Chapter 3—"They Corrupt Themselves"
Jude speaks of vain and filthy dreamers who are asleep to truth
and without knowledge of God. Although they are religious—even covenant
makers—they are ignorant to His ways and
The Way of Cain. To walk ‘in the way of Cain’ permits evolution in doctrine and worship. We do not have to renounce religion or openly revolt against God to walk in the way of Cain. We merely need to misuse His name, not repent, or labor in our own way. The way of Cain is to rely on our own works and to “scoff at the true good works; it is to circumvent and ruin those traveling on the right road.” Cain was a ‘freethinker’ and all unbelievers are his followers, encouraging a religion of doing dead works instead of becoming alive in Christ.
Paul was guilty of such things before his spiritual conversion, being “as to the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5, ESV). Trained to be strict in religion, being brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel,” a highly respected “doctor of the law” (Acts 22:3, 5:34), Paul lived with precision to the Pharisaic interpretation of the law. “I obeyed the[ir] law without fault” (Philippians 3:6, NLT), being “extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14, NIV).
Paul was “a learned man, accepted within his own Pharisee group, valiant above those his own age, and had position, power, and influence. He was determined to prevent Christianity from destroying the religion of the Jews. He was not [intentionally] an evil man; he simply did not understand. In his error, he viewed the doctrine of Christ as an enemy to the revelations God had given to Moses and to Abraham.”
Paul’s zeal could benefit God’s kingdom if he could recognize and forsake his corrupted beliefs. His zeal and complete allegiance to his religion was not enough to obtain salvation, which required his transformation through Christ’s true doctrine. The Lord needed from Paul something that the Jews’ religion had lost over the years: total obedience to exactly what God revealed. All else was the way of Cain.
Cain, the ultimate type for the wicked, “belonged to the evil one” (1 John 3:12, NLT). He defied God, performed an alternate form of worship, and led others astray. Like Cain, any who seek their own way, reject righteousness, or refuse to repent choose Satan over God. Through pride, corruption, and zealous persecution of truth and its believers, false prophets or teachers take life like Cain, murdering the souls of men by leading them astray.
The Error of Balaam. Jude associates “the way of Cain” with “the error of Balaam” and “gainsaying of Korah” (Jude 1:11). Although Balaam was a prophet in Israel, “following the way of Balaam” is sin. Balaam compromised, pleased men instead of God, and perverted the right way. He did “corrupt the word of God and refine away its meaning and let it down so as to suit the passions of” men.
Though he claimed to worship the one true God, Balaam did not withstand the lure of priestcraft. Balaam means confuser or destroyer of the people. This is similar in meaning to Balak, the king of Moab, whose name means to lay waste or destroy the people. King Balak promised Balaam to “promote thee unto very great honor” if he would curse Israel (Numbers 22:37). Balak said the Lord “hath kept him back from honor” (Numbers 24:11) of men, but he could give Balaam power and influence now. At first Balaam said, “I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more,” but he eventually succumbed and was “rebuked for his iniquity” (2 Peter 2:16).
God reprimands all who are of this mindset: “I have a few things against you . . . who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel” (Revelation 2:14, ISV). Their prophet Balaam cursed Israel by implementing a perverse form of worship. They “left the straight way” (2 Peter 2:15, Berean) and “wandered off the right road” (NLT).
The right way is to believe Christ, not deny Him. Jacob’s faith in the Lord could not be shaken by variant worship or persuasive words of an antichrist who declared his reforms “the right way” because Jacob knew how to receive personal revelation. The antichrist hoped “to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels and they had ministered unto me. And also I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken” (Jacob 7:5).
To “depart from the right way and know not the God in whom [we] should trust” causes miracles to cease (Mormon 9:20). Nephi warned that all who “pervert the right way of the Lord . . . shall be thrust down to hell!” (2 Nephi 28:15). But many have “forsaken the right way and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam . . . who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15).
The Greek Nikolaitan comes from the word Balaam. Both represent a failure to remain true, willingness to compromise with the world. LDS apostle Bruce McConkie said Nicolaitans represent “members of the Church who were trying to maintain their church standing while continuing to live after the manner of the world.”
