May 14, 2023: 2 Peter 3:16 - Some People Twist God's Word to their Own Destruction

“…as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” - 2 Peter 3:16

Before Jesus was crucified, He had told His apostles that when He was no longer with them, they would receive the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus also referred to as the “Helper,” who would teach them all things and help them to remember all that Jesus had taught them (John 14:26, 16:13-15). When a person has put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, the apostle Paul wrote that we are instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not speaking of water baptism; rather, it refers to the Holy Spirit that enters us the moment we are saved by putting our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior:

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greek, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” ( 1 Corinthians 12:13)

Paul also wrote:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)

When we have the Holy Spirit of God within us, He leads us into understanding of God’s word. As with anyone who is learning, we don’t start off at a collegiate level; rather, we start with the easy things. When we first began to read as a child, we started off learning our ABCs in the alphabet. Then we learned short words and we learned how to put them together into sentences, increasing in the difficulty of things which we read. The same is true in the Bible: we start with the simple things by reading the milk of God’s word and then we progress to the solid food, the meat of God’s word, which is more difficult to understand because it is based on knowledge that we acquired previously by studying the milk of God’s word. Peter wrote about this in his first epistle:

“…as newborn babes, desire pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1 Peter 2:1-2)

Have you ever seen newborn babies when they are hungry? When they are near their mother, it is as if they can smell their mother’s milk and they have a rooting reflex and they are searching out their mother’s milk. This rooting reflex also happens when they need to be comforted. Like a newborn baby, Peter tells us we should seek God’s word as if our live depends on it because it does depend on it, just as a newborn baby’s life depends on milk. God’s word both feeds us spiritually and comforts us. We should have this deep desire in our heart to read His word because we want to know about Him and His plan of salvation for us.

The apostle Paul also wrote about this in 1 Corinthians, as did the author of Hebrews, of which some people believe Paul also wrote, and emphasized that we should not stay in the milk of the word but should grow in our reading of it so that we can progress to the solid food of the word, the more difficult things:

“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able…” ( 1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:13-14)

If we do not progress in our reading of God’s word, which includes reading from both the New and Old Testaments, then we are at risk of misunderstanding the meaning of the more difficult Scriptures. Imagine a first grader trying to read a college-level book and not only trying to read it but understand the meaning of it; it doesn’t work. We must read from the prophetic books in the Old Testament, including Isaiah to read of the many prophecies of the first coming of Jesus Christ that were fulfilled and written about in the four gospels and throughout the New Testament. We must read the book of Daniel to understand the book of Revelation. If we only read one without the other, we are not getting the full understanding of God’s word. We must progress from the milk of the word to the solid food in order to deepen our understanding of who God is, His plan of redemption for us that came through His chosen people when Jesus Christ came to earth the first time, and what is coming next in His written plan of history that tells us what will happen before it happens. Only Almighty God could write this.

I have learned that there are things written in the Bible that we can only understand when it is God’s timing for us to understand. The prophet Daniel is a perfect example of this. Daniel was given by God the amazing ability to tell Babylonian kings the dreams that they had dreamt and also to interpret them. These dreams all related to actual historical events that at that time, had not happened but did happen. Daniel was also able to interpret a statement that had been written on a wall by a hand with no body and which foretold the fall of a wicked and final Babylonian king to the Medo-Persian empire. Daniel was also given visions of his own that greatly troubled him, one of which was a prophecy of the end time in Daniel 12. It prophesied of, “a time of trouble, such a never was since there was a nation, even to that time.” However, this time, no interpretation of the vision was given and instead, Daniel was told:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)

In the vision, Daniel heard two men speaking and Daniel wrote:

“Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, ‘My lord, what shall be the end of these things?’ And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’” (Daniel 12:8-9)

This demonstrates that there are some things written in the Bible that were prophesied hundreds and even thousands of years prior that we simply will not understand until we grow closer to the time when they will be fulfilled. The things prophesied in the book of Daniel parallel what is written in book of Revelation, which describes the last seven years of the end of the age before Jesus Christ returns at His second coming. Until we get closer to the time of the end, they will be veiled and we won’t understand them fully. I believe we are starting to see them unveiled and what previously did not make sense, is beginning to make sense. An example of this unveiling of prophecy is in the book of Ezekiel.

For thousands of years, God had scattered the Jews from their land Israel because of their sins against Him. The prophet Ezekiel wrote about this:

“Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name - when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.” (Ezekiel 36:18-21)

Between approximately 593 and 565 BC, the prophet Ezekiel wrote a prophecy that until May 14, 1948, not many people alive prior to that time believed they would ever see happen: the return of Israel to its land. But God had promised to do this, and not for their sake but for His holy name’s sake:

“Therefore say to the house of Israel , ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.”’” (Ezekiel 36:22-24)

This prophecy, also written about in the Scripture passage below, has been partially fulfilled as of May 14, 1948, when the nation of Israel was reborn:

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.” (Ezekiel 37:21-22)

