Peter the apostle just
closed out the first chapter of this second letter by stating the
authenticity of the scriptures as given to “holy men” who
were inspired by the “Holy Ghost”. In contrast to those
scriptures, in chapter two and verse one Peter shares about those who
were false prophets in the days when these things were written, and
he notes that there shall be false teachers among his readers as
well. He wrote:
But there were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction.
Peter
begins by writing, “But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you,” Once
again Peter uses the word “But” to begin his sentence, and
although the chapter divides are available to us for easy reference
of scriptures, they were not originally there. The “But”
Peter references is in contrast to the “sure word of prophecy”,
and the contrast he notes is that “there were false prophets
among the people”. There is the “true” and there is the
“false”, and this association with man's relationship with God
has been since the Garden of Eden. There are counterfeits who were
among those who wrote these scriptures, and Peter warns that they
shall be among his readers as well.
The
verse goes on to say, “who privily shall bring in
damnable heresies” Peter tells
his audience what the false teachers will do – they “privily”
which means “to introduce or bring in secretly or craftily”
“damnable” which means “a perishing, ruin, destruction”
“heresies” which are “dissensions arising from diversity
of opinions and aims”. These false teachers will come in contrast
to the truth of the scriptures, and Peter's warning about them should
make everyone who reads his words beware.
The
verse continues, “even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
Peter says that these false teachers will go so far as to “deny”
which means to “abnegate, abjure, not to accept, to reject,
to refuse something offered” “the Lord that bought them”.
Even though Jesus “bought” these false prophets with His
own shed blood upon the cross at Calvary, these false teachers will
deny Him and all His glory. By doing so they will bring upon
themselves “swift destruction” which is a very quick ruin
or damnation. It is interesting to note that Peter employs the same
Greek word “apōleia” for
both the word “damnable”
and “destruction”.
The damnable heresies will bring damnable judgment.
Whenever
we encounter those who have “secret” ideas to their doctrine, we
would do well to beware. False prophets were those who claimed to
have special or private interpretations of the word of God. Peter
lets us know this is “false”
and that the scriptures are open and available to everyone. Those who
would attempt to persuade us that Jesus is in “the
secret chambers” or
in an “isolated” spot that no one but they know have not read or
obeyed what Jesus said in the gospel of Matthew in chapter
twenty-four and verse twenty-six:
Wherefore
if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not
forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers;
believe it not.
As
we think about the words of Peter, perhaps we will examine ourselves
to be sure we are not following false prophets or teachings. Those
who deny who Jesus really is, and those who bring in private
doctrines should be very carefully observed lest we find ourselves in
the very place of Eve – deceived.
Next
time we will see how many people follow these false prophets, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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