New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 44: “God Is Love” 1-3 John

New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 44: “God Is Love”  
1-3 John

First John

The First Epistle of John is believed to have been written around 100-110 AD by John the Apostle.

Fighting the Heretic Gnostics

In this time period of early Christianity, the church was fighting various factions that taught different teachings regarding Christ.  Perhaps one of the most challenging groups of heretics would be the Gnostics.  The term Gnostic comes from the word “gnosis” which means a hidden knowledge or secret.  There were several different groups of Gnostics, each with varying beliefs. However, most had some concepts in common.  First, they believed they held secret knowledge from the apostles or through revelation that extended the gospel to another level.  Many would attend regular Christian meetings, but then also have their own meetings, where they believed the higher knowledge was taught.  For a time, some versions of Gnosticism dominated certain areas of the Christian world, and even threatened to overtake what is called the “proto-Orthodox” Christian Church.

       Heresy #1, good Jehovah and bad Elohim

1 John begins by telling us, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1:5).  Many of the Gnostics believed that the Garden of Eden story was about a god that created mankind in order to mess with them.  This god, Elohim, did not want to bless mankind, but to toy with them.  Meanwhile, the god Yahweh/Jehovah sought to save the people from the cruelty of the god Elohim.

John was teaching that God Elohim was and is a God of light, and not an evil god. The apostle then explained that we are to follow God and Jesus in the light. The Gnostic concept is that man was sinless, because it was God that caused the Fall, not man. However, we read, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1:8).  Gnostics blamed sin on Elohim, and hoped for salvation through Yahweh.  Yet, John teaches that we are responsible for our own separation from God, through our own sins.

Early Christians saw that Jesus was the Messiah, or the mortal Yahweh. He is the Son of God and the Angel of God’s Presence (Shekinah).  There was no battle going on between Elohim (God the Father) and Yahweh (God the Son).  John emphasizes this concept:

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (2:22-23).

Connected to the concept of “God is Light” is that we must also seek the light, and reject the darkness.  This includes the concept that hatred equals darkness.  

“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (2:9-11).

    Heresy #2 - Christ as Spirit, Jesus as Man

Among the key heretic issues taught by many Gnostic sects  was a belief in the docetic (dual) nature of Jesus:
1. They believed that the man Jesus and the God Christ were separate individuals.  When Jesus was baptized, the God Christ entered into him (the dove descending), and God the Father spoke saying, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee....I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son” (Hebrews 1:5).  They did not think that Jesus the man was born the Son of God, but was begotten at baptism through a spiritual rebirth, when the God Christ entered into Jesus and became a part of him through mortality.

2. Christ did not suffer, Only Jesus did.  The Christ did the miracles and taught the people. But the man Jesus went through the suffering.  Upon the cross, “... about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46, Psalms 22:1).  In other words, prior to the suffering, the God Christ left Jesus to suffer and die alone.

3. The man Jesus was rewarded for his sacrifice by being the first to resurrect.  The God Christ, however, continued as a Spirit, never having been born , suffered, nor died as a mortal.

On this topic, John warns us about the danger of such a heresy:

“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (4:2-3).

As we can see from the Gnostic belief of a separate Jesus and Christ, they did not believe that Christ came in the flesh.  Here, John intentionally uses the full name Jesus Christ, to show that Jesus the man and Christ the god are both the same being.  Jesus is god and man, Christ is god and man. Jesus = Christ.

And this is a sign of an anti-Christ (not necessarily THE Anti-Christ of the last days), which was in the Christian world in 100AD.  The Gnostics believed Christ continued as a spirit, never suffering nor truly interacting with mankind directly, but indirectly through Jesus the man.  For the Gnostics, Christ never resurrected in the flesh, and never will have a resurrected body.

Today, we can partially judge a Christian Church by determining whether it believe Jesus came in the flesh (mortality), died on the cross, and resurrected.  Resurrection means he forever retains his physical body, just as he retains his spirit.  Resurrected Jesus is God.

  Modern heresy of the Athanasius creed

The current concept of the Trinity came about through two councils: the Council of Nicea and the Council of Chalcedon, both done in the 4th century AD.  Prior to this time, many Christians believed that Christ came in the flesh and resurrected.  They believed that God the Father and God the Son were two separate beings.  For example, the early Christian defender Origen taught that Jesus was a God subordinate to the Father.    

