Atos 20
Arthur Pink · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 20
Pink comments on the metaphor of wolves...What a solemn but suggestive and revealing word is that. The wolf, like the fox, is tricky and treacherous, subtle and sly, hence the words “cunning craftiness” in connection with the purveyors of error who “lie in wait to deceive” of Ephesians 4:14. They scruple not to employ the most dishonorable tactics and resort to tricks which honest men of the world would scorn to use. The wolf is cruel and merciless: so are these deceivers of souls. They prate about love, but they are full of hatred toward those who expose them. They are greedy, having voracious appetites, and false prophets are men of insatiable ambition, hungry for applause, avaricious. Jeremiah 23:32, speaks of their “lightness” or irreverence, and Zephaniah 3:4, also says, “their prophets are light and treacherous.” So far from being sober and solemn they are frivolous and frothy: it cannot be otherwise, for the fear of God is not upon them. (From An exposition of the Sermon on the Mount) Kenneth Gangel speaks to the modern church regarding (in many congregations) some much needed preventative maintenance writing that...The church can resist false teaching in direct proportion to its knowledge of and dedication to the Scripture. (Ed: A Loud Amen!) (Acts. Holman New Testament Commentary) Comment: The United States government knows that the best way to detect a counterfeit $20 is to be intimately familiar with the real thing and thus examination of real twenty dollar bills is a major segment in the training of new agents! The analogy with the Church, the infiltration of purveyors of perverse doctrine and the need for focusing on the Word of Truth should be clear! Does your church have serious, in depth Bible studies? I admit my bias, but I am convinced that the Precept upon Precept Inductive Bible studies are hands down the best in the world for training sheep how to discern "counterfeit doctrines." Go to their website at Precept Ministries International. Yes, they are time consuming (4-5 hours of personal study, then 1.5-2 hours discussion once per week). There is a sad misconception that Precept Bible studies are primarily for women. Wrong! These studies are for all saints. Of all the Bible studies I have led or taught, the Precept studies have borne more fruit than any other study (souls have been born again and I did not even know it -- I gave no "invitation" and am not especially "evangelistic"! God's Spirit used God's Word to save one man in the study of the Revelation. He was attending a liberal church which did not preach the Word, and somehow heard about our study on the other side of the city of Austin! Little, did I or he know that God had providentially brought him to the study of Revelation in order to be saved by grace through faith. Why? Because in His omniscience, God knew that less than 6 months after he began the study, he would have an aggressive recurrence of his previously "cured" malignant melanoma and would be falling asleep. And when he fell asleep, he was indubitably in Christ. I could tell many similar stories of marriages saved, of men going from immaturity to maturity, of men hearing the call to go to foreign lands and teach His Word, etc). Dear pastor, you have no need to fear Precept Bible studies, except those who take them will begin to ask for more solid food! Feel free to email me at the preceptaustin.org if you have any questions. Savage (916)(barus from baros = weight, something pressing on one physically or emotionally) literally means heavy but in the NT is used figuratively -- of rules and regulations that are difficult to obey and thus are burdensome or oppressive (Mt 23:4, 1Jn 5:3). of sins likened to a heavy burden (ever felt that weight? I have!!!)(Ps 38:4) and of men who bring false doctrine into the church. These men may look like gentle sheep but they are severe, stern, violent, cruel, unsparing. Be on guard! Not sparing (5339)(pheidomai) means to treat leniently, to forbear, to spare, to avoid, to refrain from doing something. To save someone from trouble, loss or discomfort (2Co 1:21, 1Co 7:28, With a negative particle [me] here in Acts 20:29 and in Ro 8:32). Present tense = These wolves are relentless and continually not sparing of the flock. Paul is saying here that their attacks on the God's Truth and God's sheep know no limits! Beware! These wolves are "alive and well" and are ever worming their way into God's flocks. These wolves have always been around God's people masquerading in "religious" garb and gab (cp Jer 23:1, Ezek 34:2-3). Peter issues a prophetic warning similar to Paul's writing that false prophets also arose among the people (referring to Israel in the OT), just as there will also be false teachers among (Notice where the teachers are - an inside job!) you, who will secretly introduce (pareisago = bring in error alongside the truth! Upshot: Shepherds and sheep had better know the Truth!) destructive (apoleia = causing utter ruin, complete loss! KJV = "damnable") heresies ("destructive sects," "destructive opinions," "destructive viewpoints," "disruptive views") , even denying the Master Who bought them (1Cor 6:20, Titus 2:14, Rev 5:9), bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2Peter 2:1+) Flock (4168)(poimnion from poimen = shepherd) a flock of sheep but here spiritual sheep that make belong to Jesus, citizens not of this earth but of the Kingdom of Heaven. Acts 20:30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them: kai ex humon auton anastesontai (3PFMI) andres lalountes (PAPMPN) diestrammena (RPPNPA) tou apospan (PAN) tous mathetas opiso auton.: NET Acts 20:30 Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them. GNT Acts 20:30 καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἀναστήσονται ἄνδρες λαλοῦντες διεστραμμένα τοῦ ἀποσπᾶν τοὺς μαθητὰς ὀπίσω αὐτῶν. NLT Acts 20:30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. KJV Acts 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. ESV Acts 20:30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. ASV Acts 20:30 and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. CSB Acts 20:30 And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. NIV Acts 20:30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. NKJ Acts 20:30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. NRS Acts 20:30 Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. YLT Acts 20:30 and of your own selves there shall arise men, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. My Amplified Paraphrase “And from among your own number,” Paul warns, “men will arise” (stand up, emerge, step forward as leaders) “speaking perverse things” (diastrepho—twisted, distorted, crooked, truth-bending words) “in order to draw away” (apospao—to pull away, tear away forcibly, lead off by persuasion or pressure) “the disciples (mathetes) after them,”— luring them to follow themselves rather than Christ. Their teaching will not build the flock but fracture it; not exalt Christ but elevate their own influence; not guard sound doctrine but corrupt it for selfish gain. And from among your: Mt 26:21-25 1Ti 1:19,20 2Ti 2:17,18 4:3,4 2Pe 2:1-3 1Jn 2:19 2Jn 1:7 Jude 1:4-16 Rev 2:6 speaking: Pr 19:1 23:33 Isa 59:3 1Ti 5:13 6:5 2Pe 2:18 Jude 1:15,16 Draw away: Acts 5:36,37 21:38 Mt 23:15 1Co 1:12-15 Ga 6:12,13 Acts 20 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THESE "WOLVES" TWIST THE TRUTH From among your own selves - Do not miss Paul's crystal clear warning - false teaching is often an "inside" job. The enemy has his deceiving ambassadors of light situated amongst the flock of genuine sheep. Paul now explains the metaphor of wolves is not their physical danger but the "theological" drift they espouse! Compare Paul's description in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (note disguise is repeated 3 times! The point is that these guys are "good" at hiding their evil intentions!)... For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. Jack Arnold - Even from among the congregation at Ephesus would arise false teachers who would try to get a following and pull people away from the local church by preaching crooked and distracting doctrines. Yet, even more specific, some of the elders of that local church would come up with moral and/or doctrinal deficiency, and they would have to be dealt with by the elders who were sound in the Faith. The most dangerous enemies which the church has had have been nurtured in its own bosom. Men who are ambitious, who lust for power or who love popularity, form parties (sects) within the church which produce cliques, divisions and strife. John Calvin said, “Ambition is the mother of all heresies.” In his letters to Timothy, who was the pastor-teacher at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul warned Timothy about certain false teachers and called them by name so there would be no mistake as to whom he was referring. “Among these are Hymenaueus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20). “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes” (2 Ti 1:15). (Acts 20:28-38 Concerns of a Shepherd) Speaking perverse things - Make no mistake. They mislead by the spoken word, specifically the crooked words they teach. If we know the "straight" Word of God, we can detect the "perverse" words they speak. Perverse (1294)(diastrepho from dia = separation, in two, throughout + strépho = turn) is a verb (used here as an "adjective") which means literally to twist throughout or to distort. To turn different ways. To twist about. Diastrepho