2 Peter 2:12-17 (NKJV) But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, 13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. 15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
V12 “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption…” Natural brute beasts are animals that are dangerous or a pest. These false teachers are the same. The false teachers speak evil of Christian beliefs that they do not and cannot understand. They do not understand because they 1) are not Christians, 2) have wrong methods of Bible interpretation, 3) have motives to increase their finances, power, and praise, 4) develop grooming practices for sexual pleasure, 5) and/or have desires to have their own followers (begin a cult). Because they are spiritually corrupt/defiled/unclean do evil, speak evil, they will be punished accordingly. The Mosaic Law detailed what is unclean and defiled being unworthy to be sacrificed or ate. The Law of Christ declares things that might be unclean, as 1) speech (Matthew 15:11), 2) Christian’s life of sin as the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:11-17), 3) people who do not place their faith in the Lord Jesus (Titus 1:15), 4) bitterness (Hebrews 12:15), 5) sexual practices not condoned by God (Hebrews 13:4), 6) unbelievers’ way-of-life contrary to God’s rules (2 Peter 2:20), and 7) the unsaved on judgment day (Revelation 21:27).
V13 “…and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you…” Faith is not a wage (Romans 4:1-5). Sin is a wage (Romans 6:23). Sin has consequences (Galatians 6:7). Sinful pleasures are only temporary. There is no spiritual, eternal pleasure from them. Moses rejected sinful pleasures to follow God (Hebrews 11:24-25). Compare 1 Timothy 6:17. Sin hardens the conscience (Hebrews 3:13). Compare Luke 12:19-20, Luke 16:25, 1 Timothy 6:17 (love of money), and 1 John 2:17. They can sin openly and do not care if people know about it (carouse in the daytime). The Greek word for “carouse” is (G5172) τρυφή truphḗ, which means to grow weak from indulgence. Word Study Dictionary adds “to break up or enfeeble by luxury which destroys the integrity of body and mind.” Note how sin is deceptive. False teachers frequently make promise of wealth, health, and greatness. All of which entices our flesh. They go to church and fellowship with believers, but live in open sin. Compare 1 Corinthians 5:1-6.
V14 “having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.” False teachers may also be grooming others for sex not with their spouse and also entice others and those weak in faith. They have a sense to pick up and take advantage of those weak in faith, so they can abuse them. They have trained themselves to do evil. They lie without guilt or expression. They sin deliberately and harden their conscience. Compare Romans 1:32, Psalm 35:4, and Psalm 62:4. What is God’s opinion of them–they are cursed (G2671) κατάρα katára, which means a curse against someone or something.
Wilbur Pickering writes in his translation notes: “The eyes don’t stop sinning. I am reminded of our Lord’s words in Mat 6:22-23. “The lamp of the body is the eye. So if your eye is sound your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Of course we have two eyes, but the Text has ‘eye’ in the singular. I take it that the reference is to the way we interpret what we see (which is our real ‘eye’)—two people, one pure and one vile, observing the same scene will give very different interpretations to it. ‘Evil’ here has the idea of malignant, aggressively evil. Someone with a malignant mind will give an evil interpretation to everything he sees, and in consequence his being will be filled with unrelenting darkness. Compare Tit 1:15.”
V15 “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness…” If they have forsaken the right way, it must be they know what the right way is, but refuse to obey it. Balaam is mentioned 59 times in the Bible notably in Numbers 22-23. He was not of Israel but Gentile lineage, a prophet of God, and a rebel against God and Israel by his advice to Balak, king of Moab, to send women for sexual purposes among the Israelis. He was killed by Israel later (Joshua 13:22, Joshua 24:9-10, and Nehemiah 13:2). His motive was the love of money. The wages of unrighteousness are getting paid to give counsel to destroy. The false teachers written about here have the same motive. An example is found in Acts 13:4-12.
V16 “but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.” God allowed the donkey to rebuke Balaam. Certainly, wouldn’t something like that get someone’s attention that there actions are evil? Every church leader who seeks money and prestige, is living on dangerous ground. Today, one example of this is the “Christian Industrial Complex” and those doing “Christian life coaching.” The reader can do an internet search on those terms.
V17 “These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” Their message is corrupted being tailored to bring glory to the false teacher and plenty of money. Their ministry is described as wells without water, clouds without rain being blow about by the wind, and the result? The result is the blackness of darkness forever. The blackness of darkness forever is a description of the Lake of Fire. Their ministry is full of slogans and false promises, not speaking truthfully about the Scriptures but twisting it tailoring it for the evil goals.
Believers Bible Commentary states: “The nether gloom of darkness is reserved for these religious charlatans. Pretending to be ministers of the gospel, they actually have no good news to offer. People go to them for bread and get a stone. The penalty for such deception is an eternity in the blackness of darkness.”
Through the Bible Day by Day by F. B. Meyer writes: “The will of man, as in Balaam’s case, is always poising itself between its knowledge of good and evil and its strong bias toward evil. Only the help of God can correct this. Let us “who are just escaping,” 2Pe 2:18, r.v., from the meshes of the world, beware lest we be caught in the guiles and nets of false teaching, which would drag us back into the evils of the worldly life. It is in our heart-felt union with the Lord Jesus Christ alone that we can be permanently secure.”
We learn:
- About false teachers
- About their motives, actions, and goals
- How to recognize and avoid them