Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
2 PETER 2
False Teachers and Their Destruction
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, putting them in chains of darkness 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 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 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. 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, 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,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
Application Notes
2:1-3 Peter gives three warning signs for identifying false teachers:
(1) Depraved conduct. Do the teachers· lives contain or condone immoral practices? Do the people who follow them have immoral sexual relationships?
(2) Greed. Teachers have a right to financial support (1 Corinthians 9:1-14; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17-18), but has money become the primary motivation for this teacher or group? Before you send money to any cause, evaluate it carefully. Does the teacher or preacher clearly serve God or merely promote his or her own interests? Will the person or organisation use the money to promote valid ministry, or will it merely finance further promotions or extravagant lifestyles?
(3 )Lying. Is the leader offended when you ask for the scriptural backing behind his or her statements? Does he or she fudge on the facts when asked for evidence?
Believers today would do well to heed Peter's warnings against false teachers; false beliefs are dangerous and can do great damage in the church.
2:1 Jesus had told the disciples that false teachers would come (Matthew 24:11; Mark 13:22-23). Peter had heard this warning, and at this time, he was seeing it come true. Just as false prophets had contradicted the true prophets in Old Testament times (see, for example, Jeremiah 23:16-40; 28:1-17), telling people only what they wanted to hear, false teachers were twisting Christ's teachings and the words of his apostles. These teachers were belittling the significance of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Some claimed that Jesus couldn't be God; others claimed that he couldn't have been a real man. These teachers allowed and even encouraged all kinds of immorality, especially sexual sin. We must be careful to avoid false teachers today. Every message must be evaluated in the light of God's Word. Pay attention to special meanings or interpretations that add conditions to salvation or demean Christ and his work.
2:4-6 Peter talks about three rebellious groups from Jewish history. If God did not spare the rebellious angels, or people who lived before the Flood, or the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah, he would not spare these false teachers. These words that promised justice were a great comfort to those who were being oppressed. God will punish all evildoers. This also serves as a warning to wanderers today not to stray from the truth. Some people would have us believe that God will save all people because of his loving nature. This foolish thinking leads them to hope that God will cancel the Last Judgment. Don't ever minimise the certainty of God's judgment on those who rebel against him.
2:7-9 Just as God rescued Lot from Sodom, he will rescue us from the temptations and trials we face in this fallen and evil world. Lot was not sinless, but the terrible sinfulness all around him greatly distressed him, just like many people today who are troubled by the sin around them. Lot placed his trust in God, followed God's instructions, and was spared when Sodom was destroyed. (For more on Lot, see his profile on page 33.) God will judge those who initiate temptations and cause trials, so we need never worry about justice being done fairly. We must resist the sinful practices around us, both personally and publicly, and take appropriate action against them.
2:10-12 The "celestial beings" may be God's angels, all the glories of the unseen world, or more probably, fallen angels. A similar passage is found in Jude 1:8-10. Whoever they are, the false teachers slandered spiritual realities they did not understand, taking Satan's power lightly and claiming to be able to judge evil. Many today mock the supernatural. They deny the reality of the spiritual world and claim that only what can be seen and felt is real. Like the false teachers of Peter's day, they will be proven wrong in the end. Don't take Satan and his supernatural powers of evil lightly, and don't become arrogant because you know he will be defeated in the end. We should not fear Satan and his demons, but we must not underestimate his cleverness and influence. Don't scoff at or insult these powers. Use God's Word to counter them. Although Satan will be destroyed completely, he works now and very convincingly to render Christians complacent and ineffective.
2:13-14 This "feast" may have been part of the celebration of the Lord's Supper-a full meal that ended with Communion. The false teachers, although they were sinning openly, were participating in these meals with everyone else in the church. With great hypocrisy, they attended a sacred feast designed to promote love and unity among believers while they were deceiving, lusting after, and coveting the belongings of the believers around them. Paul told the Corinthians, "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:27). These people were guilty of more than false teaching and promoting evil pleasures; they were guilty of leading others away from God's Son, Jesus.
2:15 Balaam had been hired by a pagan king to curse Israel. For a time, Balaam had done what God told him to do (Numbers 22-24), but eyentually his evil motives and desire for money won out (Numbers 25:1-3; 31:16). Like the false teachers-of Peter's day, Balaam used religion for personal advancement, a sin that God does not take lightly.
2:19 We become slaves to whatever controls us. Many believe that freedom means doing anything we want. But no one is ever completely free in that sense. If we refuse to fallow God, we will fallow our own sinful desires and become enslaved to what our bodies want. If we submit our lives to Christ, he will free us from slavery to sin. Christ frees us to serve him, a freedom that results in.our ultimate good.
2:20-22 Peter is speaking of people who have learned about Christ and how to be saved, and have even been positively influenced by Christians, but then reject the truth and return to their sin. These people are worse off than before because they have rejected the only way out of sin, the only way of salvation. Like someone sinking in quicksand who refuses to grab a rope that is thrown to them, people who turn away from following Christ reject their only means of escape from evil's grasp (see the notes on Luke 11:24-26 and Hebrews 6:4-6).
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)