seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from[d] the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[e] 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,[f] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[g] and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
a. 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
b. 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons
c. 2 Peter 2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18.
d. 2 Peter 2:11 Many manuscripts beings in the presence of
e. 2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts
f. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor
g. 2 Peter 2:22 Prov. 26:11
This is from the easy English site.
False teachers had accused Peter and the other apostles. They said that Peter told stories ‘that a clever person made up’. Peter had told the truth. It was the false teachers who had made up stories. The false teachers cleverly mixed their stories with the truth. They said that they were Christians. But they did not believe the truth about Jesus. Jesus died on a cross to rescue people from their sins. And he rescued them from their wicked lives. 1 Peter 1:18-19 describes how Jesus ‘bought’ people when he died for them. In those days, a master owned the slaves that he bought. He expected them to obey him. Jesus has authority over Christians. He expects them to behave in the right way. The false teachers did not accept Jesus as their master. One day, Jesus will punish the people who do not obey him. Therefore, the false teachers will ruin themselves. Their punishment will be their own fault.
There were false teachers in the church when Peter wrote this letter. There are still false teachers in the church today. So, every Christian should pay attention to Peter’s warning.
Some prophets in the Old Testament were false. They told people what the people wanted to hear. The false prophets did not tell people the truth. They told people to enjoy themselves in wicked ways. Therefore, these prophets gained many disciples. The false teachers were doing this too. Peter used the word for ‘evil ways’ again in 2:7 and 2:18. It means that the people just did whatever they wanted to do. They satisfied their wicked sex desires. First, people accepted what the false teachers said. Then it was easy for people to copy the false teachers’ actions. But Jesus said ‘I am the way’ (John 14:6). ‘The Way’ was the name for the people who followed Jesus (Acts 9:2; 24:22). Therefore, Christians should copy Jesus. They should behave in the same way that he behaved. If Christians behave in evil ways, their actions will lie about the character of God himself. Then people will be insulting God.
Christian leaders must be honest about money (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7). Paul was honest about the money that he collected for the Christians in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:20-21). He was very careful. But the greedy false teachers told lies. Then they tried to get money from the Christians.
In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, God told the Jews to kill false prophets. This was God’s judgement. The false teachers denied that God would judge them. But God had already declared that they were guilty. And he has not forgotten. In 1 Kings 18:27, Elijah, the true prophet, laughed at the false prophets. He suggested that Baal, their false god, was asleep. The false teachers thought that God would not judge them because he is asleep. They forgot that ‘God who watches over Israel stays awake. He never sleeps’ (Psalm 121:4). One day God will destroy them.
Peter showed that God punished wicked people in the past. Therefore, God would punish the wicked false teachers. Peter gave three examples from the beginning of the Old Testament in Genesis. He refers to them in the same order as in Genesis: - 1) wicked angels, 2) the flood, 3) the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
The false teachers pretended that they knew a lot about God. But really, they knew very little about him. They were not humble like the angels. Instead, the false teachers were like animals. Animals have natural desires. But they do not have moral standards. They do what they feel like doing. In the end, animals just die. God will destroy the false teachers. They will not live for ever with him.
Peter showed that bad moral behaviour is not worthwhile. Galatians 6:7-8 also says the same thing. People may enjoy sin at the time, but the results are bad. Many people do evil things when it is dark (1 Thessalonians 5:7). But it is worse when people do evil things in the daytime. The false teachers did not even try to hide their sin. This shows that they had no conscience.
The false teachers looked at every woman. They wanted to have wrong sex with the women. These men could never stop doing wrong things. The more that they sinned, the more they wanted to sin. Some Christians did not firmly trust the true gospel message. So, they easily believed what the false teachers said. The Greek word for ‘tempt’ describes how men caught fish. The false teachers taught attractive things to the weak Christians. These Christians were like interested fish. They were careless too. They ‘swallowed’ (believed) the false teaching that attracted them. In contrast, Peter said in 1:12 that his readers firmly trusted the true gospel message.
The false teachers sounded very confident. They wanted to impress other people. They tried to attract the people who had just become Christians. These people had not learned very much about God. They did not yet completely understand how to live in the right way. They may have found that the Christian life is difficult. The false teachers told them lies. They said that Christians do not need to change their behaviour. They could still enjoy their former evil desires.
