2 Peter 2:17-22 Bible Teaching

WELCOME
PRAYER
WORD SET TO MUSIC
SILENCE

Okay, so we left off with Peter saying this about the false teachers of his day –

2nd Peter 2.end
Meat
February 21st 2016
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

And we talked about Balaam – but theres a few things we didn’t cover so let’s hit it now.

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

We mentioned last week that the actual unrighteousness Balaam loved was leading the people into idolatry which then lead them into fornication.

Here’s the deal with Balaam. He had some powers of some sort which were effectual among the Midianites.

But his love for wages and gain pushed him to go against what he knew to be true of the nation of Israel and the true and living God!

But Peter adds (verse 16)

16 But (he, Balaam) was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

This seems to be part of the point Peter is making – Balaam lead them astray, like the false teachers of his day were leading people astray they would be rebuked.

And if God employed a means so extraordinary to rebuke Balaam the false teachers could expect the same to headed their way.

Of course to convince Balaam of the error of his ways, and to prove that He certainly sided with the Nation of Israel, and in what I also believe was a way to make realize how ridiculous his ways were to God He had the very animal on which he rode, an animal that is considered by some to be naturally stubborn and even dumb, to turn about and correct the man.

I mean people often wonder if God has a sense of humor and I find this to be highly comical.

What was the result of the talking ass? According to Peter it, “Forbad the madness (par-afron eea) of the prophet.”

Balaam was out of his right mind in trying to mess with the Living God or his nation and the Greek term here, not found anywhere else in the New Testament, means that Balaam was engaged in a headstrong disposition – one that was contrary to common sense.

Here is the interesting parallel to the false teachers of his day – Balaam knew what was right – he had even professed a desire to do what was right, but he did not allow that information to guide him.

Instead, desiring material gain, he went against his own sober conviction, and against what he knew to be the will of God.

This was madness – a madness that the talking ass turned him from.

Similarly, these false teachers – as I’ve said, were also (at least) once aware of the truth yet in their madness continued to teach falsely.

At this point Peter now gets down and dirty and says:

So let’s wrap this second to the last chapter up today and hit on these verses line by line – beginning with verse 17 where he almost quotes Jude (or Jude almost quotes Jude) and says:

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

The first expression could not carry more weight in that ancient land of them being without any merit as he likens them to wells without any water.

These were a people who relied on reliable sources of water and to describe a person as a well without water was extremely descriptive and condemning.

Think about it. You are a weary hot thirsty traveler on the edge of even death and you see a well in the distance. And you dig deep, gird up all you’ve got, get there and discover that it is dry as a bone.

It would not only fail to satisfy you it would create a great deal of frustration and despair having failed you.

So were these teachers. On the outside they looked promising, but all walked away from them even more destitute then when they arrived.

I suppose we might see here a tool to discern the teachings of each other. If you walk away with a spiritual thirst unquenched this might be an indicator that something is wanting.

Not emotionally fed. Not intellectually satiated, but lifted to higher ground spiritually, enthused with increased desire to seek or follow or worship God, or renewed interest to put something behind you – might be time to part ways.

And that includes us here and what we do here at CAMPUS.

Peter adds another allusion to promises of water without delivery and says:

“Clouds that are carried with a tempest.”

Clouds that appear to carry rain and give every farmer hope for the seeds planted but are driven passed by the wind and send down no rain upon the earth.

According to Benson commentary,

“The Arabs compare persons who put on the appearance of virtue, when yet they are destitute of all goodness, to a light cloud which makes a show of rain, and afterwards vanishes.”

I like these parallels because in each of them are some important allusions.

Water is necessary to all life, to growth, to producing fruit.

In both the well and the cloud examples the water is lacking, which means that growth, maturation, refreshment, and life is in peril.

With Jesus offering the woman at the well living water that if she drank of it she would never thirst again it seems that these false teachers were not supplying with the such hydration.

And the end result would be death.

At this point Peter says:

“To whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.”

The word translated mist here means musky, thick gloomy darkness so to add mist “of darkness” is a redundancy like freezing cold and describes intense darkness.

From what I can tell this is a description of the prison portion of sheol, known as the covered place in Hebrew.

It is a place that gives up its dead according to Revelation so the King James translation here that says:

“To whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.”

Is a misnomer. Going to other translations, more literal translations from the Greek where words are consistently translated without prejudice we find the following:

2nd Peter 2:17 (YLT) These are wells without water, and clouds by a tempest driven, to whom the thick gloom of the darkness to the age hath been kept;

This makes more sense – that Sheol had a purpose and those who went there were resigned there until the end of the age in which it would be used.

Due to scriptural context I believe that that age is over and complete – but to Peter the false teachers of his day would be going to the midst of darkness as prescribed.