Balaam’s error is a willingness to sell signs and tokens of righteousness and truth for an imitative path of ease or gain. Evil encourages us to vigorously expend our energies to gain the rewards or approval of men. Those like Balaam exchange God’s acceptance for earthly advantage, the ultimate example of priestcraft and forsaking sacred covenants. Instead of God’s tokens, unfaithful elders received “rewards of divination in their hand” (Numbers 22:7), prohibiting true priesthood. “To Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Romans 10:21).
Israel “rebelled against the commandment of the Lord and believed him not, nor hearkened to His voice” (Deuteronomy 9:23). “Listen to me” He says to “you who are called by the name of Israel and . . . who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel . . . but not in truth or righteousness . . . You don’t keep your promises, even though you call yourself the holy city.” You “claim to rely on the God of Israel,” but He is not fooled. “I know how stubborn and obstinate you are” (Isaiah 48:1–2, 4, NLT, NIV).
Being “more concerned with what they could get out of the people they were teaching than what they could put into them” renders priests and leaders guilty of priestcraft. Priestcraft seeks power or influence at the expense of truth and righteousness. Moroni warned that in the last days, “leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts” and commit grievous sins against His gospel (Mormon 8:28).
People “abandoned themselves for the sake of gain” (Jude 1:11, ESV). They “rushed for profit” (NIV), “deceived people for money” (NLT), and “ran greedily” (KJV) into sin or error, deserting covenant responsibilities. “They have for reward poured out themselves” (Douay-Rheims). Hypocrites are condemned for claiming authority while pursuing their own interests, as were Pharisees:
Gainsaying of Korah. The theme of priestcraft continues in Jude’s third charge against those who “perished in the gainsaying of Korah” (Jude 1:11). Gainsaying contradicts, disputes, denies, or thwarts His revealed word. Its roots are anti (G473), to go against, and lego (G3004), a spoken word or command. It describes the works or attitudes of those who oppose His gospel by seeking gain by what they say or preach. Korah’s error, which still exists today, represents disparity between God’s revealed word and what false prophets or teachers preach.
With gainsaying, Korah “sought to change the order fixed both above and below, and therefore he perished both above and below. He took evil counsel for himself. If one runs after that which is not his, it flies from him, and what is more, he loses his own as well. So Korah pursued that which was not his, and he lost his own without obtaining the other. Korah quarreled with peace . . . [and] the Holy Name.” Only faith in the Lord can correct such a course.
Enemies of God can exist within a church organization if priests, leaders, or teachers seek gain. If one’s living depends on an institution, pressure and temptation to conform to its reforms increases. “Such men have no motive to teach the truth or any doctrine except what people in their baser selves wish to hear. Such as are the false teachers condemned here and . . . these enemies were found within the church.” Instead of leading people to truth, they lead them from it. We are warned of “perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. From such withdraw thyself” (1 Timothy 6:5).
Impostors, particularly in leadership positions, are a serious threat to the covenant so we are warned,
Hold “fast the faithful word” and “truth which is after godliness” (Titus 1:1). “Since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues” (Acts 15:21, HCSB). Following anyone, including Moses, at the expense of coming to Christ consigns us to a telestial existence. “Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil and they do not understand, but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:15–16, NLT).
Many who profess to live the divine law fail to walk up to its terms. Possessing His law offers no guarantee that it will be properly observed. Jesus asked at the temple, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” (John 7:19). Those like Korah oppose the divine authority of true apostles and seek to follow another. Abinadi preached repentance to a stubborn and wicked council of priests who claimed to teach the law but had “perverted the ways of the Lord.”
Adam’s desire for true messengers required that he test and try them because the first ones on the scene are not necessarily the ones sent by God. Adam had to wait patiently and discern well. The Lord praises those who “hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” (Revelation 2:2). This warning is repeated today: “Liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known” in the last days (D&C 64:39).
This is reflected in Lehi’s dream as a man “dressed in a white robe” encouraged Lehi to follow him. We are never told for certain who this figure is except “a man” with authority who wanted others to follow him, and that he wore white, the same color a wolf in sheep’s clothing wears. Neither white nor a robe are a sure mark of righteousness. When Lehi followed this man, he found himself “in a dark and dreary waste” without light (1 Nephi 8:7). The tree of life was only offered Lehi after he departed from this man and held to the word of God.
