouragement offered to the seven churches.

Which ones speak to YOU with some urgency (and hopefully, perhaps, to any Elder of your local church? (So which church looks like yours?)

Ἐφεσῖνος – Ephesus
- “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance,
- and that you cannot tolerate evil people.
Of course, John knows all this personally.

And does the Elder imply that the Ephesians will not be inclusive of those who insist on evil works opposed to Christ’s love?

You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars.

Revelation 2:2 CSB

And do your Elders test the theology and witness of your church leaders and members?
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And the pattern of this pointed epistle for each church now turns to exhortation and rebuke demanding repentance. 
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“But I have this against you:

You have abandoned the love [agapē] you had at first.
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Look it up.. IF you don't quite remember what agape love is.
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“Remember then how far you have fallen;

repent, and do the works you did at first.

Do YOU? Do christians ever repent more than once (that time we claim to have come to Christ)?

OR will He return to say, “I never knew you…?’

“Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the *Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

*Revelation 2:6 CSB

“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the one who conquers,
I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 2:7 CSB

Σμύρνῃ – Smyrna
- “I know your affliction and poverty,
- but you are rich.
- I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Do YOU know any who avoid the Name of Christ? Do some swear to be Jew or Christian while afflicting others? Who then, do they truly worship?

“Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.

Does your prosperity preacher dare suggest suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ? OR REMIND of the Lord’s Judgment of all?

The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

Πέργαμος – Pergamum

“I know where you live — where Satan’s throne is.

.. where Satan lives. [Another mention of the nearby Nicolaitans]

But I have a few things against you.

You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
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Again, the common issue *even of this era is worship of idols and fornication. 
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In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the *Nicolaitans. So repent!

Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 2:15-16

“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Doesn't this even sound like the preaching of JESUS? 
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I AM the Bread of Life

To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna…

Revelation 2:27b

Θυάτειρα – Thyatira
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Just a REMINDER of Who Is speaking:
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Thus says the Son of God,

the one whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze:

Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 2:18b CSB
- “I know your works —
- your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance.
- I know that your last works are greater than the first.
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Quite an encouragement and blessing to believers.
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“But I have this against you:
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This one thing of importance to the Lord Jesus Christ
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Jezebel

You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.

Revelation 2:20-21 CSB

WHY is this issue of idolatry so important (in addition to God’s prohibition in the Ten Commandments of worshiping other gods)?

Ἰεζάβελ – Jezebel – the symbolic name of a woman who pretended to be a prophetess, and who, addicted to antinomianism, claimed Christian liberty of eating things sacrificed to idols.

Of Hebrew origin אִיזֶבֶל (H348) (used as a synonym of a termagant or false teacher):—Jezabel.

אִיזֶבֶל

Jezebel recalls the opposition to the LORD’s prophet Elijah.

Jezebel = “Baal exalts” or “Baal is husband to” or “unchaste”

queen of Israel, wife of Ahab, daughter of Ethbaal (King of Tyre)

It’s a contest of serious consequence between the LORD God and the false gods, false prophetesses, false priestesses — brash and shameless sinners claiming sin as worship of their gods.

This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods.

They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.

2 Kings 17:7,16 CSB

And it all goes back to Ahab and Jezebel in 1 Kings.

Ahab also made an Asherah pole. Ahab did more to anger the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
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Just one last application from Revelation, the mention of Jezebel, the Nicolaitans and (from a theological definition {above}) - antinomianism.
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Antinomianism is the belief or teaching that since believers are saved by grace through faith, there is no further obligation to follow any moral law or command.

.. At its core, antinomianism proposes that under the New Covenant, Christians are completely exempt from all moral guidelines because divine grace supersedes any need for abiding by commandments.

source: Biblehub.com

Σάρδεις – Sardis

I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.

Revelation 3:1b CSB
- “Be alert
- and strengthen [guard] what remains, which is about to die,
- for I have not found your works complete before my God.
- “Remember, then, what you have received and heard;
- keep it, and repent.
- If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you.
“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.

Revelation 3:4-5

And the Lord Jesus again seals His warning to the Sardinian church calling on the MANY to follow the example of the FEW.

“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:5 CSB

Φιλαδέλφεια – To the Church in Philadelphia

Permit me first to remind you that simply as the name, Christian, witnesses the Name of Christ; Philadelphia or Philedelphos φιλάδελφος witnesses [From φίλος (G5384) and ἀδελφός (G80)]as a FRIEND and BROTHER.

