2 Peter 2
Condemnation of False Teachers
Having spoken about the purpose of prophecies, Peter now gives a warning to beware of those who will use prophecies to support their own teachings. - Don Fleming
Chapter 1 of 2 Peter is a positive, encouraging summons for us to confirm our call and election by availing ourselves of God's power for godliness through faith in his precious and very great promises. Chapter 2 is a very bleak portrayal of the false teachers in the churches who do not avail themselves of God's power and give themselves over to sexual indulgence in the name of Christian freedom. The main point of the chapter is that these false teachers and those enticed by them will, in the end, experience condemnation and destruction. The chapter intends to do in a negative way what chapter 1 aims to do in a positive way, namely, make us earnest about the business of confirming our call and election. - John Piper
In the second section of this short letter, the author turned his attention to warning these Christians that false teachers would come to them, denying both the teaching of the prophets and the authority of the apostles. He used imagery and illustration to paint a vivid picture of these false teachers so that these believers could recognize them and all the ways they veiled their pride and greed with a veneer of virtue. Their specific heresies were not described in detail. The author chose to emphasize their malicious motives rather than their message.
There Will Be False Teachers
Vs. 1 - There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
Only Christ’s withering woes on hypocritical leaders in Matthew 23 and the parallel picture in the Epistle of Jude convey the same severe denunciation of false teachers contained in this chapter. - D. Edmond Hiebert, A Portrayal of False Teachers: An Exposition of 2 Peter 2:1-3
The term "false prophets" (Gr. pseudoprophetai) may refer to those who falsely claim to be prophets of God and or those who prophesy falsely. Likewise "false teachers" (Gr. pseudodidaskaloi) can refer to those who claim to be teachers of God’s truth but whom the churches’ leaders do not recognize as teachers and or those who teach falsehood. This is the only place that this Greek word for false teachers occurs in the New Testament. - Thomas Constable
Heresy
Vs. 1 - They will bring in destructive heresies
Vs. 2 - the way of truth will be maligned because of them
Exploitation
Vs. 3 - They will exploit you in their greed
Vs. 13 - delighting in their deceptions
Vs. 14 - They seduce unstable people
Vs. 18 - they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped
Judgment
Vs. 3 - their destruction does not sleep
Vs. 12 - they too will be destroyed
Vs. 13 - They will be paid back with harm
Throughout this section, the author emphasized that these false teachers had a message, and it was heresy. They had a motive, and it was deception and exploitation. And they would have a moment, a future appointment with judgment for their deceptive words and works.
The Lord Will Rescue and Judge
Vs. 9 - the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment
The author referenced several examples of God’s protection for the repentant and His punishment for the rebellious here to affirm that, just as God acted in these situations, He knew how to protect the godly in times of trial and to reserve the unrighteous for judgment on the Day of the Lord. This is not to say that all believers will be delivered from all physical harm in this lifetime, but rather that, in principle, judgment is reserved for those who reject truth, and deliverance for those who embrace it.
Rescued
Noah - Vs. 5 - but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others
Lot - Vs. 7 - he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral
Judged
Angels - Vs. 4 - God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell
This is a strange and difficult passage; but the meaning is clear. Even angels, when they sinned, were punished. How much more shall men be punished? Angels could not rebel against God and escape the consequences. - William Barclay
Most commentators believe these “angels” to have been the former servants of God who rebelled with Satan.
Jude 6 - And the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.
Revelation 12:9 - Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
Ancient World - Vs. 5 - he didn’t spare the ancient world…when he brought the flood
Sodom - Vs. 6 - he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction
These People
This section contains a series of analogies and metaphors that closely resembles Jude’s description of false teachers motivated by greed and self-promotion.
The Prophet Balaam
Vs. 15- They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness
Peter likens the evil men of his time to the prophet Balaam. In the popular Jewish mind, Balaam had come to stand as the type of all false prophets. His story is told in Numbers 22:1-41; Numbers 23:1-30; Numbers 24:1-25. - William Barclay
The prophet Balaam represented all men who claimed to speak for God but allowed their messages to be mutated and motivated by greed.
Deception And Debauchery
Vs. 17-18 - These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error.
The author attached little to no explanation to the figurative language he chose to describe these false teachers, so commentators can only speculate on his intended meaning. It is very clear, however, that he wanted to strongly communicate their dangerous and destructive nature.
Turning Back
Vs. 21 - For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them.
They (false teachers) had evidently heard the gospel preached and fully understood the apostles’ teaching that Jesus Christ was both Lord and Savior, but had rejected it. It would have been better for the false teachers never to gain full knowledge of God’s commandment regarding holy behavior than having gained it to reject it. Turning from the light results in going into greater darkness. - Thomas Constable
The True Proverb
Vs. 22 - It has happened to them according to the true proverb:
Proverbs 26:11 - As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.
The author quoted a proverb of Solomon to illustrate how these false teachers rejected truth to embrace greed and deception. They had tasted forgiveness but returned to foolishness.
