Ed Urzi

“They are illustrations of this true proverb: ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and ‘A sow, after washing herself, wallows in the mire'” (2 Peter 2:22 NET).

We will close our look at 2 Peter chapter two with some final observations regarding false teachers…

The Scriptures tell us that many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The New Testament epistle of 1 John underscores the need to assess the spiritual concepts and beliefs we encounter…

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1 NIV).

This serves to remind us that God may not be the motivating force behind every spiritual encounter or apparent display of supernatural ability. The same concept applies to spiritual leaders as well, for a person who claims to be a spiritual leader may not be someone who accurately conveys spiritual truth. A teacher who presents an alternate Jesus, or a “Jesus” who is inconsistent with the person who appears in the Biblical Scriptures, is someone who is peddling a falsehood. This important Biblical admonition can help us follow Jesus’ guidance from Mark 13:5: “…Take heed that no one deceives you.”

The Book of Acts provides us with a good example.

We can learn much from the positive example set by the inhabitants of the town of Berea as chronicled in the Biblical book of Acts…

“Immediately when night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to the city of Berea. When Paul and Silas arrived in the city of Berea, they entered the synagogue. The people of Berea were more open-minded than the people of Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive God’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:10-11 GW).

With these things in mind, it’s important to remember some key points from our study of 2 Peter 2…

• False teachers will always exist.
• False teachers don’t tell the truth about Christ.
• The “Jesus” that some religious groups speak of may not be the same Jesus we see within the pages of the Scriptures.
• False teachers often take advantage of others and manipulate them for personal gain.
• False teachers often have an unbiblical concept of God.
• Its easy to be deceived by false teachers if we aren’t diligent to study the Scriptures.

Finally, the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians gives us an effective method of guarding against spiritual deception: “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

“They prove the truth of this proverb: ‘A dog returns to its vomit.’ And another says, ‘A washed pig returns to the mud'” (2 Peter 2:22 NLT).

We continue with a short list of strategies that can help us recognize and guard against the risks presented by false teachers. For example…

The “Jesus” proclaimed by some religious organizations may vary from the Jesus we find in the Bible.

Some groups that self-identify as “Christian” believe that Jesus was merely “a” God. But Jesus isn’t simply a god; He is the God according to the following Biblical passages…

“Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM'” (John 8:58 [compare with Exodus 3:14]).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

“looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

“Thomas answered and said to [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!'” (John 20:28).

False teachers often have an unbiblical concept of the Deity.

For example, the Scriptures tell us that there is one God (1 Timothy 2:5). This God has always existed and has always been God (Habakkuk 1:12, Isaiah 44:6). God can never make a mistake and never changes (Psalm 18:30, Malachi 3:6). The God of the Scriptures is a God of love (1 John 4:8) who is holy in all His ways. In other words, God is morally perfect and completely separate from anything that may be dirty or impure (Isaiah 5:16).

God is all-knowing and all-powerful (Psalm 147:5, Deuteronomy 32:39). He is good, merciful, and righteous in His judgments (Psalm 100:5, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 96:13). The God of the Scriptures has no equal anywhere (Isaiah 46:9). Teachings or beliefs that do not align with these characteristics are inconsistent with the Biblical definition of God.

Jesus warned us of the need to guard against false and misleading teachers.

Consider the following portion of Jesus’ message from His Olivet Discourse: “Jesus began to say to them, ‘Watch out that no one misleads you. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will mislead many'” (Mark 13:5-6 NET). This brief but powerful message serves to remind us of our need to take responsibility in measuring the ideas and beliefs we encounter against the teachings of the Scriptures to verify their truthfulness and accuracy.

This holds true even if someone assigns the label “Christian” to those beliefs, for “Many will come in [appropriating to themselves] the name [of Messiah] which belongs to Me [basing their claims on the use of My name], saying, I am [He]! And they will mislead many” (AMP).

“What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: ‘A dog goes back to what it has vomited’ and ‘A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud'” (2 Peter 2:22).

Given the information presented to us in 2 Peter chapter two, what measures can we take to detect and defend against the threats posed by false teachers? Well, we can turn to a variety of strategies to help address that question…

Test all things against the Scriptures.

A good way to start is by prayerfully studying the God’s Word to ensure that a message or doctrine aligns with the Scriptures. The mere presence of the word “Christian” on a building, ministry, or teaching doesn’t guarantee its authenticity. Therefore, we should remember the counsel given to us in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (NIV).

Remember that false teachers are often untruthful.

Consider the following warning from the New Testament epistle of 1 Timothy…

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV).

These verses remind us that false teachers are skilled in the art of deception. In light of this, we would do well to familiarize ourselves with God’s Word to avoid being misled.

False teachers are aggressive recruiters.

