alt.flame.jesus.christ
Looking into the purpose of: the newsgroup: alt.flame.jesus.christ
and the "self professed" moderator: Alias St. Jackanapes who is
really Larry Jackowski, who has the following:
.. web site: http://www.jackanapes.ws
and
.. forum: http://www.voy.com/20630/
we find very distinct parallels to what Jesus said to Satan:
Jesus said of Satan, "He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar,
and the father of it" (John 8:44). Satan is a clever liar. In fact,
many of his lies sound like the truth. He plays with our minds
to confuse us. He lies about the biggest subject of all - God.
Satan wants to deceive you about God. If he can distort your
idea of God, then beyond the shadow of any doubt he has you
in everything else.Jesus said of Satan, "He was a murderer from
the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:
for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44). Satan is a
clever liar. In fact, many of his lies sound like the truth.
He plays with our minds to confuse us. He lies about the
biggest subject of all - God. Satan wants to deceive you
about God. If he can distort your idea of God, then beyond
the shadow of any doubt he has you in everything else.
=====================================
As Christians, I would advise you to be aware of this
person, and those around him. They have slandered
many a unknowing Christians, and are actively trying
to pull down many of faith. The following Scriptures
and commentaries come to mind.
How to Spot a Counterfeit
http://76.162.173.93/guest/ar-mp3/ar-how-to-spot-a-counterfeit.mp3
2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be
false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive
heresies,
even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction
on themselves.
(2 Peter 2:1 NASB)
The Rise of False Prophets
1 But ?a?false prophets also arose among the people, just as
there will also
be ?b?false teachers ?c?among you, who will ?d?secretly introduce
?e?destructive heresies, even ?f?denying the ?g?Master who ?h?bought
them,
bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
[1]
CERTAINTIES ABOUT FALSE TEACHERS
§8. False Teachers Will Arise and Be Successful (2:1-3a)
Exegesis
v 1 false prophets = (lit.) pseudo-prophets.
arose = happened, became ('?ginomai').
people = laity ('?Laos').
false teachers = (lit.) pseudo-teachers.
secretly introduce = bring in under false pretenses; surreptitiously
infiltrate.
heresies = divisive teaching, false teaching ('?hairesis').
denying = disowning, renouncing.
Master = (lit.) despot.
who bought them = this is in the emphatic position in Greek.
v 2 follow = as in 1:16; obey, depend on, be led by.
sensuality = licentiousness, vice, indecency.
maligned = (lit.) blasphemed, denigrated.
v 3 greed = (or) covetousness.
exploit = trade on ('?em****eomai').
false = (lit.) invented, made up ('?plastes').
Purpose
The purpose of this section is to warn the Church that false teachers will
invade it
and undermine its effectiveness by misleading believers.
Exposition
The epistle transitions smoothly from its discussion on Scripture into a
discussion on
false teachers by reminding its readers that the Old Testament proves that
false
prophets are no new phenomenon, but have a long and dishonorable history.
A
standard feature of the conflict between God and Satan is that Satan sows
false
teaching to retaliate against revelation from God. Verse 1 explains that
this is not
done blatantly but under false pretenses (furtively or secretly).
The ****ft from false prophets to false teachers (v.1) indicates a change
in office.
With the end of the apostolic age approaching, the majority of the New
Testament
had already been inspired, so the prophetic function was almost complete.
No
longer would God use men to present new truth; a new age was dawning, one
in
which mankind would have a full revelation from God, and in which teachers
of that
revelation would function, not prophets. Satan would respond to this new
era by
substituting false teachers for false prophets.
The purpose of these false teachings is to deny Jesus Christ and His
atoning work
which is for all men (including the false teachers). This is heresy's
first distinctive: it
seeks to undermine the gospel of salvation and the deity of Jesus Christ.
The next
distinctive of these destructive heresies is their success, for many will
follow them
because they appeal to the natural human tendency to sensual
licentiousness (which
is the meaning of the Greek word which the KJV renders '?pernicious
ways'). This
discloses yet another distinctive of heresy: it emphasizes the material
aspects of life
rather than the spiritual, and appeals to man's fallen nature to place the
pleasures
and comforts of this world above spiritual values (Jas 4:4 attacks this
same
problem). Satan's remarkable subtlety and power is evident in the last
clause of
v.2, for, while church members are duped into following these heresies,
the world
at large sees through them. Is it not remarkable that Satan blinds those
who profess
to see the truth, while leaving clear vision in those who have no interest
in the truth?