was used metaphorically in the NT meaning to pervert or to distort. The idea is to cause one to depart from an accepted standard of oral or spiritual values. Paul uses the perfect tense which says their words are permanently distorted. There is no spiritual life giving, soul edifying quality in these words! Diastrepho was used in secular Greek to describe a piece of pottery that a careless craftsman had misshaped or that had somehow become distorted before being fired in the oven. TDNT notes that diastrepho - means in Greek “to twist,” “to dislocate,” “to confuse.” In Hellenistic and especially Stoic ethics diastrophe (literally used to describe the twisting of a fractured limb - distortion) is a technical term for the moral corruption of the man. The nature of man, which is originally good and oriented to the good, is “twisted” (diastrephetai) by bad teaching (Ed: Read Genesis 3:1-7 which teaches that Satan, the crafty seducer, perverted and twisted God's Word, introducing doubt about the goodness of God and the integrity of His Word which had the effect of drawing Adam and Eve away from the Word of Truth and the God of the Truth!) (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. TDNT - abridged online) Draw away (645)(apospao from apó = from + spáo = to draw or pull) literally means to draw, pull or drag away from. Apospao is used literally to draw out a sword in Mt 26:51. Apospao is used figuratively here in Acts 20:30 to describe drawing someone away from ("attracting" them from) a point of view (resulting in alienation). A secular use means "alienate pupils from someone." Another classic writing is translated "so that they might be wrested from their sins." Other figurative uses mean to draw away from a place (Lk 22:41) or from people (Acts 21:1). Here are some other non-Biblical uses of apospao from Moulton and Milligan - "you wrote me not to withdraw the gang (of workmen engaged in the copper mines) from Philoteris before they had finished the work." “Withdraw,” with no suggestion of violence, though with breach of contract, is the sense in numerous formal documents - "in a case of adoption...in the indenture of a slave...where in a contract of apprenticeship a father is not to have the power of removing his son from his master until the completion of the period.... where a widow threatens to take away her son from a man in whose charge he had been left....In the marriage contract, P Oxy III. 496(9 )(A.D. 127), provision is made that in the event of a separation taking place, the bride shall have the power to “withdraw” a certain female slave, who forms part of her dowry." Apospao - 4x in the NT and 6x in the Septuagint (Lxx) (Lev 22:24; Josh 8:6 ["drawn them away"]; Jdg 16:9; Job 41:17 ["cannot be separated."]; Isa 28:9; Jer 12:14 ["I am about to uproot them"]). Here are the other 3 uses in the New Testament... Mt 26:51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Lk 22:41 And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, Acts 21:1 When we had parted from (apospao - drew ourselves away from) them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara Disciples (3101)(mathetes from manthano = to learn which Vine says is "from a root math, indicating thought accompanied by endeavor". Gives us our English = "mathematics") describes a person who learns from another by instruction, whether formal or informal. Discipleship includes the idea of one who intentionally learns by inquiry and observation (cf inductive Bible study) and thus mathetes is more than a mere pupil. A mathetes describes an adherent of a teacher. As discussed below mathetes itself has no spiritual connotation, and it is used of superficial followers of Jesus as well as of genuine believers. Related Resources matheteuo - make disciples Make Disciples 1 Make Disciples 2 Make Disciples 3 Make Disciples 4 Make Disciples 5 Make Disciples 6 Make Disciples 7 Make Disciples 8 Ralph Earle - As followers of Jesus we are to be, first of all, learners. We are to learn from Him by listening to Him, learn the truth that will set us free (John 8:32) and keep us from error. But we are also to learn from Him by looking at Him‑ learn how to live a life of beauty and blessing. (Word Meanings in the New Testament) What happened to the church at Ephesus? 2Ti 1:15+ and Rev 2:4+ would strongly support that Paul's concerns for the church in Ephesus were justified! 