Texts in Conversation
2 Timothy faults teachers who say the resurrection has already happened. In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says the repose of the dead has already come, and the Treatise on the Resurrection tells its reader he already has the resurrection.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Timothy 2:18
New Testament
17 and their message will spread its infection like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group. 18 They have strayed from the truth by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith. 19 However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.”
Gospel of Thomas 1:51
Nag Hammadi
50 Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them, ‘We came from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established itself, and appeared in their image.’ If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’ say, ‘We are its children, and we are the elect of the living Father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your Father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.’” 51 His disciples said to him, “When will the repose of the dead come about, and when will the new world come?” He said to them, “What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it.” 52 His disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke about you.” He said to them, “You have omitted the Living One who is in your presence and have spoken only of the dead.”
Treatise on the Resurrection 10:3
Letter to Rheginos
Nag Hammadi
Instead, flee divisions and bondages, and you will experience the resurrection now. Because if what is mortal knows that it will die, even though it passes many years in this life, it arrives at this: Why not consider yourself as risen and having arrived? If you possess the resurrection, why continue acting as if you will still die?
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Notes and References
“... Second, the emphasis on the futurity of resurrection and judgment counterbalances an overrealized eschatology such as that already found among the false teachers criticized in 2 Timothy 1:18 (cf. Polycarp Phil. 7.1; and see Donfried, 103–7, 141–45 on this motivation in 1–2 Clem.). [...] In the documents that show gnostic traits three features highlight the contrast with orthodoxy. [...] Second, they affirm that resurrection has already been experienced by Christians, sometimes with an appeal to texts such as Ephesians 2:5–6 or Colossians 3:1–4. In Gospel of Thomas 51 Jesus’ disciples ask when the repose of the dead and the new world will come, and Jesus replies: “What you expect has come, but you do not know it.” The Treatise on Resurrection makes a similar affirmation (Treat. Res. 43.35—44.2) and appeals to Rheginos: “Do not live in conformity with this flesh . . . but flee from the state of dispersion and bondage, and then you already have resurrection” (Treat. Res. 49.9-16). [...] The NT vision of the resurrection of all God’s people at Christ’s coming has been reinterpreted as resurrection as a present spiritual experience and a return at death to the heavenly world. ...”
Martin, Ralph P.
Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments
(pp. 1453-1454) InterVarsity Press, 1997
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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