By this device he discredits the fair name by which Christians are called
and erects
a substantial stumbling block in the way of the lost who readily accept
that
Christianity is hypocrisy.
Satan's purpose, then, is to discredit the Christian faith; but v.3a makes
it plain the
purpose of the men he uses is to exploit believers to satisfy their own
selfish greed.
The narrative of Balaam readily illustrates these principles, for that
wicked prophet,
even though a prophet of God, brought the Jewish nation into disrepute by
suggesting that the Midianites play on the sensual lusts of the Israelite
men (Num
25:1-9; 31:16). Other Old Testament passages indicate one of the appeals
of false
prophets is that they preach "?all is well" with a people's relation****p
with God,
when, in fact, it is not so (e.g., I Kings 22:5-12).
In this section God reveals that despite the Old Testament examples of
false
prophets, despite the obviousness of their ways, despite the many New
Testament
warnings, the Church will be duped into letting them rise, and they will
successfully
undermine its testimony. It is notable that Peter uses the future tense in
v.1, '?there
will also be,' for this indicates that while the apostles were alive their
authority and
unity made the acceptance of heresy impossible, for they were unanimous in
defining and resisting heresy. After all, who could argue with the men
Jesus had
personally trained and appointed?
While the church today cannot look to apostles to adjudicate heresy, a
greater
measure of unity would certainly help, for, if all the churches would
agree on the
fundamentals of the faith, heresy would be authoritatively branded as such
and
could not simply coexist as another sect. Satan uses our division to his
advantage,
yet, as the New Testament records the authoritative apostolic teaching, we
have
little excuse for not implementing it. God indicated the root of the
trouble in 1:20,
for so much of the division in the church today comes down to groups of
people
having their own private interpretation of Scripture. When the church
ignored
Christ's prayer and plea for unity which permeates John 17 it opened the
door to
heresy, and heresy has been compounding ever since, founding itself on
private
interpretation of Scripture. How vigilant we must be to adhere to the
plain, literal
meaning of Scripture!
[2]
THE RISE OF FALSE TEACHERS PREDICTED (Chap. 2)
2:1 At the close of chapter 1 Peter referred to the prophets of the ?OT?
as men
who spoke, not by their own will, but as moved by the Holy Spirit. Now he
mentions that in addition to the true prophets in the ?OT? period, there
were also
false prophets. And just as there will be bona fide teachers in the
Christian era,
there will be false teachers as well.
These false teachers take their place inside the church. They pose as
ministers of
the gospel. This is what makes the peril so great. If they came right out
and said
they were atheists or agnostics, people would be on guard. But they are
masters of
deception. They carry the Bible and use orthodox expressions -though using
them
to mean something entirely different. The president of a liberal
theological seminary
acknowledged the strategy as follows:
Churches often change convictions without formally renouncing views to
which they
were previously committed, and their theologians usually find ways of
preserving
continuity with the past through re-interpretations.
W. A. Criswell describes the false teacher as follows:
.... a suave, affable, personable, scholarly man who claims to be the
friend of Christ.
He preaches in the pulpit, he writes learned books, he publishes articles
in the
religious magazines. He attacks Christianity from within. He makes the
church and
the school a lodging place for every unclean and hateful bird. He leavens
the meal
with the doctrine of the Sadducees.? 12
Where are these false teachers found? To mention perhaps the most obvious
places, they are found in:
.. Liberal and Neo-Orthodox Protestantism
.. Liberal Roman Catholicism
.. Unitarianism and Universalism
.. Russellism (Jehovah's Witnesses)
.. Mormonism
.. Christian Science
.. Unity School of Christianity
.. Christadelphianism
.. Armstrongism (The "Radio Church of God")
.. Many Others ...
While professing to be ministers of righteousness, they secretly bring in
soul-
destroying heresies alongside true Bible doctrine. It is a deliberately
deceptive
mixture of the false and the true. Primarily, they peddle a system of
denials. Here
are some of the denials which can be found among certain of the groups
listed
above:
They deny the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible, the Trinity, the
deity of
Christ, His virgin birth, and His death as a Substitute for sinners. They
are
especially vehement in their denial of the value of His shed blood. They
deny His
bodily resurrection, eternal punishment, salvation by grace through faith
in the Lord
Jesus Christ, the reality of miracles in the Bible.
Other false teachings common today are:
The Kenosis theory-the heresy that Christ emptied Himself of the
attributes of
deity. This means that He could sin, make mistakes, etc.