However, from the end of the second century to the fourth century AD, more and more Christian leaders embraced Hellenistic (Greek) philosophy and embedded several such concepts into Christian belief.  Among these was the concept that there is only one God and he is of a pure substance (Spirit) that is completely different than any other substance.  Bishop Athanasius pushed for a new creed or belief that would designate the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as only one Spirit with three persons.  Other bishops, such as Arius and the historian Eusebius disagreed, but lost when Constantine (not yet baptized as a Christian) accepted Athanasius’ creed and established it as the Nicene Creed.  Constantine sent  many “heretic” Christians, who did not accept the Trinity, to the copper mines, which essentially was a death sentence.

It would still take over a century for the Nicene Creed to become Christian doctrine, as it almost lost out again in the 4th century.  Still, the Nicene Creed left many questions.  How could Christ be spirit and still have a physical body?  At the end of the 4th Century, the Council of Chalcedon began and determined the duality of Christ.  Today, most Christian religions embrace the two creeds as doctrine, even though the Bible is rather silent on such issues.
In fact, early Christans intentionally changed First John to reflect the Trinity in it.  1 John 5:7-8 tells us:

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

This clearly sounds like evidence of the Trinity creed. However, scholars now call this the “Comma Johanneum”, or Johannine Comma or Clause.  The portion that was the later addition is: “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth”.

Without the clause, the verse originally stated, “For there are three that bear record, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

The clause does not appear in any texts prior to the ninth century AD.  Such an effort to intentionally change the feel and thought of First John goes entirely against his teaching in the epistle!  He stated that Christ resurrected and had a body, while also being the Son of God.  Historically, the comment was added in a later Bible version called the Textus Receptus, which was used in all Bible translations from 1522 onward until the past century.  Yes, it is even in the King James Bible, which is one reason why LDS believe the Bible to be correct and the word of God  insofar as it is translated correctly (Article of Faith 8).

Jesus taught that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24), which is often used as evidence of the Trinity.  However, here John teaches that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).  God as spirit and love show attributes of God, not a specific statement that God is only one thing.  God can be a spirit, love, resurrected being with a physical body, and many other things.  To define him only as a spirit is to delimit him and our understanding of whom he really is.

What we do know, John teaches us:

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he (God) is pure”  (1 John 3:2-3).

Bibliography

Nag Hammadi Library (Primarily Gnostic writings found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt):
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html

First Peter - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Epistle_of_John

“Condemned to the Mines, Copper Production and Christian Persecution”, Biblical Archaeological Review, Nov/Dec 2011, pg 30:  http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=37&Issue=6&ArticleID=2

Comma Johanneum - wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma_Johanneum

New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 43: “A Chosen Generation” part 2 Epistle of Jude

New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 43: “A Chosen Generation”
Epistle of Jude

This is the second part of Lesson 43.  The first part, on First and Second Peter is found here.

Background

Scholars differ on which Jude is the author of this epistle, whether it is the apostle Jude, the brother of Jesus, or if they are the same individual.  All agree that Judas Iscariot is not the author of the epistle.  

The epistle was controversial in the early days of Christianity.  All early Christian leaders believed in its authenticity, but argued over whether to include it in the canon of scripture, because of controversial concepts contained within it, including its quoting or referencing of non-canonical writings.  Origen discusses the early controversy over the epistle of Jude by some church leaders, though he personally accepted it.  The controversy continued into the 4th century, as noted by Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History.

The epistle was not directed towards any particular Christian congregation, but was written to be distributed throughout all the churches of Christ.  Jude’s few verses are very similar to that found in 2 Peter (mostly chapter 2).  Scholars believe that either there was a previous source both used, or that one was the source for the other.

Keeping your First Estate

Jude begins his epistle discussing the importance of contending for the faith, and fighting against apostates who seek to turn believers from following Christ and his gospel.

“ 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude).

Israel in Egypt is compared with the premortal existence.  From Egypt, Israel was offered a fresh start, a freedom, as they moved to the Promised Land.  Yet, many fought with Moses, thinking they knew better. In doing so, they were destroyed.

