March 15, 2023: 2 Peter 2:1 - Beware of False Teachers in the Church

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.” - 2 Peter 2:1

Peter the apostle knew Jewish history and that there had been false prophets who deceived many and because of it had brought God’s judgment. One example is during the time after Israel was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Ahab, the king of Israel, who worshipped false gods and “did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him,” (1 Kings 16:33) didn’t want to hear the truth; instead, he wanted to hear only good news of himself as spoken of by his so-called prophets. When he asked the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat go fight with him at Ramoth Gilead to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria, Jehoshaphat wanted to inquire of the Lord as to whether or not they should do it but Ahab instead wanted to inquire of his 400 “prophets.” Of course, his prophets told Ahab, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” Jehoshaphat, still wanting to inquire of the Lord said to Ahab, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?” Ahab told him there was one and his name was Micaiah. However, Ahab said of Micaiah, “…but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Ahab ended up calling Micaiah to him to prophesy but the person who worked for Ahab, his messenger, had gone to get Micaiah and told Micaiah, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” However, Micaiah told him, “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” Micaiah told Ahab what the Lord had told him and what he had seen, including “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd.” (1 Kings 22:17) Then Micaiah said, “Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.” (1 Kings 22:23) One of the false prophets to the king then struck Micaiah on the cheek and Ahab had him imprisoned.

Ahab and Jehoshaphat went ahead and invaded Ramoth Gilead, ignoring what the Lord had told Micaiah. Ahab disguised himself and went into battle. Unbeknownst to him, the Syrian king had told his army only to fight Ahab, the king of Israel, and not anyone else. When the Syrian army saw Jehoshaphat, thinking he was the king of Israel, they went to attack him but Jehoshaphat cried out. They realized he wasn’t king Ahab and turned back. However, one man of the Syrian army drew a bow and struck the disguised Ahab. Realizing he was going to die, Ahab sent all of the men fighting with him and Jehoshaphat back to their land and they fled, and king Ahab died. 1 Kings chapter 22 provides more detail than I did, but everything that Micaiah prophesied would happen, did happen. Yet, Ahab had chosen to ignore the words Jehoshaphat had spoken through the Spirit of God, instead listening to the smooth words of his false prophets, to his own death and destruction.

The prophet Micah also warned of false prophets. He warned the princes and people of Jerusalem who were rich and influential and were oppressing and abusing the poor for personal gain:

“Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, ‘Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us.’ “ (Micah 3:11)

Oh, how do we see these types of false prophets in our world today! We see this type of attitude and perspective from the rulers in the USA and all over the world today! I think there is a majority of Americans who think like those prosperous rulers in Israel that Micah was speaking to that America is untouchable, that nothing can bring it down. Judges, priests, pastors, and prophets are bought and sold to the highest bidder, judging and preaching as they are told. But as we have seen in Israel and in Judah, and also in the times of Noah and Lot, God’s judgment will come, and I believe God’s judgment is already happening in America, and will continue. Why? Because the churches have been and are still being led at an increasing rate by false teachers. Instead of standing up for what is right in the eyes of God, they are caving to the dictates of powerful, wealth, sinful, and deceptive rulers who have thrown God out of everything, such that there are even so-called “pastors” who are proclaiming that the Christian faith must be “unhitched” from the Old Testament. We have pastors who during COVID chose to close their doors to their congregants for worshipping God and yet re-opened them as vaccine sites and received payment by the government.

There are people who are leaders in churches who openly support and promote abortion and living lifestyles that God calls out as sinful in the Bible. Instead of encouraging their congregants to pray to the Holy Spirit to help them stop committing these sins, they tell them they are approved of by God Himself. They have opened the wide gate and are leading many down the broad road that leads to destruction. Yes, we are all sinners, and yes, we all need a Savior and that Savior is Jesus Christ and salvation only comes through believing in Him as the One sent by God to save all who believe in Him. Once one has made that decision, however, God does not expect us to just go on with our sinful lives and do whatever makes us happy. No, God wants us to fight against that temptation to sin by putting on His whole armor and not letting the enemy - Satan - have his way with us.