False apostles include those who see “an angel of light” and mistakenly believe it is Christ. We must ask God for truth in all things, to discern those who have seen the Lord from those who instead receive a clever counterfeit. We are warned, “If any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or lo, he is there, believe him not” (Mark 13:21).
Beware of “false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions” (2 Corinthians 11:13–15, BSB). “Many will join with them in hypocrisy,” but they will fall (Daniel 11:34, NASB). Their policies, rationalized as a necessary, encourage those in unbelief to accept their changes as divine.
Such foolishness divides a church, creating a “schism [that] has perverted man; hath cast many into despondency; many into doubt” (1 Clement 46:9). Paul urges us to “teach no other doctrine” than what God revealed (1 Timothy 1:3). Instead of heeding myths, be “nourished by the words of the faith and sound instruction . . . Train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:6–7, BSB). “Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16). We cannot do it without faith.
“Faith in his name hath made this man strong . . . [and] given him this perfect soundness” (Acts 3:16). Soundness, holokléria (G3647), is being made complete. Such blessings result from looking toward and relying “upon the merits of Jesus Christ” (D&C 3:20).
So the heresy and gainsaying of Korah is a danger to all. Korah’s followers did not have inward spiritual conversion congruent with the holiness they believed they possessed. Followers of Korah thought Israel was holy and righteous merely by having the covenant. Fire destroyed them and 15,000 of their followers. Assuming authority while perverting God’s way will destroy us as it did Korah who perished in the earth. “Woe to you who alter the true words and pervert the everlasting covenant and consider themselves to be without sin; they will be swallowed up in the earth” (1 Enoch 99:2).
In contrast, the way of Abel requires complete obedience to what God revealed. Knowing He cannot accept variation, Abel placed his faith in Christ, the only mediator who could atone for fallen man. Cain, Balaam, and Korah had religion, but the way of Abel is not about religion. It is about true Christianity, offering the penitent the means to return to His presence. Religion and Christianity are distinct.
“If ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth” (1 Nephi 16:3). God told Cain, “If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire” but “if thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted” (Moses 5:23). The New English translation of the Septuagint renders it, “if thou offers correctly” (Genesis 4:7). To “do well” is to offer a sacrifice in faith, in the precise manner God revealed, for “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). God told Cain,
Even with good intentions, acceptable worship requires a spiritual connection with heaven. Without it, we offer in vain for “flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63). “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5–6, NIV). Works of the flesh—the ways of man—are like Cain’s unacceptable offering. Acceptable offerings are not of the ground, but of the Spirit.
To worship “the true and the living God,” we must worship Him “in spirit and in truth,” but opposition is great when we do. But “unto such hath God promised His spirit: and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (JST John 4:26). A “willingness to believe in his words” brings His spirit (Helaman 6:36).
There are only two ways—and they lead in opposite directions—so we must choose wisely.
For footnotes and references, click HERE.
speak evil of those things which they know not . . . in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have (1) gone in the way of Cain, and (2) ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and (3) perished in the gainsaying of Korah. (Jude 1:8, 10–11, numerals added)
The Way of Cain. To walk ‘in the way of Cain’ permits evolution in doctrine and worship. We do not have to renounce religion or openly revolt against God to walk in the way of Cain. We merely need to misuse His name, not repent, or labor in our own way. The way of Cain is to rely on our own works and to “scoff at the true good works; it is to circumvent and ruin those traveling on the right road.” Cain was a ‘freethinker’ and all unbelievers are his followers, encouraging a religion of doing dead works instead of becoming alive in Christ.
Paul was guilty of such things before his spiritual conversion, being “as to the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5, ESV). Trained to be strict in religion, being brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel,” a highly respected “doctor of the law” (Acts 22:3, 5:34), Paul lived with precision to the Pharisaic interpretation of the law. “I obeyed the[ir] law without fault” (Philippians 3:6, NLT), being “extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14, NIV).
