One of the most popular artists of all time, and one that is still very popular today, was a man by the name of Vincent Van Gogh. In 1885, at a time when society was embracing science’s view of evolution and long held beliefs in the Bible were under attack, Van Gogh painted a picture which he called Sill Life with Bible. In the painting, against a dark background there is a large, open Bible on a table with a candle beside it which has burned out. In front of the Bible is a small book, painted in yellow, of which the title is legible. It is a book written by Emile Zola, called The Joy of Life.
According to Van Gogh’s own interpretation, the Bible belonged to his father, who had been a Protestant minister, and he had painted the picture a few months after his death. Next to the Bible, he placed his own copy of “La joie de vivre” by Émile Zola. Van Gogh saw that novel as a kind of 'bible' for modern life. Placed together, the two books symbolize the different philosophies between Van Gogh and his father. Van Gogh had been exposed to the truth of the Bible earlier in his life, even briefly entered the ministry himself, but in his view, the light of the Bible had gone out, and it was replaced with a humanistic philosophy that seemed to offer a life of joy.
Sadly, however, for Van Gogh this humanistic philosophy never produced the joy of life he had hoped for. He spent much of his years on earth in depression which he tried to drink himself out of. And just five years after completing that painting, he committed suicide.
Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. However, in contrast to the way of death, Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life, and that the truth would set you free. But Jesus also said that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” So Satan is the enemy of the truth. His purpose is to distort the truth, to malign the truth, to tempt man to think for himself, to make his own decisions, and ultimately, to disregard the authority of God’s Word. Satan’s purpose is to deprive men of learning the truth that leads to salvation, in order to ensure their destruction. But in this passage, Peter is giving us a contrast between the true knowledge which leads to life, found in chapter 1, and the false knowledge which leads to death, as described in chapter 2.
Now as we discussed last week from the previous passage, the absolute authority and sufficiency of God’s Word is critical for the life of a Christian, that we would become mature and sanctified in the truth by obedience to it. So the strategy of the devil is to undermine and attack the Word of God which he does on two fronts simultaneously. The first line of attack is from the world; by the philosophy of the world, by the science of the world, and by the culture of the world, of which Satan is the architect. And that attack has proven to be very effective at attempting to destroy the credibility of the Word to the world at large, the vast number of people who are unsaved. As a result the world scoffs at those who believe that the Bible is actually God’s Word or has any relevancy whatsoever.
The second line of attack from the enemy is from within the church. The church, like most institutions, is more vulnerable to attacks from within than from without. And so to accomplish this insider’s job, the devil uses false prophets and false teachers to deceive and defraud the church. So having already talked about the necessity of the Word, and the divine inspiration of the Word, now Peter turns his attention to warnings about those who are working inside the church to attempt to undermine the authority and sufficiency of the Word. And so Peter spends virtually the entire 2nd chapter on this subject of false teachers and false prophets and the resulting false knowledge which leads to destruction.
As I have pointed out before, it only takes a minor difference in a compass reading to set a ship far off course. A couple of degree difference in a course setting on a ship leaving the port of Baltimore for London will result not only in completely missing the destination, but also very likely end in shipwreck as well. The devil knows this quite well, and that’s why he strategizes to distort and deceive through false knowledge.
So in our study his week, in these first 9 verses, Peter gives us the first two major points of his warning against false knowledge. In the first three verses, he tells us nature of false prophets. And then in the next five verses we will look at today, he gives us three illustrations of God’s judgements against false teachers. Let’s look first at the nature of false prophets.
The first characteristic of false prophets is that they come from within the church. Look at vs 1, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you…” False prophets arise from within the ranks of the church. This is what makes them so readily received and makes their teachings so deceitful.
Jesus said in Matt. 7:15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” What Jesus is indicating there is that false prophets appear to be sheep on the outside, according to their appearance and associations, but inwardly, they are opposed to the truth, and working against the truth.
So how do you recognize that someone is a false prophet if they look like a believer, they claim to be a believer in Christ, and they are from within the church? Well, maybe if they do some sort of miracle, or claim some supernatural power, then we can believe them. But Jesus warned against that as well in Matt. 24:24 "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” That’s a prudent warning, especially today when Christianity seems to have many that claim to perform signs and wonders as evidence of revelation from the Lord. I would remind you that the false prophets of Pharaoh were able to duplicate the miracles that Moses did. And I believe that many of the so called manifestations of the Spirit in the church today are not of the Spirit of Christ at all, but rather the anti Christ.
I will tell you the way to test the prophets. By the Word of God. God’s Word is the test, if they are distorting the truth, or disregarding certain scriptures, or claiming an experience or knowledge that supersedes what the scriptures say, then they are false prophets and you cannot trust what they have to say.
God spoke to the people of the Old Testament through Jeremiah saying in Jer. 14:14 "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility also and the deception of their own minds.” Notice, God said they come in the name of the Lord, claiming to speak from God.
