Dec 17, 2017
Peter’s not done dealing with the false teachers threatening the spiritual well-being of the churches to which he was writing. This was serious stuff to Peter and he gives it the topic the weight he believes it deserves, going out of his way to describe these individuals in terms that would persuade the believers in his audience to avoid them at all costs. In 2 Peter 2:10-16, Peter will describe them as blots and blemishes, like stains on the white garments of the church of Jesus Christ. And, once again, he will turn to the Old Testament Scriptures for an illustration of just how wicked these men were. These stories would have been well-known to the Jews reading Peter’s letter, but it is unlikely that they would have connected the dots and seen the parallels between the Old Testament character, Balaam, and the false teachers who were stirring up trouble. But Peter’s point seems to be that this methodology is nothing new. It has been around a long time and is the work of Satan himself. These men are nothing more than liars, with an agenda that is selfish, not selfless. They could care less for the church or those who belong to it. Their focus was on their own well-being and their false messages were designed to pad their own wallets and reputations.