SIGHT & SOUND OF FALSE TEACHERS (PART II)
By Akin Ojumu
This commentary is a post-mortem of false teachers. Our proof text is the second letter of Peter, which was written to remind Christians who were under severe persecution by Caesar Nero, who was the Roman Emperor at this time. These Christians had fled their homeland, and they were now in the diaspora scattered all over Asia Minor.
In his first letter to these persecuted Christians, Peter had written to encourage them to rejoice in the living hope of eternal glory that awaits them at the end of the age when Christ, their Lord, shall return.
1 Peter 1:3-6
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”
Capitalizing on the fact that the imminent return of Christ that Peter promised had not occurred, and the people continued to suffer excruciating persecution, the false teachers tried to defame Peter. They told the people that Peter’s promise of Christ's return was all a lie.
The false teachers then went on to tell the people that since Christ is not coming back, there’s not going to be any judgement for living lasciviously. Now, if God is not going to judge immoral living, why deny yourself of the good things of life? Egged on by the false teachers, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, just like the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Upon hearing about the pestiferous influence of the false teachers on the people, Peter wrote his second letter to remind them of what he had taught them. Incensed by the perversive nature of the false teachers’ erroneous teachings, Peter painted, in vivid imagery, the characteristic traits of false teachers and the punishment that awaits them.
Last time we learned how Peter described the false teachers as lustful and arrogant, daring and self-willed. We also started to see the way false teachers are quick to ridicule and blaspheme angelic authorities. It’s from here we’ll continue this time.
3) Ridicule and Blaspheme Angelic Authorities
2 Peter 2:10
“Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.”
Failing to understand that angelic entities, whether good or evil, have a level of existence in the supernatural realm that gives them a level of dignity and transcendence quality that is beyond humanity, false teachers ignorantly rail against supernatural forces. Thinking they have authority and power to do so, you’ll often find false teachers commanding Satan and binding and loosing demons.
Unlike false teachers who are defiant and insolent toward higher powers, the holy Angels of God, who are much stronger and far more powerful than humans, dare not speak insults against any other angelic authority. We see this demonstrated in the way Archangel Michael interacted with Satan when they contended for the body of Moses.
Face to face with Satan, Archangel Michael did not try to bind, loose, curse, or speak evil of this powerful being. Recognizing he was dealing with a formidable adversary, Archangel Michael wisely deferred to the ultimate and sovereign power of God. He called on the Almighty God to deal with Satan.
Jude 1:9
“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.””
What you see here is a blueprint on how Believers are supposed to deal with Satan and his demons. It takes arrogance informed by ignorance wrapped in foolishness for any Christian to think he is powerful enough to confront Satan and his demons. Like Archangel Michael, the biblical approach to dealing with the forces of darkness is to call upon the LORD and seek His intervening power against them. All the commanding, binding, and loosing of Satan and demons is not only preposterous, it’s presumptuous.
2 Peter 2:12
“But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction.”
In their brash, bold, egoistical infatuation with imagined power and authority, demon slaying false teachers rail on that which they don’t even understand. In their intellectual arrogance and spiritual ignorance, they charge into the supernatural realm, cursing away at entities and matters far beyond the capacity of their unregenerate mind to understand.
When it comes to spiritual matters, false teachers are no brighter than the dumbest beasts. Because they cannot get beyond their own instincts, their moral implosion will be caused by their intellectual arrogance, and their spiritual collapse will be brought about by their spiritual ignorance.
To be continued.
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