The "God is dead" fantasy, evolution, universal salvation, purgatory,
prayers for the
dead, etc.
The ultimate sin of false teachers is that they even deny the Master who
bought
them. While they may say nice things about Jesus, refer to His "divinity,"
His lofty
ethics, His superb example, they fail to confess Him as God and as unique
Savior.
Nels Ferré wrote, "Jesus never was or became God. ... To call Jesus God is
to
substitute an idol for Incarnation."? 13
Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy agreed:
I am frank to confess that the statement (that Christ is God) does not
please me
and it seems far from satisfactory. I would much prefer to have it say
that God was
in Christ, for I believe that the testimony of the New Testament taken as
a whole is
against the doctrine of the deity of Jesus, although I think it bears
overwhelming
witness to the divinity of Jesus.? 14
In this and in many other ways, false teachers deny the Lord who bought
them.
Here we should pause to remind ourselves that while these false teachers
to whom
Peter refers had been bought by the Lord, they had never been redeemed.
The
?NT? distinguishes between purchase and redemption. All are purchased but
not all
are redeemed. Redemption applies only to those who receive Jesus Christ as
Lord
and Savior, availing themselves of the value of His shed blood (1 Pet.
1:18, 19).
In Matthew 13:44 the Lord Jesus is pictured as a man who sold all He had
to buy a
field. In verse 38 of that same chapter, the field is distinctly said to
be the world. So
by His death on the cross, the Lord bought the world and all who are in
it. But He
did not redeem the whole world. While His work was sufficient for the
redemption
of all mankind, it is only effective for those who repent, believe, and
accept Him.
The fact that these false teachers were never truly born again is
indicated by their
destiny. They bring on themselves swift destruction. Their doom is eternal
punishment in the lake of fire.
[3]
2:1 "The people" in view are God's people in Old Testament times, the
times to
which Peter had just been referring (1:19-22). False prophets in Old
Testament
times sought to lead God's people away from the revelations of the true
prophets.
False teachers in Peter's time would try to lead God's people away from
the
teaching of the apostles. These men-they were typically males in Peter's
day-would arise from the believers (cf. Jer. 5:31; 23:9-18; Acts 20:29).
The term
"false prophets" (Gr. pseudoprophetai) may refer to those who falsely
claim to be
prophets of God and or those who prophesy falsely. Likewise "false
teachers" (Gr.
pseudodidaskaloi) can refer to those who claim to be teachers of God's
truth but
whom the churches' leaders do not recognize as teachers and or those who
teach
falsehood.72 Evidently the false teachers that Peter warned about did not
claim to
be prophets.
"Secretly introduce" literally means to bring in alongside. The heretics
would seek
to add some other teaching to the orthodox faith and or some other
teaching as a
substitute for the truth (cf. Gal. 2:4). The implication is that they
would seek to do
this in some underhanded way. They would unobtrusively change the
doctrinal
foundation of the church and thereby make it unstable. "Heresies" refers
to ideas
inconsistent with the revealed truth of God.
These men would go as far as even repeatedly or typically denying (present
participle in Greek) teaching and practices associated with Christ. The
inconsistency of their position is that they deny the Person they profess
to submit to
as Christians, their Master (Gr. despoten) Jesus Christ.73 When Jesus
Christ died,
He paid the penalty for everyone's sins and redeemed (purchased, Gr.
agorasanta)
every human being in this sense, even unbelievers (John 3:16; 1 Tim.
2:4-6; 4:10;
Acts 17:30; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:2). This verse sup****ts the doctrine of
unlimited
atonement, the view that Jesus Christ died for everyone, not just for
those whom
He would later save.
One limited atonement advocate believed that the whole case for unlimited
atonement hangs on this verse.74 This is an over-simplification, though
another
writer said, ". . . no assertion of universal redemption can be plainer
than this."75
Peter was not claiming that all the false teachers were Christians. In
view of how he
described them, most of them appear to have been unbelievers (cf. vv.
4-6).
However some of them could have been believers.
". . . New Testament writers sometimes use the language of Christian
conversion
for such people [non-Christians] on the basis of their appearance."76
The destruction of these heretics will be swift in the sense that when
their judgment
descends it will be sudden, not that it was about to descend as Peter
wrote. They
were saying that the Lord was slow in coming to exercise judgment (3:9),
but their
own judgment was imminent (Gr. taxinen). Their spiritual rather than their
physical
destruction seems to be in view primarily. In the case of Christian false
teachers
who departed from the truth they previously embraced, they too brought
sudden
spiritual ruin on themselves. This ruin would come on them at Jesus
Christ's
judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10) if not sooner.