“I know your works.

Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Quite a compliment of Christian LOVE of these saintly brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

A.D. first century followers of the Messiah Jesus considered themselves to be true Jews, who have now been redeemed. And the love they hold in Christ will include Romans (like much of the population of this city of Philadelphia) and Hellenists, Greeks or gentiles as they worship God in truth side by side.

“Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Revelation 3:10 CSB

Λαοδίκεια – Laodicea

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,

‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 3:14 NKJV
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an urgent CAUTION, perhaps, for many a 21st century Common Era christian church claiming Jesus in some lesser way than in Truth.
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“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

Revelation 3:15 NKJV

“So then, because you are lukewarm,

and neither cold nor hot,

I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Laodicea: Lukewarm Prosperity
- Banking hub, black-wool trade, renowned medical school with eye powder.
- Water arrived by aqueduct, lukewarm by the time it reached town.
- After the AD 60 quake, the city rebuilt itself without Rome’s help—boastful self-sufficiency reflected in the church.
Source: BibleHub.com commentary
Because you say…

“I am rich

and have acquired great wealth,

and need nothing,”

but do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,

take my advice

and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich!

Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness will not be exposed,

and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see!

Revelation 3:17-18 New English Translation

Do you know of a Common Era Church like this — so in need of taking this advice from the risen and returning Christ Jesus ?

LISTEN! Hear His Voice. Open the door of your lukewarm heart. Allow the Lord to give you manna and living water of eternal life.

Sit on His Throne with Him.. just as He too conquered and sat down with His Father on His throne.

“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 3:22 CSB

Next: INTRO — 3 Letters (10 yrs earlier) from the Apostle John
April 3, 2026
Peter’s Steadfast Purpose and the coming Day of the Lord
Steady as a Rock – Steadfastness in writing again

WHY is the Apostle so steadfast in his calling to insist that the Church obey commands already given to them?

Could it have to do with how the Lord Jesus restored Peter’s faith and recall of what Christ had taught the Apostles all along?

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Gospel of Matthew 16:15-18 NKJV

Why does the Apostle Peter write a second epistle to the church?

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder)..

2 Peter 3:1 NKJV

Here in the conclusion of his letter Simon Peter is about to tell us, as the Apostle refers to BOTH epistles included in this reminder.

But his motivation certainly recalls his own solid steadfastness in the risen Christ Jesus in several encounters.

Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”

Gospel of John 21:17 BSB

Simon Peter needed encouraged.

And so must believers be reminded of our faith in the midst of teachings from many false teachers.

στηρίζω – stērizō –
- to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix
- to strengthen, make firm
- to render constant, confirm, one’s mind
Are you a stable Christ-follower?

Is your faith steadfast?

Peter’s second epistle to the church mirrors what the Lord had prayed prior to His crucifixion:

“But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen^G4741 your brothers.”

Gospel of Luke 22:32

The Apostle had recently written to these same believers:

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God;
and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1 Peter 4: 17 NKJV [in context: vs. 12-19]

Resist him [the devil], steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

1 Peter 5:9 NKJV [in context: vs 8-10 ]

2 Peter 3:

God’s Promise Is Not Slack
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Reads the Heading from the New King James Version:
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.. I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder,

The Apostle of Jesus Christ makes TWO points to the Church. This is the first:
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3:2  μνησθῆναι τῶν προειρημένων ῥημάτων ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν 
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- that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets
A single greek word for ‘that you may be mindful’ is the same word of remembering used frequently in the gospels.

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

Matthew 16:75 NKJV

Peter emphasizes the subject matter spoken before by the ‘holy prophets,’ referring to the major and minor prophets of Old Testament Scripture from Isaiah to Malachi—pointing to them as Holy [ἅγιος – hagios – (an awful thing)] and certainly in contrast to the misleading false prophets and teachers against whom the Apostle has already warned.

Secondly, Peter equates Apostolic authority in this reminder mentioning the Holy Prophets speaking God’s word even before Jesus instructed them in Person.
- and of the commandment of us,the apostles of the Lord and Savior..
  - commandment of the apostles of your Lord and Savior
  - or commandment of your apostles of the Lord and Savior.
ἐντολή – entolē

– an order, command, charge, precept, injunction;

– a commandment

The commandment of the LORD in Old Testament Scripture IS the same as the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles!

“I and the Father are one.”

Gospel of John 10:30

The Last Days – ἔσχατος – eschatos

knowing this first:

that scoffers will come in the last days,

walking according to their own lusts,

You’ve heard of it (even if you hesitate to think about THE END) — eschatology – study of the last things or the end times.
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Are we in them? 
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And [the scoffers] saying, Where is the promise of his coming?

“What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again?

“Where is his promised return?

2 Peter 3:4a – various translatrions
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The end was neither 
— the incarnation of JESUS the Son of God nor 
— resurrection of JESUS the Son of David hoped for by some of the Jews. 

And don't Common Era scoffers also want a conquering King 
— bringing victory without cost and proclaimation without persecution, 
also saying:
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… all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 3:4c NKJV

And so they do, Peter suggests, but these [scoffers and doubters of Christ] are without excuse.

For this they willfully forget: that

by the word of God the heavens were of old,

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
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A clear reference to Noah, who Peter has just mentioned. 
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2 Peter 3:5-6 NKJV

But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word,

are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition [apōleia – the destruction which consists of eternal misery in hell]

of ungodly [ἀσεβής – asebēs – destitute of reverential awe towards God]

men [anthrōpos – men or women].

2 Peter 3:7 NKJV
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Has your Common Era Pastor preached this Apostolic caution? 
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And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: …

And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

Genesis 7:21, 9;11 KJV

The Apostle’s Timeless Response
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agapētos HEAR THIS: 
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But, beloved, do not forget this one thing,

that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us [or you]

not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:8-9 NKJV

“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance..
Gospel of Matthew 3:8 – a caution of JESUS to the religious

The DAY of the LORD

In the year of the Lord 2025 — dismissed by scoffers as: 2025 of the Common Era [2025 CE] — Do you fear the wrath to come when Christ returns?

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,

in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,

and the elements will melt with fervent heat;

both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

[literally, utterly burned up and consumed by fire!]

2 Peter 3: 10 NJKV

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along.

On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

2 Peter 3:11-13 New Living Translation

The Apostle’s command to look ahead may not appeal to you anymore than considering your inevitable death of the flesh.

Ah, but what of your spirit, the resurrection of our familiar flesh and the judgment to come?

Peter assures Christ’s true followers — the saints of the Chruch which may include you:

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen,

make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.

2 Peter 3:14-15a NLT

Might the Apostle actually be calling YOU, beloved member of Christ — in need of repentance for your impure fruit, to reject those easy false teachings which oppose the Lord Jesus Christ?

The APOSTLES, including Paul

NEXT, we will briefly study just one Epistle or Letter of the Apostle to the Gentiles [or Hellenists or Greeks], Paul.

Here Peter now mentions the Apostle Paul, due to an already developing false teaching in the early church broadly known as gnosticism [a Greek word meaning “knowledge.”]

Gnosticism

Such ‘knowledge‘ often accelerates into a down-hill slope into the pit of error. Therefore a brief summary here from BibleHub.com
- Dualism: Gnosticism is marked by a strong dualistic worldview,
  - The material world is often seen as the creation of a lesser deity,
    
    sometimes identified with the God of the Old Testament,
    
    who is distinct from the true, transcendent God.
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This, of course, is NOT SCRIPTURAL from either Jewish Scripture 
OR the Gospel of the New Testament.
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- Gnostics believe that.. salvation involves awakening this divine spark through gnosis.
- Some Gnostic texts depict Christ as a purely spiritual being .who did not truly suffer or die.
- Gnosticism generally views the physical world as corrupt or illusory.
  - This belief often leads to ascetic practices or,
  - conversely, to libertine behavior, as the material is deemed irrelevant to spiritual salvation.
Peter confirming Paul

So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters.

There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Second Epistle of the Apostle Peter 3:16b-18a RSV

Doxology

αὐξάνετε δὲ ἐν χάριτι καὶ γνώσει τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος ἀμήν

Grow, urges the Apostle — connecting our growth in faith to ‘our kyrios [lord] and sōtēr [savior]

iēsous christos

— and referring to Him, a traditional doxology as the Apostle’s final words in his final letter and will for the church:

autos ho doxa

To him be the glory

kay nyn

both now

kai eis hēmera aiōn

and to the day of eternity.

ἀμήν amēn
- so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled.
- firm: a metaphor for faithful
2 Peter 3:18

Thus ends the epistles of the Apostle Simon Peter, the Rock upon whom Jesus began the building of His Church.

Talk of JESUS . com

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
December 8, 2025