Philetus

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Phile'tus. (beloved). Philetus was, possibly, a disciple of Hymenaeus, with whom he is associated in 2 Timothy 2:17, and who is named, without him in an earlier Epistle. 1 Timothy 1:20. (A.D. 68-64).

The disciples of Hymenaeus appear to have been persons who believed the Scripture of the Old Testament, but misinterpreted them, allegorizing away the doctrine of the resurrection, and resolving it all into figure and metaphor. "The delivering over unto Satan," seems to have been a form of excommunication, declaring the person reduced to the state of a heathen; and in the apostolic age, it was accompanied with supernatural or miraculous effects, upon the bodies of the persons so delivered.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Coupled with Hymenaeus as "erring" (missing the aim: estocheesan ), and holding that "the resurrection is past already" (2 Timothy 2:17), as if it were merely the spiritual raising of souls from the death of sin: perverting Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12; compare 1 Corinthians 15:12, etc. (See HYMENAEUS.) So the Seleucians or Hermians taught (Augustine, Ep. 119:55 ad Januar. 4); the germs of Gnosticism, which fully developed itself in the second century.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

PHILETUS. Mentioned in St. Paul’s Epistle to Timothy ( 2 Timothy 2:17 ) as an example of one of those who were doing harm by their false teaching on the subject of the resurrection of the body. For them the resurrection was past. It was a spiritual resurrection from sin to holiness, and there was no future resurrection of the body, no life to come. St. Paul says their teaching will eat away the true doctrine as a canker or gangrene eats away the flesh. Cf. Hymenæus.

Morley Stevenson.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

One mentioned with Hymenaeus as having taught that the resurrection was already past (probably allegorising it) by whom the faith of some had been overthrown. Their evil doctrine would eat as a canker, or gangrene. 2 Timothy 2:17 .

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A heretic, excluded from the church for denying the resurrection, and promoting infidelity, 2 Timothy 2:17-18 . See HYMENUS.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

One that erred from the faith. (2 Timothy 2:17-18)

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

See Hymenaeus.

Holman Bible Dictionary

2 Timothy 2:17-18

Easton's Bible Dictionary

2 Timothy 2:17,18

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fi - lē´tus , fı̄ - lē´tus ( Φίλητος , Phı́lētos ( 2 Timothy 2:17 )):

1. The Nature of His Error:

This person is mentioned by Paul, who warns Timothy against him as well as against his associate in error, Hymeneus. The apostle speaks of Hymeneus and Philetus as instances of men who were doing most serious injury to the church by their teaching, and by what that teaching resulted in, both in faith and morals. The specific error of these men was that they denied that there would be any bodily resurrection. They treated all Scriptural references to such a state, as figurative or metaphorical. They spiritualized it absolutely, and held that the resurrection was a thing of the past. No resurrection was possible, so they taught, except from ignorance to knowledge, from sin to righteousness. There would be no day when the dead would hear the voice of Christ and come forth out of the grave. The Christian, knowing that Christ was raised from the dead, looked forward to the day when his body should be raised in the likeness of Christ's resurrection. But this faith was utterly denied by the teaching of Hymeneus and Philetus.

2. How It Overthrew Faith:

This teaching of theirs, Paul tells us, had overthrown the faith of some. It would also overthrow Christian faith altogether, for if the dead are not raised, neither is Christ risen from the dead, and "ye are yet in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17 ).

The denial of the resurrection of the body, whether of mankind generally or of Christ, is the overthrow of the faith. It leaves nothing to cling to, no living Christ, who saves and leads and comforts His people. The apostle proceeds to say that teaching of this kind "eats as doth a gangrene," and that it increases unto more ungodliness. As a canker or gangrene eats away the flesh, so does such teaching eat away Christian faith. Paul is careful to say, more than once, that the teaching which denies that there will be a resurrection of the dead leads inevitably to "ungodliness" and to "iniquity." See Hymenaeus .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Φίλητος, beloved), an apostate Christian, possibly a disciple of Hymenaeus, with whom he is associated in 2 Timothy 2:17, and who is named without him in an earlier epistle (1 Timothy 1:20). A.D. 58-64. Waterland (Importance ofthe Doctrine of the Holy Trinity, chapter 4, in his Works, 3:459) condenses in a few lines the substance of many dissertations which have been written concerning their opinions, and the sentence which was inflicted upon at least one of them. "They appear to have been persons who believed the Scriptures of the O.T., but misinterpreted them, allegorizing away the doctrine of the resurrection, and resolving it all into figure and metaphor. The delivering over unto Satan seems to have been a form of excommunication declaring the person reduced to the state of a heathen; and in the apostolical age it was accompanied with supernatural or miraculous effects upon the bodies of the persons so delivered." Walch is of opinion that they were of Jewish origin; Hammond counnects them with the Gnostics; Vitringa (with less probability) with the Sadducees. They understood the resurrection to signify the knowledge and profession of the Christian religion, or regeneration and conversion, according to Walch, whose dissertation, De Hymenaeo et Phileto, in his Miscellanuea Sacra, 1744, pages 81-121, seems to exhaust the subject. Among writers who preceded him may be named Vitringa, Observ. Sacr. 4:9, pages 922-930; Buddoeus, Ecclesia Apostolica, 5:297-305. See also, on the heresy, Burton, Bampton Lectures, and dean Ellicott's notes on the pastoral epistles; and Potter on Church Government, chapter 5, with reference to the sentence. The names of Philetus and Hymenaeus occur separately among those of Caesar's household whose relics have been found in the Columbaria at Rome. (See Hymenaeus)

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Phile´tus, an apostate Christian, mentioned by Paul in connection with Hymenæus, [HYMENEUS].