"Ironically, the false teachers incur judgment by teaching that there will
be no future
judgment and thereby leading themselves and others into immorality."77
". . . 'destruction' for leading others to 'destruction' is inevitable."78
"False teachers are better known for what they deny than for what they
affirm."79
[4]
This is not a very pretty picture! When you read the Epistle of Jude, you
will find
him using similar language, and vivid language it is. Peter knew that the
truth of
God's Word and the false doctrines of the heretics simply could not
coexist. There
could be no compromise on his part, any more than a surgeon could
compromise
with a cancerous tumor in a patient's body.
Deception (v. 1a). This theme runs throughout the entire chapter. To begin
with,
these teachers' message is false; Peter called what they taught
"destructive
heresies." The word heresy originally meant simply "to make a choice," but
then it
came to mean "a sect, a party." Promoting a party spirit in a church is
one of the
works of the flesh (Gal. 5:20). Whenever a church member says to another
member, "Are you on my side or the pastor's side?" he is promoting a party
spirit
and causing division. A false teacher forces you to make a choice between
his
doctrines and the doctrines of the true Christian faith.
Not only was their message false, but their methods were false. Instead of
openly
declaring what they believed, they came into the church under false colors
and gave
the impression that they were true to the Christian faith. "They secretly
bring in
alongside" is the literal translation. They do not throw out the truth
immediately;
they simply lay their false teachings alongside the truth and give the
impression that
they believe the fundamentals of the faith. Before long, they remove the
true
doctrine and leave their false doctrine in its place.
[5]
2:1. Satan's counterfeits with their insidious activities are always
present. They
appeared in Israel during the days of the writing prophets spoken of in
1:19-21,
and they were present in the first-century church. Though Peter switched
from
writing about false prophets of the past to false teachers in the present,
their
teaching was the same-heresy. False prophets often rose out of Israel (cf.
Jer.
5:31; 23:9-18), not from surrounding peoples. Similarly false teachers
appear from
the midst of the church. They secretly introduce their false teachings
which are
destructive heresies. "Secretly introduce" translates pareisaxousin,
"bring in
alongside" (cf. "infiltrated," which translates the related noun
pareisaktous, in Gal.
2:4). "Heresies" transliterates the Greek word haireseis, which in
classical Greek
simply meant schools of philosophy. But New Testament writers used it to
describe
religious parties or sects (e.g., the Sadducees [Acts 5:17] or the
Pharisees [Acts
15:5]), or factions probably based on false doctrine (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:19,
"differences," niv; "factions," nasb). Such heresies are "destructive,"
for they lead
people away from Christ and thus to spiritual ruin (apoleias).
The focus of their heresies was the sovereign Lord, Christ, whom they
denied (cf.
Jude 4). This in turn led to their own spiritual destruction or ruin
(apoleian; cf. 2
Peter 2:3; 3:16), which will be swift (tachinen, "sudden"; cf. tachine
["soon"] in
1:14). How can these false teachers, who were said to be among the people,
and
whom the Lord had bought (agorasanta, "redeem"), end up in everlasting
destruction? Several suggestions have been offered: (1) They were saved
but lost
their salvation. But this contradicts many other Scriptures (e.g., John
3:16; 5:24;
10:28-29). (2) "Bought" means the Lord created them, not that He saved
them.
But this stretches the meaning of agorazo ("redeem"). (3) The false
prophets merely
said they were "bought" by Christ. This, however, seems to read into the
verse. (4)
They were "redeemed" in the sense that Christ paid the redemptive price
for their
salvation, but they did not apply it to themselves and so were not saved.
Christ's
death is "sufficient" for all (1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:2), but is
"efficient" only
for those who believe. This is a strong argument for unlimited atonement
(the view
that Christ died for everyone) and against limited atonement (the view
that Christ
died only for those whom He would later save).
[6]
False prophets is a term used for people who claim to be sent by God to
proclaim
his message, when in fact God has not sent them at all. See, for example,
Deut
18.22 (TEV), "If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says
does
not come true, then it is not the Lord's message." The word "prophet"
itself is
sometimes used to refer to someone who predicts events in the future, but
in most
cases it refers to someone who is called and sent by God to proclaim a
certain
message. Therefore prophets may be effectively translated as "people who
speak
for God" or "people who proclaim God's message." False prophets can then
be
rendered as "fake (counterfeit) prophets," "people who pretend to speak
God's
message," or "people who pretend to speak on behalf of God." There were
many
false prophets who appeared among the Israelites at various times in their
history.