So it was in the premortal existence.  We were spirit children of God in the prior life.  Yet, as only spirits, we were limited to our growth, agency, and free will.  To move forward, we required a fresh start in mortality, with the expectation that we would believe in Christ and follow God through his appointed prophets.  

In Abraham 3, we read about this premortal experience:

“ 22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him” (Book of Abraham 3).

Here we see that some chose to rebel, rather than follow the plan God set forth. Lucifer and many others rejected their first estate, or the experiences of the premortal life.  Instead of coming down to gain a body and have a chance at choosing eternal life through Christ, they rejected everything and were cast down from heaven, becoming Satan and his demons.  As Jude notes, these are they who rejected their first estate and are to be enchained in Outer Darkness in the final day of judgment.

So will it be for those who indulge in fornications and sexual pleasures that do not fall under the mandate of God.  Sodom and Gomorrah is noted as a place that was destroyed for its sinfulness.  Professor Harold Bloom wrote that Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed for its sinful sexual behaviors (including homosexual and heterosexual acts), but for the inhabitants not being hospitable.  In other words, God put up with their sinful natures until they attempted to impose that lifestyle upon others (such as on Lot and his angelic visitors).

Jude warns us that such sinful nature is the cause for destruction for a people.

Body of Moses

One of the two very controversial portions of the Epistle of Jude is the story regarding Moses’ body.

“9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

Here, the greatest of the angels, Michael, contends with Satan for the body of Moses. Origen noted that this was a part of an ancient Jewish text entitled the “Assumption of Moses” (also known as the Testament of Moses), believed by modern scholars to have been written in the 1st century AD.  The Assumption of Moses that is now available no longer contains this story, but is believed by many to have been at the end in the original. This is part of the controversy that arises with Jude’s epistle.  He is actually quoting from a non-canonical source!

The concept comes forth that rather than dying, Moses is to ascend to heaven, even as Enoch or Elijah did.  In Jude, Michael must fight for Moses that he may ascend in a translated or raptured state, rather than die.

Enoch’s Prophecy

“14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Again, Jude quotes from another non-canonical source.  This time, it is from one of the various surviving books of Enoch.  The writings of Enoch were well accepted by many Jews and Christians from the 2nd century BC and until St Jerome rejected it for his compilation of the Bible.  Enoch is quoted or referenced dozens of times in the New Testament, with Jude as the most well known.

Fragments of Enoch writings are found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, suggesting that the ancient Essenes accepted Enoch as scripture. Interestingly, the fragments within the Dead Sea Scrolls are only one of two places wherein we find a person named Mahujah/Mahijah who questions Enoch.  The other known writing of Enoch that has this encounter is found in Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Moses (Moses 6:40)!

Jude’s connection between Moses and Enoch is an important one. Both are called of God to be an important prophet in their days.  Both have a heavenly vision and then are sent back to earth with the commandments and teachings of God.  Both foresaw the coming of the Lord in glory and power among men.  In LDS belief, Enoch prepared his city of Zion to be lifted to heaven, while Moses tried to bring the children of Israel into the presence of God at Sinai, and then into the Promised Land.  Enoch saved his people from the evil that occurred before the Flood, while Moses saved his people from the evils in Egypt.

There is another place, besides Jude, where both prophets are discussed and offered as symbols of the coming Lord Jesus Christ.  Joseph Smith received a revelation while studying the Bible regarding the Creation, the Fall of Man, and the times of Enoch before the Flood.  All of this Joseph received through the eyes of the prophet Moses.

As with Enoch, Joseph Smith also proclaimed that the Lord would return for his Second Coming in great power and glory.  Our job is to keep the commandments, be chaste, virtuous, and righteous in following Christ. In doing so, the day may come when the archangel Michael may contend with the devil over us, that we may gain our second estate and receive a crown of glory.

