Hey Y'all! Sorry I've not posted the study in a few days, I have just been so busy! Well, today we are doing part twenty-two! Cool! Also, I am going to try something new today, I am going to write my questions in bold, and make them sound like someone is asking me the questions, I think it will be fun! Tell me how y'all like it! Remember to thank God for the freedom we have in this country to study His word, and ask Him to give us an understanding of what we are reading and studying.
3. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
This is a very strange set of verses. "Itching ears?" "Turned unto fables?" "Heap to themselves?" Let's see what we can learn!
Okay, verse three sounds like the beginning part of chapter three. Remember when we studied that? Remember, said that "perilous times" will come? This verse starts out by saying, "For the time will come..." Do you think this verse will have anything to do with the beginning of chapter three??? Let's see!
Paul writes, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine..." So, it is talking about the same thing! It says that, "For the time will come when they..." Hold on! Wait a minute! Who is "they?" "They" is referring to all non-believers. How did you know that? Well, would the body of believers endure sound doctrine or not? They would, wouldn't they? So, if "they" will not endure sound doctrine, then "they" must not be believers. Who says that there will be any believers then? The Bible! God says that Judgment day will come when all of His elect have believed. Sorry, I don't remember where that is.
Getting back to the subject, Paul says that, "the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." What does that mean? It means that they will not endure hearing the truth! They will not listen to the truth. What will they listen to? "...but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." They will listen to themselves, "...their own lusts." And, also, they will get and listen to teachers who will teach them what they like to hear, what is comfortable to hear and pleasant. How did you figure that out, about the teachers? I read it in a different version, and read about it in one of Barclay's commentaries. In the other version it says, "...but , because they have ears which have to be continually titillated with novelties, they will bury themselves under a mound of teachers, whose teaching suits their own lusts..." What does "titillated" mean? I hyperlinked it, so it should go to the dictionary.com page defining it. =)
One important thing that is not very clear, and I just noticed, is that Paul is not talking about teachers that teach stuff like reading, math, and science; he is talking about religious teachings.
What is the "itching ears" thing? Well, I think that having "itching ears" probably means that they are "itching" (really wanting) to hear. They want to know something, they want to believe in and/or worship a god or something that they make into a god. Everyone has a god of some sort. What about Atheists? I don't believe in Atheists. What!? Have you ever heard of the book by Ray Comfort titled, "God Doesn't believe in Atheists, proof the Atheist doesn't exist?" Well, I'm going to be reading it sometime soon, and well, I think he is (going to be*) right. Everyone has a god, it could be your stomach, chocolate, books, a certain person, etc. If y'all want me to get into this, tell me, and I'll do it; I need to stop because I'm about to start ranting on something I was not going to talk about here. :P
Next, Paul writes, "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." What does that mean? Let's take it one part at a time, the first part says that they will "turn away their ears from the truth." That is the long way of saying that they won't listen to the truth. Just like verse three, they will not listen to the truth. Why does Paul emphasize this? Great question!** I just wish I had the answer, I am not sure, but I think it may be because he wants us to pray for them, for they will go to hell, not a good place. We do not know who God's elect are, so we must minister to everyone. I also think that Paul might have said it so that the Christians in the last days will know what to expect, and they will see the signs told about in the Bible and know that Jesus is about to return.
The second part says, "...and shall be turned unto fables." The first time I read it, I read it as, "...and shall be turned into fables." Doesn't make sense, right? Well, what does it mean? Basically, it means that they will listen to things that are not true, they will listen to stories made by people, instead of fact or true history (i.e. Greek myths, Mormonism, Buddism, etc).
I have to go! I hope y'all are having a great week, and that you learned something new in this, or at least had a good laugh. God bless!
In Him,
Buttercup :D
*After I read the book. LOL :P
**Hahaha! Y'all had better be laughing! That was great! LOL.
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