The punishment for false prophets was usually death: "But if any prophet
dares to
speak a message in my name when I did not command him to do so, he must
die
for it" (Deut 18.20, TEV; and see also Jer 14.15; 23.15; 28.16-17).
Arose translates the past tense of the verb "to be" and indicates that
this refers to
an event or events "in the past" (TEV), that is, in the history of Israel.
Other ways
of rendering "in the past" are "in olden times," "long ago," "years that
are gone," or
"many generations ago." People here refers to the Israelites as God's
chosen
people. To make this clear it is possible to translate people as "God's
people."
Just as: in many languages translators will need to begin the verse with
these words;
for example, "Just as false prophets... so also false teachers...."
The equivalent of false prophets in the present is false teachers. The
focus here is
not so much that these people claim to be sent by God when in fact they
are not, or
that they lay claim to the office of teacher to which they have no right,
but that they
have been teaching ideas and doctrines that are wrong. Their teachings are
based
not on any revelation from God but on their own ingenious inventions. This
is made
clear by the statement that these false teachers will secretly bring in
destructive
opinions. False teachers may be translated using the same sort of
expressions as
those used for false prophets. In certain languages false teachers can be
expressed
idiomatically; for example, "Teachers who weave lies with their mouths."
Secretly bring in translates a Greek verb that appears only here in the
New
Testament and that means either to bring in without indicating how it is
done, or "to
bring in under false pretenses." In this context secrecy is perhaps
intended; they will
introduce these teachings without anyone noticing it. Another word that
fits this
context is "unobtrusively." In some languages translators will be able to
find an
idiomatic expression like "slip in"; for example, "slipped in destructive
opinions"
(see Gal 2.4, where Paul uses the same Greek word but in a different
context).
Heresies: in Greek thought the term "heresy" was used to refer to a
particular
school of thought or the teachings of such a group. This positive sense
was later
lost, and the negative sense of "faction" (as in 1 Cor 11.19) or "false
teaching"
became its primary meaning. In the present context heresies refers to
teachings or
doctrines that are false and against accepted Christian teaching (as in
TEV "untrue
doctrines"). These heresies taught by the false teachers are also
described as
destructive. It is possible, as some commentators suggest, that there were
some
heresies that were positive and useful, and that the addition of the term
destructive
indicates that these particular teachings were not useful. It is more
likely, though,
that destructive here refers not to the teachings themselves but to the
bad effects of
these teachings on the members of the Christian community. They are
destructive
because those who follow them become immoral and are therefore subject to
judgment. And so destructive can also be rendered as "cause people to go
astray"
or "cause people to come under judgment." Some commentators notice irony
here:
the false teachers taught that there would be no final judgment; but in
reality their
teaching had the effect of leading people to experience the judgment that
these
teachers themselves had denied.
One part of these false doctrines is now mentioned: denying the Master who
bought
them. The Greek word translated deny can also mean "disown" or "renounce."
Here the focus is on their not acknowledging the Master. Master can be
used for
either God or Christ, but in the present context it clearly refers to
Christ. The Greek
word translated Master is the general term for "owner." Bought strengthens
the
idea of owner****p and gives the sense that, since Christ has bought them,
he now
owns them and they belong to him. (For further discussion, please see Jude
1.4.) In
certain languages it will be necessary to include the name "Christ" in
this context
and say "who do not acknowledge Christ as their Master," or "who do not
recognize Christ as their Lord," or even "who say that they no longer
belong to
Christ."
The word translated bought is the general word for buying anything,
including
slaves; here it is used with the extended sense of "ransom" or "redeem."
The terms
"ransom" and "redeem" include the component of paying a price and
therefore
raise the problem of who paid what to whom. This theological problem is at
least
avoided by stressing that we are here dealing with figurative language: by
dying on
the cross Christ gave his life as a "payment" for us, enabling us to be
free from the
power of sin and to belong to Christ, who now owns us. So we may translate
the
phrase who bought them as "who set them free," "who set them free from the
power of sin," or even "who ransomed (or, paid for) them and set them free
(from
sin)."
The results of the activities of these false teachers are now mentioned.
