MAY WE NEVER SHRINK BACK TO DESTRUCTION

What It Means to Shrink Back to Destruction

When Paul wrote of "the sort that shrink back," he did not mean those who may suffer a momentary lapse of courage. Paul surely knew of Peter's experience and of other similar cases. Elijah, a bold and outspoken prophet, once gave in to fear and fled for his life because of a death threat from wicked Queen Jezebel. (1 Kings 19:1-4) The prophet Jonah had a more serious bout with fear. Jehovah assigned him to travel to the notoriously violent, wicked city of Nineveh. Jonah promptly boarded a boat headed for Tarshish-2,200 miles in the opposite direction! (Jonah 1:1-3) Yet, neither of these faithful prophets nor the apostle Peter could rightly be described as the sort that shrinks back. Why not?

Note the full phrase that Paul used: "Now we are not the sort that shrink back to destruction." What did he mean by "destruction?" The Greek word he used refers at times to eternal destruction. This definition fits the context. Paul had just warned: "If we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifices for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and there is a fiery jealousy that is going to consume those in opposition." -Hebrews 10:26, 27.

So when Paul said to his fellow believers, "We are not the sort that shrink back to destruction," he meant that he and his faithful Christian readers were determined never to turn away from Jehovah and stop serving him. To do so could lead only to eternal destruction. Judas Iscariot was one who shrank back to such destruction, as did other enemies of the truth who willfully worked against Jehovah's spirit. (John 17:12; 2Thessalonians 2:3) Such individuals are among "the cowards" who suffer eternal destruction int he symbolic lake of fire. (Revelation 21:8) No, we do not ever want to be of that sort!

Satan the Devil wants us to shrink back to destruction. A master of "crafty acts," he knows that such a ruinous course often starts in small ways. (Ephesians 6:11) If direct persecution fails to achieve his ends, he sees to erode the faith of true Christians through subtler means. He wants to see bold, zealous Witnesses of Jehovah silenced. Let us see what tactics he used against the Hebrew Christians to whom Paul wrote.

Next time: How Christians Were Pressured to Shrink Back

Watchtower, 1999