At verse 18 Peter tells us how they inticed other to follow and he includes a description of the types of people they were alluring when he says:

18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

Based on the Greek for “great swelling words of vanity,” and the line that “they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness,”

It seems like they were pompously appealing through spoken words to the flesh of new believers, encouraging and drawing them in with heady communications based in debased carnality.

Sort of like a influential humanists who appeal to the feeding of the flesh while mocking the things of the spirit or maybe a decrepit Godless college professor who uses his intelligence to sway young coeds.

Peter puts it this way, “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity,” he is saying when they make pretensions to wisdom and learning, beguiling others under religious pretense.

And their prey were those who had formerly escaped from the clutches of others who lived in the same error.

In other words there was hope that they would have continued on this path of reform but they were allured again to the sins in which they had so long indulged.

Another translation put it this way

“With boastful and foolish talk, they appeal to the passions of man’s lower nature, and, by their carelessness, entice those who are just escaping from the men who live such misguided lives.”

According to verse 19 one of the lures that they use is to promise freedom through licentious living, but as Peter puts it

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

So they are promising liberty and freedom through their approach to God but are themselves servants of corruption.

Which would naturally be the case with anyone promoting licentious living as the path to liberty – they themselves would HAVE to be in chains because licentious living of any sort always leads to some form of bondage.

This may be yet another way to deternmine false teachers from true – false will in some way or another promote the path to liberty as something OTHER than a Christ and the life following Him.

It may be licentiousness, a philosophy, or even rules and regulations but all of them promise liberty but bind their adherants – including their teachers.

Without exception there is once source of true liberty in this world – Him – or as Jesus said Himself in John 8:36:

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Promotion or the justification of any other way – whether that way be on the end of licentiousness or at the other end of legalism – will only lead to bondage.

Occasionally followers of Christ are tempted to allow their liberty in Him to translate into lifestyles that abide somewhere along the lawless or legalistic plane.

Both approaches are warned against in scripture.

Turn with me to chapter five where Paul addresses both approaches – to law and to flesh – as failures.

In the first twelve verses Paul speaks to the notion of legalism. Let’s read where he says (as opposed to the false teachers of Peter’s day):

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

Then at verse thirteen he hits on those who may be tempted (to either live or teach) that believers can express their liberty in Christ through licentiousness and says:

13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Then bringing in the solution to all this he wraps the chapter up and says:

22 But . . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

2nd Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

And from all of this we can see that the ONLY means to have true liberty in this life is through the Spirit, who is the Lord, and where it is present liberty abides.

This liberty can thusly be summarized, if we dare, as love.

Not self love, but agape love for God and others. Possess this and you will be the most liberated soul on earth.

Peter concludes verse 19 with such an important insight to life. He says:

“for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

The Greek for overcome is “hate-ta-o” and it means in one sense “to lower,” or “to make less.”

So in order to be made less by something that thing that makes us less must be made more – so we are talking about domination and submission here.

“for of whom a man is placed in submission to or made less than the same is he brought in bondage to.”

Now, it is an absolute biblical principle that believers are to humbly submit themselves to God, so the question is not should Christians live in submission – we should.

But it appears to me that we willingly submit to God (and the things of God – His ways and His desires) always BUT we simultaneously refuse to be dominated over or to submit to anything but God or things in God’s name and cause.

In other words our becoming lesser to God, and governments and people in His name and cause is one thing but to unwillingly be made less to something, to be dominated by something other than God and His ways is to be avoided at all costs because, as Peter says:

“for of whom a man is placed in submission to or made less than the same is he brought in bondage to.”

He or she becomes a servant of – no matter what it is.

Human prisons are made of everything from jealousy and envy to pride and lust to all the things of the flesh we can imagine.

Let such things overcome us (make us less to them) and we will be their servants. Meaning we will be in bondage to them. And unlike servanthood to God, all other masters make for lousy superiors.

So let’s ask ourselves: What or whom do we serve? What is it that consumes us, our thoughts, our actions, our lifes time and energies?

If it’s NOT Jesus and His ways and means and causes we can say that we are slaves to an inferior taskmaster.

And I suggest that the battle to keep ourselves free in Christ is had on a number of fronts.

First and above all things, it is spiritual. It is won by feeding the spirit not so much by fighting the flesh.

Victory is on the immediate horizon the stronger we are in our faith – which comes by hearing the Word.

Feed the Spirit, starve the flesh or things of this world and the road to liberty in Him is all but paved.

As the Spirit is strong then the ability to resist potential captors is present. Weak spirit, weak defenses.

So above all things, feed the Spirit.

Then, by the spirit resist the offers of other captors, of those tempting dominators which promise you liberty but are in and of themselves “bondage” waiting to happen.

No matter what it is do NOT rationalize its place in your life. If it has the potential to take you captive run.