When the Jewish religious leaders had caught a woman in the act of adultery and brought her to Jesus, He said to the leaders who wanted her to be stoned to death, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” None of them cast a stone at her and instead walked away after Jesus twice wrote something on the ground. We don’t know what He wrote, but perhaps it was something that they themselves had done, something that was sinful. After they left, Jesus asked the woman where were her accusers and had any of them condemned her. She answered, “No one, Lord.” Jesus told her neither did He condemn her but He also said something else to her. What did He say? Did He tell her to go and continue to sin because it makes her feel good? Did He tell her that adultery wasn’t a sin? Did He say that as long as society thinks it’s acceptable that it’s okay for her to do it? No! He told her, “…go and sin no more.” I believe He was talking about her specific sin of adultery, not that He never expected her ever to sin again in her life, because that is not humanly possible as long as we are still alive on this earth in our fleshly, non-perfected, non-glorified bodies. Jesus then said this: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:1-12) Clearly Jesus sees committing what the Bible calls sin as walking in the darkness. Sadly, that is what our country is doing, we are walking in darkness while we claim to be Christian. If most professing Christians would read their Bibles for themselves and stop attending churches that do not preach the whole counsel of God, they would know that in the end times it is prophesied by the true prophets of God that darkness - perilous times - would increase and false teachers will arise and will deceive many.

Is it any wonder that as our nation is distancing itself further and further from Jesus Christ that we see increased chaos and immorality in our nation? Is it any surprise that in a recent Barna Research poll that only 4% of American adults have a Biblical worldview? Before I discuss that further, let’s look at an excerpt from a January 12, 2004 from barna.com regarding a Barna Research poll at that time of protestant pastors (See: https://www.barna.com/research/only-half-of-protestant-pastors-have-a-biblical-worldview/):

“Based on interviews with 601 Senior Pastors nationwide, representing a random cross-section of Protestant churches, Barna reports that only half of the country’s Protestant pastors – 51% – have a biblical worldview. Defining such a worldview as believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and having a biblical view on six core beliefs (the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the personal responsibility to evangelize), the researcher produced data showing that there are significant variations by denominational affiliation and other demographics.”

Based on this poll and fast-forward to 2022, it is no surprise that only 4% of American adults have a Biblical worldview and only 9% of professing Christians say they have a Biblical worldview (See: https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/barna-biblical-worldview-held-by-only-4-of-adults/):

Barna’s definition of a biblical worldview included a belief that absolutes exist and a belief that the Bible defines them. Additionally, the definition stipulated a belief that: Christ lived a sinless life; God is the “all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today”; salvation is by grace and not by works; Satan is a real being; Christians have a responsibility to witness; and the Bible is “accurate in all of its teachings.”

Why is this happening? Because we have wolves in sheep’s clothing leading the sheep, exactly as the apostle Peter warned about and as was prophesied would happen during the end times. How better to try and bring down the church than to plant false teachers within it? The book of Jude echoes the apostles’ warnings of false teachers that will deceive many in the last days:

“These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” (Jude 16-19)

Paul warned of perilous times and perilous men in the last days:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 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. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

These are the characteristics of the general population in the world during the last days, and we are absolutely there. Paul goes on to warn those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ:

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing them from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:12-17)

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Jesus warned His disciples about the signs of His second coming and of the end of the age:

“And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:10-11)

How many pastors are not preaching and teaching about this to their congregation in churches today? How many don’t because they don’t want to offend anyone by convicting us of our sins? Instead, they are preaching all about love: love, love, love. Yes, Jesus does love us, and He loves us so much so that He doesn’t want us to remain in our sin but to turn away from it. He even told us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). Why? Because sin destroys, and it is what Satan uses to tempt us and turn us against God. Remember his words to Eve when he said to her, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). He questioned the word of God, just as so-called pastors today are questioning that the Bible is the word of God and they are destroying many lives. Jesus loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to remain in sin and be slaves to it, just as He demonstrated when He said to the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more.”

We clearly live in the time of the last days before the return of Jesus. If you are attending a church that does not preach the whole word of God, including the prophetic books, if your pastor is not warning you about deception that is occurring all around the world but perhaps instead is preaching and teaching what was warned about by Jesus and His apostles, I strongly urge you to pray about it and ask God if you should get out of that church. Ask the Holy Spirit for you to be able to discern who is of Him, who is not of Him, and only listen to who is of Him. Also, listen to what the pastor says and see if it aligns with the word of God. If it doesn’t, then you are being deceived by an end times false pastor that is leading you astray. Don’t let Satan win, don’t listen to his lies; while they are smooth and appealing, so can poison be when a little is mixed with water.

I leave you with the words of the apostles Peter and Paul:

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for:

‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:5-11)

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7-8) ✝️