In the last chapter we saw how Peter used three Old Testament stories to illustrate that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from trials while keeping the wicked held until the day of final judgment. In the first half of verse ten, Peter tells us that God is especially hard on those who follow their own sexual desires and who despise authority. Continuing on the subject of false teachers from verse one, he now adds that they are bold and arrogant resulting in having no respect of God. It appears that there is at least one distinction that is shared among all of God’s enemies and that is pride. Ever since Satan fell (read Ezekiel 28:17), pride seems to be a prime motivator to counter and fight God. Pride also manifests itself in people when they start believing and thinking that they are better than others, Peter points out in the second half of verse ten just how brazen that manifestation can get.
2:10b Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,
The terms ‘bold’ and ‘willful’ can also be translated ‘daring’ and ‘arrogant’ which is not a good combination. There are a number of examples of this type of behavior in the Bible (see 2 Chronicles 32:25; Esther 3:5; Daniel 4:30; 5:20; Acts 12:21-23). Plus, these teachers will not tremble or fear God in any way, as indicated by their lack of respect to the “glorious ones.” This is simply the Greek word ‘doxas’, and whenever Peter uses this term, or its root word (doxa, most often translated as ‘glory’, see chapter 32 for discussion) he is referring to God and His glory (see also 1 Peter 1:7, 11, 21, 24; 4:11, 13, 14; 5:1, 4, 10; 2 Peter 1:3, 17; 3:18), not the glory of fallen angels as some theologians often state. Other translations offer “dignitaries,” “angelic majesties,” “celestial beings,” “supernatural beings,” etc. I like how Eugene Peterson translated this word in “The Message,” he calls them “the most splendid of creatures.”[1] Peter is saying these people not only have no respect for God, they have zero respect for His creation, period!
2:11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.
Peter continues to explain the audacity of these teachers by saying that even angels, who possess greater power than any of us, would not dare to say the things these teachers are saying. Once again I would like to quote “The Message” as Peterson sums up this verse nicely: “Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn’t think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God.” (2 Peter 2:10-11, The Message)[2] We need to remember when Jude recorded an interesting fact about a conversation between Satan and the archangel Michael regarding Moses body. Jude said that not even the archangel Michael would curse or rebuke Satan but simply stated, “The Lord rebuke you” (see Jude 9). That’s God’s job, not ours.
2:12 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,
Peter goes on to compare these teachers to non-reasoning animals, saying that they are simply creatures of instinct that say, or instruct others about things they really don’t know. They will speak evil about and scoff at things they do not understand, ridiculing God’s truth and authority (especially His Word). Ironically they will not be able to escape their own destruction. Their own beliefs will end up condemning themselves. Believing something sincerely doesn’t change the facts. If you sincerely believe a lie, well it’s still is a lie! If you believe in something for your salvation, unless that belief is about Jesus and His truth, it will not save you. Those that believe in something other than God and His plan for salvation, they will spend an eternity in hell. Peter is saying false teachers will be condemned, along with their students, leading to total destruction (see Jude 10).
2:13 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.
This can be a difficult verse to understand. It is not referring to someone suffering unjustly for doing something wrong. Only God can determine what is just. The word translated here as “suffering wrong” is a middle or passive verb, and could be translated as “to be harmed” referring to the fact they will be judged for what they taught.[3] The New Living Translation states it: “Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done.”
Peter also notes that these teachers really don’t care about being caught as they carouse in the daytime. No need to hide as they love to indulge in their evil pleasures in broad daylight (see also Romans 3:10-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:7; James 5:5). They are blots and blemishes reveling in their deceptions (this is beginning to look more and more like it was taken from a modern-day newspaper). They enjoy their sin while deceiving others. They are truly a disgrace and a stain to all mankind (see Jeremiah 23:26; Romans 16:17-18; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 2 Timothy 3:13; Jude 16-19). They will even dine and enjoy entertainment with their students while they deceive them (see also Jude 12; 1 Corinthians 11:20-22). They have successfully infiltrated the church for the purpose of deceit (see 2 John 8-11). They also have eyes full of adultery insatiable for sin. This shows they are truly spiritual phonies (or worse) with no moral constraint. Again, as Christians, we need to understand that sin corrupts and that there is only one remedy. Notice how Peter subtly identifies the enemy, these are not those that do outward and obvious battle against God, Jesus, or the church, these are people within the church (see Jude 4). The enemy is sharing a meal with us, they may sit next to you on Sunday morning! One of my teachers once said that when we get into heaven we will be surprised by two things, those that are there, and those that (who we thought would be there) are not.
2:14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
For me, since I am a teacher myself, the worst part of this verse is the statement Peter makes about the fact these teachers will entice (the Greek word implies “to catch with bait”)[4] unsteady souls. They intentionally seek out those who are spiritually weak or unstable. That would include immature Christians or non-believers that are seeking to learn about God as they can easily be deceived, just as Paul warned us in his letter to the church at Ephesus, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14) Wrong interpretations or any form of misleading can also lead to doubt, which can lead to being vulnerable, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6) We need to know and be found growing in the Word of God, no exceptions! Christianity should always point to Christ, alternate religions only point to themselves.
