2 PETER LESSON 3


     We will begin this lesson in II Peter 2:1 "But there were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction."

     In the last lesson, we saw holy men of God moved upon by the
Holy Spirit of God writing to the believers, messages to be taken to
heart. In this lesson, we see some who have wandered from the truth,
proclaiming themselves to be prophets. Their message is false. We know
there is a terrible punishment awaiting those who teach false
doctrines.  I John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone
out into the world." I John 4:2 "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God:" I John 4:3 "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit]
of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now
already is it in the world." We see, in the above Scriptures, the way
to determine whether the message is of God, or not. Matthew 24:24 "For
there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they
shall deceive the very elect." We see from this that many will be
deceived. The only way not to be deceived is to study the Word of God,
and check everything out by that Word. If the message elevates Jesus
up to the fulness of the godhead, it is true.

     II Peter 2:2 "And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by
reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."

     "Pernicious" in the verse above, means spiritual ruin, or loss.
It is so strange to me that more people will believe a lie than will
believe the Truth. It is so interesting to me that many other
religions today, such as the Muslim, believe the Christians are
heathen. Those, who do not believe in Jesus, think we are evil for
following Him. I Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the
power of God."

     II Peter 2:3 "And through covetousness shall they with feigned
words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time
lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."

     "Feigned", in the verse above, means artificial, or fictitious.
We should not be amazed that they hang on to the false doctrine and
believe it, before they believe the Truth. Jesus was the Truth, and
they did not believe Him. His followers should expect no better
treatment than our leader got. "Covet" means to desire something that
belongs to someone else. They actually seek after these lies.  Those
who choose a lie over Jesus will find damnation awaiting them.  The
following is the only reason why He has not already destroyed them. II
Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

     II Peter 2:4 "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but
cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;"

     The judgement had been pronounced upon them. It does not
necessarily mean that it was carried out in its entirety at the time
this is spoken. I {as a Christian} am seated in heavenly places with
Christ Jesus, but my body is still housing my spirit here on the
earth. You can see from this, that this does not mean the fallen
angels are not the devil spirits which harass us on the earth. The
following Scripture is a good example of how the judgement is already
made, but not carried out yet. These are devil spirits speaking to
Jesus. Matthew 8:29 "And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we
to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to
torment us before the time?" I believe the third of the angels that
followed Lucifer out of heaven are the devil spirits that harass
Christians on the earth. Angels are ministering spirits. The angels,
who stayed in heaven with God, minister good to the believers. Hebrews
1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for
them who shall be heirs of salvation?" The angels who followed Lucifer
are still ministering spirits. They just minister evil, instead of
good. The "chains", just mean that they are not free to minister as
they will. The devil and his angels, must get permission from God to
attack a believer in Christ. They live in hell where the devil lives,
until they are sent on an errand. They have been judged and found
guilty.  They will have their place in the lake of fire. Jude 1:6 "And
the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
the judgment of the great day."

     II Peter 2:5 "And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the
eighth [person], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood
upon the world of the ungodly;"

     Noah was one of eight people who were saved in the flood. That is
possibly what is meant here by the eighth person. You can easily see
that Noah was not eighth in line from Adam. Adam: Seth, Enos, Cainan,
Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, then Noah. Genesis 6:8
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."  Noah preached nearly
100 years and had no converts. That should encourage some ministers
today. Noah, his wife, his 3 sons, and their wives were saved in the
flood. They were not saved from the flood. It rained on them, too.
They were saved in the flood. These 8 people were to repopulate the
world. "Eight" means new beginnings. The rest of the evil world was
destroyed by the flood. The sin was so bad at the time, that God
destroyed the world's people with the flood, it is said God was sorry
He had ever made man. Genesis 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he
had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."  He
destroyed them for the sin in their lives.

     II Peter 2:6 "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into
ashes condemned [them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample
unto those that after should live ungodly;"

     We see again from this, God will not always strive with man. He
is patient and kind and forgiving, but He will judge us when He says
enough. The judgement on Sodom and Gomorrha came because there was not
even 10 righteous in the city. God rained down fire and brimstone on
the city, because they were homosexuals and lesbians. This is an
abomination to God. You remember, "abomination" means revolting sin.
We can look at the destruction of these cities and know what God will
do to us, if our nation does not deal with this problem. We must
repent and turn to God, before He says enough.

     II Peter 2:7 "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy
conversation of the wicked:"

     Lot was justified in the sight of God, because he was the nephew
of Abraham. Abraham pled for the city. God saved Lot, and his 2
daughters because of Abraham. Lot's wife would have been saved, but
she looked back at the city and turned to a pillar of salt. These
filthy people had even asked to have the 2 male angels so they could
rape them. These were really evil people.

