Reference: Timothy, The First Epistle To
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FIRST EPISTLE. Its authenticity as Paul's writing, and its canonical authority as inspired, were universally recognized by the early church with the solitary exception of the Gnostic Marcion. 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy are in the Peshito Syriac of the second century. The Muratorian Fragment on the canon in the same century acknowledges them. The Pastoral Epistles, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, have a mutual resemblance. Irenaeus (adv. Haeres. i. and iii. 3,. section 3-4; 4:16, section 3; 2:14, section 8; 3:11, section 1; 1:16, section 3) quotes 1Ti 1:4,9; 6:20; 2Ti 4:9-21; Tit 3:10. Clement of Alex. (Strom. 2:383, 457; 3:534, 536; 1:350) quotes 1Ti 4; 20/type/williams'>6:20-21,2 Timothy as to deaconesses; Tit 1:12. Tertullian (de praescriptione Haereticorum, 25 and 6) quotes 1Ti 1:18; 6:13,20; 2Ti 1:14; 2:2; Tit 3:10-11; and adv. Marcion, Scorp. 13, compare 2Ti 4:6.
Eusebius includes the two epistles to Timothy and Titus in "the universally acknowledged Scriptures." Theophilus of Antioch (ad Autolycum 3:14) quotes 1Ti 2:1-2; Tit 3:1. Caius (in Eusebius' Ecclesiastes Hist. vi. 20) recognizes their authenticity. Clement of Rome (First Epistle to Cor. 29) quotes 1Ti 2:8. Ignatius in the second century (epistle to Polycarp 6) alludes to 2Ti 2:4. Polycarp in the same century (Epistle to Philipp. 4-5) alludes to 1Ti 6:7,10; 2Ti 2:4,11-12; and (in chapter 9) to 2Ti 4:10. Hegesippus, in the end of second century (in Eusebius, Ecc. Hist. iii. 32), alludes to 1Ti 6:3,20. Athenagoras at the same period alludes to 1Ti 6:16.
Heresies opposed in the Pastoral Epistles. Ascetic Judaism and legalism (1Ti 1:7; Tit 1:10,14; 3:9) on the one hand, and incipient gnosticism on the other (1Ti 1:4), of which the theory that a twofold principle existed from the beginning, evil as well as good, appears in germ, 1Ti 4:3, etc. In 1Ti 6:20 the term gnosis, "science," itself occurs. Another Gnostic error, "that the resurrection is past," is noticed (2Ti 2:17-18; compare 1Co 15:12-33). The Judaism herein refuted is not that controverted in the earlier epistles, namely, that which joined the law with faith in Christ, for justification. The intermediate phase appears in epistle to Colossians (Colossians 2), namely, that which superadded ascetical will worship and angel worship to Judaism. In the epistle to Philippians (Php 3:2,18-19) the further stage appears, immoral practice accompanying false doctrine as to the resurrection. The pastoral epistles - 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus - exhibit the mattered godlessness which followed superstition as superstition had followed legalism.
Not knowing the true use of "the law" (1Ti 1:7-8) the false teachers "put away good conscience," as well as "the faith" (1Ti 1:19; 4:2), "spoke lies in hypocrisy, corrupt in mind," regarded "piety as a means of gain" (1Ti 6:5; Tit 1:11); "overthrew the faith" by heresies "eating as a canker, saying the resurrection is past, leading captive silly women, ever learning yet never knowing the truth, reprobate as Jannes and Jambres (2Ti 3:6-8), defiled, unbelieving, professing to know God but in works denying Him, abominable, disobedient, reprobate" (Tit 1:15-16). The universal epistles of John (1Jo 2:18-23; 4:1,3; 2Jo 1:7,11; 3Jo 1:9-10), Jude, and Peter (2Pe 2), and to the Hebrew (Heb 6:4-8) present the same features. This proves the later date of Paul's pastoral epistles. The Gnosticism opposed is not the anti-Judaic later Gnosticism which followed the overthrow of the Jerusalem temple worship, but the earlier phase which amalgamated with Judaism oriental and Greek elements.
Directions in the Pastoral Epistles as to church ministers and officers. The apostle naturally directs Timothy, the church president for the time being at Ephesus, and Titus at Crete, concerning "bishop-elders and deacons," in order to secure due administration of the church at a time when heresies were springing up and when he must soon depart this life. He shows the same anxiety in his address to the elders of the same city Ephesus earlier (Ac 20:21-30). The presbyterate and diaconate existed long before (Ac 6:8; 11:30; 14:23). Paul's directions are not as to their appointment then first, but as to the due ordination and moral qualifications of elders and deacons thenceforth, according as vacancies might occur. Timothy and Titus exercised the same power in ordaining elders in Ephesus and Crete as Paul had in the Gentile churches in general (2Co 11:28).