Paul was “a learned man, accepted within his own Pharisee group, valiant above those his own age, and had position, power, and influence. He was determined to prevent Christianity from destroying the religion of the Jews. He was not [intentionally] an evil man; he simply did not understand. In his error, he viewed the doctrine of Christ as an enemy to the revelations God had given to Moses and to Abraham.”
Paul’s zeal could benefit God’s kingdom if he could recognize and forsake his corrupted beliefs. His zeal and complete allegiance to his religion was not enough to obtain salvation, which required his transformation through Christ’s true doctrine. The Lord needed from Paul something that the Jews’ religion had lost over the years: total obedience to exactly what God revealed. All else was the way of Cain.
Cain, the ultimate type for the wicked, “belonged to the evil one” (1 John 3:12, NLT). He defied God, performed an alternate form of worship, and led others astray. Like Cain, any who seek their own way, reject righteousness, or refuse to repent choose Satan over God. Through pride, corruption, and zealous persecution of truth and its believers, false prophets or teachers take life like Cain, murdering the souls of men by leading them astray.
The Error of Balaam. Jude associates “the way of Cain” with “the error of Balaam” and “gainsaying of Korah” (Jude 1:11). Although Balaam was a prophet in Israel, “following the way of Balaam” is sin. Balaam compromised, pleased men instead of God, and perverted the right way. He did “corrupt the word of God and refine away its meaning and let it down so as to suit the passions of” men.
Though he claimed to worship the one true God, Balaam did not withstand the lure of priestcraft. Balaam means confuser or destroyer of the people. This is similar in meaning to Balak, the king of Moab, whose name means to lay waste or destroy the people. King Balak promised Balaam to “promote thee unto very great honor” if he would curse Israel (Numbers 22:37). Balak said the Lord “hath kept him back from honor” (Numbers 24:11) of men, but he could give Balaam power and influence now. At first Balaam said, “I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more,” but he eventually succumbed and was “rebuked for his iniquity” (2 Peter 2:16).
God reprimands all who are of this mindset: “I have a few things against you . . . who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel” (Revelation 2:14, ISV). Their prophet Balaam cursed Israel by implementing a perverse form of worship. They “left the straight way” (2 Peter 2:15, Berean) and “wandered off the right road” (NLT).
The right way is to believe Christ, not deny Him. Jacob’s faith in the Lord could not be shaken by variant worship or persuasive words of an antichrist who declared his reforms “the right way” because Jacob knew how to receive personal revelation. The antichrist hoped “to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels and they had ministered unto me. And also I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken” (Jacob 7:5).
To “depart from the right way and know not the God in whom [we] should trust” causes miracles to cease (Mormon 9:20). Nephi warned that all who “pervert the right way of the Lord . . . shall be thrust down to hell!” (2 Nephi 28:15). But many have “forsaken the right way and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam . . . who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15).
The Greek Nikolaitan comes from the word Balaam. Both represent a failure to remain true, willingness to compromise with the world. LDS apostle Bruce McConkie said Nicolaitans represent “members of the Church who were trying to maintain their church standing while continuing to live after the manner of the world.”
Balaam’s error is a willingness to sell signs and tokens of righteousness and truth for an imitative path of ease or gain. Evil encourages us to vigorously expend our energies to gain the rewards or approval of men. Those like Balaam exchange God’s acceptance for earthly advantage, the ultimate example of priestcraft and forsaking sacred covenants. Instead of God’s tokens, unfaithful elders received “rewards of divination in their hand” (Numbers 22:7), prohibiting true priesthood. “To Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Romans 10:21).
Israel “rebelled against the commandment of the Lord and believed him not, nor hearkened to His voice” (Deuteronomy 9:23). “Listen to me” He says to “you who are called by the name of Israel and . . . who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel . . . but not in truth or righteousness . . . You don’t keep your promises, even though you call yourself the holy city.” You “claim to rely on the God of Israel,” but He is not fooled. “I know how stubborn and obstinate you are” (Isaiah 48:1–2, 4, NLT, NIV).
Being “more concerned with what they could get out of the people they were teaching than what they could put into them” renders priests and leaders guilty of priestcraft. Priestcraft seeks power or influence at the expense of truth and righteousness. Moroni warned that in the last days, “leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts” and commit grievous sins against His gospel (Mormon 8:28).
