The Error of the Wicked

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Lafon

"So hear my final words, my friends. Now that I have warned you about what’s ahead, keep up your guard and don’t let unprincipled people pull you away from the sure ground of the truth with their lies and misunderstandings. - II Peter 3:17, The Voice Bible

What is the "error (note singularity) of the wicked" to which Peter referred (as it appears in the KJV) . It is evidently clear, to me at least, that the members of the early churches knew its meaning, therefore we should as well. But do we? Tender this question of a dozen Apostolic Pentecostals and don't be surprised if you receive a dozen different answers, with most of them being wrong.

So, what do you believe this phrase, which appears only this one time in the entire Bible, implies?

2 Peter 3:17King James Version (KJV)

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

I think contextually Lafon, the "error of the wicked" was speaking directly of the following (prior) verses....




3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.....


16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

[Sean]

Now was it that hard to answer Lafon, "evangelist" Benencasa?

[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by Sean

Lafon, you do not really want to see the smartelic "evangelist" answer you. He gives us some real doozies at times....LOL

Originally Posted by Sean

Now was it that hard to answer Lafon, "evangelist" Benencasa?

Sean you are a dishonest man.

You are also a coward who hides behind a computer screen.

[Sean]

LOL

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Lafon

Aaron, thanks for your response, however, aren't you stating, in essence, that the "righteous" became "wicked" because they failed, either intentionally or unwittingly, to continue in the truth concerning those things which Peter said they "knew beforehand" instead of them being warned that there already existed an "error among the wicked" concerning "these things" he had written about, and unless they remained "steadfast" in their belief of what He had written, they could also fall victim to that same "error."

So, again I feel compelled to ask, What is the "error of the wicked" concerning the things which Peter wrote about, that we must be aware of and on diligent guard against, unless we fall prey to it?

Hi, LaFon

I think the the things Peter said they knew beforehand refer back to the various proclamations he made earlier in the chapter, and not to the next phrases of the verse.

Note his use of "therefore". This is a word of conclusion.

17. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before...

What things? The things Peter already mentioned, summed up in the use of "therefore" (e.g. that scoffers would come [v. 3], the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night [v.10], the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation [v. 15] people who are unstable and unlearned wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction [v. 16], and etc.).

...beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

It seems clear to me that Peter was concerned that if the things his readers already knew were not held steadfastly, that they too might become scoffers at the idea of Christ coming back, that they too, like the wicked, would forget that His coming will be like a thief in the night, that they would stop realizing the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, or like the unstable and unlearned, they would begin to wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction.

It seems to me that Peter was trying to encourage patience and peace in his readers, who had begun to doubt the promise made by the Lord that He would return. Peter seems to be urging them to recognize that God, and so, Christ, operate on a different scale of time, or at least a different understanding, so that, just because Jesus had not come yet (as of that writing) it didn't mean He wasn't going to eventually.

Peter seems worried that if they forget "these things", they will give up their faith and doubt that Jesus will ever come back, to the point they, like the scoffers, begin to mock the idea (and etc.).

So Peter warns them against the error of the wicked, which is nothing more than quitting on Christ and the promise of His return to earth in splendor and glory in order to conquer and rule.

The error then is not believing in Christ's future coming by becoming doubtful of the promise made, and so, falling away by quitting, i.e. giving up their steadfastness (because it wasn't happening according to their timetable).

[diakonos]

Do we assume that Lafon has passed on?

[Carl]

Originally Posted by diakonos

Do we assume that Lafon has passed on?

There was a post confirming that he did a few years back.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by diakonos

Do we assume that Lafon has passed on?

Definitely passed on.

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by Carl

There was a post confirming that he did a few years back.

He passed away the 25th of Sept, 2015 according to his Obituary.

[peter83]

Originally Posted by Lafon

"So hear my final words, my friends. Now that I have warned you about what’s ahead, keep up your guard and don’t let unprincipled people pull you away from the sure ground of the truth with their lies and misunderstandings. - II Peter 3:17, The Voice Bible

What is the "error (note singularity) of the wicked" to which Peter referred (as it appears in the KJV) . It is evidently clear, to me at least, that the members of the early churches knew its meaning, therefore we should as well. But do we? Tender this question of a dozen Apostolic Pentecostals and don't be surprised if you receive a dozen different answers, with most of them being wrong.

So, what do you believe this phrase, which appears only this one time in the entire Bible, implies?

KJV."Ye therefore, beloued, seeing yee know these things before, beware lest yee also being led away with the errour of the wicked, fall from your owne stedfastnesse. "
EMTV."17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on guard, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being carried away by the error of the wicked;"
I see both KJV and English Majority Text translating as wicked.
The porevuous verse has "as they do also the rest of the Scriptures"
I understand its referring on them (naturally reading).
Am i missing anything?