They will first
of all bring swift destruction upon themselves. That this is a result is
made clear in
TEV by the use of "and so." The word swift can also be translated "fast,"
"speedy," "sudden" (TEV), "quick." The focus here is twofold: the
suddenness with
which destructive forces come upon the false teachers, and the quickness
with
which the teachers are destroyed. Destruction translates the same word
translated
destructive in destructive heresies earlier in this verse; perhaps a play
on words is
intended: in much the same way that these false teachers introduce
teachings that
destroy people's faith, so also these false teachers will be destroyed.
Other ways of
saying this are "and so they will cause themselves to suddenly receive
destruction"
or "Because they do this, God will destroy them suddenly."
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
Just as people who pretended to speak God's message appeared long ago, so
false teachers will appear among you. They will slip in untrue teachings
that will
cause people to stop believing in Christ (or, people's beliefs to be
destroyed).
These false teachers will even refuse to acknowledge Christ as their
Master who
owns them and freed them from the power of sin. In this way they will
cause
themselves to be destroyed suddenly.
[7]
"But there were false prophets also among the people." Peter is writing to
Jewish
Christians, and "the people" he is talking about is Israel. There were
false prophets
among the people of Israel, Peter says, "even as there shall be false
teachers among
you," that is, among believers, the church. There were false prophets in
the Old
Testament, but there are false teachers today. My friend, we do not need
to
beware of false prophets at all-that is not our problem. Any man who
attempts to
prophesy today will soon be proven a liar-there is no question about that.
During World War II, there was here in Pasadena, California, a man who
predicted
that the end of the world would come (if I remember correctly) on
September 15,
1943. When that day came, newspaper re****ters filled his yard and waited.
Eventually he had to come out and say that he had misfigured it. He said
that
instead it would be September 15, 1944. The ministers in Pasadena who were
meeting together in a prayer fellow****p at that time were concerned about
this
man's prophecies and wanted to get a statement into the newspaper. I said
to
them, "Forget it. As far as I am concerned, on September 15, 1944, the man
will
be proven a liar." You know, the world didn't come to an end the next year
either.
What happened was that the newspaper re****ters laughed at and ridiculed
that
man. Of course, it hurts the cause of Christ when anyone does that sort of
thing.
The man disappeared from this area, and I do not know where he is today.
We do not need to pay any attention to false prophets, but let me say this
to you:
You do need to check false teachers. You need to check all teachers,
including the
one whose book you are reading right now. I urge you to check what I say
by the
Word of God. Don't believe it because Vernon McGee says it. One man told
me,
"I teach a Sunday school class, and if anyone questions what I say, I tell
them,
'Well, McGee says that.'" That is the wrong approach, my friend. The Word
of
God is what you are to rest upon.
I am amazed today how easily people are deceived by all kinds of teaching.
People
will fall for anything, and if you do not believe that, you ought to see
the elaborate
operations and headquarters of some of the cults which are located here in
Southern California. You would be amazed, for it reveals that there are a
great
many people who have not heeded Peter's warning that false teachers are
abroad.
Instead, they listen to them and give them financial backing.
Some wag has put it like this:
.. Little drops of water,
.. Little grains of sand
.. Make the mighty oceans
.. And the beauteous land.
.. So the daily pressures,
.. Subtle though they be,
.. Serve to shape the oddballs
.. We call you and me.
.. "Little Drops of Water"
.. . -Author unknown
We oddballs down here can really be taken in. Peter says, "Beware of false
teachers."
In chapter 1 we saw that there were prophets of God in the Old Testament,
and
they prophesied 100 percent accurately. Peter now says, "But there were
false
prophets also among the people." There were not only true prophets but
also false
prophets among the people of Israel. One example of this is the time that
Ahab and
Jehoshaphat went out against the Syrians (see 1 Kings 22). They called in
a bunch
of the false prophets of Baal who urged Ahab and Jehoshaphat to go to
battle.
Jehoshaphat saw immediately that they were not getting a word from God,
and he
said, "Don't you have a true prophet of God here?" Ahab said, "Yes, but I
keep
him in prison because he never says anything good about me." Today a great
many
people don't like a preacher unless he says something nice about them all
the time.
Ahab was like that. This prophet of God, Micaiah, told him the truth, and
Ahab
didn't like that. But they brought Micaiah in, and he told Ahab, "If you
go to battle,
you will be slain." Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "See, he never
says
anything good about me!" It's too bad that Ahab didn't listen to him,
because he
was slain just as Micaiah said he would be. Micaiah was a true prophet of
God, but
there were also several hundred false prophets at that time.