2 Timothy 1:15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. Revelation 2:4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Pohill records some historical early fulfillments of Paul's prophetic warnings noting that "By the second century Asia was a virtual seedbed for Christian heresy. Paul’s warning was thus timely and essential. It is not by chance that this section both opens and closes with an exhortation to vigilance (Acts 20:28, 31), and Paul’s reference to his three-year ministry with the Ephesians was not just a reminder of his warnings but also an appeal to be faithful to the sound teachings he had brought them (cf. Acts 20:20f.) (New American Commentary). See Related Resources: Doctrine; See also study of Sound used in phrase "sound doctrine" - cp 1Ti 1:10, 2Ti 4:3+, Titus 1:9+) A W Pink on the phrase draw away the disciples after them - In that last clause we have another mark of the false prophets. They are inveterate proselytizers. They continually obtrude themselves upon people’s attention. They are ever creeping into houses, “leading captive silly women led away with divers lusts.” They are continually coaxing and wheedling folk to come to their meetings. But the true prophet never attempts guile or presses anyone to attend his services. No, he is content to follow his Master’s practice: “he that hath ears to hear let him hear,” and there he leaves it. When a place receives them not they “go their way” (Luke 10:10) instead of pleading and arguing and seeking to draw disciples “after them.” (From An exposition of the Sermon on the Mount). Acts 20:31 "Therefore be on the alert , remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears: dio gregoreite, (2PPAM) mnemoneuontes (PAPMPN) oti trietian nukta kai emeran ouk epausamen (1SAMI) meta dakruon noutheton (PAPMSN) hena hekaston.: NET Acts 20:31 Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. GNT Acts 20:31 διὸ γρηγορεῖτε μνημονεύοντες ὅτι τριετίαν νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην μετὰ δακρύων νουθετῶν ἕνα ἕκαστον. NLT Acts 20:31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you-- my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. KJV Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. ESV Acts 20:31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. ASV Acts 20:31 Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears. CSB Acts 20:31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. NIV Acts 20:31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. NKJ Acts 20:31 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. NRS Acts 20:31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. YLT Acts 20:31 'Therefore, watch, remembering that three years, night and day, I did not cease with tears warning each one; Be on the alert: Mt 13:25 Mk 13:34-37 Luke 21:36 2Ti 4:5 Heb 13:17 Rev 16:15 For a period: Ac 19:8,10 Admonish: Eze 3:17-20 Mt 3:7 1Co 4:14 Col 1:28 1Th 5:14 night: Ac 20:7,11 1Th 2:9,10 2Th 3:8 With tears: Ac 20:19 Acts 20 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PAUL COMMANDS CONSTANT ALERTNESS Therefore (term of conclusion) - What's Paul concluding? He is reiterating the need of the elders to be alert for savage wolves because of the deadly impact their false teaching can have on the souls of God's flock. Be on the alert (calling for reliance on enabling power of the Holy Spirit to obey)(1127)(gregoreuo from egeiro = to arise, arouse) means to be watchful or to refrain from physical sleep. Later gregoreuo came to be used in the moral sphere to call for one to be vigilant, on the alert, and in a constant state of readiness. Gregoreuo describes a mind which is (spiritually) alert not asleep. Gregoreuo means to to take heed lest a lapse of attention might result in being overtaken unawares by some destructive force or calamity (i.e., false teaching of savage wolves). Gregoreuo - 22x in the NT - Matt. 24:42; Matt. 24:43; Matt. 25:13; Matt. 26:38; Matt. 26:40; Matt. 26:41; Mk. 13:34; Mk. 13:35; Mk. 13:37; Mk. 14:34; Mk. 14:37; Mk. 14:38; Lk. 12:37; Acts 20:31; 1 Co. 16:13; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:6; 1 Thess. 5:10; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 3:2; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 16:15 Note all commands in red should be like alert flags reminding us of our need to reliance on enabling power of the Holy Spirit to obey 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on the alert (present imperative) , stand firm(present imperative) in the faith, act like men(present imperative), be strong(present imperative). (See "THOUGHT" below). Colossians 4:2+ Devote (present imperative) yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 1 Thessalonians 5:6+ so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 1 Peter 5:8+ Be of sober spirit (aorist imperative), be on the alert (aorist imperative). Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Most of the NT uses of gregoreuo refer to the believer's being spiritually awake and alert (How? Filled with Word and Spirit), as opposed to being spiritually indifferent and listless. Secular Greek used gregoreuo to describe people carefully crossing a river while stepping on slippery stones. Failure to be alert might result in an unwanted dip in the water! As with the command to be on guard in Acts 20:28, gregoreuo is present imperative which is a command for continual alertness for savage wolves and calls for reliance on enabling power of the Holy Spirit to obey. These wolves are like father, like son. Their "father" is the devil (a liar - Jn 8:44) who continually prowls around seeking victims he might devour (1Pe 5:8+), and his offspring follow suit looking for stray, gullible, shallow taught sheep. 🙏 THOUGHT - How can we keep this command? See discussion of the Need for the Holy Spirit to obey NT commands or "How to Keep All 1642 Commandments in the New Testament!" Charles Simeon commenting on 1Peter 5:8 writes that... Unwatchfulness, even in a victorious army, exposes it to defeat: much more must it subject us to the power of our subtle enemy. Peter had experienced its baneful effects. He had been warned of Satan’s intention to assault him (Lk 22:31). He had been commanded to pray lest he should fall by the temptation (Lk 22:40, cp Mt 26:41+); but he slept when he should have been praying (Lk 22:45, 46). He stands in this respect, like Lot’s wife (Lk 17:32, Ge 19:26), a monument to future generations; but vigilance on our part will counteract the designs (see methodeia) of Satan. The armed Christian, watching unto prayer, must be victorious (Ep 6:18+).. (1 Peter 5:8, 9 The Means of Defeating Satan's Malice) Beare writes that... Confidence in God must not lead to slackness; the spiritual warfare that they wage demands vigilance. Remembering (present tense = continually recalling to mind) (3421)(mnemoneuo from mimnesko = to recall to one's mind) means exercising memory, calling something to mind, recollecting, paying attention to something so as to be warned (eg Lk 17:32). I did not cease to admonish - Non-stop warning (Note that the word for "not" in Greek signifies absolutely not!) Remember Paul's charge to all of us in 1 Cor 11:1+. Dear leader, are you imitating Paul by continually admonishing your sheep? Perhaps you think its a different day. Paul lived in the first century when Christian doctrines were just beginning to be established. We don't have that same need today. Have you checked the "spiritual fodder" on the internet lately? If you have, then you know that the need has not "ceased" for leaders to warn the sheep without ceasing. Night and day - Paul likes the phrase "night and day" (7/13 uses in Scripture are by Paul Acts 20:31, 26:7, 1Th 2:9, 3:10, 2Th 3:8, 1Ti 5:5, 2Ti 1:3.) This phrase serves to further amplify/emphasize the fact that Paul "did not cease" giving "prophetic" warnings about the "coming invasion" of false teachers/teaching. Cease ("I did not stop" = NET, "unceasingly" = NAB, "I never stopped")(3973)(pauo) means to cease (middle voice = oneself) from an activity in which one is engaged. Pauo in the active sense means to cause something or someone to cease from some activity or state. To make stop. To stop, restrain, refrain, quit, desist. To come to an end. F B
Atos 20:28-38
Pink comments on the metaphor of wolves... What a solemn but suggestive and revealing word is that. The wolf, like the fox, is tricky and treacherous, subtle and sly, hence the words “cunning craftiness” in connection with the purveyors of error who “lie in wait to deceive” of Ephesians 4:14. They scruple not to employ the most dishonorable tactics and resort to tricks which honest men of the world would scorn to use. The wolf is cruel and merciless: so are these deceivers of souls. They prate about love, but they are full of hatred toward those who expose them. They are greedy, having voracious appetites, and false prophets are men of insatiable ambition, hungry for applause, avaricious. Jeremiah 23:32, speaks of their “lightness” or irreverence, and Zephaniah 3:4, also says, “their prophets are light and treacherous.” So far from being sober and solemn they are frivolous and frothy: it cannot be otherwise, for the fear of God is not upon them. (From An exposition of the Sermon on the Mount) Kenneth Gangel speaks to the modern church regarding (in many congregations) some much needed preventative maintenance writing that... The church can resist false teaching in direct proportion to its knowledge of and dedication to the Scripture. (Ed: A Loud Amen!) (Acts. Holman New Testament Commentary) Comment: The United States government knows that the best way to detect a counterfeit $20 is to be intimately familiar with the real thing and thus examination of real twenty dollar bills is a major segment in the training of new agents! The analogy with the Church, the infiltration of purveyors of perverse doctrine and the need for focusing on the Word of Truth should be clear! Does your church have serious, in depth Bible studies? I admit my bias, but I am convinced