Notice in the Scripture above it says, “on the mountains of Israel.” I listen online to a pastor named Dr. Andy Woods at Sugar Bible Church. In 2022, he had a series of messages titled “Middle East Meltdown” in which he discussed the events prophesied in the book of Ezekiel in the war of Gog and Magog. I remember during several of these messages, he mentioned that it had occurred to him that the Bible mentions repeatedly the words, “mountains of Israel,” including in: Ezekiel 6:2-3; 17:23; 20:40; 34:14; 36:1, 4, 6, 8; 38:8, and 39:4, 17. Pastor Woods said that prior to the Six Day Way in 1967, Israel did not control any of the land of the mountains of Israel and it was only when it won this war through the power of Almighty God that Israel took back control of the mountains of Israel. Siggy Fried who was 23 at the time of the war and was attending college in New York, flew to Israel on June 3, 1967 and wrote about in a journal that he kept during the war. In his journal, he wrote how Israel had gained control of the mountains of Israel. (See: https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/six-day-war-diary/).

The prophecy in Ezekiel 37:21-22 above also says that Israel will no longer be a divided nation. Long ago, it was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Subsequently, Israel was taken captive to Assyria and Judah was taken captive to Babylon. Since 1948 and 1967, we have seen even in our generation Bible prophecy being fulfilled. However, there are still prophecies of Ezekiel that are yet to be fulfilled, most importantly of which is when they will will no longer defile themselves and will believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah:

“‘And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 39:29)

As we can see, sometimes it takes a long time for prophecy to be fulfilled, and as evidenced by the prophecies of Ezekiel, we have seen some prophecies being fulfilled in our generation and others that while not yet fulfilled will be, in God’s perfect timing. The evidence of fulfilled prophecy to me is what solidified my faith in Jesus Christ. However, I would not have known about the prophecies unless I had read God’s word for myself and was given the power to understand it through the Holy Spirit.

If someone who is not seeking God but read God’s word, they simply will not understand it because they are not seeking Him with their heart:

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-14)

As Peter told us in today’s Scripture verse, “as also in all his epistle’s, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures,” without the understanding given by the Holy Spirit, the Bible will not make sense to them, especially those things which are difficult to understand. Instead, they consider the Bible a bunch of made-up stories by men and think of God as a power-hungry thorn in their side who only wants to make them miserable by His never-ending set of rules. Some, sadly, have a completely twisted view of the Bible and look at Satan as the one who truly cares about them and doesn’t withhold knowledge from them and is the light bearer. This is deadly thinking and is a snare of Satan that has led many into the trap of captivity, from which they will never, ever escape.

When I was not saved yet through the grace of God by believing in His Son Jesus, I had this longing, this desire in my heart to know the truth. I did not know it at the time, but I was being convicted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was showing me that I was a sinner in need of a Savior and that the Savior is Jesus Christ. Jesus told His apostles that when He would go away [would be crucified, die, resurrect, and ascend to heaven], God would send His Holy Spirit to them:

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” (Jesus Christ; John 16:8)

I was in my late 30s when I began searching for the truth. I had to know: is believing in Jesus Christ for my salvation of sins the only way to heaven? I had to know why it was different from all the religions in the world. So I sought God with my heart and with an open mind. What does the Bible tell us about seeking Him? The prophet Jeremiah wrote about this to the Jews who had lived in Judah and had been taken captive by Babylon. God, through Jeremiah, was telling them He had a future for them and that they should not listen to the false prophets who were telling them lies. He told them they would return to their land after a period of 70 years. Then God gave them loving words of encouragement that apply to us, whether we are Jew or Gentile, today:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

After four years of reading the Bible, I knew the absolute truth: every word in the Bible is true, and the only way to God the Father is by believing in His Son as Redeemer of all my sins. It is by His grace that I am saved.

I would strongly encourage anyone reading this that if they have not ever read the Bible in its entirety, to read it completely, beginning with Genesis and ending at Revelation. I also recommend not signing up for a 1-year Bible reading plan, as I personally think it moves too quickly and the reader is at risk of missing out on a lot of what is written simply because of trying to meet a timeline. Instead, I recommend that you go at your own pace, really taking the time to understand God’s word and to think about it, letting the Holy Spirit guide you and teach you. I suggest that if your Bible has a center column with notes in it, that you read some of them as well as they contain information such as explanatory notes, cross-references, and links between the New and Old Testaments.

As with any task set before us, reading God’s word takes work. We must decide in our hearts and our minds that this is something that we want to do so that we may grow in our understanding of Him, grow closer to Him, and become rooted deeply in our faith in Him. Though we may be persecuted for our faith, and if we are doing anything for Him, we will be, though we may even be imprisoned or even killed for our faith in Him, when He has written His word in our hearts, that is something that no one can ever take away from us.

When we have done this work for ourselves, taking the time to read the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to provide us with knowledge, understanding, application, and wisdom of it, we will see this beautiful tapestry that God has woven for us, throughout His word, and how it all connects and how it all points to His plan of salvation for us: believing in His Son Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of our sins.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) ✝️