Jesus Rescues

2 Peter 2

​The description of the false teachers is clear enough to help you detect them and vivid enough to make you want to avoid them. It is not enough to reject their false teachings. You must also reject their way of life and the hypocrisy behind it. (Warren Wiersbe)

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” 2 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV)

Dr. Tony Evans writes, “Peter gives three examples to demonstrate that God judges evil and that punishment, therefore, awaits false teachers. First, God judged the angels who sinned and cast them into hell. This is a reference to the prehistoric rebellion of Satan and the angels who sided with him."

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;” 2 Peter 2:4-6 (ESV)

Second, God didn’t spare the ancient world … when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly. This example highlights the fact that God preserves the godly even as he judges the wicked. In the flood, the godly person spared was Noah, along with seven of his family members.

Third, God reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes … making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly. This example highlights the Lord’s judgment of those who lead ungodly lifestyles and are unrepentant. (Dr. Tony Evans)

“...then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,” 2 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

The false prophet’s tool is deception, so you must know God’s Word and exercise discernment when you hear their impressive language and alluring promises.

Dr. Evans continues, “Ultimate deliverance for believers will come at the rapture of the church, yet God also brings deliverance in history at times. For the wicked, there is no hope apart from repentance and faith in Christ, only the fearful expectation of eternal destruction in hell.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (ESV)

“For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” 2 Peter 2:18-19 (ESV)

They fellowship with you only to find out what they can get from you and then they will leave you in worse shape than they found you. They are deceptive and destructive, so beware of the toxicity and the coming destruction!

The false prophet’s purpose is personal pleasure and financial gain, and their destiny is judgment. Wiresbe says, “Like Balaam, they cause others to sin by using religion for personal gain. They are not God’s sheep; they are pigs and dogs in sheep’s clothing and they eventually go back to their natural habits.

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:20–22 (ESV)

True sheep keep themselves clean because they follow the Shepherd.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27–28 (ESV)

Are you aware that the enemy is destructive to you and those around you? Do you know that he is using false prophets to distort, distract, and destroy? He is using them to deceive. Are you daily growing and knowing God’s Word so that you can detect those preaching and teaching a false narrative? Do you know that their purpose is also about personal pleasure and financial gain, and they seek to preach a health and wealth gospel to get you to adopt their purpose too?

​Today, know that it is not enough to reject the false teachings of false prophets. You must also reject their way of life and the hypocrisy behind it.

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