People “abandoned themselves for the sake of gain” (Jude 1:11, ESV). They “rushed for profit” (NIV), “deceived people for money” (NLT), and “ran greedily” (KJV) into sin or error, deserting covenant responsibilities. “They have for reward poured out themselves” (Douay-Rheims). Hypocrites are condemned for claiming authority while pursuing their own interests, as were Pharisees:
The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him . . . Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests.They have “forsaken the right way and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15). Wages of unrighteousness can be manifested as money, popularity, position, power, praise, prosperity, or prestige. The only gain we should seek for our labor is “the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God” (Mosiah 18:26).
Gainsaying of Korah. The theme of priestcraft continues in Jude’s third charge against those who “perished in the gainsaying of Korah” (Jude 1:11). Gainsaying contradicts, disputes, denies, or thwarts His revealed word. Its roots are anti (G473), to go against, and lego (G3004), a spoken word or command. It describes the works or attitudes of those who oppose His gospel by seeking gain by what they say or preach. Korah’s error, which still exists today, represents disparity between God’s revealed word and what false prophets or teachers preach.
With gainsaying, Korah “sought to change the order fixed both above and below, and therefore he perished both above and below. He took evil counsel for himself. If one runs after that which is not his, it flies from him, and what is more, he loses his own as well. So Korah pursued that which was not his, and he lost his own without obtaining the other. Korah quarreled with peace . . . [and] the Holy Name.” Only faith in the Lord can correct such a course.
Hold fast the faithful word as [it] hath been taught, that [we] may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince [‘convict,’ ASV] the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the [covenant], whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucre’s sake, [‘for the sake of dishonest gain,’ NIV]. (Titus 1:9–11)Paul’s description of the unfaithful is worth examining. Gainsaying makes us filthy. Unruly describes those hungry for power but insubordinate to God’s law. Disobedience is paired with vanity and deception because these destroy the covenant. Vain talkers work in vain. They seduce, persuade, and deceive many through outward piety, compelling preaching, and clever pretenses. “They inculcate such doctrines as will make themselves popular, and as will give them access to the confidence of the people. They make it their first object to acquire influence as ministers of religion and then abuse that” for the sake of gain, serving their own interests. Their words profit them nothing. Because they say but do not do what He requires, they remain condemned. Doing leads to knowledge. “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17).
Enemies of God can exist within a church organization if priests, leaders, or teachers seek gain. If one’s living depends on an institution, pressure and temptation to conform to its reforms increases. “Such men have no motive to teach the truth or any doctrine except what people in their baser selves wish to hear. Such as are the false teachers condemned here and . . . these enemies were found within the church.” Instead of leading people to truth, they lead them from it. We are warned of “perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. From such withdraw thyself” (1 Timothy 6:5).
Impostors, particularly in leadership positions, are a serious threat to the covenant so we are warned,
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)Position does not always correlate with spirituality. If those claiming it are not spiritually converted, they have no divine power or authority. We are “to convict the gainsayers” (Titus 1:9, ASV), “refute” (NIV), or “convince the gainsayers” (KJV) with truth, inferring a solemn responsibility to expose error and encourage a return to Him.
Hold “fast the faithful word” and “truth which is after godliness” (Titus 1:1). “Since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues” (Acts 15:21, HCSB). Following anyone, including Moses, at the expense of coming to Christ consigns us to a telestial existence. “Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil and they do not understand, but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:15–16, NLT).
Many who profess to live the divine law fail to walk up to its terms. Possessing His law offers no guarantee that it will be properly observed. Jesus asked at the temple, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” (John 7:19). Those like Korah oppose the divine authority of true apostles and seek to follow another. Abinadi preached repentance to a stubborn and wicked council of priests who claimed to teach the law but had “perverted the ways of the Lord.”
Adam’s desire for true messengers required that he test and try them because the first ones on the scene are not necessarily the ones sent by God. Adam had to wait patiently and discern well. The Lord praises those who “hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” (Revelation 2:2). This warning is repeated today: “Liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known” in the last days (D&C 64:39).
