Understanding Itching
Ear Syndrome
I really didn’t get this fully until yesterday, odd as that sounds. First, let us take a look at the passage in question:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Second Timothy 4:2-4 KJV
Now, who is going to disagree with me when I say that these are the last days and the tribulation could start almost any time? We inch closer and closer, and while possible to tarry a while longer, it’s hard to believe that it could take any more than 10 to 15 years to come upon us. We do have the promise of “This generation shall not pass” (Matthew 24:34), and almost everyone agrees it has to do with the rebirth of Israel a few decades ago, so we know it is nearly impossible to take a whole lot longer.
With this in mind, we know that the time where people will not endure sound doctrine has to occur very soon after now, or is already occurring. If we only have, say 20 years left, chances are this has already been going on and is well entrenched in the churches. The unfortunate, unspoken mantra of our doctrine today tends to be “It’s always someone else”, but the fact remains that it has to be someone!
The term “heap to themselves” in the context of “they” sounds to me like it will be nearly everyone heaping up teachers that help us turn away from truth. This alone should be enough for us to examine very carefully every major doctrine that is in the church today, even if they are opposites from one church to another.
The past couple hundred years has introduced some new doctrine into the churches; it’s fairly easy to find out if you care to research it out. Pre-trib is only about two hundred years old, at least mainstream. There is very minor evidence of it before then, but the doctrine has really spread since the 1800s.
Augustine of Hippo had some very interesting doctrines, leaning towards both Eternal Security and Catholic ways. He lived in the 300s, but the Eternal Security side was not really caught onto until John Calvin showed up in the 1500s. He correctly rejected the Catholic doctrine, but loved the security doctrine and ran with it. It slowly picked up steam and has become popular over the last hundred years or so. Interesting that sin in the church has picked up at a phenomenal rate since it became popular.
The Holy
Spirit workings are bitterly split, and both sides feed itching ear syndrome in
their own way. Around a hundred years
ago we had
Anyway, somewhere along the line people started to forget the foundation of love that comes before spiritual gifts. We can exalt the workings of God, signs, miracles, and the like so that it becomes the focus point, and in the end an idol. With the foundation of love, it all stays in perspective. Hence we have tongue-talking people who treat others in horrible ways, it is a crying shame and leads to spiritual death if not dealt with.
The other side of that is to ignore the workings of the Spirit in hopes that maybe it will all go away, which it won’t. It is easy belief because it puts God in a box; He will only work in certain ways. It robs us of our potential in Christ, for unbelief stops miracles (see the end of Matthew 13 and the beginning of Mark 6). And the natural byproduct is to give credit to Satan for the stuff that does happen, which is blasphemy and unforgivable. It’s rough but its truth.
We also have the
health/wealth/prosperity doctrine. I do
believe in health conditionally
(sometime I must write about it), but unfortunately prosperity is often skewed
to make us love money, which leads to death.
I don’t know much history on this one, but there’s always been
greed. Probably it has been taught again
more recently though, although I have no way of proving this and I’m too lazy
to look it up after
Now I’m sure there are more that could be cited, but the simple fact that these have become prominent in the last hundred years (give or take) should be enough for us to think very, very carefully about it and make sure it lines up with the Bible. None of these ear-tickling doctrines completely lines up with the Bible, yet are taught in many churches. It only takes a tiny bit of poison to kill you if you’re not careful, and each of them has poison in it.
Proper doctrine will look a little more like this: You must endure to the end in spite of tribulation and persecution, as Jesus told us to. You should understand your security in Christ and not live in fear, yet you must also realize that your sin is still an issue and if you don’t deal with it, hell is still an option. You build a good foundation of love, allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, and God will be glorified. You learn to be content in whatever state you are, be it in plenty or little, you will bless the Lord at all times.
Now I will be the first to say that it doesn’t sound as much fun as the ear-tickling stuff. It would be much nicer if I could be whisked out of here without having to deal with persecution, if my sin couldn’t kill me spiritually, and on and on. Yet you can still have joy through all of it, because of the love you have for your Lord.
“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” First Peter 4:13-14 KJV
Oh it’s not popular preaching, but who said popular is right?