The Biblical book of 2 Timothy offers the following assessment of such teachers…

“For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:6-7).

This passage alerts us to some of the strategies employed by false teachers. In fact, today’s false teachers hold many advantages over their first-century counterparts…

• Today, a deceptive religious teacher can easily reach countless households with video presentations in high-definition quality.
• Access to a global audience is now made possible by the power of the internet.
• The availability of podcasts, streaming media, and other forms of digital content allows for the widespread distribution of false teachings in a variety of formats.
• Traditional broadcast mediums continue as a reliable and effective means of communication for such teachings.

As it was in the days of the first century, false teachers still work their way into homes and “…mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught” (Titus 1:11 NET). The difference is that present-day false teachers now possess the ability to leverage 21st century technology to market and present their teachings in a far more effective manner.

“But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘a dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire’ (2 Peter 2:22).

While dogs in the New Testament era were occasionally kept as pets, they were frequently regarded as scavengers and pests. Because of this, people often used the word “dog” in a derogatory manner to describe an offensive individual. Those characteristics thus served as fitting analogies for the false teachers of 2 Peter chapter two. That comparison draws upon the imagery of Proverbs 26:11, where this same word-picture is used to depict the actions of a foolish individual.

Our second illustration (which portrays a pig returning to the mud), is an extra-Biblical adage. Pigs were unclean animals according to the Old Testament law, and that made them ideal stand-ins for these heretical teachers as well. However, there may be more to these analogies than meets the eye.

For instance, a dog returns to the internal impurities it has expelled from inside. A pig returns to the external impurities it finds outside. In our first example, these internal impurities emerge from within, and are comparable to those who are internally enslaved to corruption (2 Peter 2:19). Our second example highlights the external impurities associated with those who “who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness” (2 Peter 2:10).

So, the external behaviors of these animals reflect their internal natures, just as the corrupt behaviors of these false teachers reflect their immoral character. That leads us to an important takeaway from this chapter…

“There is no suggestion in the proverb that they had experienced any change in their natures. They were unclean before they were delivered from the vomit and the mud, and they were still unclean when they returned to them. So it is with the people of whom Peter wrote. They had undergone a moral reformation but they had never received a new nature…

This passage should not be used to teach that true believers may fall from grace and be lost. These people never were true believers. They never received a new nature. They demonstrated by their last state that their nature was still unclean and evil. The lesson is, of course, that reformation alone is not only insufficient, but is positively dangerous, because it can lull a person into a false security. Man can receive a new nature only by being born again. He is born again through repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” ₍₁₎

(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary. Edited by Arthur Farstad, Thomas Nelson Publishers [2 Peter 2:1-22]

“For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:21 ESV).

2 Peter 2:21 is a portion of Scripture that challenges us in several respects. By analyzing this text with the aid of the following commentators, we can gain a better understanding of this complex passage. We can begin with this reference to “it would have been better…”

“Peter’s comment here reflects the severity of the situation. The false teachers have experienced Christ’s work enough to understand the basic principles of following Him, but they resist coming to repentance … The cost of losing these false teachers to their own devices—which will ultimately result in their perishing, if they still do not repent—does not outweigh the harm they cause in leading others away from Christ and inhibiting God’s work within the community.” ₍₁₎

Next comes the phrase, “never to have known the way of righteousness…”

“The phrase ‘to have known the way’ refers to an intellectual knowledge of the ethical teachings and mode of life characteristic of Christians (note the phrase ‘holy commandment’). Perhaps the nature of their knowledge and faith are analogous to that of the demons who ‘believe and shudder’ (James 2:19). This verse indicates that the conversion of the false teachers was illusory.” ₍₂₎

This is followed by a description of those who “turn back…”

“Rather than turning to God, the false teachers have turned back to their own ways. The idea here is that the original knowledge of Jesus gave these leaders an opportunity to repent, but instead they exploited it to lead others astray.” ₍₃₎

That brings us to a warning, as well as an application from this passage…

“The entire canon makes it clear that those who apostasize can, at least for a time, give many signs that they have been converted (Matt. 13:1–9, 18–23). But for those who apostasize, this knowledge of Christ never involved a saving trust in the Lord (John 6:22–71). Because apostates have seen the light of the Gospel and rejected it, Peter reminds us that their condemnation will be worse than if they had never known of the Gospel in the first place (2 Peter 2:21).” ₍₄₎

Our final commentator offers an important consideration for those who profess to be Christians…

“I’m not sure that Peter is saying that if you go back to the world that you’ll never come back to Jesus. I think that may be the case sometimes. But he is saying that if you go back to the world, you will find your life worse than it ever was before you knew Jesus. Why? Because you now know what it’s like to be clean. And you’re miserable.” ₍₅₎

(1) John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), 2 Pe 2:21.

