“and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:17-18 ESV).
A closer look at this passage helps identify the road that Hymenaeus and Philetus likely traveled as they spread their malignant spiritual teachings.
First, it appears that these men deliberately charted a course that “deviated from the truth” (AMP). Much like an automobile that leaves the correct route, Hymenaeus and Philetus apparently started on the right spiritual road but left to take a different exit. Everyone who followed them subsequently got off on the wrong spiritual exit as well.
In addition to the deliberate nature of their choice, we should also note the subtle nature of this heresy. For instance, these men did not deny that a resurrection would take place. Instead, they reinterpreted that doctrine to mean something other than what it was. As one commentator has observed, “They did not deny the resurrection, but they corrupted that true doctrine.” (1)
Just as a small crack in a foundation might eventually lead to the collapse of a large building, one source explains how this minor deviation from the truth might eventually lead to a spiritual collapse…
“Evidently such men were equating the final resurrection with our new birth. A misapplication of Rom_6:1-4, or Col_3:13, would produce such a thought. Think of what implications are contained in this false word: (1) It would deny Christ’s physical resurrection; (2) It would deny the possibility of the second coming; (3) The hope of the resurrection for believers would be gone; (4) All hope of meeting our dead loved ones is taken away; (5) We could not share in the Father’s house of many mansions. No wonder such a teaching would overthrow the faith of the new ones in Christ in the city of Ephesus!” (2)
Unfortunately, it seems that Paul the Apostle had to address a similar issue in the New Testament epistle of 2 Thessalonians as well…
“When our Lord Jesus returns, we will be gathered up to meet him. So I ask you, my friends, not to be easily upset or disturbed by people who claim that the Lord has already come. They may say that they heard this directly from the Holy Spirit, or from someone else, or even that they read it in one of our letters” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 CEV).
Since there is no shortage of those who seek to promote similar half-truths today, this passage should encourage us to be watchful of such things.
(1) Henry, Matthew. “Concise Commentary on 2 Timothy 2”. “Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhn/2-timothy-2.html. 1706.
(2) Don De Welt, Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus [Comment on 2 Timothy 2:18] College Press, Joplin, Missouri Copyright 1961