‘The wicked ways of the world’ refers to all the people, societies and governments in the world who oppose God. The false teachers had once escaped from these wicked ways. They had learned about the Lord Jesus Christ. They had learned about God’s laws. The false teachers claimed to have special ‘knowledge’. But this only affected their minds. Their actions showed that they did not really know Jesus. When people become true Christians, it affects their spirits. And it affects their desires too. The false teachers had returned to the wrong way of life. They allowed their evil desires to control them again. The word ‘catch’ describes how a trap catches an animal. Then it cannot escape.
Many wicked people had not known about God. They did not know how to live in the right way. The false teachers had once known the right way to live (see verse 2). But they left it. God frees people from their sins by Jesus. A wicked person could learn about God. He could ask God to forgive his sins. But the false teachers had known about God. However, they refused to obey God’s holy laws. This was far worse because God could not free them. Peter may have been thinking about a story that Jesus told. A man removed one evil spirit that was in him. But he left the place empty. Then seven more evil spirits came into him (Matthew 12:43-45).
Peter described the false teachers in two ways. The statement about the dog comes from Proverbs 26:11. The statement about the pig does not come from the Bible. But it must have been a familiar statement at that time. The Jews considered that both these animals were not ‘clean’ (morally good). In Matthew 7:6, some people would not accept the news about Jesus. He referred to them as ‘dogs’ and ‘pigs’. Peter had already described the false teachers as ‘animals’. Now he shows that they were like dogs and pigs. These two animals may look clean on the outside but their desires are not good. They return to what is dirty. In a similar way, the false teachers had not really changed. They said that they were Christians. But they returned to their own desires and ‘dirty ‘ (morally bad) ways. They did not believe that God would judge them.
There were feel good preachers back in Peter's day. There were carnival barkers who knew how to get the people to open their wallets and pour in the funds. There were feel good preachers who told the people that they only had to do good deeds. They were telling the people lies about Jesus and His mission.
Noah is mentioned here. Noah wasn't a perfect man... but he built a boat to God's specifications.... so Noah could be instructed. Noah took a lot of grief for building an Ark in the middle of the desert. Noah did as instructed. It would have been easier for Noah to tell the people it was an art project... a huge art project.... but Noah was following God's plan so Noah talked about God... and Noah told everyone they were about to meet their demise.
On the other side of the Noah story... I bet there were a few of the "priests" who said "pay no attention to that crazy man in the desert. He's not a priest... God wouldn't be talking to him. Look at me... I'm the big dog around here.... I'm God's chosen one... listen to what I am saying... we are all good people here... and we are free to do as we choose... as long as we have a nice young lamb to pay for it."
Everyone knows there are feel good preachers in the church today. Preachers who teach exclusionary messages while twisting the Gospel to "help the people feel better in these dark days". According to the "feel good preachers".... good people go to church to feel better. According to the "feel good preachers" good people don't want to hear about hell and damnation. According to the "feel good preacher" good people want to sing the new songs in the modern way.... with the words up on a screen, not in one of those old dirty books. According to the "feel good preacher" good people don't want to hear about sin and consequences. According to those carnival barkers.... good people only want to hear how God loves them and wants them to be a good example... so they have to invest... get rich... drive a new car... live in a huge new home... dress to impress... after all God is watching... oh and for the low low price of only $39.99 you too can be a "good steward" like the handsome smiling rich preacher. They preach.... that's what it's all about.... Jesus wants everyone to know how to handle their money.... they preach that's what it's all about.... everyone has to look the part.... or they are not a Christian... the "feel good" preachers preach that... and the sheep believe that.
People use to say that if a person really made God mad... He would send down a lightning bolt and take them out on the spot. But... through history... one thing God has proven... He is really really patient. When God was sculpting Noah... He knew Noah would choose to do his best. But that was before Jesus went to the Cross. When God was sculpting Peter.... He knew Peter would deny knowing Jesus... three times.... but that was before Jesus went to the Cross.
Christians have an upgrade over non-believers. God knows Christians are going to choose Christ as their Savior. When they do.... the upgrade kicks in... and just like Adam and Eve knew they were naked.... and they covered up.... Christians know when they are doing wrong.... and how they deal with it is important.
Don't fall for the fake preacher's nonsense. No one can buy peace.... not even for the low low price of $39.99.
Jesus got really angry when He ran into the money changers in the Temple. That was "before" He went to the Cross. He's not going to be just flipping over the tables on the money changers, when He returns. Jesus went to the Cross for me... and the fake preacher wants to make money [ shiny coins.... little idols] off of that.... Jesus will be returning and all the fake preachers, priests, elders, deacons teachers and all those who knew better but decided to follow the fakes.... will meet their demise.