"Even as there shall be false teachers among you." Dr. Marvin R. Vincent,
in his
very fine Word Studies in the New Testament, says that this Greek word for
"false
teachers," pseudo-didaskalos, occurs only here in the New Testament. As we
have
said before, false teachers are the danger for the church today, and
believe me,
they are dangerous. What is a false teacher? A false teacher is one who
knows the
truth but deliberately lies for some purpose. It is either for some
selfish reason, or
he wants to please people, or he does it for money. There are many
teachers like
that today. They preach and say what people want them to say, although
they
know what the truth is-that is a false teacher.
There are other men who teach error ignorantly. Some of the great
reformers of the
past and some of the great post-apostolic church fathers believed and
taught some
things which we do not hold to today. We believe they were entirely in
error on
certain things. Those men were not false teachers. They believed they were
teaching the truth, and that does not put them in the category of a false
teacher. A
false teacher knows what he is doing, and he does it deliberately.
"Even as there shall be"-Peter puts this period of apostasy out yonder in
the
future because it would be beyond his death. Jude also discusses this same
subject
of apostasy. The very fact that 2 Peter and Jude are so much alike has
caused
some of the critics to say that one copied from the other. Let me state it
a little
differently: When God wants to emphasize something, He says it twice. That
is the
reason that the Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you." One
"verily" is
enough for Him, but when He says it twice, you had better sit up and
listen.
Therefore, this is something that God considers rather im****tant. However,
when
Jude wrote, he said that there were already false teachers in the church.
They came
in quite early, by the way, and they have been in the church ever since.
I think we have in this first verse a good definition of false teachers:
"Who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring
upon themselves swift destruction." "Damnable heresies" actually means
destructive
heresies. That which identifies these false teachers is that they deny
Christ's work
of redemption for them. They will appear in the church as members of the
church;
they will claim to be Christians, and they will work secretly under cover
of
hypocrisy.
Years ago I preached in a church which was a very fine, fundamental church
where
the people loved the Word of God. They called a pastor to that church whom
they
had questioned concerning whether he believed the Scriptures and whether
he
believed in their plenary, verbal inspiration. He had answered
affirmatively to every
question they asked. About two years later, I was in that city and found
that the
members of the church had scattered and were attending other churches.
They told
me that this man had absolutely misrepresented himself-that's what the
kinder
people said. Some said, "He lied to us." That's exactly what he had done.
He had
come into that church and actually been a hypocrite. He said one thing
when he
actually believed another.
Now false teachers have some true doctrine. There is not a cult that I
know of
which does not have some truth in it. That is the one thing that makes
them very
dangerous, ten thousand times more dangerous than if they were 100 percent
in
error. These teachers generally believe some things that are true. Our
Lord said,
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly
they are ravening wolves" (Matt. 7:15). Paul warned the church at Ephesus,
"For I
know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among
you, not
sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). These wolves in sheep's clothing will
absolutely
destroy the flock and scatter them.
Our Lord made this clear when He gave us a picture of the condition of the
kingdom after His rejection, crucifixion, and resurrection. He would not
establish
His kingdom on earth at that time, but He said that the kingdom of heaven
would
be like a sower sowing seed, like a mustard tree, and like leaven. Leaven
has
gotten into the bread today. The bread is the Word of God, and there is a
lot of
false teaching that goes out under the guise of being the Word of God.
[8]
FALSE TEACHERS TODAY
Peter warned against false teachers. Many powerful speakers claim to have
im****tant ideas for Christians to hear. These speakers range from
political
reactionaries to extreme environmentalists. Add to the list those who
present
special angles on church doctrine coming from big denominations and small-
and
you have a dazzling array of choices. How do we separate the good
(teaching that
leads to Christ), the bad (off-center but benign ideas tacked onto the
gospel), and
the ugly (false teaching, much to be avoided)?
It's a complicated problem, but the following safeguards will help along
the way:
.. Use condemnation sparingly. An off-center idea may be way out but
is not
necessarily heresy. A sincere but misguided teacher may not be a "false"
teacher.
None of us understands God perfectly, so we must be generous and helpful
long
before we condemn and cast someone out.
.. Pay attention to the teacher's ethical and moral behavior. The
Bible stresses
that false teachers will have immorality in their lives. Watch how they
treat people
and money. Don't excuse or cover up bad behavior.
.. Choose your church carefully. Is the living Christ at the center of
your church's
ministry? Do leaders pray? Is the Bible honored and taught? Is God at work
there?