that the Precept upon Precept Inductive Bible studies are hands down the best in the world for training sheep how to discern "counterfeit doctrines." Go to their website at Precept Ministries International. Yes, they are time consuming (4-5 hours of personal study, then 1.5-2 hours discussion once per week). There is a sad misconception that Precept Bible studies are primarily for women. Wrong! These studies are for all saints. Of all the Bible studies I have led or taught, the Precept studies have borne more fruit than any other study (souls have been born again and I did not even know it -- I gave no "invitation" and am not especially "evangelistic"! God's Spirit used God's Word to save one man in the study of the Revelation. He was attending a liberal church which did not preach the Word, and somehow heard about our study on the other side of the city of Austin! Little, did I or he know that God had providentially brought him to the study of Revelation in order to be saved by grace through faith. Why? Because in His omniscience, God knew that less than 6 months after he began the study, he would have an aggressive recurrence of his previously "cured" malignant melanoma and would be falling asleep. And when he fell asleep, he was indubitably in Christ. I could tell many similar stories of marriages saved, of men going from immaturity to maturity, of men hearing the call to go to foreign lands and teach His Word, etc). Dear pastor, you have no need to fear Precept Bible studies, except those who take them will begin to ask for more solid food! Feel free to email me at the preceptaustin.org if you have any questions. Not sparing (5339)(pheidomai) means to treat leniently, to forbear, to spare, to avoid, to refrain from doing something. To save someone from trouble, loss or discomfort (2Co 1:21, 1Co 7:28, With a negative particle [me] here in Acts 20:29 and in Ro 8:32). Present tense = These wolves are relentless and continually not sparing of the flock. Paul is saying here that their attacks on the God's Truth and God's sheep know no limits! Beware! These wolves are "alive and well" and are ever worming their way into God's flocks. These wolves have always been around God's people masquerading in "religious" garb and gab (cp Jer 23:1, Ezek 34:2-3). Peter issues a prophetic warning similar to Paul's writing that false prophets also arose among the people (referring to Israel in the OT), just as there will also be false teachers among (Notice where the teachers are - an inside job!) you, who will secretly introduce (pareisago = bring in error alongside the truth! Upshot: Shepherds and sheep had better know the Truth!) destructive (apoleia = causing utter ruin, complete loss! KJV = "damnable") heresies ("destructive sects," "destructive opinions," "destructive viewpoints," "disruptive views") , even denying the Master Who bought them (1Cor 6:20, Titus 2:14, Rev 5:9), bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2Peter 2:1-note) Flock (4168)(poimnion from poimen = shepherd) a flock of sheep but here spiritual sheep that make belong to Jesus, citizens not of this earth but of the Kingdom of Heaven. Acts 20:30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them: kai ex humon auton anastesontai (3PFMI) andres lalountes (PAPMPN) diestrammena (RPPNPA) tou apospan (PAN) tous mathetas opiso auton.: And from among your: Mt 26:21-25 1Ti 1:19,20 2Ti 2:17,18 4:3,4 2Pe 2:1-3 1Jn 2:19 2Jn 1:7 Jude 1:4-16 Rev 2:6 speaking: Pr 19:1 23:33 Isa 59:3 1Ti 5:13 6:5 2Pe 2:18 Jude 1:15,16 Draw away: Acts 5:36,37 21:38 Mt 23:15 1Co 1:12-15 Ga 6:12,13) THESE "WOLVES" TWIST THE TRUTH From among your own selves - Do not miss Paul's crystal clear warning - false teaching is often an "inside" job. The enemy has his deceiving ambassadors of light situated amongst the flock of genuine sheep. Paul now explains the metaphor of wolves is not their physical danger but the "theological" drift they espouse! Speaking perverse things - Make no mistake. They mislead by the spoken word, specifically the crooked words they teach. If we know the "straight" Word of God, we can detect the "perverse" words they speak. Perverse (1294) diastrepho from dia = separation, in two, throughout + strépho = turn) is a verb (used here as an "adjective") which means literally to twist throughout or to distort. To turn different ways. To twist about. Diastrepho was used metaphorically in the NT meaning to pervert or to distort. The idea is to cause one to depart from an accepted standard of oral or spiritual values. Paul uses the perfect tense which says their words are permanently distorted. There is no spiritual life giving, soul edifying quality in these words! Diastrepho was used in secular Greek to describe a piece of pottery that a careless craftsman had misshaped or that had somehow become