Joseph warned the Elders of Israel against false spirits. It was revealed to me that if the people did not receive the spirit of revelation that God had sent for the salvation of the world, they would receive false spirits and would have revelation.
Men would have revelation, women would have revelation, the priest in the pulpit and the deacon under the pulpit would have revelation, and the people would have revelation enough to damn the whole nation, and nations of them, unless they would hearken to the voice of God . . . False spirits would be as prevalent and as common among the inhabitants of the earth as we now see them.Wickedness results when aspiring men seek to exalt themselves and gather their own followers instead of turning people to the Lord. Falling away from truth or worshipping contrary to what God decreed is the work of an antichrist. “As ye have heard that [the] antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. Many antichrists have come” and “went out from us, but they were not of us” (1 John 2:18–19). This evil must be exposed for it turns many from truth. Some describe them as wolves in sheep’s clothing: “False teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you” (Acts 20:29, NLT).
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:28–30, BSB)Wolf, lukos (G3074), shares the base of leukos, (G3022), to be white, shining, or brilliant. “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15, BSB) who “follow after their own ungodly desires” (Jude 1:18, BSB).
This is reflected in Lehi’s dream as a man “dressed in a white robe” encouraged Lehi to follow him. We are never told for certain who this figure is except “a man” with authority who wanted others to follow him, and that he wore white, the same color a wolf in sheep’s clothing wears. Neither white nor a robe are a sure mark of righteousness. When Lehi followed this man, he found himself “in a dark and dreary waste” without light (1 Nephi 8:7). The tree of life was only offered Lehi after he departed from this man and held to the word of God.
False apostles include those who see “an angel of light” and mistakenly believe it is Christ. We must ask God for truth in all things, to discern those who have seen the Lord from those who instead receive a clever counterfeit. We are warned, “If any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or lo, he is there, believe him not” (Mark 13:21).
Beware of “false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions” (2 Corinthians 11:13–15, BSB). “Many will join with them in hypocrisy,” but they will fall (Daniel 11:34, NASB). Their policies, rationalized as a necessary, encourage those in unbelief to accept their changes as divine.
The apostasy described in the New Testament is not desertion of the cause, but perversion of it.Seeking our own way results in the loss of saving ordinances even if ritual ordinances continue. Apostasy, apostasia (G646), literally means to rebel against or stand apart from God, a condition that arose in premortality when “Satan rebelled against me and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power.” Cast down, he became “the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice” (Moses 4:3–4).
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful [“mockers,” NIV]. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night . . . For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1:1–2, 6)Joseph explained, “The devil has no power over us, only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.” If we believe untruths or smooth words mingled with scripture, while refusing to ask God for truth, we are in apostasy. ‘Preaching’ with entertaining anecdotes or stories may appeal to many but it distracts us from the “sound doctrine” of salvation.
Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths [and commandments of men]. (2 Timothy 4:2–4, NASB)Myths, mýthos (G3454), are discourses with some degree of untruth that “give rise to mere speculation rather than” God’s pure word (1 Timothy 1:4, NAS 1977). Its root mueó, (G3453), which means to instruct or initiate into the mysteries, confirms that myths are more than stories or fables. They include erroneous understanding of doctrine and ordinances. These “frivolous and unfounded stories, which they regarded as of great importance, and which they seem to have desired to incorporate into the teachings of Christianity” instead serve “to draw off the mind from the truth and corrupt the true religion.” Luther includes “the precedents of their elders and the apostles” in his definition of myths.
Such foolishness divides a church, creating a “schism [that] has perverted man; hath cast many into despondency; many into doubt” (1 Clement 46:9). Paul urges us to “teach no other doctrine” than what God revealed (1 Timothy 1:3). Instead of heeding myths, be “nourished by the words of the faith and sound instruction . . . Train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:6–7, BSB). “Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16). We cannot do it without faith.
“Faith in his name hath made this man strong . . . [and] given him this perfect soundness” (Acts 3:16). Soundness, holokléria (G3647), is being made complete. Such blessings result from looking toward and relying “upon the merits of Jesus Christ” (D&C 3:20).
