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<h2><a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'all');">2Pe 2</a> - The Rise and Fall of False Teachers</h2>
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<p>A. Facts about false teachers.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,1);">1</a>) The presence and work of false teachers.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, <i>and</i> bring on themselves swift destruction.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">But there were also false prophets</span></b>: Even as there were <i>holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit</i> (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',1,21);">2Pe 1:21</a>), so also there were <b><span class="c3">false prophets</span></b> - and <b><span class="c3">false teachers</span></b> today. Peter states this as a fact, not a possibility; and he says they are <b><span class="c3">among you</span></b>, not only on the outside of the church</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Who will secretly bring in destructive heresies</span></b>: False teachers work <b><span class="c3">secretly</span></b>. It isn't that their teaching is secret, but the deceptive nature of their teaching is hidden. Of course, no false teacher will announce himself as a false teacher!</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Destructive heresies</span></b>: False teachers bring in <b><span class="c3">destructive heresies</span></b> that destroy by telling lies about Jesus Christ and His work for us and in us. By these <b><span class="c3">heresies</span></b> people are hurt and destroyed. Heresy isn't harmless.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Even denying the Lord who bought them</span></b>: False teachers deny the <b><span class="c3">Lord who bought them</span></b>. In this, Peter says that at the very least, they <i>appear</i> to be saved, otherwise Peter would never say that the Lord <b><span class="c3">bought them</span></b>. At the same time, they are false, destructive teachers.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Just because a person has what appears to be a godly walk and relationship with Jesus Christ, they can still be bringing in destructive heresies. Often times, the worst damage is done by a <i>good man</i> who teaches lies. His lies are accepted far more easily because of the good character of the man.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">B<span>ring on themselves swift destruction</span></span></b><span>: </span>False teachers are promised <b><span class="c3">swift destruction</span></b>, even though they at least appear to be bought by the Lord, they are under His judgment.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,2);">2</a>) The popularity of false teachers.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Many will follow their destructive ways</span></b>: This shows that just because something "works" in attracting a crowd of followers, it doesn't mean that it is of God. We know that God's work will always bear fruit, but the devil's work can also increase.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The most distressing aspect of the work of false teachers is not that they are <i>among you</i> (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,1);">2Pe 2:1</a>). False teachers always have been and always will be among Christians. The most distressing fact is that so many Christians <b><span class="c3">will follow their destructive ways</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed</span></b>: When false teachers are at work, and when crowds are following them, the <b><span class="c3">way of truth</span></b> is <b><span class="c3">blasphemed</span></b>. God's holy name and honor are disgraced.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,3);">3</a>) The strategy and destiny of false teachers.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. False teachers use <b><span class="c3">covetousness</span></b> - both their own and in their followers. It is amazing how many of today's false teachers present a gospel that has self-gratification at its heart. All this is presented <b><span class="c3">with deceptive words</span></b>, because false teaching never announces itself.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber</span></b>: Peter assures us that false teachers will be judged. Even though it seems they prosper, their judgment is not <b><span class="c3">idle</span></b>. God's wrath pours out on them in allowing them to continue, thus heaping up more and more condemnation and hardness of heart in themselves.</p>
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<p>B. God knows how to take care of both the righteous and the ungodly.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'4-6');">4-6</a>) The ungodly will be judged.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast <i>them</i> down to hell and delivered <i>them</i> into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, <i>one of</i> eight <i>people,</i> a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned <i>them</i> to destruction, making <i>them</i> an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">If God did not spare the angels who sinned</span></b>: God judged these wicked angels, setting them in <b><span class="c3">chains of darkness</span></b>. Apparently some fallen angels are in bondage while others are unbound and active in the earth as demons.