PSEUDO RELIGION, PROHETS AND TEACHERS (2 PETER 2)
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One report says that counterfeit products made up 5 to 7% of world trade in 2013. According to The Counterfeit Report, "China produces 80% of the world's counterfeits and the United States buy about 60% to 80% of the products. Do you know what brands are the most copied worldwide? Rayban, Rolex, Supreme and Louis Vuitton are the most copied brands worldwide, with Nike being the most counterfeited brand globally. In 2017 an estimated one in five (19%) of smartphones sold worldwide were counterfeit, with the numbers growing. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 30% of pharmaceuticals in developing countries are fake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_consumer_goods
By some estimates, up to 10,000 cults still exist today in the United States, according to psychologist Steve Eichel, a recognized international cult expert and president of the International Cultic Studies Association. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-identify-a-cult-six-expert-tips
According to one report, leaving the group is not as easy as joining it. The group’s preachers approach people, pretending to be regular Christian clergy. They then draw them in with small talk about their everyday problems, a theme also present in their preaching. “Sermons usually start with complaints about household duties, about being left behind in a village having to take care of children. Then slowly they will shift to blaming society for their misery and loneliness.”
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006609/the-men-who-lost-their-wives-to-eastern-lightning
Who were the false prophets and false teachers in Peter’s time? What do false prophets and false teachers advocate? How do we have to resist them? Why is the church vulnerable and victorious at the same time?
Be Discerning, Not Deceived
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 shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. 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 into gloomy dungeons 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 filthy lives of lawless men 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)—
I was a pastor of a small church an hour east of Los Angeles for ten years. One day a few visitors came in a van, talk to a few folks who greeted them and left in a hurry before I had time to greet them less than ten minutes after they arrived. They distributed tracts and left, not leaving their names or ask for names.
I asked around, “Who are they? Why did they not join our worship? Did they leave behind a card or particulars?” It’s so strange to make the effort to come all the way in a rural district and not attend worship!” Most members shrugged their shoulders, shook their heads or looked at me blankly in response. Later I find out from coworkers in greater Los Angeles that the Eastern Lightning cult had visited churches in the area.
Two years ago after a coworker left our young adult fellowship, I made a conscious decision to attend the fellowship more because some came for their doctrinal, political, financial and social reasons.
What is the difference between false prophets and false teachers in the text? (v 1) You might be surprised to know these two terms are only found in the New Testament. The former is in the aorist/past tense (“there were” false prophets) while the latter (“there will be” false teachers) is in the future tense. Prophets speak and teachers teach. These false teachers do two things to devastate the church. The verb introduce (v 1, par-eisago) is from “para (alongside as in “parallel”) + eis (into) + ago (lead/bring). They encircle, encroach and enter inside! The adjective “destructive” (v 1) is repeated three times, twice in verse 1 and once in v 3, and it is translated as perdition (John 17:12), perish (Acts 8:20) and damnable (2 Peter 2:1) in KJV. They love nothing more than lure and lead others down the path of destruction with them. It is used more in the chapter than any chapter in the Bible and appears in the book even more times than Revelation- whole book twice only! Their most effective way is to deny the Lord– His deity, His doctrines and deeds.
The second thing they do is exploit. Exploit in verse 3 is buy and sell (James 4:13) and make merchandise (2 Peter 2:3) in translation. People are goods, tools and objects to them. The outcome is not the usual “follow” (akoloutheo) verb (v 2) that occurs 90 times in the Bible, but “follow out” (v2 ex-akoloutheo - many will “follow” their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute) with the preposition “ex” in front that occurs three times in the Bible only, all in this book (2 Peter 1:16, 2:2, 2:15). The sheep follow the wolf, thief and the hired hand home!
Contrast Chart
Angels v 4 Ancient world/Noah v 5 Sodom and Gomorrah/Lot v 7 vv
“sent” them to hell v 4 not “spare” the ancient world…
but “protected” Noah “rescued” Lot v 7
gloomy dungeons/hell,
chains of darkness judgment v 4 Means of destruction: chains of darkness (v 4)
the flood (v 5)
ashes (v 6) The ungodly (asebes)
v 5
The lawless/wicked (athesmos)
v 7
unlawful (anomos) v 8
V 4 Cave
Chain
Condemnation “Righteousness” (vv 5, 8 twice) vs ungodly
Most mentioned virtue Ungodly = no God
Wicked = to others
Unlawful = to the law
The fate awaiting the false prophets and false teachers are illustrated by three incidents. First, the fallen angels. God did not spare them but delivered them to judgment. There is more talk of “for/into judgment” in 2 Peter (2:4, 2:9, 3:7) than any book of the Bible. It is inevitable, inescapable and inexcusable. The chains (v 4 seira) here, unlike the chains of Paul (Phil 1:7 desmos) and Peter (Acts 12:7 hand chain), is found only in the Bible, for a simple “cord, rope, band” (Vine’s).