     II Peter 2:8 "(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in
seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with
[their] unlawful deeds;)"

     Lot should have left this city long before the problem got this
bad. He even let his 2 daughters marry homosexuals. They were married,
and yet both were virgins. You know, from this, exactly what the
problem was. God did not save the girls' husbands. They were destroyed
in the city.

     II Peter 2:9 "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of
temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished:"

     There is no better example to prove this point, than the fact
that God saved Noah in the midst of the flood.  Knoweth means
continues to know. This statement, then, is not just for their age,
but ours, as well. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ protects us from
the enemy, even today. Jesus is the Judge of all the people of the
world.  He will separate the good from the evil. It is Jesus who will
give the sentence of either heaven or hell. When we are delivered from
the temptation to sin, it is the name of Jesus that delivers us. The
best thing  parents can do for their children, is to pray the blood of
Jesus will cover them and keep them from the temptations of this
world.  Jesus is the Judge, but He is, also, the Deliverer. Place your
trust in Him and you will be protected from fleshly temptations.

     II Peter 2:10 "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the
lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous [are they],
selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities."
     This is speaking of the punishment coming on those who are
controlled by their flesh and its lust. We have discussed in these
lessons before, that the person who is in authority {whether in
government or in the church} are there because God placed them there
for a purpose. To speak evil of them would be questioning God's
judgement in putting them there. To speak evil of them would be to
speak evil of the One who gave them their authority {God}.

     II Peter 2:11 "Whereas angels, which are greater in power and
might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord."

     When Jesus took on the form of flesh, He was spoken of as being a
little lower than the angels. This is speaking of flesh being lower
than the spirit. "Angels" are ministering spirits. They are not
controlled by the limitations of the flesh. Angels are not accusers.
They are ministering spirits to help the believers. They have a
specific job, as you will see in the next Scripture. Hebrews 1:14 "Are
they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who
shall be heirs of salvation?" Notice in the following Scripture, that
the angel did not rebuke the devil. The Lord rebuked the devil. Jude
1:9 "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he
disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a
railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."  This is the same
method Christians must use, as well. The name of Jesus rebukes the
evil one. We have no power in our own name. It is the power in His
name that succeeds.

     II Peter 2:12 "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be
taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand
not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;"

     We must leave the judgement to Jesus. Judge not, that you be not
judged. We, many times, do not have all the facts in, before we begin
to judge. Notice, the word {natural}. This is speaking of a man who is
operating in the flesh. He is not a spirit man. The flesh must die
that the spirit might live. Look at the following Scripture with me.
Galatians 6:8 "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting." It is a dangerous thing to judge others. With the
same judgement we judge, we shall be judged.














                          2 Peter 3 Lesson


1.  What will be the condition of the teachers spoken of in verse 1?
2.  What is the false message that they bring?
3.  What will happen to these evil people?
4.  Quote 1 John chapter 4 verses 1, 2, and 3.
5.  What will these false prophets and false teachers do that will
    cause many to believe them?
6.  How is the only way not to be deceived?
7.  What does "pernicious", in verse 2, mean?
8.  Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18.
9.  In verse 3, what does "feigned" mean?
10. What does "covet" mean?
11. Quote 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9.
12. What happened to the angels who fell?
13. Quote Matthew chapter 8 verse 29.
14. What does the author believe about the fallen angels who followed
    Lucifer, instead of God?
15. What do the "chains" in verse 4 indicate?
16. Quote Jude chapter 1 verse 6.
17. What is Noah called in verse 5?
18. Noah found _________ in the eyes of the LORD.
19. Who did God bring the flood upon?
20. What does the number "eight" mean?
21. Where do we find the Scripture that says the LORD repented that He
    made man?
22. What place was so bad that God destroyed it with fire and
    brimstone?
23. Why did the judgement come on these people?
24. What does "abomination" mean?
25. Who was delivered from the destruction of this evil place?
26. What had vexed Lot daily?
27. What happened to the husbands of Lot's 2 daughters?
28. God saved Noah in the midst of the ________.
29. What protects the Christian from the enemy today?
30. What is the best thing parents can do for their children today?
31. Jesus is the Judge, He is also the ____________.
32. Quote 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 10.
33. Who puts people in places of authority, really?
34. When you speak evil of those in authority, what are you really
    doing?
35. What is meant by being a little lower than the angels?
36. What are "angels"?
37. What is the specific job of the angels?
38. Which of the archangels is spoken of in Jude chapter 1 verse 9?"
39. How can a Christian come against the devil?
40. Judge ____, that ye be not judged.
41. Quote Galatians chapter 6 verse 8.