The second characteristic of false prophets is that they teach destructive heresies. Vs 1, “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.” The end result of their teaching is destruction not only for them but for those who follow them. Now that may take the form of spiritual destruction as Jesus described in Matthew 7, saying that many who performed miracles in Jesus name, who said “Lord, Lord,” at the end of the age when they appear in judgment Christ will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” Or it may be a reference even to Christians, speaking of destruction of their life here on earth either by discipline from the Lord, or by the inherent consequences of disobedience to God’s laws. As I quoted Jesus saying while ago, “there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”
The apostle Paul spoke of someone in the church who was living in disobedience to the commands of God, and he turned him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit might be saved. 1Cor. 5:5 “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” God will judge His people. Peter said, it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God. That’s why Paul warned the church when taking communion that if they did so without repentance from sins they were engaging in, then for that reason many of them were sick and a number sleep. That means the judgment of God was upon the church for coming to the assembly with unconfessed sin in their life. That is still a principle that is active today in the church, by the way. God wants you to confess and repent of your sins, that you might be restored and that you might have communion with Him. But His discipline will be directed towards those that are His children so that they may share in His holiness.
Notice that the destructive heresy that Peter is referring to has to do with denying the Master who bought them. What the word Master indicates there is the right of the Lord to rule over them. There are many who are willing to accept the deity of Christ, to let Christ die for them, to let the Lord forgive their sins, but they are not willing to let the Lord rule over them. The heresy is that they deny the right of sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ. That means they will not submit their lives to His authority and rule.
The issue with such people is not just theological, it’s ethical. It’s morality. We have recently seen yet another major denomination succumb to the influence of false teaching, this latest example being the United Methodist church who only narrowly avoided formally adopting a pro LGBTQ agenda for laity and the clergy in their international conference. But for all intents and purposes the denomination accepted it here in America and it has resulted in a split in the denomination, and it will undoubtedly cave in to the pressure from the homosexual advocates in the next election. And I’m afraid that will result in not only the destruction of the denomination, but such a decision will destroy many people that follow such teaching as well.
The third characteristic of false prophets is that they will deceive many. Vs.2, “Many will follow their sensuality.” Many people will follow them because they are teaching a popular doctrine. Many of the largest churches in the world are proponents of false doctrine. Because a lie is often more palatable than the truth. It’s more appealing to believe a lie than than truth because it better suits our nature. The lie is what we want to believe, because it’s what pleases our flesh, it’s what appeals to our senses, to our lusts, and it is more attractive to the culture.
Notice Peter says that they follow false teaching because it appeals to their sensuality. False prophets often couple their teaching with an appeal to the senses. It sounds good. It’s set to sentimental or sensual music. It feels good. It’s good to look at. When Satan came to Eve to deceive her, he appealed to her sensuality. Specifically, Gen 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Notice how much emphasis is given on an appeal to the senses as justification for disobedience to God. And that’s part of the appeal of false teaching. It appeals to the lusts of the flesh.
They don't want to accept any moral restrictions to their sinful desires and their sexual indulgences. Jude says about false prophets in Jude 4, "They have turned the grace of our God into licentiousness." That means they live immoral lives and they say, "Well, it's all covered by grace." That’s licentiousness. What they don't want is the Lord getting in the way of their lifestyle. Verse 7 of Jude says, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these, indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh." He’s speaking of homosexuality, as well as just blatant immorality.
Because of their love of sensuality Peter says the way of truth will be maligned. In other words, they speak ill of the truth. They are hostile to the truth. What that really speaks to is the tendency among those in rebellion to call what is good, evil. To call what is love, hatred. To say what is right is actually wrong. To say that those who follow the truth are actually the embodiment of some sort of sexism, or bigotry, or chauvinism, or racism, or any other type of ism that maligns those who believe the truth of God’s word.
And because the truth convicts them, it makes them angry. They end up hating the truth and loving their sin. I think that is very evident today in the culture. The world is increasingly hate filled towards anything or anyone representing the truth. They don’t even know why they hate them so much, but the very mention of conservative values cause them to practically foam at the mouth in their hatred. That’s a common characteristic among those that do not want the Lord to rule over them. That want to subvert the word of God to suit their own lifestyle and they hate anyone or anything that opposes them.
One final characteristic of false teachers is that they are greedy. Vs 3, “and in their greed they will exploit you with false words.” Greed may mean that they are trying to take advantage of you financially, and so they seduce you to follow them with false teaching. Or it may include greed for power, for control, for prestige, and so they tell you what you want to hear in order to subvert you to follow them.