Bibliography

Epistle of Jude - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_of_Jude

Epistle of Jude - Catholic Encyclopedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08542b.htm

Epistle of Jude - Early Christian Writings: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/jude.html

Inhospitality of Sodom - http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/02/lds-gospel-doctrine-class-old-testament_15.html

Lack of Hospitality by Sodom - Book of J, Harold Bloom, pp 299-301: http://www.amazon.com/Book-J-Harold-Bloom/dp/0802141919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320158037&sr=8-1

Assumption of Moses - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assumption_of_Moses

Assumption of Moses (AKA Testament of Moses): http://www.piney.com/Testament-Moses.html

Book of Enoch (as quoted by Jude): http://www.piney.com/ApocEnoch1.html

Mahijah/Mahujah: http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/01/gospel-doctrine-old-testament-lesson-5.html

Book of Moses: http://lds.org/scriptures/pgp/moses?lang=eng

New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 43: “A Chosen Generation” 1-2 Peter

New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 43: “A Chosen Generation”
1-2 Peter

First Peter

Scholars are mixed as to whether Peter actually wrote 1 Peter or not.  Evidence for Petrine authorship is primarily that many early Christian writers stated that Peter wrote the epistle.  There are external issues that cause some scholars to doubt its authenticity.  One primary issue is that the Greek letter is eloquent in its writing and based on the Septuagint Old Testament (LXX). Peter may have known some Greek, but would not have been as powerful in writing Greek as in Hebrew.  And it is possibly more likely he would have used a Hebrew Old Testament and personally translated it into Greek.  That the letter speaks favorably on various Pauline concepts suggests it may have been written by one of Paul’s followers.  Finally, the book is written to Gentile areas in Asia, and mentions severe trials brought on by the government.  Nero was the Caesar who executed both Paul and Peter ca 63-67 AD, but mostly focused his Christian attacks in and around Rome.  Meanwhile, Nero’s successor Domitian did seek to destroy Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

The argument for it being actually written by Peter suggests that Peter wrote it immediately after the death of Paul, with the effect of trying to keep the Church in Asia united under the direction of the apostles.

Peter notes that the epistle is written from “Babylon.”  There are three possible locations for this: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome.  Most scholars believe that Peter was referring to Rome, as there are no early traditions of Peter being in Mesopotamia or in Egypt.  It is generally agreed that Peter died in Rome ca 67AD, and if he did write the epistle, it would have to have been just prior to his own death during Nero’s reign, when the Roman saints were being persecuted.  That the churches addressed were on the fringes of Paul’s influence (Paul’s followers brought the gospel to the locations) makes sense, as the Church was well established in Ephesus and other locations Paul had personally preached.

Key Teachings

Peter gives two main concepts in the epistle.  

    Faith and Sanctification

1  Pet 1-2:10 teach us regarding the key concepts behind having real faith, even through trials brought on by others   In this instance, the trials brought on by Nero and the death of Paul would have weighed heavily on the entire Church.  And it is possible that trials were being inflicted upon the newly formed churches in Asia, as they were meeting challenges by pagan worshipers in the same areas.

“ 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
“6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
“7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1)

Faith and hope cause us to anticipate the glories and rewards of the next life.  Even during our difficult trials in mortality, we can focus and even rejoice on such hope.  We learn that such trials can refine us, even as gold is refined by very intense heat.  As gold is heated, the impurities separate from the gold, and remain as slag or waste, after the purified gold has been tried by fire.

Peter speaks to the members who through their faith have been justified (made guiltless) through the blood of Christ, and now must learn to be sanctified (become holy) through the Spirit and the atonement of Christ (1 Pet 1:2).  The aspect of becoming holy through sanctification includes bearing the trials that occur, as well as learning obedience to the commands God gives us.  We are not saved by keeping the commandments.  We are, however, able to become more holy as we are sanctified, which requires us to strive ever more in the faith of Christ, and that includes learning obedience.

Peter taught that Christ was foreordained, ordained before the world was made, to accomplish his great work.  His example becomes our example to follow in faith.

          How the Faithful Behave

The second part of 1 Peter (2:11-5:14) is a Midrash, or spiritual explanation of how we should apply Isaiah 53 into our own lives.  In that chapter, Isaiah foresaw the “Suffering Servant” Jesus Christ, who would take upon him the pains and sins of the world, and as a lamb going to the slaughter, would not cry out.

“21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
“22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
“23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
“24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
“25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Pet 2).