(2) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2259.

(3) John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), 2 Pe 2:21.

(4) Entangled Again. Ligonier.org. (n.d.). Ligonier Ministries. Accessed 17 August, 2024 from https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/entangled-again.

(5) Rich Cathers, 2Peter 1-3. (n.d.). Accessed 17 August, 2024 from https://bstudy2.calvaryfullerton.org/61%202Pe/2001/612Pe01-03.htm.

“For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:21).

Knowledge and responsibility are two elements that go hand in hand. Those who have been made aware of the salvation that is available through faith in Christ but fail to act upon that knowledge are exposed to a significant degree of risk. For instance, consider the cautionary messages that are presented to us in the Biblical book of Hebrews…

“For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened— those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6 NLT).

“Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, ‘I will take revenge. I will pay them back.’ He also said, ‘The Lord will judge his own people.’ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26-31 NLT).

These are difficult and challenging portions of Scripture. Yet it is important to understand that genuine Christianity encompasses more than an acknowledgement of certain religious truths. It involves trust in Christ. One commentator puts these insights into perspective…

“If a man has never known the right way, he cannot be condemned for not following it. But, if he has known it and then deliberately taken the other way, he sins against the light; and it were better for him that he had never known the truth, for his knowledge of the truth has become his condemnation. A man should never forget the responsibility which knowledge brings.” ₍₁₎

(1) Barclay, William. “Commentary on 2 Peter 2”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/2-peter-1.html. 1956-1959.

“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 in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning” (2 Peter 2:20).

2 Peter 2:20 is a complex passage that will benefit from a careful and thoughtful analysis. We can begin by saying that those who know Jesus but have yet to fully embrace Him in faith are at a heightened risk of falling prey to heretical teachers. This brings us to a point that bears repeating: it is of utmost importance to read the Biblical Scriptures, for it enables us to familiarize ourselves with the person of Christ. Those Scriptures also demonstrate why He is worthy of our trust.

Next, we should consider the nature of the word “knowledge” as used here in 2 Peter 2:20. That word is epignosis in the original language of this passage. This implies a depth of understanding regarding Christ that goes beyond a superficial awareness. Instead, this word highlights the accuracy and precision of that understanding. This hypothetical scenario from 2 Peter 2:20 thus involves those who have an accurate knowledge of Christ but have not yet placed their trust in Him.

One Biblical scholar helps clarify these distinctions…

“…they are not saved, only professing Christians. They are said to have had a knowledge of the Lord Jesus. It is one thing to know Him personally, as a believer does, and another to know of Him, namely, the facts about Him, and to give a mental acquiescence to these, as an unbeliever does. Such a knowledge resulted in their escaping the pollutions of the world.” ₍₁₎

Another source adds, “The implication is not that these people necessarily knew the Lord (in the sense of being saved), but that they were in the circle of those who had embraced Christ as Lord and Savior.” ₍₂₎ The point is this: those who fail to act on their knowledge of Christ by placing their faith in Him are in a precarious position. If they should fall back into the entanglements of a world that has abandoned its Creator, they will find themselves in a worse condition than they were before.

How might that place someone in a worse condition? Well, Jesus answered that question in the following excerpt from His parable of the faithful and evil servants: “Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater” (Luke 12:48 TLB). This carries important implications, and we’ll examine some of those implications next.

(1) Kenneth S. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament [note on 2 Peter 2:20-21] Copyright © 1942-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

(2) NET Bible notes on 2 Peter 2:20 https://classic.net.bible.org/bible.php?book=2Pet&chapter=2&mode=print

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage” (2 Peter 2:19).

Our journey through 2 Peter chapter two has brought us face to face with a sobering reality: false teachers take advantage of those who are seeking freedom from things like guilt, anxiety, emotional distress, or the adverse effects of an immoral lifestyle. Our text from verse nineteen alerts us to the underlying motive that drives those individuals- they are enslaved by a corrupt mindset.

Much like an unethical salesperson who offers the promise of a superior product but delivers something else, these teachers promise “freedom” but deliver bondage. Perhaps the best-known Biblical statement on the subject of genuine freedom comes from a portion of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of John…

“…’If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free… Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed'” (John 8:31-32, 34-36).

Unfortunately, the heretical teachers of 2 Peter 2:19 advertised another kind of “freedom” that failed to align with Jesus’ message from that passage. That alternative view of freedom often meant liberty from any form of moral constraint. But those who act on that definition of freedom are inevitably enslaved by their own immorality. The following source offers a further explanation along with a warning…

“We read in verses 18–19 that the message of these teachers included promises of freedom. These promises likely included freedom from moral restraint and freedom from accountability to God, since these teachers encouraged licentious behavior and denied final judgment (2:14; 3:4). However, far from resulting in true freedom, these teachings actually made the false teachers slaves of their own corruption.