Unique phrases and modes of thought in the Pastoral Epistles. The difference of subject and of circumstances of those addressed, and those spoken of, as compared with Paul's other epistles, accounts for these. They partly occur in Galatians also, where as here he with characteristic warmth controverts the perverters of the truth: 1Ti 2:6; Tit 2:4, "gave Himself for us," with Ga 1:4; 1Ti 1:17; 2Ti 4:18, "forever and ever," with Ga 1:5; 1Ti 5:21; 6:13; 2Ti 2:14; 4:22 with Ga 1:20; "a pillar," 1Ti 3:15, with Ga 2:9; "mediator," 1Ti 2:5, with Ga 3:20; 1Ti 2:6; 6:15; Tit 1:3, with Ga 6:9, "in due season." Fifty special phrases occur, e.g. "the faithful saying" (1Ti 1:15), "sound," "seared" (1Ti 4:2,7), "old wives' fables," "slow bellies" (Tit 1:12). Paul's writing with his own hand, instead of by an amanuensis, as he did to Galatians and Philemon, accounts for the more concise, abrupt, and forcible style and phraseology.
TIME OF WRITING: First Epistle to Timothy. Soon after Paul's leaving Ephesus for Macedon (1Ti 1:3). The object of leaving Timothy at Ephesus was primarily to restrain the false teachers (1Ti 1:3), not to organize the church for the first time. The institution for church widows implies a settled organization. Scandals occurring after the original institution rendered directions as to the existing ministry needful. The similarity in style, subject, and state of the church, of the second epistle to Timothy (written certainly just before Paul's death) with the first epistle, implies that the date of the latter is not much prior to that of the second. The mention of Timothy's "youth" (1Ti 4:12) is not inconsistent with a late date; he was "young" not absolutely but as compared with "Paul the aged" (Phm 1:9), and with some of the elders whom he had to superintend; probably 34 or 35, compare 1Ti 5:1.
As to Ac 20:25, "all" the Ephesian elders called to Miletus "never saw Paul's face" afterward; Paul "knew" this by inspiration; but this assertion of his is compatible with his visiting Ephesus again (1Ti 1:3; 2Ti 1:18; 4:20). Being at Miletum, so near Ephesus, after his first Roman imprisonment, he would be sure to visit Ephesus. In 1Ti 3:14 Paul says "I write, hoping to come unto thee shortly"; but on the earlier occasion of his passing from Ephesus to Macedon he had planned to spend the summer in Macedon and the winter in Corinth (1Co 16:6). Nor did Paul leave Timothy then as now (1Ti 1:3) at Ephesus, but sent him to Macedon (Ac 19:22). Paul in his address to the Ephesian elders (Ac 20:29-30) prophesies the rise of false teachers; in his epistle to the Ephesians from Rome at his first imprisonment he does not notice the Judaeo-Gnostic errors as yet; but in 1 Timothy he notices them as then actually prevailing.
PLACE OF WRITING: First Epistle to Timothy. Paul's using "went" not "came," "when I went (poreuomenos) into Macedonia" (1Ti 1:3), implies he was not there when he wrote the First Epistle to Timothy. Wherever he was he was uncertain how long he might be detained from coming to Ephesus to Timothy (1Ti 3:14-15). Corinth may have been the place. Between it and Ephesus communication was easy; his course on former occasions was from Macedon to Corinth (Acts 17-18). Coincidences occur between 1Ti 2:11-14 and 1Co 14:40 as to women being silent in church; 1Ti 5:17-18 and 1Co 9:8-10 as to ministers' maintenance, on the law's maxim not to muzzle the ox treading the grain; and 1Ti 5:19-20 and 2Co 13:1-4 as to charges against elders before witnesses. In the very place where these directions had been already enforced Paul naturally reproduces them in his First Epistle to Timothy.
DESIGN.
(1) To direct Timothy to restrain false teachers from teaching aught different from the gospel (1Ti 1:3,20; Re 2:1-6).
(2) To g
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Now Stephen, full of grace and power, went on performing great signs and wonders among the people.