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The sin of angels can be thought of in two main ways: in the original rebellion of some angels against God, and in the sin of the "sons of God" described in <a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,'1-2');">Gen 6:1-2</a>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. By not keeping their proper place, they are now kept in <b><span class="c3">chains of darkness</span></b>. Their sinful pursuit of freedom put them in bondage. Those who insist on freedom to do whatever they want are like these angels: so free that they are bound with <b><span class="c3">chains of darkness</span></b>! True freedom comes from obedience.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">Cast them down to hell</span></b>: The ancient Greek word translated <b><span class="c3">hell</span></b> is literally <i>Tartarus</i>. In Greek mythology, Tartarus was the lowest hell, a place of punishment for rebellious gods. Peter borrowed this word to speak of the place of punishment for <b><span class="c3">the angels who sinned</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And did not spare the ancient world</span></b><span>:</span> God judged <b><span class="c3">the ancient world</span></b>, the world before Noah's Flood, because <i>the <span class="c6">Lord</span> saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',6,5);">Gen 6:5</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction</span></b><span>:</span> God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, making them an example of His judgment, <i>because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',18,20);">Gen 18:20</a>)</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly</span></b><span>: </span>These three examples of judgment show us the important principle that Peter wants to highlight.</p><ul class="c6"><li>God judged <b><span class="c3">the angels who sinned</span></b>, so <i>no one is too high to be judged</i>.</li><li>God judged <b><span class="c3">the ancient world</span></b> before the flood, so <i>God doesn't grade on a curve</i>.</li><li>God judged <b><span class="c3">Sodom and Gomorrah</span></b>, so <i>even the prosperous can be judged</i>.</li></ul>
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<p class="c4">Therefore, what makes the <b><span class="c3">ungodly</span></b> think they can escape God's judgment? Their coming judgment is certain.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Or, as Jesus put it in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',10,'10-12');">Luk 10:10-12</a> to those who reject the truth: <i>But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you." But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.</i></p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'7-9');">7-9</a>) The righteous will be delivered.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>And delivered righteous Lot, <i>who was</i> oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented <i>his</i> righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing <i>their</i> lawless deeds); <i>then</i> the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">And delivered righteous Lot</span></b>: Peter already told us how the Lord delivered Noah (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,5);">2Pe 2:5</a>). Now, he shows us that the Lord <b><span class="c3">delivered righteous Lot</span></b>. Lot was <b><span class="c3">righteous</span></b> in God's eyes, though perhaps it was hard for others to see his righteousness. Yet the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah <b><span class="c3">tormented his righteous soul from day to day</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Lot's <b><span class="c3">soul</span></b> was <b><span class="c3">tormented</span></b>, but he failed to follow through with godly actions and separate himself and his family from the ungodliness of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord <b><span class="c3">delivered</span></b> Lot because of his <b><span class="c3">righteous</span></b> soul; yet Lot lost everything because of his too-close association with those wicked cities.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations</span></b><span>: Even as the Lord delivered Lot, He </span>knows how to deliver us from the <b><span class="c3">temptations</span></b> we face, and He knows how to <b><span class="c3">reserve the unjust</span></b> for the day of judgment. We can trust in God's deliverance of the godly because it is just as certain as His judgment of the ungodly.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The <b><span class="c3">unjust</span></b> have reservation made for them: they are reserved <b><span class="c3">for the day of judgment</span></b>. But believers have no such reservation. God will deliver us from the very day of judgment, from the very time of wrath that He pours out on the earth (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',3,10);">Rev 3:10</a>).</p>
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<p>C. A description of the ungodly among them.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'10-11');">10-11</a>) They are fleshly and proud.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>And especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. <i>They are</i> presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">And especially those who walk according to the flesh</span></b>: These ungodly ones are <i>especially</i> reserved for judgment. They live according to the flesh, not the spirit, and are marked by <b><span class="c3">uncleanness</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">They are presumptuous, self-willed</span></b>: These ungodly ones are proud, despising authority. In their presumption they will even speak ill of spiritual powers (Satan and his demons) that the angels themselves do not speak evil of, but the angels rebuke them in the name of the Lord instead.