Peter points out that these false teachers have trained their hearts in greed. The Greek word for ‘trained’ is the word where we get the English term ‘gymnasium’. Peter is telling us that this deception is not by accident. They have worked hard to get where they are. That is why he calls them “Accursed children!” They are indeed liars and hypocrites.
2:15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
These teachers deliberately depart from the way of the truth. They have chosen to walk in disobedience to God, Peter says they are following the way of Balaam, who loved gain from doing wrong. Balaam was an unusual character in the Old Testament, as he was a prophet for profit. When king Balak saw the Israelites moving toward his country (Moab), and knowing that his people were no match for them, he sought out someone who could pronounce a curse on them. Apparently Balaam was well known for his less-than-typical-prophet reputation. To make a long story short, Balaam was hired by Balak but was prevented by God to pronounce any curse on the Israelites and ended up always instead blessing them. A couple of things to note, first of all in his eagerness to make a great deal of money by cursing the Israelites, he encountered an angel that stopped him from traveling. Even though he could not see the angel his donkey did and the donkey tried to avoid running into the angel three times ultimately injuring Balaam who then beat his donkey. God allowed the donkey to speak and according to the story, Balaam never once stopped to think, or question the fact that he was having a conversation with a donkey! See Numbers chapters 22-24 for the complete story. Secondly, and more importantly, even though Balaam was unsuccessful in cursing the Israelites, he was able to explain to Balak a way for him to bring judgment on the Israelites. Balak ultimately carried out Balaam’s plan, and sadly for the Israelites, it worked as he planed, and as a result, Balaam was responsible for the plague in Peor recorded in Numbers 25:1-9, where 24,000 Israelites died (see Numbers 31:16). Balaam’s greed is often spoke about in the Bible, although never favorably (see Deuteronomy 23:3-6; Nehemiah 13:1-3; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14) his example of greed will live on in infamy.
Peter goes on to say that Balaam was rebuked for his own transgressions and restrained from his irrational behavior by the voice of his donkey. But even though Balaam was restrained from cursing, the Israelites he paid the ultimate price for his transgression long after instigating the introduction of Moabite women to the Israelites that lead many of them to practice idolatry, which then God judged with the deadly plague (see Numbers 31:8, 16). The “way of Balaam” encapsulates the enjoyment of benefiting from guiding people away from doing what is right or believing the truth, ultimately leading them away from God.
Corruption may have entered the church by those with deliberate and deceptive teaching in mind, however, the problem is exacerbated when others blindly follow or carry these teachings to future generations, unaware that the teaching is wrong.
As Christians, we really do need to understand what the Bible clearly teaches about false teachers and prophets, as Peter is making very clear to us here. But we also need to understand that some of these people may have influenced churches and perhaps caused various breakups and denominations many generations ago as well. While we certainly need to be alert today for any false teachers, we also need to be aware of the ramifications of any potential corruption that may have occurred in the church, and to its doctrinal teaching that began many years earlier. Jude warned about ungodly people who had penetrated churches and Christianity, in general, largely unnoticed. He further explained that their goal in mind was to ultimately persuade people to deny Jesus Christ (read Jude 3-4). What if they entered and influenced the church 100, 150, 500 or more years ago?
Let’s combine the warnings and admonitions of Jesus, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude that were all written during the first century, now imagine the potential corruption of Christianity today, nearly 2,000 years later! We have a responsibility to hold up all Christian doctrine and theology to the light of the Bible. That includes all traditions, protocols, dogma, rituals, creeds, and all teachings/writings of previous founders, leaders, and teachers. Just because something that was done or taught for hundreds of years does not necessarily mean it is correct. There is only one God and His opinion is the only one that counts, which in turn means, His Word, the Bible, is the only book that counts. We are to be like the Bereans and check out everything we are taught and compare it to the Word of God, remember Acts 17:11, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIV) Yes, everything!
Martin Luther is credited with starting the Reformation movement in 1517, while most Christians can agree that the church truly needed to be reformed back then, not every Christian may want to hear that the process of church reform truly never stops. So that begs the question, are you “tuned into God,” reading, studying and growing in the Word, keeping corruption out of the church, or are you sitting back, being comfortable with your Sunday morning experience and potentially allowing generations of darkness to continue?
Remember, the enemy is not only alive but very active, stand up for Jesus and stand firm in Him, and only in Him. Also remember (from chapter 31), that Christianity is not a spectator sport. Perhaps the most chilling words in the Bible are, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22-23) When (not if) we meet Jesus face-to-face, He will either say, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” (Matthew 25:12b) or He will proclaim, “Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21), the choice is ours.
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[1] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[2] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[3] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. Strong’s Greek No. 91
[4] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software. Strong’s Greek No. 1185