And this they did and sent it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
They helped them select elders in each church, and after praying and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
So he sent off to Macedonia two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, while he stayed on for a while in Asia.
but constantly and earnestly I urged Greeks as well as Jews to turn with repentance to God and to have faith in our Lord Jesus. And I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, because I am impelled by the Spirit to do so, though I am not aware what will befall me there, read more. except that in town after town the Holy Spirit emphatically assures me that imprisonment and sufferings are awaiting me. But now I count as nothing the sacrifice of my life, if only I can finish my race and render the service entrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of faithfully telling the good news of God's favor. And now I know that none of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will ever see my face again.
And now I know that none of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will ever see my face again. I therefore protest to you today that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, read more. for I never shrank from telling you God's whole plan. Take care of yourselves and of the whole flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, so as to continue to be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. Because I know that after I have gone violent wolves will break in among you and will not spare the flock.
Because I know that after I have gone violent wolves will break in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will appear who will try, by speaking perversions of truth, to draw away the disciples after them.
Even from your own number men will appear who will try, by speaking perversions of truth, to draw away the disciples after them.
I am not saying this only by way of human illustrations, am I? Does not the law say so too? For in the law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox that is treading out your grain." Is it that God is concerned about oxen only? read more. Is He not really speaking on our behalf? Yes, indeed, this law was written on our behalf, because the plowman ought to plow and the thresher ought to thresh, in the hope of sharing in the crop.
Everything must always be done in a proper and orderly way.
Now if we preach that Christ has been raised from the dead, how is it that some of you are saying that there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, read more. and if Christ was not raised, the message which we preach has nothing in it; there is nothing in our faith either, and we are found guilty of lying about God, for we have testified that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if indeed the dead are never raised. For if the dead are never raised, Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is a mere delusion; you are still under the penalty of your sins. Yes, even those who have fallen asleep, though in union with Christ, have perished. If for this life only we Christians have set our hopes on Christ, we are the most pitiable people in the world. But in reality Christ has been raised from the dead, the first to be raised of those who have fallen asleep. For since it was through a man that death resulted, it was also through a man that the resurrection of the dead resulted. For just as all men die by virtue of their descent from Adam, so all such as are in union with Christ will be made to live again. But each in his proper order; Christ first, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. After that comes the end, when He will turn the kingdom over to God His Father, when He will put an end to all other government, authority, and power; for He must continue to be king until He puts all His enemies under His feet. Death is the last enemy to be stopped, for He has put everything in subjection under His feet. But when He says that everything has been put in subjection to Him, He Himself is evidently excepted who put it all in subjection to Him. And when everything has been put in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself will also become subject to Him who has put everything in subjection to Him, so that God may be everything to everybody. Otherwise, what do those people mean who submit to being baptized on behalf of their dead? If the dead are never raised at all, why do they submit to being baptized on their behalf? Why too do we ourselves run such risks every hour? I protest, by the boasting which I do about you, my brothers, through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord, I myself run the risk of dying every single day! If from merely human motives I have fought wild beasts here in Ephesus, what profit will it be to me? If the dead are never raised at all, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead." Do not be so misled: "Evil companionships corrupt good character."
and I shall likely stay over with you some time, or maybe spend the winter with you, so that you may help me on to whatever points I may visit.
Besides all other things, there is my concern for all the churches.
This is my third visit to you. Any charge preferred must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I have already warned those who formerly committed shocking sins, and all the rest, and though so far away I warn them now, as I did on my second visit, that if I come back I will not spare them, read more. since you demand a proof that Christ is speaking through me. For Christ is not exhibiting weakness toward you but power in you. For though He was crucified in weakness, yet by the power of God He goes on living. We too, indeed, show weakness through our union with Him, yet by the power of God we too shall be alive toward you through fellowship with Him.
who gave Himself for our sins, to save us from the present wicked world in accordance with the will of our God and Father; to Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
and because they recognized the favor God had shown me, James, Cephas, and John, the so-called pillar apostles, gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the heathen and they to the Jews.
Let us stop getting tired of doing good, for at the proper time we shall reap if we do not give up.
Look out for those dogs, those mischief-makers, those self-mutilators!
For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you in tears, who practice living as the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their doom is destruction, their stomach is their god, their glory is in their shame, and their minds are feeding on earthly things,
As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers
As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers
As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers
As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers
As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers
As I begged you to do when I was on my way to Macedonia, I still beg you to stay on in Ephesus to warn certain teachers to stop devoting themselves to myths and never-ending pedigrees, for such things lead to controversies rather than stimulate our trusteeship to God through faith.
to stop devoting themselves to myths and never-ending pedigrees, for such things lead to controversies rather than stimulate our trusteeship to God through faith.
They want to be teachers of the law, although they do not understand the words they use or the things about which they make such confident assertions.
