<p>4:2- see on Mt. 23:28; Rev. 13:15.</p><p><i>Through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies</i>- Hypocrisy suggests the Lord's warnings against the Pharisees, i.e. Jewish false teachers.</p><p><i>Branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron</i>- Paul felt that Christian co-crucifixion with Jesus meant that we too are branded with His marks. He uses the same figure in Gal. 6:17. So he feels that we bear the marks of ownership, either of Jesus or of some other system. This is exactly the picture we have in Revelation- believers in the last days marked either for the beast or for the Lord Jesus.</p>