“Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (2Tim 2:17-18).
Ever totally missed something you had really looked forward to? Maybe you completely forgot about that awesome party until you saw the pictures later on Facebook. Possibly you totally blanked on the concert by your favorite band that you paid too much for tickets to see. Did you drop the ball on your spouse’s birthday or your anniversary (If this is you, I pray that either the couch has been somewhat comfortable or at least Duke has snuggled you in the doghouse)?
Those are nothing compared to the garbage a couple of troublemakers tried to stir up in the Ephesian church. Two fellas freaked out the followers of Jesus by telling them they totally missed resurrection of the dead. Paul writes to his protege Timothy all about it. “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (v17-18).
Hymenaeus and his sidekick Philetus are spreading a destructive rumor that’s driving folks to doubt their trust in Jesus. According to them, He’s already come back and they totally missed it. They missed Christ’s countless followers walking out the cemetery in their resurrection bodies. That would be hard to ignore. Imagine being a lifelong Cubs fan and finding out they’ve won the World Series while you were out of town last weekend. Okay, I apologize. Let’s keep this grounded in some sort of reality. In other words, the event you’ve built your entire faith around has come and gone…and you missed it.
Let’s back up a bit for a little context. What we know as the New Testament is actually a collection of First Century documents written to the people who placed their trust in the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee as God. A handful are biographies written by some of His inner circle we call the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Many are letters. Some to local churches who needed help getting past sticky situations. Others are notes to individuals who either need encouragement, specific guidance, or correction.
Second Timothy is a letter from the Apostle Paul to his spiritual son Timothy from Death Row in Rome (2Tim 1:16; 2:8; 4:6-7). On one hand, he desperately wants Tim to do everything he can to get his tail to the Mamertine Prison for one final visit (2Tim 4:9, 21). On the other, he frantically scribbles down as much critical information as he can to help the young pastor shepherd the flock in Ephesus and keep God’s tsunami of grace rolling throughout the world (2Tim 2:1-4:5). In other words, don’t forget that this is a REAL letter from a REAL person about REAL problems in a REAL place. So as we read, we’d better get ready to get REAL.
It’s at this point that the apostle introduces us to a pair of rabble rousers by the names of Hymenaeus and Philetus. His mention of the H Bomb is a big hint that Tim is still in Ephesus when he gets this letter. Hymenaeus was a big problem in E City back in the day when Paul first planted this church. The man from Tarsus kicked this goober to the curb along with his buddy Alexander so they might learn their lesson not to talk trash about Jesus (1Tim 1:20).
Apparently the apostle’s plan for their remedial education didn’t work. He’s baaa-aaack! Once again, Hymenaeus is patient zero for the spiritual cancer that’s spreading throughout the body of Christ in Ephesus (2Tim 2:16-17). He’s returned and he’s brought along a new partner in crime named Philetus. This is the only time we see his name in the Bible. There are a couple of main ways to get your name in Scripture. One is to be a broken and repentant sinner that God uses to humbly make an impact in the lives of others. The other is to be the bad example. Don’t be Philetus. Don’t be the bad example.
Paul tells Tim that this despicable duo has “swerved from the truth” (v18). In others words, they were originally headed in the right direction. They used to be rolling on the straight and narrow. But something happened. The apostle uses a word here the ESV translates as “swerved” (Gr. αστοχεω). It literally means to aim at the wrong target. It's missing the mark because you put the wrong bullseye in the crosshairs. You may be a crack shot but if you nail the wrong target, you lose.
Those are nothing compared to the garbage a couple of troublemakers tried to stir up in the Ephesian church. Two fellas freaked out the followers of Jesus by telling them they totally missed resurrection of the dead. Paul writes to his protege Timothy all about it. “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (v17-18).
Hymenaeus and his sidekick Philetus are spreading a destructive rumor that’s driving folks to doubt their trust in Jesus. According to them, He’s already come back and they totally missed it. They missed Christ’s countless followers walking out the cemetery in their resurrection bodies. That would be hard to ignore. Imagine being a lifelong Cubs fan and finding out they’ve won the World Series while you were out of town last weekend. Okay, I apologize. Let’s keep this grounded in some sort of reality. In other words, the event you’ve built your entire faith around has come and gone…and you missed it.
Let’s back up a bit for a little context. What we know as the New Testament is actually a collection of First Century documents written to the people who placed their trust in the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee as God. A handful are biographies written by some of His inner circle we call the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Many are letters. Some to local churches who needed help getting past sticky situations. Others are notes to individuals who either need encouragement, specific guidance, or correction.
Second Timothy is a letter from the Apostle Paul to his spiritual son Timothy from Death Row in Rome (2Tim 1:16; 2:8; 4:6-7). On one hand, he desperately wants Tim to do everything he can to get his tail to the Mamertine Prison for one final visit (2Tim 4:9, 21). On the other, he frantically scribbles down as much critical information as he can to help the young pastor shepherd the flock in Ephesus and keep God’s tsunami of grace rolling throughout the world (2Tim 2:1-4:5). In other words, don’t forget that this is a REAL letter from a REAL person about REAL problems in a REAL place. So as we read, we’d better get ready to get REAL.
