Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.' Verse ConceptsdogsWicked Described AsDegradationSwinePigsUnclean SpiritsOld SayingsUnclean AnimalsBacksliderspork











But there were false prophets also in the nation, just as there will be false teachers among you, men who will secretly introduce ruinous divisions, disowning even the Lord who bought them, and bringing speedy Ruin upon themselves. There will be many, too, who will follow their licentious courses, and cause the Way of the Truth to be maligned. In their covetousness they will try to make you a source of profit by their fabrications; but for a long time past their Sentence has not been standing idle, nor their Ruin slumbering. read more.
Remember, God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them down to Tartarus, and committed them to caverns of darkness, to be kept under guard for judgment. Nor did he spare the world of old; though he preserved Noah, the Preacher of Righteousness, and seven others, when he brought a flood upon the godless world. He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and reduced them to ashes, holding them up as a warning to the godless of what was in store for them; but he rescued righteous Lot, whose heart was vexed by the wanton licentiousness of his neighbors; for, seeing and hearing what he did, as he lived his righteous life among them, day after day, Lot's righteous soul was tortured by their wicked doings. The Lord, therefore, knows how to deliver the pious from temptation, and to keep the wicked, who are even now suffering punishment, in readiness for 'the Day of Judgment'-- especially those who, following the promptings of their lower nature, indulge their polluting passions and despise all control. Audacious and self-willed, they feel no awe of the Mighty, maligning them, even where angels, though excelling them in strength and power, do not bring against them a malignant charge before the Lord. These men, however, like animals without reason, intended by nature to be caught and killed--these men, I say, malign those of whom they know nothing, and will assuredly perish through their own corruption, suffering themselves, as the penalty for the suffering that they have inflicted. They think that pleasure consists in the self-indulgence of the moment. They are a stain and a disgrace, indulging, as they do, in their wanton revelry, even while joining you at your feasts. They have eyes only for adulteresses, eyes never tired of sin; they entice weak souls; their minds are trained to covet; they live under a curse. Leaving the straight road, they have gone astray and followed in the steps of Balaam, the son of Beor, who set his heart on the reward for wrong-doing, but was rebuked for his offense. A dumb animal spoke with the voice of a man, and checked the prophet's madness. These men are like springs without water, or mists driven before a gale; and for them the blackest darkness has been reserved. With boastful and foolish talk, they appeal to the passions of man's lower nature, and, by their profligacy, entice those who are just escaping from the men who live such misguided lives. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way. If, after having escaped the polluting influences of the world, through knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, men are again entangled in them, and give way to them, their last state has become worse than their first. It would, indeed, have been better for them not to have known the Way of Righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn away from the holy Command delivered to them. In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.'



In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.' Verse ConceptsdogsWicked Described AsDegradationSwinePigsUnclean SpiritsOld SayingsUnclean AnimalsBacksliderspork


The ground of his condemnation is this, that though the Light has come into the world, men preferred the darkness to the Light, because their actions were wicked. For he who lives an evil life hates the light, and will not come to it, for fear that his actions should be exposed;




And it was then that he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits, who once were disobedient, at the time when God patiently waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared; in which some few lives, eight in all, were saved by means of water.





If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have had no sin to answer for; but as it is, they have no excuse for their sin. Verse ConceptsExcusesethics, basis ofResponsibility, To GodMisused PrivilegesThe Fact Of His Coming




"If you had been blind," replied Jesus, "you would have had no sin to answer for; but, as it is, you say 'We can see,' and so your sin remains. Verse ConceptsExcusesAge Of AccountabilityBlindnessGuilt

Remember, if we sin willfully after we have gained a full knowledge of the Truth, there can be no further sacrifice for sin; Verse ConceptsAbandonmentKnowing God's TruthThe Truth Of The GospelContinuing In SinSacrificePersistenceconsequencesapostasy

The servant who knows his master's wishes and yet does not prepare and act accordingly will receive many lashes; while one who does not know his master's wishes, but acts so as to deserve a flogging, will receive but few. From every one to whom much has been given much will be expected, and from the man to whom much has been entrusted the more will be demanded.

But, perhaps, you bear the name of 'Jew,' and are relying upon Law, and boast of belonging to God, and understand his will, And, having been carefully instructed from the Law, have learned to appreciate the finer moral distinctions. Perhaps you are confident that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in the dark, an instructor of the unintelligent, read more.
And a teacher of the childish, because in the Law you possess the outline of all Knowledge and Truth. Why, then, you teacher of others, do not you teach yourself? Do you preach against stealing, and yet steal? Do you forbid adultery, and yet commit adultery? Do you loathe idols, and yet plunder temples? Boasting, as you do, of your Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law?

It would, indeed, have been better for them not to have known the Way of Righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn away from the holy Command delivered to them. In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.'

Do not give what is sacred to dogs; nor yet throw your pearls before pigs, lest they should trample them under their feet, and then turn and attack you. Verse ConceptsContemptdogsJewelsPrudenceAskingUngodlinessWasteWicked Described AsDespisersName CallingSwinePeople Torn To PiecesPigsUnfitting ThingsPetsHurt And Betrayalpork

In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.' Verse ConceptsdogsWicked Described AsDegradationSwinePigsUnclean SpiritsOld SayingsUnclean AnimalsBacksliderspork


Do not give what is sacred to dogs; nor yet throw your pearls before pigs, lest they should trample them under their feet, and then turn and attack you. Verse ConceptsContemptdogsJewelsPrudenceAskingUngodlinessWasteWicked Described AsDespisersName CallingSwinePeople Torn To PiecesPigsUnfitting ThingsPetsHurt And Betrayalpork

In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.' Verse ConceptsdogsWicked Described AsDegradationSwinePigsUnclean SpiritsOld SayingsUnclean AnimalsBacksliderspork