THOUGHTS IN 2 PETER – NUMBER 7 - A LOOK AT PETER’S EXPOSURE OF DESTRUCTIVE WOLVES/ FALSE TEACHERS – 2 Peter 2:1-3
[1]. INTRODUCTION
Peter had a lot to say about false prophets and teachers. WHY WOULD THIS BE SO?
Firstly the composure of Christians is at stake because the false teachers, the missionaries of Satan, unsettle the faith of believers. The Lord wants us to be established in faith, not being tossed around by every notion of man and doctrine that the devil’s men invent - Ephesians 4:14.
The second reason is that the work of the Lord is hindered as men fight over schisms and erroneous teaching. Church History teaches us that the early church of the first few hundred years had to combat one heresy after another, and as it did so, its purity was affected and the gospel thrust declined. The church became formal and institutionalised, bound by creeds and rituals.
The third reason is that false teaching and heresy are like filthy blobs of putridness that sully the spotless Bride of Christ here on earth. This is heartache to the Lord who loved the Church and gave Himself for her. We are all affected in some way by heresy and false teaching. It may be in our churches; we may have to combat it and that causes friction; people we know as friends are being led down the wrong path and away from the Saviour.
WHO IS TO BLAME FOR THE SITUATION?
Let’s be honest. The eldership of the church is responsible. The early church did not have ministers as we know happened in later years as one man over the church. There was a plurality of elders, but as we pass from the first century, men got themselves into positions with a single bishop over them. This began the one-man ministry and it became a snare for the churches.
I asked who is to blame for all this problem and mentioned the elders who were responsible for the spread of heresy among God’s people. That is not being harsh and I have a reason for saying so. Look at this very important passage –
{{Acts 20:17 “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church,”}}. Then Paul addressed them -
{{Acts 20:29-31 “I know that after my departure SAVAGE WOLVES WILL COME IN AMONG YOU, not sparing the flock AND FROM AMONG YOUR OWN SELVES men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”}}
Paul knew very well that wolves would sneak in and savagely destroy the purity of correct biblical doctrine. This was not a surprise at all as the Lord taught that would happen in the Parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13. The Tares followed the Sower; the heresies followed the pure teaching of the Apostles.
Satan always has the counterfeit for the true. In every single aspect of the bible the opposition is the opposite. For example, God created the heavens and the earth. The opposite – a big bang without any god creating it. God established heterosexual marriage. The opposite – homosexual marriage is now the way. God created all the species on earth. The opposite – mindless, chaotic evolution created it all. God established boundaries and told Adam the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was out of bounds, and in the day they ate of it, they would die. The opposite – Satan who said to Eve, “You will not die.”
The pure gospel was preached, and Satan introduced the impure gospel.
What was most disturbing in what Paul said was this – {{Acts 20:30 “and FROM AMONG YOUR OWN SELVES men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”}}. This was most galling for all this trouble, and the wolves, would ARISE FROM WITHIN, from the body of people in the churches.
What I do want to draw attention to is the next verse - {{Acts 20:31 “Therefore BE ON THE ALERT, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears”}}. That was the basis of failure. They did not stay on the alert. The Ephesian elders I suppose were not too bad as later on in A.D. 96 John wrote to them and said this – {{Revelation 2:2 “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and they are not, and YOU FOUND THEM TO BE FALSE.”}}
However from among the churches heretics arose because the elders had gone to sleep and were not alert; they were careless and looked to personalities. It is one thing to say this about the churches of the past but what about the churches today? Most of the problem lies with not knowing right from wrong anymore as the early Church did.
How can you defend the right if you do not what the right is? The Laodicean church is today’s church where lukewarmness prevails and anything goes in some places. This is no good. Superficial knowledge of the scriptures allows error on a large scale. “Experience churches” and sensual ones are contaminated the most with false teaching, and wolves that prey on the sheep and financially make themselves rich, are the worse.