They want to be teachers of the law, although they do not understand the words they use or the things about which they make such confident assertions. Indeed, I know that the law is an excellent thing, if a man makes a lawful use of it; read more. that is, if he understands that law is not enacted for upright people but for the lawless and disorderly, the godless and sinful, the ignorant and profane, people who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers,
It is a saying to be trusted and deserves our fullest acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; and I am the foremost of them.
This is the instruction which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, which is in accordance with the prophetic utterances formerly made about you, that you may, aided by them, continue to fight the good fight, by keeping your hold on faith and a good conscience; for some have thrust the latter aside and so have made shipwreck of their faith. read more. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan to be so disciplined that they will stop their abusive speech.
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties, prayers, and thanksgiving be offered for all men,
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties, prayers, and thanksgiving be offered for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead peaceful, quiet lives in perfect piety and seriousness.
for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead peaceful, quiet lives in perfect piety and seriousness. This is the right thing to do and it pleases God our Saviour, read more. who is ever willing for all mankind to be saved and to come to an increasing knowledge of the truth. For there is but one God and one intermediary between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
For there is but one God and one intermediary between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all, a fact that was testified to at the proper time,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all, a fact that was testified to at the proper time,
So I want the men everywhere to offer prayer, lifting to heaven holy hands which are kept unstained by anger and dissensions.
A married woman must learn in quiet and in perfect submission. I do not permit a married woman to practice teaching or domineering over a husband; she must keep quiet. read more. For Adam was formed first, and then Eve; and it was not Adam who was deceived, but it was the woman who was utterly deceived and fell into transgression.
Though I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you this, so that, if I am detained, you may know how people ought to conduct themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
so that, if I am detained, you may know how people ought to conduct themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
through the pretensions of false teachers, men with seared consciences,
through the pretensions of false teachers, men with seared consciences, who forbid people to marry and teach them to abstain from certain sorts of food which God created for the grateful enjoyment of those who have faith and a clear knowledge of the truth.
But make it your habit to let worldly and old women's stories alone. Continue training yourself for the religious life.
Let no one think little of you because you are young, but always set an example for believers, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
Never reprove an older man, but always appeal to him as a father. Treat younger men like brothers,
Elders who do their duties well should be considered as deserving twice the salary they get especially those who keep on toiling in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox when he is treading out the grain," and, "The workman deserves his pay." read more. Make it a rule not to consider a charge preferred against an elder, unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. Those who are guilty reprove in public, so that others may be warned.
If anyone teaches different doctrines and refuses to agree with the wholesome messages of our Lord Jesus Christ, the teaching that is in accordance with true religion,
If anyone teaches different doctrines and refuses to agree with the wholesome messages of our Lord Jesus Christ, the teaching that is in accordance with true religion, he is a conceited ignoramus with a morbid appetite for discussions and controversies which lead to envy, quarreling, abuse, base suspicions, read more. and perpetual friction between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth, who imagine that religion is only a means of gain.
and perpetual friction between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth, who imagine that religion is only a means of gain. Now the fact is, religion with contentment is a means of great gain. read more. For we bring nothing into the world and surely we can take nothing out of it.
For we bring nothing into the world and surely we can take nothing out of it. If we have food and clothes we will be satisfied. read more. But men who keep planning to get rich fall into temptations and snares and many foolish, hurtful desires which plunge people into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some men in reaching after riches have wandered from the faith and pierced their hearts with many a pang.
For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some men in reaching after riches have wandered from the faith and pierced their hearts with many a pang. But you, as a man of God, must be fleeing always from these things; you must constantly strive for uprightness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. read more. Keep up the good fight for the faith. Keep your hold on eternal life, to which God called you, when before many witnesses you made the good profession of faith. Before God who preserves the life of all His creatures and before Christ Jesus who in testifying before Pontius Pilate made His good profession, I solemnly charge you
Before God who preserves the life of all His creatures and before Christ Jesus who in testifying before Pontius Pilate made His good profession, I solemnly charge you to keep His command stainless and irreproachable until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, read more. which will be brought about in His own time by the blessed, only Sovereign, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. Continue charging the rich of this world to stop being haughty and not to fix their hope on a thing so uncertain as riches, but on God who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment; read more. charge them to continue doing good and being rich in good deeds, open-handed and generous hearted, in this way amassing for themselves the riches that forever endure in the life to come, so that at last they may grasp the life that is life indeed. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you; continue to turn away from the worldly, futile phrases and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge,"
Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you; continue to turn away from the worldly, futile phrases and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge,"
Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you; continue to turn away from the worldly, futile phrases and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge,"
Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you; continue to turn away from the worldly, futile phrases and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge,"
No soldier ever allows himself to be involved in the business affairs of life, so that he may please the officer who enlisted him.
and their message will spread like a cancer; men like Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have missed the truth by saying that the resurrection has already taken place, are undermining some people's faith.