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Much of what goes on under the name of spiritual warfare shows this kind of pride and presumption. While we recognize our authority in Jesus, we see that it is only in Jesus that we have it - and we leave the <b><span class="c3">reviling accusations</span></b> to Him alone.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'12-13');">12-13a</a>) Their spiritual doom is sealed.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, <i>and</i> will receive the wages of unrighteousness, <i>as</i> those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Like natural brute beasts</span></b>: Since they function in the flesh, not the spirit, they are like animals. They are fit only for destruction (<b><span class="c3">made to be caught and destroyed</span></b>) and they are ignorant.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And will receive the wages of unrighteousness</span></b>: The ungodly will be "paid" for their evil - and their fleshly lives will be paid the <b><span class="c3">wages of unrighteousness</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'13-17');">13b-17</a>) A list of the sins of the false teachers.</p>
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<p class="c2"><i><span>They are </span></i><span>spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. <i>They have</i> a heart trained in covetous practices, <i>and are</i> accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the <i>son</i> of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Carousing in their own deceptions</span></b>: These ungodly false teachers are a dangerous and corrupting presence in the body of Christ, not only deceiving others but deceiving themselves.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Having eyes full of adultery</span></b>: Their heart is set on the flesh, and their <b><span class="c3">eyes</span></b> on <b><span class="c3">adultery</span></b>, both spiritual and sexual. They prey on the unstable to join them in their ways (<b><span class="c3">enticing unstable souls</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Literally, Peter says that <i>their eyes are full of an adulterous woman</i>. "They lust after every girl they see; they view every female as a potential adulteress." (Green)</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">They have a heart trained in covetous practices</span></b>: They are equipped, but not for ministry, only for selfish gain - they are truly <b><span class="c3">accursed</span></b>. We all train our hearts in something, either training them in covetousness and lust, or in godliness .</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Following the way of Balaam</span></b><span>: </span>They are like Balaam, who was guilty of the greatest of sins - leading others into sin, and that for the sake of his own gain. Balaam had to be restrained by a <b><span class="c3">dumb donkey</span></b> because he would not listen to God.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">These are wells without water</span></b><span>: </span>These ungodly false teachers are empty - useless as <b><span class="c3">wells without water</span></b> - and like clouds that bring only darkness, and no nourishing rain.</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'18-19');">18-19</a>) The allure of the false teachers.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For when they speak great swelling <i>words</i> of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">They speak great swelling words of emptiness</span></b>: The message of the ungodly false teachers is empty of real spiritual content, though it is swollen big with words. Their allure is to the <b><span class="c3">lusts of the flesh</span></b> in their audience - just as the crowds who wanted bread from Jesus, but didn't want Jesus Himself (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',6,'25-27');">Jhn 6:25-27</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',6,'47-66');">47-66</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves</span></b>: They promise freedom, but freedom can never be found in the flesh, only in God's Spirit. Freedom isn't found in what Jesus can <i>give</i> us, but only in Jesus Himself. When we seek freedom in the wrong way, we become <b><span class="c3">slaves of corruption</span></b> (decay and death).</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">By him also he is brought into bondage</span></b>: In being overcome by the flesh and the false teachers, they become slaves to both.</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,'20-22');">20-22</a>) The danger of falling away and following after false teachers</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known <i>it,</i> to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">The latter end is worse for them than the beginning</span></b>: It is better for a person to have never known a thing about Jesus than to hear some truth, hold to it, and later reject it. Greater revelation has a greater accountability.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">A dog returns to his own vomit</span></b>: Their nature as <b><span class="c3">dogs</span></b> is displayed by the way they return to the <b><span class="c3">vomit</span></b> of the flesh and the world. They are like the <i>brute beasts</i> described in <a onclick="return mV('2Pe',2,12);">2Pe 2:12</a>, more animal that godly because they live for the flesh.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. "The dog which has got rid of the corruption inside it through vomiting it up cannot leave well enough alone; it goes sniffing around the vomit again." (Green)</p>
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