[2]. LET US EXAMINE PETER’S WORDS
{{2 Peter 2:1 “but false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU, who WILL SECRETLY INTRODUCE destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing SWIFT DESTRUCTION upon themselves.”}}
Peter was on the same track as Paul was in Acts 20. The false prophets/teachers will arise from within. They are troublemakers in scripture, distorting the inspired words. My experience over the years proves that these people are sly and pushy and want to control items at business meetings and at bible studies. They have their own hobby horses and ride them for all they are worth.
There is cunning inferred in Peter’s words about secretly introducing destructive heresies. These wolves who do that, operate on an individual basis, then another “victim”, or twos or threes in most persuasive methods. Of course the serpent was most persuasive with Eve when he twisted God’s words. These destructive heresies are heresies of ruin. Vincent’s Word Studies has a useful comment – [[“destructive heresies”. Heresy is a transcript of a??es??, the primary meaning of which is CHOICE; so that a heresy is, strictly, the choice of an opinion contrary to that usually received; thence transferred to the body of those who profess such opinions, and therefore a sect.]]
Heresies do cause sects, meaning a cutting and severing of a group, and that is what false teaching does. I knew of a church close to the school where I was teaching that had a very decent young people’s group. One of these cunning wolves got in there and got control of the young people. He was teaching them all about the need for spectacular second blessing and other things, and then he took those young people off to another church. What he did was sectarian – caused a split, a cutting away, through heresy. The church was not established enough to realise what was happening. Those deeply established in correct teaching will recognise error when it comes knocking at the door.
How do we understand “SWIFT DESTRUCTION” in verse 1? Some/many false teachers continue for a lifetime in their error and nothing seems to happen to them. God does not destroy them on the earth like zapping them. One of the clearest explanations is from Bishop Ellicott - [[“coming suddenly and unexpectedly, so as to preclude escape; not necessarily coming **soon**. The reference, probably, is to Christ’s sudden return to judgement. 2 Peter 3:10 “but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”]]
The expression - “coming as a thief; a thief in the night”, is NEVER to be used of the Rapture as it is wrongly done by some. It always relates to the Second Coming. My Lord does not come as a thief for the redeemed Body of His dear Children. He comes as the Redeemer and the Bridegroom. A thief comes and brings destruction and misery.
[3]. THE PIED PIPERS OF CHRISTIANITY
{{2 Peter 2:2 “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of THE TRUTH WILL BE MALIGNED”}}
All the children ran after the Pied Piper. Why did they follow him? It was because his music was enchanting. False teachers are enchanting and seem to be able to gather a big following but you wonder why that can be.
Surely you ask, “Why can’t the people see how that doctrine or idea is false?” Then an answer comes back, “Who says it is false?” Another voice adds, “They don’t know any different because they have not been taught!” Therein lies the secret. The churches have failed them. Sheep in wolves clothing and lazy and ignorant pastors are responsible for the lack of understanding in the people. How many of them are mere hirelings?
Our verse 2 says, “Many will follow their sensuality.” They follow sensuality. The AV says “pernicious ways” and the word means licentiousness, but common translations are “depravity, unrestrained ways, debauched lifestyles, depraved conduct.” That is what these false teachers are, these wolves tearing the flock apart, BUT the saddest thing is that the followers can not see the true image of this devil’s agent.
The book of Jude is parallel with 2 Peter 2 and either both shared another document, or one borrowed from the other or the Holy Spirit led both men along the same path. Here is a verse from {{Jude 1:4 “for certain persons HAVE CREPT IN UNNOTICED, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who TURN THE GRACE OF OUR GOD INTO LICENTIOUSNESS and deny Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.”}}
The truth is maligned by them, Peter says. The word comes from “blasphemos” to vilify, or to speak of truth impiously. The tares, wolves, false ones, are not hesitant of speaking blasphemies and one in particular – Jesse Duplantis – claims he frequently goes to heaven and the Lord says to him, “Jesse, I am thinking of doing this [action]. What do you think about that?” Utter blasphemos! I am NOT making it up. I have seen it. It is easily found on the Internet/You Tube. Check Justin Peters.
