A Dose of Reality – False Teachers Part I

This passage came up in my reading time the other day. As I read it, it struck me harder than usual. I have heard these things said before. Many believers like to talk about false prophets and the end times. As such, I would usually read over this and think, “Yep, that’s going to happen soon. I can’t believe so many people are going to fall for that. It sounds stupid. If they just read the bible they would never…” This time however, I stopped. It caught hold of me, and I wasn’t able to read on. So I read it again.

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

I see two things in this passage:

1. There are prophets and teachers among us

Modern churches generally struggle with the idea of a prophet being alive and working today, (that is a whole other topic). As a result, they tend to take any person acting in that capacity and apply verses like this to them. They treat them as “fanatics” and “hyper religious crazies”. They are so afraid of being taken in by a false prophet that they simply ignore anyone who resembles a prophet at all. In short, Satan has used this verse to strike fear in to the Lord’s people.

Make no mistake, there are prophets among us. Some are false, but some are true. We should not forsake the messengers of God out of fear. We must pray and seek Him to identify those who are true prophets. Any good pastor, or prophet will tell you, “I am telling you what the Lord had told me, but you must check it with Him and His word.” The leaders of the church are not responsible for your relationship with God. They are also human and can make mistakes, and unfortunately, some of them are false liars out for their own gain. If you want to discern the truth you must ask the one who is Truth (John 14:6). The only other answer is to avoid His chosen messengers. Hmm which will I choose?

2. They are defacing our faith every day.

2 Peter 2:1 – “Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”

This statement hurts me to the core. It seems pretty clear that “The way of Truth”, that is, the way of God, The Faith, Christianity, will be brought into disrepute. (Click for definition). This is our lord and savior, our loving king, our mighty protector. His name will be drug through the dirt and ridiculed. He will become infamous, dishonored, and hated. Bearing His mark will earn you the same. Few will stand for Him. These people will claim to follow Him and do unspeakable evil in His name, and He will be hated because of it. This will all begin soon….or wait…is it already occurring now?

Think about it. How many times a day do you hear about some false doctrine being shared on Facebook, or some zealous Christian fear mongering in the local news. The term Christian is becoming synonymous with bigot. And you know what? I agree. Some of the loudest Christians are those who spew hell fire and damnation. “God hates gays. Pay the church or God won’t bless you. Don’t hang out with people who do bad things.” I am wondering, did Jesus ever say any of these things? Please comment below with the verse where it says that because I haven’t found it. Do not be fooled. This is falsehood. This is the spirit of Religion, and most of these people have no idea that they quit following Jesus some time ago. They sit square in the hands of one of Satan’s most powerful demons.

So, if you actually read all of this and you aren’t a believer, I am sorry for the actions of those who claim to be the same as me. Let me tell you now. They are not. They do not represent me and mine, and more importantly, they do not represent God. They are lost in and engulfed by their own self-righteousness.

To those of you who are believers, take care that you do not fall prey to this on either side. It is easier than you think to become the false prophet. It is also easy to fall prey to one. There is only one defense against both. Know the Lord and commune with Him through the Holy Spirit, and read your bible.

There is so much more in this passage, as I only covered the first 2 verses. Maybe I will put more on it next time if He wills it, but I encourage you to read through it yourself. The next part covers the consequences of degrading His name, and the end gives hope that He will rescue the righteous from their clutches. So, go. Go read. Right now. Why wait. He is coming. Walking Dead can wait. Right? (Crickets…)