For some of them practice going into people's houses and capturing weak and silly women who are overwhelmed with the weight of their sins, who are easily led about by all sorts of evil impulses, who are always trying to learn but never able to come to a full knowledge of the truth. read more. Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, these people resist the truth, for they are depraved in mind and so counterfeits in the faith.
My life, indeed, is already ebbing out, and the time has come for me to sail away.
for Demas has forsaken me because he loved the present world, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia;
but at the proper time made known as His message through the message that I preach with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour;
For there are many insubordinate people, mere talkers with nothing to say, but deceivers of their own minds, especially those of the circumcision party, whose mouths must be stopped, for they upset whole families by teaching things they ought not to think, for the sake of dishonest gain. read more. One of them, a prophet of their own countrymen, has said, "Cretans are always liars, wicked brutes, lazy bellies."
One of them, a prophet of their own countrymen, has said, "Cretans are always liars, wicked brutes, lazy bellies."
by ceasing to give attention to Jewish myths and to the commands of men who turn their backs on the truth.
by ceasing to give attention to Jewish myths and to the commands of men who turn their backs on the truth. To the pure everything is pure, but to the impure and unbelieving nothing is pure, but their very minds and consciences are impure. read more. They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown Him; they are detestable, disobedient, and useless for anything good.
the older men to be temperate, serious, and sensible, healthy in faith, in love, and in steadfastness;
the older men to be temperate, serious, and sensible, healthy in faith, in love, and in steadfastness;
For God's favor has appeared with its offer of salvation to all mankind, training us to give up godless ways and worldly cravings and live serious, upright, and godly lives in this world,
who gave Himself for us to ransom us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people to be His very own, zealous of good works.
Constantly remind people to submit to and obey the rulers who have authority over them, so as to be ready for any good enterprise,
But hold yourself aloof from foolish controversies, pedigrees, strife, and wrangles about the law, for these are fruitless and futile. After one or two warnings to a man who is factious, stop having anything to do with him,
After one or two warnings to a man who is factious, stop having anything to do with him, for you may be sure that such a man is crooked and sinful, even self-condemned.
yet I prefer to appeal to you for love's sake, although I am such as I am, Paul an envoy of Christ Jesus but now a prisoner for Him too;
For it is impossible for those who have once for all been enlightened and have experienced the gift from heaven, who have been made sharers of the Holy Spirit and have experienced how good God's message is and the mighty powers of the age to come, read more. and then have fallen by the wayside -- it is impossible, I say, to keep on restoring them to their first repentance, since they continue to crucify the Son of God to their detriment and hold Him up to contempt. For a piece of ground that drinks in the rains so frequently falling on it, and continues yielding vegetation useful to those for whose sakes it is cultivated, receives from God His blessings. But if it continues to yield thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless and in danger of being cursed, and its final fate is burning.
Little children, it is the last hour, just as you have heard that Antichrist is Coming, and already many Antichrists have appeared; so we may be sure that it is the last hour. They have gone out from our own number, but they did not really belong to us; for if they had, they would have stayed with us. It was to show that none of those who went out really belonged to us. read more. But you have been anointed by the Holy One. You all know the truth; I do not write to you because you do not know it, but because you do know it. Who is the notorious liar, if it is not the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the real Antichrist, the man who disowns the Father and the Son. No one who disowns the Son can have the Father. Whoever owns the Son has the Father too.
Dearly beloved, stop believing every so-called spiritual utterance, but keep testing them to see whether they come from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
and no spiritual utterance which disowns Jesus can come from God; it is the utterance of Antichrist. You have heard that it is coming, and right now it is already in the world.
"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: 'The One who is holding the seven stars in His right hand and is walking among the golden lampstands speaks as follows: "I know what you have done; your hard work and patient endurance; that you cannot tolerate wicked persons; that you have tested those who claimed to be apostles although they were not, and have found them to be imposters, read more. You are showing patient endurance, and you have borne it for my sake, and have not grown weary. But I hold it against you that you do not love me as you did at first. So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent and do as you did at first, or else I will surely come and move your lampstand from its place -- if you do not repent. But you have it to your credit that you hate what the Nicolaitans are doing, as I do too.