There might be some here reading this or listening to me who are caught up in prosperity teaching. I don’t want to be mean to you, but I would ask you to think about the big picture. Desperate people give so much of their meagre resources to these false teachers, these licentious frauds, who walk away, sometimes with millions, from poor areas of India and Africa, and third world nations. The people are convinced that if they give a lot to these evil, false teachers, God will bless them and give them a whole lot more in return.
Think for one minute. How rich in material things was Peter? Paul? Jesus? You know they had nothing of the world’s goods but were rich in the Lord. Jesus said this of Himself – {{Matthew 8:20 and Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests but THE SON OF MAN HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD.”}}. Don’t you think it is obscene that all these prosperity teachers have mansions worth tens of millions and some have a number of private aircraft – Kenneth Copeland with a fleet of them, and one has a huge collection of Rolex watches that he displays and parades around at his meetings. The people they leave behind are poorer than they were at the start. It is demonic, and the judgement of these evil, greedy people will be great.
[4]. THE EXPLOITERS WILL COME INTO JUDGEMENT THEN INTO DESTRUCTION
{{2 Peter 2:3 “and in their greed they WILL EXPLOIT YOU with false words. Their JUDGMENT from long ago is not idle, and their DESTRUCTION is not asleep.”}}
Those who are sensual and depraved, unrestrained and licentious, think nothing of gaining as much money and luxury for themselves as they can. Peter uses the word “exploit,” and in that word there is the idea of “trade”. These false teachers will trade souls for money and advantage. Well . . . let them enjoy their luxury now because they won’t have it in the lake of fire.
In my nation there is a terrible exploitation here, but it is no surprise because of the deep immorality of our Governments. They set the immoral example. People now seem to be out to exploit others. One electrical company wanted to charge me $580 for 45 minutes simple work and another big one wanted to charge $350. Eventually it was done for $220. I was still exploited.
However it is much worse to exploit souls, that is, the souls of men. To prey on souls is going to reap such severe judgement. Jude wrote – {{Jude 1:12 “These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when THEY FEAST WITH YOU WITHOUT FEAR, CARING FOR THEMSELVES; clouds without water carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit doubly dead, uprooted.”}}. {{Micah 6:11 “Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, and the short ephah, which is accursed?”}}
Their words are false, but the false becomes true to those who are deceived. When the angel of light does his pernicious evil, even a dead body looks like a film star.
THE BIG CONCERN
I have alluded to this many times but error thrives in untaught conditions just as disease thrives in unsanitary environments. One Old Testament verse says – {{Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.”}}. The AV translates as “the people perish”, but this is the problem – no vision and no teaching. False teaching is like maggots. It spreads through what was once good BUT what was once good was left unprotected. When God is cast over, cast out, the people are unrestrained in their wickedness, but that is the message for next time.
Why don’t ministers shore up their flock? Firstly some of them are unconverted themselves so that is useless. Some are not biblical students and you can’t impart what you don’t know, or what God has not given. Even worse some don’t care and see their position as a career move or a job so they just go through the motions. Some come from liberal, God-denying Seminaries and Theological Colleges.
Blessed is the man of God who seriously teaches the word and is earnest for souls; who does the shepherding work of feeding and correcting; who leads his flock to safety from the ravenous wolves; who keeps the protecting barrier strong and high so wolves can’t get in.
The Apostles who wrote the New Testament were not backward in condemning wolves and false teaching. Just see what Paul says in Galatians 1 and Jude and Peter, even John. You can’t pussy-foot around. There is a time you must stand and condemn. A time to build up; a time to break down.
How tolerant should we be? That is always a problem in today’s society. In my nation we are even condemned by the Federal Government for opposing homosexuality and “gay marriage” the “perverted marriage”. Some ministers see their role as facilitators and “smoothers over” of problems rather than address them. False teaching must be called out. May I say one underlying problem here is the paid/salaried position of the minister. He does not want to make waves or threaten his own career, so he can’t always be honest.
Next time I want to continue with 2 Peter 2:4-8 to look at examples Peter gives and see what we can learn from those. Let me close by urging you to dwell on these two verses –
{{Colossians 1:22-23 “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach - IF indeed you CONTINUE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED AND STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”}}