While through basic faith and repentance we are justified or made sinless in Christ, we have yet to be sanctified or made holy through Christ and the Holy Spirit to a greater reward in heaven.  If we seek to receive the reward given to Jesus and to sit down on his throne with him (Revelation 3:21), we must follow the path and example he gave us in mortality.  As we follow in Jesus’ footsteps, we become more holy, more like He is.  Following commandments alone cannot save nor exalt us.  But when we become holy through sanctification, we BECOME like Christ. It is in the Becoming that the Holy Spirit can then abide within us, purifying us, and making us more and more perfect in Christ.

We are not expected to sit passively through our trials.  Instead, God expects us to actively be doing good works (3:13-4:6).  As Bible.org adeptly notes: “It is one thing to suffer for simply being a Christian; it is quite another for suffering for living like a Christian before a watching world.”

Preaching to the Spirits in Prison

Peter speaks on an interesting concept regarding the deceased Christ’s efforts in the three days his body lay in the tomb.

“ 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
“19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
“20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Pet 3).

“ 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Pet 4).

Here, Peter is talking about Jesus’ descending into hell, or the “harrowing of hell.”  According to the early Christian writing, the “Gospel of Nicodemus” Part II (the descent into hell), the dead were in a spirit prison, unable to escape Death.  When Jesus died, Satan came to Death and boasted about his victory over Jesus.  Death lamented, stating he did not have the power to hold such a powerful being.  Jesus soon came and broke down the doors of death, allowing the righteous from Adam on down to resurrect and enter into heaven.

This prison or hell we speak of is a portion of what is known as the Spirit World.  This is the place where the spirits of the dead await the resurrection.  One part of the Spirit World is known as Paradise, and the other as Spirit Prison or hell.  The requirement to escape hell is to be justified in Christ, or to have faith in Christ and fully repent of one’s sins.   As Peter discusses sanctification or becoming holy, our reward in heaven then is determined by our good works, and who we truly become (Christ-like or something less).  

In his three days in the Spirit World, Christ organized the righteous to preach the gospel to the wicked and those who had not yet received a chance to hear the Good News.  In 1918, President Joseph F. Smith saw in vision the Spirit World and how Christ organized the work.  He explained first seeing Paradise and the righteous awaiting the coming of Christ to save them:

“18 While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful;
19 And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance.
20 But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised;
21 Neither did the rebellious who rejected the testimonies and the warnings of the ancient prophets behold his presence, nor look upon his face.
22 Where these were, darkness reigned, but among the righteous there was peace;...
30 But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.
31 And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.
32 Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.
33 These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,
34 And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit”  (D&C 138).

In this way, we see that the Almighty God has prepared a way for all mankind to hear the gospel message, believe and repent, and be saved from eternal damnation and hell.  The Jews and Gentiles that lived prior to Christ in most of the world,  the person who lived behind the atheist Iron Curtain of the 20th century, and the millions who today dwell under Islam and other non-Christian faiths; will finally have a chance to have the gospel preached to them.

This is significant.  Some Christians believe that anyone who does not accept Christ in this life will be cast into hell, regardless of the reason.  Now we know that Christ gives all mankind a chance to know Him and accept Him.  And why would he do that?

“ 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3).

Second Peter

Many scholars believe that Peter did not write 2 Peter.  It is dated anywhere from 60-160 AD for its writing, depending on just which scholar is asked.  Since Peter discusses Paul’s writings, 2 Peter could not have been written prior to 60 AD.  Even early Christian leaders, such as Origen, had some doubts as to the authenticity of 2 Peter.  Many scholars believe that it was written after the destruction of Jerusalem, for Peter states that Israel now consists of the followers of Jesus, and not the Jews, who after the Roman destruction were scattered to the winds.  According to 2 Peter, the apostle was anticipating his death: “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me” (2 Pet 1:14), and so it could not have been written much before that concluding event.  Tradition has it that the Romans chose to crucify Peter, but he asked to be crucified upside down, because he did not feel himself worthy of imitating the Lord in his own death on the cross.

