Here the two heretics (or more probably heretical teachers) are described as having swerved from the truth. For swerved see 1 Tim 1.6, where it is translated as “wandered away.” The meaning of the word is to lose one’s way as a result of not abiding by the truth. For truth see 1 Tim 2.4. This first sentence may be variously expressed as “They teach something which is far from the truth” or “They teach something which is a complete lie.”
An example of their heretical teaching is now mentioned, namely, that the resurrection has already happened. Holding is literally “saying.” The resurrection ordinarily refers to the event of Jesus being raised from death (see, for example, verse 8 of this chapter). Here, however, it refers to the resurrection of people who have died, which was generally held by Christians to happen at the last day when Christ returns, thus Good News Translation “our resurrection.” These two men, however, have been teaching that this is not true, that in fact the resurrection is past already, or as Good News Translation puts it, “has already taken place.” The nature and content of this teaching is difficult to determine. One possible explanation is that there were some people who denied resurrection altogether, but instead identified resurrection with conversion, which is described figuratively as an experience of dying and rising with Christ, and is symbolized by baptism (see, for example, Rom 6.1-11 and Col 2.20–3.4). Another possibility is that there were people who were asserting that resurrection was not really necessary, since, as Greek philosophy teaches, human beings are by nature immortal, being endowed with an immortal soul. In the light of 2 Thes 2.1-2 a third possibility may be mentioned, and that is that they were teaching that the resurrection on the Day of the Lord had already taken place, and they had missed out! Whatever the form of this heresy, it probably started very early in the church, and this may be one of the reasons why Paul devotes a long chapter on this matter in the Corinthian correspondence (1 Cor 15). In languages that do not use the passive voice, the sentence by holding that the resurrection is past already may be expressed as “by teaching that God has already raised people (or, us) from death.”
As a result of all this, They are upsetting the faith of some. They can be limited to the two men; on the other hand, since these two men are only cited as examples, They can also refer to the false teachers in general. However, the general emphasis of the discourse seems to point to these two men.
The verb translated are upsetting occurs only twice in the New Testament, here and in Titus 1.11. The verb literally means “to overthrow” or “to overturn” but has the extended meaning of causing difficult problems. The tense of the verb (present tense) indicates that this was actually happening at the time the letter was being written. Faith here can refer either to a person’s relationship to Jesus Christ in terms of trust and commitment, or, less likely, to a person’s doctrinal beliefs. Some refers to members of the church, hence “some Christians,” “some believers.” Another way to express this sentence is “and are causing some people to stop believing in Christ.” In some languages it will be helpful to restructure this verse as follows:
• They teach that God has already raised people from death. This teaching is far from the truth (or, is a complete lie), and it is causing some people to stop believing in Christ.
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .