False Teachers = False Hope.

These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” – 2 Peter 2:17-22 ESV Peter is not yet done castigating the false teachers who were wreaking havoc in the local churches to whom he was writing. You can tell by the tone of his words that he is angry and unwilling to tolerate the damage these individuals are doing. Like Jude, he uses imagery from nature to describe just how valueless they are. He calls the waterless springs. It sounds like an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. What is a spring that has no water? Is it still a spring? These people promise refreshment with their false teaching, but never deliver on their word. Like a dried up spring, they are incapable of doing so. Peter refers to them as mists driven by a storm. Once again, they seem to offer much-needed refreshment, but are completely susceptible to “every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).

Jude used similar descriptions for false teachers, calling them “waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved” (Jude 1:12-13 ESV). They are highly promising, extremely appealing, and pleasant sounding, but they bring no value to the table. Which is why both Peter and Jude say their judgment is going to be severe. They are misleading the people of God and they will one day pay for what they have done. Peter says, “For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved” (2 Peter 2:7 ESV). Jude says virtually the same thing: “for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 1:13 ESV). Jesus had similarly harsh words for the Pharisees in His day. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves” (Matthew 23:15 ESV). False teaching is not to be taken lightly. And yet, in our day it is rampant. There are countless individuals speaking and writing today whose words do not conform with the teaching of Jesus and His apostles. They claim to be speaking on behalf of God and presenting the truth of God. But their words are false. They are teaching destructive heresies. They are contradicting the words of Jesus and the Word of God. And yet there are many who gladly listen to their words and buy into what they are teaching. Warren Wiersbe describes them well.

“The average person does not know how to listen to and analyze the kind of propaganda that pours out of the mouths and printing presses of the apostates. Many people cannot tell the difference between a religious huckster and a sincere servant of Jesus Christ.” – Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary

The problem with false teachers is that they use just enough truth to give their message credibility, but they mix in their own opinions and dilute it with erroneous assumptions and assertions. They mention the gospel, but it ends up being a different gospel. They speak of Jesus, but He ends up as little more than a caricature or loose characterization of the Jesus we know from the gospels. They deny the reality of hell. They downplay the judgment of God. They refuse to talk about sin, and in doing so, they accommodate and encourage immorality. They emphasize the here and now over the hereafter. They promote the good life over the life of righteousness. Their words comfort but never convict. They downplay the role of suffering in the life of the believer and accentuate the blessings of God in the form of earthly possessions and personal pleasure.

These people are slaves to their false doctrine. Their denial of judgment and refusal to acknowledge the reality of hell do not make either one of them go away. These people have to remain committed to their false teaching and end up being enslaved to a futile way of life that never delivers what the claim in promises.

In the last three verses of this chapter, Peter makes a very strong statement regarding these individuals. He claims that they had heard the truth of the gospel. “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2 Peter 2:20a ESV).  This does not necessarily mean they placed their faith in the truth of the gospel and became followers of Christ. They had heard the good news regarding Jesus and His offer of salvation. In that sense, they had heard the means by which they might escape the defilements of the world. But they had not believed. They had become enamored with the gospel, but not changed by it. In fact, it would seem that they developed their own version of the gospel and began to teach their own rendition of the truth and, as a result they found themselves  “again entangled in them [the defilements of the world] and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first” (2 Peter 2:20b ESV).

They had heard the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, but they had rejected it. And they were worse off than they had been before. Now they were guilty of misleading people by claiming to speak on behalf of God. They were willfully and deliberately twisting the truth of God for personal gain. Peter says, “it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:21 ESV). They were without excuse. And Peter uses a couple of proverbs familiar to his audience to describe the fate of these false teachers. “‘A dog returns to its vomit.’ And another says, ‘A washed pig returns to the mud’” (2 Peter 2:22 ESV). They had been offered the hope of eternal life and the promise of forgiveness of sin. They had been told about the only means of being made right with God and yet, they had rejected it and returned to their old way of life.

C. S. Lewis describes the fate of these false teachers well:

It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is mean by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. ― C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

We will always be able to find teachers who will tickle our ears and tell us what we want to hear. We will always be tempted to find our satisfaction in this life. But false teachers offer false hope. They teach half-truths that are easily embraced by half-hearted individuals. Gullibility in the life of the believer is dangerous. We don’t ever have to fear losing our salvation, but we do need to recognize that the abundant life promised by Jesus can be squandered and the joy He came to bring can be lost – if we allow the lies of false teachers to replace the truth of the gospel.

False to a Fault.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. – 2 Peter 2:10-16 ESV

Who were these false teachers? What were they like? Peter gives us a rather unflattering portrayal of them, and wastes no time trying to hide his real feelings about them. He refers to them as “irrational animals creatures of instinct.” Like animals, they are driven by their base instincts. Their behavior was motivated by their own self-satisfaction. Jude makes a similar accusation in his letter, saying, “these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively” (Jude 1:10 ESV). It seems that they were guilty of blaspheming the fallen angels, those angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God and were cast out of heaven. The word Peter and Jude both used is βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō) which means “to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile” (“G987 - blasphēmeō (KJV) :: Strong's Greek Lexicon.” Blue Letter Bible. http://www.blueletterbible.org). Peter speaks of them blaspheming “the glorious ones,” using the term, δόξα (doxa) that almost always refers to angels. In this case, Peter seems to be talking about those angels who fell from their once glorious position in heaven and were cast down by God. These false teachers were evidently belittling these fallen angels or denying their existence altogether. But as a way of contrast, Peter indicates that angels – ἄγγελος (aggelos) – “though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord” (2 Peter 2:11 ESV). Here he appears to referring to those angels who still reside in heaven. These “good” angels do not speak reproachfully to God about those angels who have fallen. But these men do. Jude explains that they blaspheme all that they do not understand. They discount or dismiss what they do not know. Peter says they blaspheme “about matters of which they are ignorant.” Blasphemy, at its root, refers to “stupid speech.” It is to speak authoritatively, yet ignorantly about things you do not understand.

These false teachers were evidently spouting their opinions about a wide variety of matters. They also lived lives that were inconsistent with that of true believers. Peter accuses them of wrongdoing, of reveling in the daytime, having eyes full of adultery, and an insatiable appetite for sin. They were hedonistic, driven by their sinful desires and addicted to the finer things in life. Peter’s reference to their eyes being full of adultery would seem to indicate that their minds were overflowing with thoughts of unfaithfulness to God. While it could mean that they were involved in literal adultery, it makes more sense within the context to see this as an indictment of their faithfulness to God and His Word. Their unfaithfulness was deceiving and leading astray those who had “unsteady” or unstable souls. The spiritually immature were especially susceptible to the teachings of these individuals.

Jude’s description of them is quite revealing.

These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;  wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. – Jude 1:12-13 ESV

They were like waterless clouds. They appeared to bring much-needed rain, but were simply blown by the wind, never delivering what they seemed to promise. They were like fruitless trees, dead and uprooted, capable of providing nothing in the way of real nourishment. They were like crashing waves, loud and impressive, but ultimately destructive. And like wandering stars, they were unreliable as guides to those who were lost. You could not use them to find your way in life because they were inconsistent and constantly changing their opinions.

Both Peter and Jude accuse them of following “the way of Balaam.” This refers to the Old Testament story of the people of Israel, when Balaam, a false prophet, was hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse them. When God prevented Balaam from doing so, he counseled Balak to invite the people of Israel to join the people of Moab in a feast to honor their false god. The book of Numbers records what happened: “Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord” (Numbers 31:16 ESV). The Moabites were known for their practice of prostitution as part of the worship of their god. The Israelites, under the deceptive influence of Balaam would find themselves participating in the immoral festivities associated with the worship of the false gods of Moab.

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. – Numbers 25:1-3 ESV

So the false teachers, like Balaam, were guilty of leading the people of God astray. He “loved gain from wrongdoing.” He had been in it for personal gain. And in the same way, the false teachers were doing what they were doing it for what they could get out of it. And like Balaam, these false teachers would obstinately walk in their own sinful state of delusion, refusing to listen to the words of God and the warnings of His prophets. False teachers develop a false sense of security, ultimately believing that what they are saying is true. Their greatest danger seems to be the sincerity and sense of authority they evoke. They appear to believe what they teach. They come across as confident and sure of themselves. But as Jude describes them, they are like “hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves” (Jude 1:12 ESV). They are dangerous. They are subtle and seductive. They are self-serving and focused only on satisfying their own desires. They are to be avoided at all costs. They are to be exposed and expelled from the church. They are not bad teachers. In fact, most of them are very good at what they do. They are influential and inspirational. They are persuasive and their teaching comes across as reasonable and right. But that is where the danger lies. We must heed the words of Jude, when he warns that they are “ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4 ESV).

He Will Right All Wrongs.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. – 2 Peter 2:4-10 ESV Peter is not dispassionate when it comes to the topic of false teachers. He is deeply concerned and emotionally vested, and these verses give us a glimpse into just how seriously Peter took this matter. In his estimation, false teachers were to be expected, but not tolerated.

In the original Greek, these verses were actually one long sentence. It is as if Peter was speaking and was so intense and passionate, he failed to take a breath. He has two key points: First, God knows how to rescue the godly from trials. Secondly, God also knows how to deal with the unrighteous. There is a day of reckoning coming. God’s judgment is inevitable and unavoidable. And while we may suffer for our faith in this life, we will enjoy the blessings of God in the next life. But that is not the case for false teachers. Those who teach another gospel, attempting to discount God’s judgment or downplay the seriousness of sin, are in for a rude awakening some day. They may enjoy a certain degree of success for now and even gather a crowd willing to listen to their words, but the day of judgment is coming.

It is interesting to note the parallels between Peter’s letter and that of Jude. Jude uses a similar argument to deal with the issue of false teachers:

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day — just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. – Jude 1:5-7 ESV

There is a pattern in Scripture. Those who disobey God, who rebel against Him and who, rather than seeing their sin as an affront to a holy God, pursue their passions willingly, are all doomed to God’s judgment. Both Peter and Jude refer to the angels who rebelled alongside Satan. In the book of Isaiah, we get a glimpse into rebellion that Satan led. Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah presents the king of Babylon as a type or symbolic representation of Satan himself.

How you are fallen from heaven,     O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground,     you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart,     “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God     I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly     in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;     I will make myself like the Most High.” – Isaiah 14:12-14 ESV

At one time, Satan, an angel of light, rebelled against God. Desiring to be like God, he let his pride and arrogance get in the way. Rather than willingly submit to God, he boldly proclaimed, “I will…” It became a matter of his will over God’s will. His desires and passions took precedence over God’s commands. And evidently Satan was able to convince a host of angels to follow him in his plot to overthrow God. But they were cast down by God.

And what about those who lived during the days of Noah? Moses writes, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6 ESV). He goes on to describe just how bad things had gotten since the fall. “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Genesis 6:11-12 ESV). And so God determined to destroy the earth and all who lived on it, except for Noah and his family. Peter tells us that God “preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5 ESV). God rescued Noah, but destroyed the wicked. He preserved the righteous, but punished the unrighteous.

Then there's the case of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two cities that had become the epicenters of unrighteousness during the days of Abraham. These two towns had reputations for wickedness, sexual sin and all kinds of immoral behavior. And interestingly enough, Lot, the nephew of Abraham had made his home in Sodom. While Abraham was living in tents as a nomad, Lot had chosen to enjoy the comfort and conveniences of city life. But Peter describes Lot as righteous. He was a God follower. And he was “greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked” (2 Peter 2:7 ESV). Peter states that “he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard” (2 Peter 2:8 ESV). So God determined to wipe out these two cities, but because of the prayers of Abraham, God spared Lot and his family. Peter tells us that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is “an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6 ESV).

Fallen angels. A corrupt world. Wicked men. What’s Peter’s point in all of this? It would seem that Peter wanted his readers to align themselves with the non-rebellious angels; with Noah, a herald of righteousness; and righteous Lot.  The false teachers, like Satan and the rebellious angels, corrupt mankind and the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah, will receive their punishment in time. We must trust that God will deal righteously and justly in the end. He will right all wrongs. He will punish all unrighteousness. He will reward the faithful and rescue the righteous.

The author of Hebrews tells us, “without faith it is impossible to please him [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:6-7 ESV). Living in this sin-filled world requires faith. It requires that we constantly keep our eyes focused on God. Like Noah and Lot, we are surrounded by sin and rebellion against God. Falsehood is everywhere. Wickedness is rampant. But we must continue to seek God and remember that He rewards those who seek Him. Our ultimate reward is eternal life. We may suffer for now, but we will rejoice forever. We may endure pain here and now, but we will one day enjoy pleasures forevermore.

The Truth About False Teachers.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. – 2 Peter 2:1-3 False prophets had been a constant problem for the people of Israel. It seems that every time a God raised up a prophet and gave him a divinely inspired message for the people, a false prophet would appear on the scene, contradicting his message and misleading the people. These false prophets claimed to be agents of God, but had not been chosen by Him or given a message from Him. They were self-appointed freelancers. But God had stern warnings concerning these false prophets.

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. – Deuteronomy 18:20 ESV

Sounds a bit intense doesn’t it? But it reveals just how seriously God took the role of the prophet. They spoke for Him. They were His mouth pieces, speaking His words to His people. They were only to speak what they had heard from Him and nothing else.

During the last days of the kingdom of Judah, just after they had been defeated by the Babylonians and had begun their 70-year exile, a conflict arose between Jeremiah, the prophet of God who had warned the people that their defeat and deportation was eminent. They had been disobedient to God and He had warned them that He would use the Babylonians to punish them. Zedekiah had been placed over Judah as a kind of puppet king by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Jeremiah, the prophet of God, was still in Judah, warning the king and the people to submit to their fate, because it had been God-ordained. But another prophet named Hananiah began to proclaim a different message. He gave the king and the people a message he claimed to have received from God:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. – Jeremiah 28:2-4 ESV

Hanahiah’s message, while preferable to the one Jeremiah had been proclaiming, was false. It was not from God. It was what the people wanted to hear, but it was not what God had intended them to receive. It was a lie disguised as truth. And Hanahiah would learn that speaking lies on behalf of God was a dangerous game to play.

And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’” In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died. – Jeremiah 28:15-16 ESV

So what does all this have to do with Peter and the recipients of his letter? Everything. Just as false prophets had been a problem for the people of God during Israel’s past, false teachers would show up in the body of Christ, claiming to speak for God. Peter warns that they “will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them” (2 Peter 2:1 ESV). Jude, in his letter, uses similar wording. “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4 ESV). Notice that Jude refers to sensuality. Peter does so as well. “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed” (2 Peter 2:2 ESV). The Greek word Peter uses is ἀπώλεια (apōleia), which means “damnable or destructive” (“G684 - apōleia (KJV) :: Strong's Greek Lexicon.” Blue Letter Bible. http://www.blueletterbible.org). Not only was the teaching of these individuals false, but it was dangerous. It was based on greed and the desire for personal gain. They would use their false words to exploit and mislead the people of God. Their messages, while designed to be popular and appealing, were not of God. They were telling the people what they wanted to hear, but in doing so they were blaspheming the way of truth.

Peter claims that what they were doing, they did so “secretly.” It literally means “to introduce or bring in secretly or craftily” (“G3919 - pareisagō (KJV) :: Strong's Greek Lexicon.” Blue Letter Bible. http://www.blueletterbible.org). They were introducing their teaching subtly and surreptitiously alongside the teachings of Peter and the other apostles. This made it difficult to ascertain what was truth and what was falsehood. And much of what they were teaching seems to have contradicted the need for a change in the behavior of the people. Peter even accuses them of denying the Lordship of Christ Himself. Jesus dies so that those who believe in Him might be saved, but also be sanctified. His redemption includes our ongoing restoration into the image man once had before the fall. Jesus and the apostles all taught a death to self and a submission to the will of God. They called God’s people to live righteously and not sinfully. Peter has already told his readers that God “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (1 Peter 1:3 ESV). But it seems these false teachers were proclaiming a different gospel that allowed for a life of sensuality and self-gratification. Which is why Peter will describe them as “blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!” (2 Peter 2:13-14 ESV).

False teachers have always been a problem in the church. Paul had warned Timothy: “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3 NLT). Telling people what they want to hear may make a teacher or preacher popular and pack the pews, but it will not lead to true life change. Denying the truth of God in order to provide people with false hope is dangerous and destructive. The gospel is good news, but that does mean it will always sound good in our ears. It can be demanding and always requires death to self. Its truth lies not in its plausibility or popularity, but in its ability to transform hopelessly lost sinners into saints.