Peter also makes reference to the epistle of Jude, which could not have been written any earlier than 66 AD, one year before Peter’s death, and therefore probably not giving Peter time to read it and discuss it in his own epistle.  That Peter discusses Jude’s epistle, which includes writings from Enoch which St Jerome rejected in compiling the books of the Bible, caused that it cast a questionable light on 2 Peter’s authenticity.

2 Peter is also tied closely to another pseudepigraphic writing entitled the Apocalypse of Peter, which details a major revelation given to Peter.

Partakers of the Divine Nature
2 Peter 1:4-8

Peter begins by speaking of how we become sanctified, or made holy.  We can become “partakers of the divine nature” which literally means we can become as Christ is.  In doing so, Peter makes a list of principles of those things that can make us Christ-like, grace by grace:

“ 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”

In some Christian traditions, God is made of pure Spirit or substance that is unlike any other creation.  Some believe that nothing impure can ever become quite like God’s nature or substance.  Yet, here we are told we can partake of that divine nature, and exactly how to do it through being sanctified.  To add “godliness” means one must be god-like!  Peter shows us a path from one level of grace and goodness to the next, until we are perfected through charity/love.

In going from grace to grace, receiving grace for grace (D&C 93), we become perfected until we can receive our “calling and election made sure” (2 Pet 1:10).  It is at this point that we have achieved a level of grace and godliness through sanctification that we are promised exaltation.

More Sure Word of Prophecy
2 Peter 1:19-21

“19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

Peter is establishing a very important concept among those who struggle with the writings and scriptures floating around the Christian communities in his day.  There is a better way to understand prophecy than by “private interpretation.”  That method is to listen to living apostles and prophets explain the scriptures and interpret them according to the will and inspiration of God.  Perhaps this is one of the most important concepts that separates traditional Christianity from restorationist Christianity one finds in Mormonism.

There are thousands of Christian churches today because individuals have read the Bible and disagreed one with another regarding concepts and teachings therein.  Some believe baptism is necessary, others do not.  Some believe in immersion in water, while others think sprinkling or not baptism is fine.  Some believe salvation comes only through pure grace, while others believe that works is also a necessary component.  Some believe in free will, while others teach predestination.  The American Baptist church was torn in half over the issue of slavery in 1845. Today, many churches are divided over abortion and issues of sexuality..  

With modern prophets and apostles, modern witnesses of the resurrected Christ, even as Peter was an ancient witness of the resurrected Christ, we have inspired men who can give us a God-approved interpretation of scripture.

Peter states later in chapter 3:

“15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
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.”

That Paul’s writings have long been a point of major disagreement in the Christian Church is well noted even in Peter’s day.  For those who seek a personal interpretation of the scriptures, without guidance of modern prophets to clarify the will and mind of God is to risk wresting the scriptures onto our own destruction.

Peter even notes that some scoff at the scripture because they do not heed the prophets or apostles:

“ 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
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” (2 Pet 3).

Peter noted that there would be scoffers in the “last days” prior to the Second Coming.  Sadly, his prophecy has come true in the modern age.  Today, we have many Christians and their pastors who do not believe in the Second Coming of Christ.  For example, retired Episcopalian Bishop John Spong wrote and spoke for years on his version of Christianity, questioning the divinity of Christ, the virgin birth, insisted miracles do not happen, nor is there a physical resurrection, etc.  

Yet, we have living prophets and apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who proclaim the divinity of Christ today.  They are called as “special witnesses of Jesus Christ.”  In his day, the Prophet Joseph Smith proclaimed,

“ 19 And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.
20 And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness;
21 And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.
22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:19-24).

The living prophets and apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ have also born their modern witness of the Lord in the “Living Christ, a Proclamation.”

Bibliography

First Peter - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Epistle_of_Peter

First Peter - bible.org: http://bible.org/seriespage/first-peter-introduction-argument-and-outline

Gospel of Nicodemus: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelnicodemus.html

Second Peter - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_epistle_of_peter

Second Peter - Early Christian Writings: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/2peter.html

Second Peter - bible.org: http://bible.org/seriespage/second-peter-introduction-argument-and-outline

Peter’s Death: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#Death

The Living Christ, a Proclamation from the living prophets and apostles: http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,90-1-10-1,00.html

The Apocalypse of Peter: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/apocalypsepeter-roberts.html