I would suggest that the majority of the false prophets I see on television seem to be motivated by greed. They live wanton, luxurious lifestyles, flying private jets and living in mansions overlooking the ocean. As I told some of you a few weeks ago, Benny Hinn has a multi million dollar mansion overlooking the Pacific next to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Laguna Nigel, CA. I had a business partner many years ago who unbeknownst to me took our capital and flew to see Benny Hinn for a private prayer consultation. Benny Hinn charged him $10,000 a session. Can you imagine? That’s greed. And greed is the mark of a false prophet.
Peter says they exploit you. That means they take advantage of you. They are in the business of building an empire for their own profit, and they seduce you by the enticement of a false gospel that appeals to your senses and fleshly lusts. And they do so, Peter says, by false words. A false gospel. By twisting and skewing the gospel for the purpose of taking advantage.
But the truth is, Peter says, that such false teaching doesn’t lead to freedom, it doesn’t lead to joy, it doesn’t lead to life, but rather it leads to destruction and judgment. Vs. 3, Peter says, “their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” What he means is that the principle of God’s judgment against false prophets is still in effect. It’s not been done away with in the New Covenant. God will still bring every word, and every action under judgment.
Now in the next 5 verses, Peter gives us three illustrations of that judgment and destruction which happened in the past, as an indication of the certainty of the judgment which will come even today upon those who deceive and lead people astray. First, he speaks of God’s judgment against errant angels. Vs 4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment…”
Angels are supposed to be messengers of God. And in this first illustration, Peter is referring to the angels who sinned in Genesis 6, when the sons of God looked upon the daughters of men with lust and took them and raised up a demonic offspring. Jude, which parallels Peter’s epistle to a great degree says this: “[Jude vs 6] “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.”
The message is clear. Even angels who transgressed against the boundaries set forth by God to protect men and women will suffer the judgment of God. Those angels in particular are set forth as an example to the rest of the angelic world being held in captivity in the deepest pit of hell for the last 6000 years. And I believe that the judgment against them is so harsh because in the process of their sin, they took advantage of a weaker, more naive person and corrupted them. I believe as well that false teachers who claim to be messengers of God will be consigned to the hottest part of hell.
The second illustration is regarding the ancient world at the time of the flood. Vs 5 “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…”
The status of the world at that time is described in Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This really speaks to the subject of apostasy. Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. For 120 years Noah preached to all who came to see the ark that he was building far from the sea. Noah must have certainly seemed as crazy as any preacher of the gospel seems today, who talks about a 2000 plus year old book and yet the Lord still hasn’t come back, and God seems to be silent and unconcerned about the events of the day.
But as Peter reminds us, the day of judgment did come against the ungodly, and when it came it came suddenly. The door was shut, and those who were outside perished in the destruction of the flood. Peter tells us in chapter 3 vs 1-7 that there is coming another day of judgment, but this time it will be by fire and not water, and the heavens and earth will melt with an intense heat. The Lord is not slow about His promise, but is patient towards you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
There is a third illustration of judgment and destruction, found in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Vs 6 “and [if] He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing [them] to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly [lives] thereafter.” Everyone is familiar with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are an example of what the Bible refers to as gross immorality.
Jude 1:7 says, “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these [that is the angels mentioned in the previous verse] indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”
Remember that false teachers and their followers are characterized by sensuality, by sexual immorality. And so Peter is saying that God’s judgment fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of how His judgment will come against those who promote such things.
But I do not want to close this message on a note of only judgment this morning. I hope you realize that the subject matter at hand is instructed by the text before us. And it is a somber, sobering text that serves as a warning to the church. But inculcated in these three illustrations of God’s judgment, are also three vignettes of God’s deliverance and mercy. In two of the pictures we see that God calls some in history righteous. In vs 5 Noah and 7 others are called righteous and as a result God rescued them from the destruction that came upon the world. And then in vs 7, we see Lot, who even though he was living in the midst of a very evil people, he was called righteous by Peter no less than three times, and again, God rescued him from the destruction that came upon the city.
These three examples portray the hope of the gospel. That those who by faith and obedience trust in Christ will escape the judgement that is coming upon all mankind. Faith in Christ means that through the substitutionary death of Christ God credits Jesus’ righteousness to us, and our sins upon Him, that we might be declared righteous before God. That’s the hope and promise of salvation. And that gracious gift of salvation is available to all who call upon Him in truth.
Notice that the title Lord which Peter gives here is not the Hebrew acronym for Yahweh, or Jehovah which is usually in all caps. But it’s kyrios, meaning Lord and Master, Sovereign, the One to whom someone belongs. The One who not only comes to judge but to save as well. By His grace we are called to follow His truth, and grow in respect to our salvation by sanctification in the Word. Our hope is found in submission of our life to Him as our Lord and Savior. In submission to Him we find joy and the abundant life of which He spoke. I trust that you have accepted and believed in Him, and will follow Him in obedience, and not be deceived by the strategies of the devil which serve only to deceive and destroy.