Alarmingly, these teachers targeted those who were ‘barely escaping’ from error (v. 18). False teaching has a greater potential to influence those new to the faith, and so we must do what we can to protect new converts, otherwise they might fall back into old patterns of sin.” ₍₁₎

We experience freedom in Christ because we are no longer driven to engage in destructive behaviors that bring harm to ourselves and others. As another source rightly observes, “The false teachers can’t deliver the freedom they promise, because they themselves are enslaved to the very corruption which people are trying to escape.” ₍₂₎

(1) Tabletalk magazine. Slaves of Corruption. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/slaves-corruption Retrieved 12 August, 2024

(2) John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), 2 Pe 2:19.

“For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error” (2 Peter 2:18).

In 1946, the British Institution of Electrical Engineers documented a previously unknown mechanical device called the “Turbo Encabulator.” That device was previously unknown for a good reason- it was a fictitious machine that was created for the amusement of the engineers who invented it. The product documentation for the Turbo Encabulator was thus infused with a humorous maze of techno babble, mechanical gibberish, and imaginative descriptions of fictional components.

Engineers at the General Electric corporation later built upon that work with the publication of a data sheet for the Turboencabulator. This bulletin was similar to the documentation created for other devices manufactured by General Electric, but contained the same ridiculous technical jargon. An excerpt from that publication offers an amusing sample of this pseudo-technical language…

“Based on the principle of power generation by the modial interaction of magnetoreluctance and capacitive directance, the Turboencabulator negates the relative motion of conventional conductors and fluxes… In addition, whenever a barescent skor motion is required, it may be employed with a reciprocating dingle arm to reduce the sinusoidal depleneration in nofer trunnions.”

An instructional video for the Turbo Encabulator was later created that mimicked the industrial training films of the 1960’s with the same entertaining results.

While the Turbo Encabulator was invented to make us laugh, there was nothing funny about the heretical teachers of the first century, or those who carry on their work today. Much like the imaginary Turbo Encabulator, such teachers hide false doctrines and religious platitudes inside “great swelling words of emptiness.” These void and empty teachings thus masquerade as penetrating insights, but actually deliver little or nothing of spiritual value.

We can often identify the presence of such teaching with the following question: “How much Scripture does this person use in his or her teachings?” Religious books, messages, or presentations that routinely feature little or no Biblical text should thus serve as warnings. Spiritual teachings that are not supported by the text or context of a Biblical passage should also be viewed with great suspicion.

The insight offered by one source is one that bears repeating in this regard…

“…There are various ways to use the word of God deceitfully, or to tamper with it. Using a Bible text to preach a ‘sermon’ that has little or nothing to do with the Bible is one of the common ways of doing it.” ₍₁₎

Image Credit: Engineers at General Electric’s Instrument Department, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Turboencabulator&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image

(1) Paul T. Butler. The Bible Study Textbook Series, Studies In Second Corinthians (College Press) [p. 93] Copyright © 1988 College Press Publishing Company https://archive.org/stream/BibleStudyTextbookSeriesSecondCorinthians/132Corinthians-Butler_djvu.txt

“These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (2 Peter 2:17).

There are few emotions more painful than disappointment. For instance, let’s consider the plight of a thirsty traveler in an ancient culture where access to water from a well was crucial for survival. Imagine the hope and encouragement that would accompany the sight of a water well in the distance. Now imagine the intense disappointment our traveler would experience if he or she found that well to be dry. In that scenario, we might argue that it would have been better if our fictional traveler never came across that well at all.

That little drama serves to illustrate the word-picture given to us here in 2 Peter 2:17. False teachers are like spiritual wells without water, which is worse than no well at all. If you’re dying of thirst, it would be better to have no well than a dry well, since the presence of a well naturally raises the expectation of finding water. When it comes to false teachers, the situation is quite similar – you approach with the hopeful anticipation of receiving something valuable from God’s Word, only to be disappointed when you leave empty-handed.

Peter builds upon this analogy with a subsequent reference to “…clouds blown by a windstorm” (CEV). To better understand this reference, it helps to remember that ancient farmers didn’t have access to modern irrigation methods to supply water for their fields. Instead, farmers often had to rely on steady rains to help their crops develop. A cloud that held the promise of rain but failed to deliver might be a matter of life or death for a farmer and those who depended on him.

This stands in contrast to Jesus, who once said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37-38). He also said, “‘…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life'” (John 4:10-14 NIV).

Finally, the indictments leveled against these false teachers went beyond their failure to deliver on their promises, for this passage ends on an ominous note: “…their fate will be the black night of utter darkness” (Phillips). Thus, it is important to familiarize ourselves with the Christ of the Scriptures. As Jesus Himself reminded us, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).