False Teachers - 2 Peter 2

2:1-8 - The ancient scriptures were written by ancient prophets by the power of the Holy Ghost, but this begs the question, how do we know that they were prophets. Peter notes that “there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you.” Peter knew he was going to die soon, and he probably saw the writing on the wall just like Paul did, that those who accepted the gospel would ultimately reject it, either partially or entirely. He probably knew that it would become corrupted and lose essential truths and ordinances. He knew that people would be more interested in an “easier” gospel, that these false teachers would speak evil of the “truth.” He knew that the temptation would be too much and they would exploit the believers for money and influences. But Peter makes an interesting point when he reminds the people that “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell.” And he only “saved Noah” when “bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” And he “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked,” when he turned “the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes.” The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com notes, “Certainly, we would like to think of the Lord as merciful, forgiving, and patient- and so he is. But the Lord has an arm of mercy and an arm of justice. There is a time and a place for both. And the arm of justice will fall again on the wicked. When it does, it will be just as dramatic and horrifying as what happened in the days of Noah or Lot. Peter is declaring that if the Lord had to cast out a third of the hosts of heaven for rebellion and killed every soul on the earth but Noah and family, then we can expect Satan’s servants of today to receive the same reward. Otherwise we are like Alma’s son Corianton, who believed in a one-armed God and questioned ‘the just of God in the punishment of the sinner.’” This is a difficult concept for me to understand, especially when I think about whole communities being destroyed because they are too wicked. One of the reasons that I struggle with this is because, sure, there are times when all the wicked are destroyed at once, but in this life that we’re living now, there are so many wicked people who seem to not be punished at all. I can think of so many examples of people who make money by being unethical, who hold power and influence by lies and trickery, and they don’t seem to be held accountable in this life time. It’s honestly maddening, especially when I’m over here trying to do the right thing and it is just so hard sometimes. But I guess what Peter is trying to say is that those who are wicked and/or lead others astray for their own gain “their damnation slumbereth not.” Maybe the whole point of bringing up Noah and Lot and the “angels” is to show that no matter how large a group is that accept wickedness, God cannot be swayed to withhold judgment without repentance. 2:9-11 - But it seems that God does give the righteous a chance to escape from the judgment endured by others, both literally like in the case of Noah and Lot, and also figuratively as “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” How does the Lord deliver us out of temptations? He gives us the Holy Ghost so that we can be discerning as we go throughout our lives. He will never not save us, we are never too far gone to change our ways, which allows us to make better choices when we’ve finally had enough of making the wrong decisions. These false teachers who use the gospel to manipulate others “walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government.” To me this sentence is referencing those who want so badly to fulfill their natural desires, not just for sex but also for power and wealth at the expense of everyone else. It was interesting that Peter used the phrase “despise government” as a characteristic of these people. The article suggested that complaining against one’s political government was what this was referring to, but I think it’s a more general term indicating that these false teachers don’t’ want to be controlled by anyone else. They want to play by their own rules and do whatever they want, which ultimately is what we all want to do all the time, but our task in this life is to overcome that innate desire and become Christ-like. Peter compares these false teachers, “presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities,” which is speaking evil of God’s chosen leaders. He contrasts them with “angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation again them before the Lord.” This is a “chicken or egg” kind of scenario where we ask ourselves, are the angels righteous because they don’t speak evil of others, or do they not speak evil of others because they are righteous? Probably both. When we actively try to control what we say about others so that it’s positive and uplifting, then we grow spiritually. 2:12-16 - But those false teachers who degrade the Lord’s chosen leaders and teach lies to the believers are “as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” Notice how he says that they will perish by their OWN corruption, not that God will do it. God does not punish us, but allows us to experience the consequences of our own actions. More characteristics of these wicked individuals “count is pleasure to riot in the day time.” This was explained in the IM as meaning that unlike those who are ashamed of their actions so party at night, these guys are so far gone that they will do it in broad daylight for everyone to see. They are deceivers, adulterers, “beguiling unstable souls,” covetous, “cursed children who have “forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” I don’t know anything about this guy, but the article quotes Bruce R. McConkie as noting, “This single, inspired sentence enables us to put in proper perspective the whole story of Balaam the son of Beor who was entreated by Balak to curse Israel and bless Moab. Though Balaam was true to his prophetic trust and delivered the Lord’s message of blessing Israel and cursing Moab, yet as here shown he ‘loved the wages of unrighteousness,’ that if, he sought the honour and wealth offered him if he would curse the Lord’s chosen people. And how often it is that the honors of men and the wealth of the world lead members of the Church away from their duty and cause them to lose their souls.” I look at the prophets and apostles and think “wow, they’ve really made it to the top, nothing tempts them anymore,” but looking at situations like this, we can see that it might be a constant temptation to do just a little bit for yourself, to take the admiration just a little bit more seriously than is healthy. I think we are all guilty of this to some degree or another, but the good news is that we can change, we don’t have to be like that all the time, we can be forgiven and grow. Interestingly, the being who called Balaam to repentance? The donkey that was taking him on his journey. It’s an interestingly read. 2:17-22 - There are some pretty powerful analogies about these false prophets, Peter says, “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest.” Especially in a dry, desert area, clouds and a well could be a welcome sight promising relief, just like a false teacher looks to promise spiritual growth. But when the time comes, the well is empty, the clouds drop a storm, and false teachers leave you feeling spiritually empty instead of full. Peter says that we can recognize them because “they speak great swelling words of vanity,” they use the “allure through the lusts of the flesh,” wantonness, they promise liberty but are in fact themselves “slaves of corruption.” The worst part is that these leaders usually come from within the church already, “they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” and then they go right back to wickedness like “the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” For these people “it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,” than to turn from it after they have already accepted it. When we were studying the Book of Mormon, there was a part where we talked about “leaving neutral ground,” which is where once you accept the gospel, you live on a level where the Spirit is. Once there, if you choose to reject the gospel after that, then you don’t return to the same level that you were at before, but to another place of darkness where the Spirit is not there, neither is the gospel, but also missing is the ignorance of not knowing. At this point though, it’s important to remember that people reject the gospel for a lot of different reasons, and Jesus is in charge of their journey, so our job is just to love them.