distorted before being fired in the oven. TDNT notes that diastrepho means in Greek “to twist,” “to dislocate,” “to confuse.” In Hellenistic and especially Stoic ethics diastrophe (literally used to describe the twisting of a fractured limb - distortion) is a technical term for the moral corruption of the man. The nature of man, which is originally good and oriented to the good, is “twisted” (diastrephetai) by bad teaching (Ed: Read Genesis 3:1-7 which teaches that Satan, the crafty seducer, perverted and twisted God's Word, introducing doubt about the goodness of God and the integrity of His Word which had the effect of drawing Adam and Eve away from the Word of Truth and the God of the Truth!) (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) Draw away (645)(apospao from apó = from + spáo = to draw or pull) literally means to draw, pull or drag away from. Apospao is used literally to draw out a sword in Mt 26:51. Apospao is used figuratively here in Acts 20:30 to describe drawing someone away from ("attracting" them from) a point of view (resulting in alienation). A secular use means "alienate pupils from someone." Another classic writing is translated "so that they might be wrested from their sins." Other figurative uses mean to draw away from a place (Lk 22:41) or from people (Acts 21:1). Here are some other non-Biblical uses of apospao from Moulton and Milligan - "you wrote me not to withdraw the gang (of workmen engaged in the copper mines) from Philoteris before they had finished the work." “Withdraw,” with no suggestion of violence, though with breach of contract, is the sense in numerous formal documents - "in a case of adoption...in the indenture of a slave...where in a contract of apprenticeship a father is not to have the power of removing his son from his master until the completion of the period.... where a widow threatens to take away her son from a man in whose charge he had been left....In the marriage contract, P Oxy III. 496(9 )(A.D. 127), provision is made that in the event of a separation taking place, the bride shall have the power to “withdraw” a certain female slave, who forms part of her dowry." Apospao - 4x in the NT and 6x in the Septuagint (Lev 22:24; Josh 8:6 ["drawn them away"]; Jdg 16:9; Job 41:17 ["cannot be separated."]; Isa 28:9; Jer 12:14 ["I am about to uproot them"]). Here are the other 3 uses in the New Testament... Mt 26:51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Lk 22:41 And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, Acts 21:1 When we had parted from (apospao - drew ourselves away from) them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara Disciples (3101)(mathetes from manthano = to learn which Vine says is "from a root math, indicating thought accompanied by endeavor". Gives us our English = "mathematics") describes a person who learns from another by instruction, whether formal or informal. Discipleship includes the idea of one who intentionally learns by inquiry and observation (cf inductive Bible study) and thus mathetes is more than a mere pupil. A mathetes describes an adherent of a teacher. As discussed below mathetes itself has no spiritual connotation, and it is used of superficial followers of Jesus as well as of genuine believers. Related Resources matheteuo - make disciples Make Disciples 1 Make Disciples 2 Make Disciples 3 Make Disciples 4 Make Disciples 5 Make Disciples 6 Make Disciples 7 Make Disciples 8 Ralph Earle - As followers of Jesus we are to be, first of all, learners. We are to learn from Him by listening to Him, learn the truth that will set us free (John 8:32) and keep us from error. But we are also to learn from Him by looking at Him‑ learn how to live a life of beauty and blessing. (Word Meanings in the New Testament) What happened to the church at Ephesus? 2Ti 1:15 and Rev 2:4 would strongly support that Paul's concerns for the church in Ephesus were justified! Pohill records some historical early fulfillments of Paul's prophetic warnings noting that... By the second century Asia was a virtual seedbed for Christian heresy. Paul’s warning was thus timely and essential. It is not by chance that this section both opens and closes with an exhortation to vigilance (Acts 20:28, 31), and Paul’s reference to his three-year ministry with the Ephesians was not just a reminder of his warnings but also an appeal to be faithful to the sound teachings he had brought them (cf. Acts 20:20f.) (New American Commentary). See Related Resources: Doctrine; See also study of Sound used in phrase "sound doctrine" - cp 1Ti 1:10, 2Ti 4:3-note, Titus 1:9-note) A W Pink on the phrase draw away the disciples after them... In that last clause we have another mark of the false prophets. They are inveterate proselytizers. They continually obtrude themselves upon people’s