So the heresy and gainsaying of Korah is a danger to all. Korah’s followers did not have inward spiritual conversion congruent with the holiness they believed they possessed. Followers of Korah thought Israel was holy and righteous merely by having the covenant. Fire destroyed them and 15,000 of their followers. Assuming authority while perverting God’s way will destroy us as it did Korah who perished in the earth. “Woe to you who alter the true words and pervert the everlasting covenant and consider themselves to be without sin; they will be swallowed up in the earth” (1 Enoch 99:2).
For Christ is our Aaron and high priest, and we should let him alone rule. But [priests] and bishops will not allow that. They have established themselves and wish to take the reins of government by force, having set themselves against Christ. These God punished by letting the earth swallow and cover them, so that they are drowned and swallowed by a worldly life and by pleasure, and they are now nothing but pure worldliness.Jude 1:11 reveals the way to damnation and ruin. First, we accept modification in worship, going in the way of Cain. We run eagerly after the world, not holding fast to God’s word or our covenants, going in the way of Balaam. Trusting our own works and permitting priestcraft to rule are the works of Korah. These sins are rebellion against God, although ignorance and blindness prohibit us from recognizing it. If we do the works of Cain, Balaam, and Korah, our fate will be the same.
In contrast, the way of Abel requires complete obedience to what God revealed. Knowing He cannot accept variation, Abel placed his faith in Christ, the only mediator who could atone for fallen man. Cain, Balaam, and Korah had religion, but the way of Abel is not about religion. It is about true Christianity, offering the penitent the means to return to His presence. Religion and Christianity are distinct.
Christianity is of God; and consists in a person—Christ. Religion is of man, and is carried on for man, and in his interests. It consists of men’s forms, rites, ceremonies, articles, creeds, confessions, doctrines, traditions, churches, chapels, synagogues, halls, and rooms. If your ‘something’ does not agree with that of others, then be careful, or you may be killed as Abel was by one of these Cains. For there is nothing in the world so cruel as religion. It was religion that murdered Abel. It was religion that killed the prophets, crucified Christ, and produced the noble army of martyrs. It was religion and the strife of religious sects that delivered Jerusalem to the sword and power of Rome.
Man must believe God in what He says in His word, and he must believe all that God says. In what sharp contrast does this set all that goes to make up religion! Religion occupies man entirely with himself: with what he has done, with what he can do, and with what he must do. God would occupy man with Himself, and with what He has said. This it is which gives its character to all ‘religion’ in the present day, Man’s Day.
Man is exalted and God is set aside. Man’s doings are substituted for believing. This is why, on all hands, man’s works are substituted for God’s words. And as the importance of man’s works increases in his estimation, so God’s word decreases . . . It is all doing, from first to last, instead of believing God.The preface to the Doctrine & Covenants, revealed to “ye people of my church,” warns of such things: “They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way and after the image of his own god” (D&C 1:16). Condemnation is not lifted by the quantity of our works, church assignments, statistics, church or temple attendance, or obligatory service. Encouraging busy-ness at the expense of unwavering obedience to God’s word deceives us into believing we are righteous though we remain condemned.
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. (Romans 10:3)By 1834 the Lord severely chastened “those who call themselves after my name . . . because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them” and sought their own ways. “Inasmuch as they keep not my commandments and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them” (D&C 103:8).
“If ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth” (1 Nephi 16:3). God told Cain, “If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire” but “if thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted” (Moses 5:23). The New English translation of the Septuagint renders it, “if thou offers correctly” (Genesis 4:7). To “do well” is to offer a sacrifice in faith, in the precise manner God revealed, for “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). God told Cain,
Even with good intentions, acceptable worship requires a spiritual connection with heaven. Without it, we offer in vain for “flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63). “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5–6, NIV). Works of the flesh—the ways of man—are like Cain’s unacceptable offering. Acceptable offerings are not of the ground, but of the Spirit.
To worship “the true and the living God,” we must worship Him “in spirit and in truth,” but opposition is great when we do. But “unto such hath God promised His spirit: and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (JST John 4:26). A “willingness to believe in his words” brings His spirit (Helaman 6:36).
There are only two ways—and they lead in opposite directions—so we must choose wisely.
Contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth. (Alma 34:38)
For footnotes and references, click HERE.