"False" churches may be very busy, but their teaching reveals the void
when Christ
and the Bible are pushed to the side. If that is the case, go somewhere
else.
[9]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a Deut 13:1ff; Jer 6:13
b 2 Cor 11:13
c Matt 7:15; 1 Tim 4:1
d Gal 2:4; Jude 4
e 1 Cor 11:19; Gal 5:20
f Jude 4
g Rev 6:10
h 1 Cor 6:20
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (2 Pe 2:1). LaHabra,
CA:
The Lockman Foundation.
lit. literally
[2]Mills, M. (1997, c1987). II Peter : A study guide to the Second Epistle
by Peter
(2 Pe 2:1). Dallas: 3E Ministries.
OT Old Testament
? 12 (2:1) Wallie Amos Criswell, further do***entation unavailable.
? 13 (2:1) Nels Ferré, The Sun and the Umbrella, pp. 35, 112.
? 14 (2:1) Gerald Kennedy, God's Good News, p. 125.
NT New Testament
[3]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary
:
Old and New Testaments (2 Pe 2:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
72 72. This is the only place that this Greek word occurs in the New
Testament.
73 73. Peter himself had denied Jesus three times, so he did not want
others to
follow his example.
74 74. Gary D. Long, Definite Atonement, p. 68. For an analysis of Long's
arguments, see Andrew D. Chang, "Second Peter 2:1 and the Extent of the
Atonement," Bibliotheca Sacra 142:565 (January-March 1985):52-63.
75 75. Henry Alford, Alford's Greek Testament, 4:402.
76 76. Moo, p. 154.
77 77. Bauckham, p. 241.
78 78. Moo, p. 93.
79 79. Wiersbe, 2:447.
[4]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the
Bible
(2 Pe 2:1). Galaxie Software.
[5]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An
exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt.
(2 Pe
2:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
cf. confer, compare
e.g. exempli gratia, for example
[6]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary.
(1983-c1985).
The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:869).
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
TEV Today's English Version
[7]Arichea, D. C., & Hatton, H. (1993). A handbook on the letter from Jude
and
the second letter from Peter. UBS handbook series; Helps for translators
(103).
New York: United Bible Societies.
[8]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru
the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (5:730-732). Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
[9]Barton, B. B. (1995). 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude. Life application Bible
commentary
(182). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Pub.
-- +Sig+
Don't be a jackanapes!
Use alias: St. Jackanapes as a basis for counterfeit.
"Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and
turn to attack you. "(Matthew 7:6 RSV)
.. Investigating Jesus
http://76.162.199.209/_/
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15 RSV)
------------------------------------------------------------
Born Again - Understanding the Gospel - Willing to Believe
For a limited time, these series are available here.
http://76.162.173.93/members/=CD-R=r-c-sproul-2nd-set/
login: guest password: guest
------------------------------------------------------------
.. Overview the Bible
http://76.162.173.93/bible-study/=CD-R=ltb-24/
.. There's no hurry?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrmDWn6awMA
"The best way to drive out the devil, if he will
not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and
flout him, for he cannot bear scorn."
.. Heaven & Hell
http://76.162.173.93/prophecy/=CD-R=heaven-and-hell/
.. The Gospel of Matthew
http://76.162.173.93/bible-study/=CD-R=matthew-rv/
.. A Primer on Prophecy
http://76.162.173.93//prophecy/=CD-R=prophecy-101-small-wmv
Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once.
------------------------------------------------------------
A Workman Approved By God
A Hermeneutical Study on Bible Doctrine
http://76.162.173.93/members/awabg/
login: guest password: guest
------------------------------------------------------------
Wisdom of a Lifetime - Audio MP3 Collection -
http://bibleweb.info/ftp/ftp-members-0002.html
.. The Last (5th) Horseman
http://bibleweb.info/ftp/ftp-members-0003.html
.. The Facts About Jesus, the Bible & the Afterlife
http://bibleweb.info/ftp/ftp-members-0004.html
The Way - http://john-14-6.com/john-14-6.pdf
.. A Tribute to THE KING
http://bibleweb.info/public-a-tribute-to-the-king.pdf
.. How to Spot a Counterfeit
http://76.162.173.93/guest/ar-mp3/ar-how-to-spot-a-counterfeit.mp3
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there
will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in
destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and
will bring swift destruction on themselves (2 Peter 2:1).
.. Scriptural Christianity
http://76.162.173.93/guest/=CD-R=scriptural-christianity/
My Main Collection - http://Bibleweb.Info/
.. Maranatha!
|