attention. They are ever creeping into houses, “leading captive silly women led away with divers lusts.” They are continually coaxing and wheedling folk to come to their meetings. But the true prophet never attempts guile or presses anyone to attend his services. No, he is content to follow his Master’s practice: “he that hath ears to hear let him hear,” and there he leaves it. When a place receives them not they “go their way” (Luke 10:10) instead of pleading and arguing and seeking to draw disciples “after them.” (From An exposition of the Sermon on the Mount). Acts 20:31 "Therefore be on the alert , remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears: dio gregoreite, (2PPAM) mnemoneuontes (PAPMPN) oti trietian nukta kai emeran ouk epausamen (1SAMI) meta dakruon noutheton (PAPMSN) hena hekaston.: Be on the alert: Mt 13:25 Mk 13:34-37 Luke 21:36 2Ti 4:5 Heb 13:17 Rev 16:15 For a period: Ac 19:8,10 Admonish: Eze 3:17-20 Mt 3:7 1Co 4:14 Col 1:28 1Th 5:14 night: Ac 20:7,11 1Th 2:9,10 2Th 3:8 With tears: Ac 20:19) Therefore (term of conclusion) - What's Paul concluding? He is reiterating the need of the elders to be alert for savage wolves because of the deadly impact their false teaching can have on the souls of God's flock. Be on the alert (1127)(gregoreuo from egeiro = to arise, arouse) means to be watchful or to refrain from physical sleep. Later gregoreuo came to be used in the moral sphere to call for one to be vigilant, on the alert, and in a constant state of readiness. Gregoreuo describes a mind which is (spiritually) alert not asleep. Gregoreuo means to to take heed lest a lapse of attention might result in being overtaken unawares by some destructive force or calamity (i.e., false teaching of savage wolves). Most of the NT uses of gregoreuo refer to the believer's being spiritually awake and alert, as opposed to being spiritually indifferent and listless. Secular Greek used gregoreuo to describe people carefully crossing a river while stepping on slippery stones. Failure to be alert might result in an unwanted dip in the water! As with the command to be on guard in Acts 20:28, gregoreuo is present imperative which is a command for continual alertness for savage wolves. These wolves are like father, like son. Their "father" is the devil (a liar - Jn 8:44) who continually prowls around seeking victims he might devour (1Pe 5:8-note), and his offspring follow suit looking for stray, gullible, shallow taught sheep. Charles Simeon commenting on 1Peter 5:8 writes that... Unwatchfulness, even in a victorious army, exposes it to defeat: much more must it subject us to the power of our subtle enemy. Peter had experienced its baneful effects. He had been warned of Satan’s intention to assault him (Lk 22:31). He had been commanded to pray lest he should fall by the temptation (Lk 22:40, cp Mt 26:41-note); but he slept when he should have been praying (Lk 22:45, 46). He stands in this respect, like Lot’s wife (Lk 17:32, Ge 19:26), a monument to future generations; but vigilance on our part will counteract the designs (see methodeia) of Satan. The armed Christian, watching unto prayer, must be victorious (Ep 6:18-note).. (1 Peter 5:8, 9 The Means of Defeating Satan's Malice) Beare writes that... Confidence in God must not lead to slackness; the spiritual warfare that they wage demands vigilance. Remembering (present tense = continually recalling to mind) (3421)(mnemoneuo from mimnesko = to recall to one's mind) means exercising memory, calling something to mind, recollecting, paying attention to something so as to be warned (eg Lk 17:32). I did not cease to admonish - Non-stop warning (Note that the word for "not" in Greek signifies absolutely not!) Remember Paul's charge to all of us in 1Cor 11:1. Dear leader, are you imitating Paul by continually admonishing your sheep? Perhaps you think its a different day. Paul lived in the first century when Christian doctrines were just beginning to be established. We don't have that same need today. Have you checked the "spiritual fodder" on the internet lately? If you have, then you know that the need has not "ceased" for leaders to warn the sheep without ceasing. Night and day - Paul likes the phrase "night and day" (7/13 uses in Scripture are by Paul Acts 20:31, 26:7, 1Th 2:9, 3:10, 2Th 3:8, 1Ti 5:5, 2Ti 1:3.) This phrase serves to further amplify/emphasize the fact that Paul "did not cease" giving "prophetic" warnings about the "coming invasion" of false teachers/teaching. Cease ("I did not stop" = NET, "unceasingly" = NAB, "I never stopped")(3973)(pauo) means to cease (middle voice = oneself) from an activity in which one is engaged. Pauo in the active sense means to cause something or someone to cease from some activity or state. To make stop. To stop, restrain, refrain, quit, desist. To come to an end. F B