Consider this....2 Timothy 2

A few things stand out to me.

Riddles
Paul gives Timothy a few pseudo-riddles and tells him to "reflect on what I am saying".  By reflecting on these, the "Lord will you insight".  These are:

• Soldiers do not get involved in civilian affairs in order to impress their commander (v. 4)
• Athletes must obey the competition rules if they want to win (v. 5)
• Hardworking are the first to reap the crops (v. 6)

They seem to be non-sequiturs, but the common theme among them is that hard work has a pay off.  Likewise, there are certain rules and expectations in all areas of life and spirituality is no exception.

Paul gives a clue to unravel these pseudo-riddles and that is to "reflect" to gain "insight" from "the Lord".  That is precisely one rule and expectation for a relationship with God.  To gain insight from God, one must reflect on what God has to say.


Hymenaeus and Philetus (v. 17-18)
Paul identifies two individuals who have wandered away from the flock.  Paul specifies that there problem is that they preach the Resurrection has already happened.

The Resurrection already happened?  What?!

It is easy to understand why people would be upset by this.  If the Resurrection already happened and their loved ones are not walking around, then their loved ones had wandered away.  Imagine how some modern Christians would react if people began to believe that the Rapture had already happened.  "But we're still here, that means, we missed it".

This is one of the many issues of the early church as it hammered out orthodoxy.  It was under constant pressure from the camps of Gnostics and other groups.

Paul does not say when the Resurrection will happen, because he does not know.  He points out that these two people have wandered away, implying that the Resurrection has not happened.  More importantly, he states that God knows who are is and who are not.