II Peter Chapter 2
II Peter 2: 1
In the Old Testament there were men who said God spoke to them, but they were false prophets. There will be false prophets and preachers and teachers among you, too.
These teachers will teach false things that will bring damnation to your souls. They will lead you in a wrong path that does not lead to heaven.
Some of these teachers will deny (say it is not) that Jesus is Lord, or the Jesus is God, or that Jesus is the only Savior.
They will say that it was not Jesus’ blood that gives them salvation.
They will teach salvation can happen in other ways.
Today in modern America we have many people who teach that we do not have to worry about sin. That there is no thing as sin. That deep inside of each person he is really good. That each person needs to get in touch with his inner self and bring out that goodness.
The Bible says different. The Bible says that all of our goodness is like a dirty rag. Isaiah 64: 6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all of our righteousness (goodness) is as filthy (very dirty) rags….. Jeremiah 17: 9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately (very) wicked: and who can know it?”
Jeremiah tells us that the inner self is selfish, sinful, —-there is nothing good in it. Also, it is deceitful. Deceit means “covered-up” or hidden–it appears to be one thing but it is something else.
We all know how we try to excuse ourselves when we do something wrong. We try to tell ourselves that we had reason to do it, or it was not so bad.
We deceive ourselves. We do not want to see ourselves as we really are. That is what Jeremiah means when he says our heart is deceitful.
We hide our inner badness.
We know that people are bad in their hearts. Look at the sin in the world. People who hide what they are doing—especially sexual sins. We see how dark and awful the things some of those people have done.
When times are hard—maybe a storm, or tornado—how to people act? Are they loving and kind and generous? No, they look out for themselves. They steal from homes and stores. Even during the hurricane of New Orleans when the people were in that big building—men raped women and stole things.
When people are in hard times they think about themselves and how they will stay alive. They act like animals.
We are self-centered people. We watch out for ourselves. We do not want to be hurt—in body or in our feelings (emotions).
The teachings that try to tell us that we are really good inside are not true—we are really selfish inside. It is easy for us to hate, to be angry, to fear, to want our own way. We do not have to learn those things. Even babies do those things. We have to learn how to be good. We have to learn how to share, how to control our anger, how to forgive and love.
II Peter 2: 2, 3
Many people will follow these false teachers.
These false teachers say things against Jesus and the Bible.
Some of these teachers hope to make money from teaching these things.
In the end, these teachers will be punished by God.
II Peter 2: 4
God will punish the angels that sinned. (They had already been thrown out of heaven.) These evil, fallen angels will be punished in hell. They are in “chains of darkness” waiting for judgment someday.
II Peter 2: 5
God punish the world with a flood long ago during the time of Noah. Noah and his family—8 people were saved in the ark. Noah was a preacher who told the truth.
II Peter 2: 6
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were turned into ashes. They were punished for their sin. They were an example as to what happens to
those who sin.
II Peter 2: 7,8
God saved Lot. Lot was upset with the sin of those cities where he lived. His spirit was troubled with the sin he saw every day.
II Peter 2: 9
The Lord knows how to deliver godly people from temptation of sin. And God knows how to bring the people who are not godly into punishment and judgment for their sins.
II Peter 2: 10, 11, 12
Those people who walk after the desires of the body, and the desire for things that are sinful, and do not respect the law and government, —they are self-willed, and they talk against those who are in authority. They are bold and speak against heavenly beings.
Angels who are greater in strength and power will not speak against other heavenly beings. See Jude vs.9)
But these humans, who are weak flesh and will die, say evil mocking things against things that they do not understand. They laugh at powers that they know so little about. In the end, these false teachers will be die forever.
II Peter 2: 13
They will receive the reward (payment) for their sins. They think it is fun to stir everyone up and upset everyone’s thinking.
They sin and do sinful things and are not ashamed.
They are like a dark spot or stain. They eat with you and have such a good time. They are deceiving themselves about their goodness and their way of thinking.
II Peter 2: 14
These teachers do adultery with their eyes. Their sinful desires are never satisfied. They try to deceive you and get you to follow their teachings.
II Peter 2: 15 16
But they are cursed people, they have gone the wrong way. They have followed the way of Balaam in the Old Testament. Numbers Chapter 22 King Balak wanted Balaam to curse the people of Israel. He was going to give Balaam a lot of money to do it. God did not want Balaam to curse the people of Israel and he did not want him to go to where the Israel people were. Balaam kept asking God. Finally, God said he could go but that Balaam must say what God told him to say.
On the way, the donkey was stopped by an angel. The donkey saw the angel, but Balaam did not. Balaam tried to make the donkey move. He hit the donkey. God spoke to Balaam through the donkey.
Peter is telling how God spoke through a dumb animal to scold Balaam for his wanting money so much as to go to these people of Israel—even though he knew how God felt about it.
In other words, these false teachers are as determined as Balaam was to do what they want to do—no matter, if God has tried to warn them.
II Peter 2:17
These false teachers are like wells that have no water.
They are like clouds that are carried by the wind.
They have darkness forever for their future.
II Peter 2: 18
They speak great wonderful words. They speak proud words. They
try to pull people back into sin—the same sins from which Jesus forgave you and saved you from. You were in bondage/addiction to these sins and now Jesus has saved you. These teachers are trying to get you to go back into that sin.
II Peter 2: 19, 20
You were once in these sins. But because you learned about Jesus and God’s thoughts about sin—-you repented and put away your sin. If you go back into that sin now—that you know better and have known Jesus’ forgiveness—you will be much worse in those sins.
II Peter 2: 21
It would have been better for you to have never known Jesus and learned about Jesus—-than for you to have known truth—and then throw away truth and ignore it and go back to your sin.
Having walked with Jesus and then go back to the ways of sin is much worse that being in sin and never knowing Jesus.
II Peter 2: 22
This is like a dog who goes back to eat his vomit, or the pig who has been washed goes back to the mud.
Know God’s Word for Yourself!
Over and over true Christian leaders tell people —–read the Bible for yourself—-study the Bible for yourself—-know what it says.
We know from history that people who could not read and did not have a Bible—-had to depend on the church leaders to tell them what God wanted and what the Bible said. The church leaders had great power over them because of it. The church leaders did not want the people to know the
Bible for themselves.
Later when the people were able to have their own Bible—-they could not be fooled so easy.
Sometimes we see on TV about some religious group who follows a leader—then the leader does some awful thing and hurts the people. There have been men like Jim Jones, David Koresh, and others.
These men got people to believe what they said. They had a way of talking, and doing things that made people think that God had spoken to them.
The people believed whatever the men told them to do.
If those people had known what the Bible teaches—they would have known those men were telling them to do things that were against what the Bible says. The men were not living in a way that God said we were to live.
These people ending up dying. In the first group, I do not think anyone was left alive. In the second group, there were a few who got out.
We know from what the Bible says about the end times, that we are very close. Prophecy about Israel and what happens to that nation is like watching a clock about the end times. All the prophecies center around the nation of Israel.
That is why Christians watch the news carefully when the news is about Israel and the nations near it.
As the time get closer and closer to the end, there will be more and more people against Christians. There will be people who will teach things that will not be true, but many people will follow them.
You need to know the Bible so you do not follow the wrong teaching.
It is nice to have true people help you know about God. It is nice to have people explain things about the Bible when it is hard to understand.
But nothing can take the place of knowing the Bible for yourself.