FABLE

A false story, fiction, myth, an invention, falsehood; from the Greek myʹthos. Myʹthos is found at 1 Timothy 1:4; 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Peter 1:16.

Myʹthos is the opposite of a·leʹthei·a, “truth,” signifying the manifested, veritable essence of a matter.

Christians to Reject Fables. At 1 Timothy 1:4, Paul instructs Christians not to pay attention to false stories. These can get Christians involved in research of no real benefit and can turn their minds away from the truth. Some of these false stories are the kind told by old women whose lives have been spent in worldly practices. They violate God’s holy, righteous standards. (1Ti 4:6, 7; Tit 1:14) The apostle Peter, at 2 Peter 1:16, makes reference to false stories (which are not only fictitious but also artfully and cunningly devised in order possibly to turn a Christian aside) and contrasts these with the true, factual account of the transfiguration, of which he was an eyewitness. (Mr 9:2) Paul, at 2 Timothy 4:3, 4, foretold that at a future time people would willingly turn aside to false stories in preference to the truth.