It’s at this point that the apostle introduces us to a pair of rabble rousers by the names of Hymenaeus and Philetus. His mention of the H Bomb is a big hint that Tim is still in Ephesus when he gets this letter. Hymenaeus was a big problem in E City back in the day when Paul first planted this church. The man from Tarsus kicked this goober to the curb along with his buddy Alexander so they might learn their lesson not to talk trash about Jesus (1Tim 1:20).
Apparently the apostle’s plan for their remedial education didn’t work. He’s baaa-aaack! Once again, Hymenaeus is patient zero for the spiritual cancer that’s spreading throughout the body of Christ in Ephesus (2Tim 2:16-17). He’s returned and he’s brought along a new partner in crime named Philetus. This is the only time we see his name in the Bible. There are a couple of main ways to get your name in Scripture. One is to be a broken and repentant sinner that God uses to humbly make an impact in the lives of others. The other is to be the bad example. Don’t be Philetus. Don’t be the bad example.
Paul tells Tim that this despicable duo has “swerved from the truth” (v18). In others words, they were originally headed in the right direction. They used to be rolling on the straight and narrow. But something happened. The apostle uses a word here the ESV translates as “swerved” (Gr. αστοχεω). It literally means to aim at the wrong target. It's missing the mark because you put the wrong bullseye in the crosshairs. You may be a crack shot but if you nail the wrong target, you lose.
Unfortunately Matt Emmons knows what it’s like to hit the wrong target. Rewind to the 2004 Olympics in Beijing. He’s one shot from winning the gold medal for the good ol’ US of A in the air rifle event. Shooting in lane two, Emmons’ final pellet headed for the target in…um…lane three. Uh oh. As a result, the American marksman didn’t win the gold. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even medal. With just one bad shot he finished in eighth place. Just like Hymenaeus and Philetus, he swerved. It doesn’t matter how accurate you are if you’re aiming at the wrong target. These two goofballs shoot the ultimate airball when it comes to the resurrection.
They've aimed at the wrong target by “saying that the resurrection has already happened” (v18). They’re NOT talking about Jesus’ spectacular return after three days in the graveyard. The apostle formerly known as Saul saw that firsthand outside Damascus a few years back (Acts 9:3-8; 22:6-11; 26:12-18). Hymenaeus and Philetus are describing the resurrection of the dead that Jesus predicts would occur at His Second Coming.
An angel named Michael (NOT played by John Travolta!) told Daniel about it 600 hundred years before Christ made the scene (Dan 12:2-3). Jesus said a glorious day is coming when He will personally call everyone back from the dead and sort out who’s on His team and who’s playing for the enemy (Mt 25:31-33; Jn 5:28-29). Right before His murder, our Savior told His posse He was headed to heaven to get things ready for when He makes His spectacular curtain call and takes us back with Him (Jn 14:1-3).
The resurrection of the dead was a big idea all throughout Paul’s teaching and preaching. He tells the Corinthians that the Lord’s resurrection is living proof that Jesus’ followers are guaranteed to do the same (1Cor 15:35-54). In a letter to the church in Thessalonica, the apostle says a blast from the heavenly horn section will make sure we won’t miss it (1Th 4:16-17). But the resurrection is such a controversial topic that Paul knows it’s a big reason he got in hot water with the religious elite (Acts 23:6; 24:15, 21).
Yeah, the resurrection of the dead is kind of a big deal.
But according to the H Bomb and his toady Phil, Jesus has come and gone when we weren’t looking. You can imagine that’s a punch in the neck to those who follow Christ. Oops! You missed it! You’re not really saved. You were sold a bill of goods. Stinks to be you. So it’s no surprise that Paul writes how these two “are upsetting the faith of some” (v18).
The original Greek verb here we translate as “upsetting” (Gr. ανατρεπω) describes turning something over completely. John uses it when painting a picture of Jesus epic beatdown of in the temple courts. Our Savior “poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned (Gr. ανατρεπω) the tables” (Jn 2:15). These knuckleheads are turning people’s lives upside down. They’re causing them to doubt everything they’ve come to believe. It case you haven’t been paying attention, God calls us to draw people closer to Jesus, not run them away!
Whacky teaching on the Second Coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead is alive and well in the 21st Century. Spiritual snake oil salesmen are still making a boatload of money selling books and DVDs with all sorts of cockamamy doctrine. Just take a walk through the Christian section at Barnes and Noble. Books about Bible diets, Bible codes, blood moons, and dinosaurs.
I’m not saying they’re all heretical. But they’re shooting at the wrong target and not focusing on Jesus. Take the advice of the writer of Hebrews and keep your eyes locked on “Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2). When we swerve from the truth, we stand a serious chance of turning the lives upside down. Instead of swerving, let’s be serving and loving. That’s exactly what our Savior has called us to do. Love God by serving others (Mt 22:27-40; Mk 12:29-31; Jn 13:34-35).
A big part of the application is actually in the previous verses in Paul’s letter to Timothy. First, do what you can to keep folks from getting into a destructive War of the Words (2Tim 2:14). Second, give it everything you’ve got right now to learn how to use God’s Word as both a sword and a scalpel (2Tim 2:15). Third, keep the cancer from spreading by performing a “babble-ectomy” in the body of Christ (2Tim 2:16-17).
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