Finally, remember that there is a marked difference between submitting to something willingly and for the cause of Christ and being controlled and dominated (made lesser) to a force.

Choose freedom, liberty – it is of God – so much from God.

Now at verse 20 it’s difficult to know if Peter is describing the false teachers or those who have followed them. It says:

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

The question is, who are the “they” he is speaking about? It get’s confusing when we consider the passages before, which say:

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, that those (who) were clean escaped from them who live in error.
19 While they (the false teachers) promise them (those beguiled by the false teachers) liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

I believe the they being spoken of here are those who have followed the false teachers instead of the false teachers themselves.

Could (as always) be wrong but it seems to me that when Peter describes the events surrounding the relationship between the false teachers and those who fall prey to them verse 20 is speaking of those who, once learned or heard the truth but have gone back to their former ways due to the influential ways of these licentious leaders.

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

The Greek for “through the knowledge” is epignosko and means full discernment so to me there is no quibbling over this – he is speaking of people who weren’t just investigating but people who “had escaped the pollutions of the world through a full discernment of Christ,” who became REINTANGLED with the pollutions of the world (meaning they had been freed from the world pollutions through their knowledge of Him) . . .

If this occurs . . . Peter says . . .

“The latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”

This is not just a spiritual principle related to the Christian faith its almost a proverb for anything in this life.

When a formerly obese person escapes from their gluttony and laziness (if this is the cause of their obesity as it is not always the case) they typically, by going away from healthy habits gain it all back plus more.

It’s the case with almost everything including things of the faith.

Jesus provides a very interesting teaching on this when He said, speaking of the House of Israel in His day:

Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

As a result of this standard response to most people in most areas of life where reform has occurred, Peter says, regarding those who leave the faith:

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Jesus gives us a principle in Luke 12:48, saying:

“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

Contextually, this passage, and others like it, reiterate the biblical principle that when we have been given a gift, and we squander it, there will be an account taken.

Naturally, if the gift given was the Gospel of Jesus Christ made possible by the life and death and resurrection of the only begotten, the price for disregarding it will be high.

So high it would have been better to have remained a sinner without ever having received forgiveness than to have been forgiven and to walk away from it.

For those who have fallen prey to the false teachings or who have decided that the faith they once received was not worth keeping, Peter likens them to an unfortunate sight anyone who has had a dog has witnessed to their horror, and says:

22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Peter is quoting from Proverbs 26:11 which says:

“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.”

In eastern cultures the dog was viewed as a very vile creature.

When David came out to Goliath the giant said to David,

“Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.”

Deuteronomy 23:18 compares whores to the practices of dogs and even Paul wrote in Philippians 3:2 (one of my favorite New Testament passages for believers today)

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.”

Because dogs in the east were not looked upon favorably they were mostly without masters and would therefore wander in the streets and fields stealing food and feeding corpses of animals and man.

Jews, Christians and Muslims all refer to heathens as dogs and they are seen as unclean.

So the term dog came to be used to describe a person that is shameless, impudent, malignant, snarling, dissatisfied, and contentious, and is evidently this is what Paul was speaking to here – people who were considered dogs and not dogs themselves.

But it could have been a directive to be wary of homes that had dogs at the front gate.

It is said by the historian L’Enfant that in Rome we got the phrase, “Beware of dogs” because they would have them chained in the yard with a sign saying the same.

But well before these Roman days the Greeks assigned the term dog to disagreeable sorts. In fact the Cynics were as a whole called dogs.

Even Jesus used the term in Matthew 7:6 when vetting the heart of a woman who came to Him for a favor.

Contextually, Peter seems to take the proverb, the general distain for the dog in the east, and describes people who had once been purged of the sin and pollutions in their life going back to them and lapping them up like dogs will do with their own vomit.

This appears to be yet another evidence
That he is speaking of people who had been cleansed of sin, as much as a dog vomits up something that disagrees with it, but who, like the dog, go back to it.

Peter, for what seems to be in the sake of emphasis, adds in another parallel and says:

“But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again;” AND the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

This is not a proverb found in the Old Testament but it is imagery used in many Rabbinical writings and in several ancient Greek texts.

Again, its meaning is plain (at least to me) a sow was taken, washed clean but returns to the filth of its former life and rolls in it again.

Some take these two allusions to say that those Peter is speaking of were never really converted which is why he uses a dog and vomit and a pig only being washed outwardly.

That they were willing to change the external things of themselves but not the heart – and so they went back to those external factors (vomit and mud) but I think in light of everything else that has been said the meaning is clear.

That being said, there are some good arguments to suggest that by using the dog and the pig that the meaning is clear – that which was a dog remained a dog and that which was a pig remained a pig and so no inward change had occurred.

See it as you are lead.

One chapter left and we will finish 2nd Peter and get into 1st John which will be a breath of fresh air in a sense.

Q and A
Greek

O