There are four “not” repeated to underline the Lord’s judgment on false prophets and teachers:
V 3a Their condemnation has “long been hanging over them/linger NOT”(not slow)
V 3b their destruction has NOT been sleeping. (not sleep)
V 4 For if God did NOT spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment (not spare)
5 if he did NOT spare the ancient world (not spare)
God will not slow, sleep or spare in judgment upon false prophets and teachers, spelling their destruction, damnation and disgrace. His judgement on the ungodly (v 6, a-sebes), the wicked (v 7, a-thesmos) and the unlawful (v 8, a-nomos) in the form of chains (v 4), water (v 5) and fire (v 6) will be swift, severe and scary. The price to pay for man’s disobedience will be substantial, steep and sure.
Be Delivered, Not Disgraced
9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12 But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts 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 Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey — a beast without speech — who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
Many of you may know I have been listening to my alma mater’s chapel podcast. One of our favorite professors is Stanley Toussaint who spoke at our church many years ago. He said:
“My aunt Deanie, who was the oldest sister of my mother my mother, was the earth of the family had a plaque on her wall that was on that wall and my mother was little girl it was on the wall when I was a boy and I can still remember reading that that that the plaque – “Do not be doing anything you would not want to be doing when Jesus comes. Do not be saying anything you would not want to be saying when Jesus comes. Do not be looking at anything you would not want to be looking at when Jesus comes. Do not be thinking anything who would not want to be thinking when Jesus comes.”
Stanley Toussaint, “What Prophecy Produces,” DTS Chapel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_jiZ3ehUg
The Lord’s triumph is in contrast to false teachers and believers’ test. Verse 9 the Lord knew (perfect tense) two things: (1) to “rescue” godly men from trials and (2) to hold/reserve the unrighteous for the day of judgment. Rescue (rhoumai) has to do with the “current, flow,” as in verse 7 with Lot, as with go against the flow. God will deliver His people, no matter the changing conditions, current and challenges. Meanwhile, God will give us the strength to combat Satan, contain and counter him.
Peter expertly used three contrasts in this passage to understand the complexity of this passage:
1. The Lord versus angels. The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials (v 9), but and stronger and more powerful angels were forbidden to act. When angels become proud, they become fallen angels. (Who).
2. These men carouse in broad daylight (v 12, “day” time), but they are bound for the “day” of judgment (v 9). (When)
3. Brute beasts, creatures of instinct (v 12) is contrasted with the “way” of Balaam (v 15), of which the “way” is also contrasted by the straight “way” and the “way” of Balaam. (Where) Peter chose two rare words to describe Balaam, his wrongdoing (v 16, “para-nomia” alongside-law) and his madness (“para-phronia” or alongside-thinking) – both one-time words in the Bible. Balaam was not straightforward (v 15), single-minded or steadfast, but sly, sinister and selfish.
Be Decisive, Not Doubleminded
17 These men 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 sinful human nature, 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 a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 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 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 goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage
I had lived in Los Angeles for close to 20 years. The biggest temptation for restaurant owners, managers, chefs, cooks and waiters and even their patrons on the weekend is to go to Las Vegas on the weekend. It’s no secret many employers have lost their money and sold their restaurants as a result. One such casino is The Mirage. At the time of its opening, the Mirage was the largest hotel in the world, with 3,044 rooms, 29 stories and 6,000 employees. At its heyday the hotel featured One of the most attractive shows in Las Vegas was the Mirage’s white tiger show the Cirque du Soleil show. It is aptly called The Mirage because it’s grand and glitzy, but it’s not genuine, golden or gratifying.
The key to unravel in the last section is the first statement because of the auxiliary verb “are,” whereas the other statements are “how” participles – including driven (v 17), mouth, escap-ing and who-live/living verbs. What does it mean that “these men are springs without water” in verse 17. They are not only a menace but also a mirage, a masquerade and manipulator and modification. The first “for” is they entice (v 18) that occurs three times in the Bible, twice in this section (vv 14, 18), also translated as entice (James 1:14), beguile (2 Peter 2:14) and allure (2 Peter 2:18).
Surprisingly, the title “Lord and Savior” (v 20), in that order, occurs only in 1 Peter and not other books, not only once in this chapter (v 20), but each chapter (1:11, 3:2, 18). Verse 17’s “are,” verse 18’s “entice,” verse 19’s “master” and verse 20’s “are worse” surprisingly replaces the past tense and reverts to the present tense. Springs (without water) is actually “fountain” (Mark 5:29) or “well” (John 4:6). False teachers will eventually be unmasked. There is no truth, thinking and transformation or turnaround in false teaching. Debate, dispute and difference is not allowed or accepted by false teachers.
Cults rob people of their identity, independence and income. Not only are their brains washed, but their bodies used their bank accounts depleted. It means they are not beyond exploiting people’s vanity, vice and vulnerabilities to lure and lead them from the truth. "The life of Christianity consists of possessive pronouns" says Martin Luther. It is one thing to say, "Christ is a Savior"; it is quite another thing to say, "He is my Savior and my Lord." The devil can say the first; the true Christian alone can say the second. They preach an inferior, insufficient, inadequate, invalid and improvised instant Christ.
Balaam did not leave the path of righteousness for nothing, but it was in his motivation. Lot was for popularity but Balaam was for profit. One wanted to belong, the other to benefit. There is no such thing as a false prophet who is successful or sacrificial, prosperous and principled, rich and righteous.
Conclusion: 1 John 4:1 as “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world”. The Lord will not slow, sleep, or spare in judgment. Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.”
