NO. 57 THE FALSE TEACHERS IN THE END TIME

TEXT: 2 PETER 1: 19- 2: 2 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy: whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

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 brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoke of. (KJV)

The passage says that the false teachers will come out in the end time. Today we are going to see it.

The above text is written for the end time, and we would like to learn what the Bible says of the false teachers.

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy.”

The above verse says like this, because we have the sure prophecy concerning what will happen in the end time. It is the prophecy for the end time, and so we must take it as a light.

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

But here, Peter gives the warning concerning the end time prophecy. That is, we must not have the private interpretation on the prophecy. This means that we should not interpret it only by the text but rather refer to other texts, too. Conversely speaking, if they interpret the prophecy only by the text, they will most possibly be the false teachers.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you.”

Peter writes the above in a different perspective. He does not just say, “There will be false prophets among you,” but, “There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you.” He mentions about the false prophets together with the false teachers.

We review the lesson. God who has written the Scripture mentions two things concerning the false teachers in this passage.

1. The prophecy should not be understood by the private interpretation, that is, only by the text.

2. The false prophets of Israel are mentioned in relation to the false teachers.

Then, God seems, I guess, to say concerning the false teachers as below.

1. That other passages than the ones in Peter’s letters should be also referred to in order to have correct understanding of the false teachers.

2. That the hint may be given particularly in the description of the false prophets of Israel.

So, we are going to see about the false prophets in the Old Testament.

We can understand some thing clearly when we see the prophets of the old. That is, the false prophets outnumbers overwhelmingly even in the day of Micaiah or Elijah. Moreover they are the workers at the side of the authority and have the acknowledgement of the ruler and the people.

We are going to see it one by one.

1). In Elijah’s day. There are 450 of the prophets of Baal and 400 of the prophets of the groves. They are the prophets acknowledged by the then king, Ahab and Jezebel. They are at the side of the establishment of the God’s people and so acknowledged by the people, too. On the contrary, the God’s prophets are very few as Elijah says, “and I, even I only, am left.”

2). In Micaiah day, too, there is the overwhelming number of 400 of the false prophets. True prophet is only one, Micaiah. And, King Ahab who goes out according to the word of the false prophets has died in the battle at Ramothgilead.

2 CHRONICLES 18: 18- 22 18 Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.

19 And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

20 Then came out a spirit, and stood, before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith?

21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.

22 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. (KJV)

Here we see some interesting thing. That is, a spirit will entice all the prophets in their mouths. Though there are many prophets, the spirit is one. There are 400 prophets who do not speak their own respectively but they all say the same. So, even if all the prophets, or teachers say the wrong things in the same way, we will not be surprised.

3). In the day of Jeremiah the same case happens. The number of the priests who blame Jeremiah is overwhelming, and they are also at the side of the establishment and are acknowledged by the people. The prophet who obeys the Lord is Jeremiah, and so the number is so few.

JEREMIAH 26: 7, 8 7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. (KJV)

4). Again, in the day of Jesus the same has happened. The true Prophet is Jesus alone, and there are many Pharisees and the scribes who blame Jesus. They are the majority, and the people also acknowledge them. But they are the very type of the false prophets and false teachers.

What kind of image do we have when we say false prophets or false teachers? Isn’t like the image as false prophets and false teachers who slip into the group of many right pastors and believers with wrong teachings? But it is just the contrary what the Bible says about them. We cannot immediately believe it, because it is contrary. Yet, we must remember what the Bible says or what God says is always right.

As we have learned of these cases so far, we see now some common items about the false prophets and teachers.

1. They are the majority, of the establishment, and have acknowledgement of the people and the king.

2. They are of the orthodox and so never think they are wrong.

These are surprising. But the Bible says so about them. If I am allowed to say it again, we cannot get the right biblical understanding of the false teachers and false prophets only by one text. If we judge the things on the ideas only from one text, we may take them as the minority people of heresy who creep into us when we hear something of the false teachers of the end time.

That is one of the reasons why Peter writes about no private interpretation, that is, we should not interpret the verses only by the particular text.

And when we study about the false prophets of Israel, we come to the conclusion which is just opposite of the commonsense of the present time.

I think like this. In the end time the prophets or teachers who duly speak are the minority, and conversely the false prophets are the overwhelming majority.

If we hear about something to be false, we have a notion like that they intend to say a lie. But this word suggests the nuance to err. In short, many teachers err and are convinced they are right.

Look at the Pharisses and the scribes. They are convinced of being right and biblical to blame Jesus.

The Lord says one day that they must take heed to the leaven of the Pharisses and Sadducees. And another day He says that a woman takes and hides the leaven in three measures of meal till it is all leavened. If we take these two together, we come to the conclusion. That is, the Lord has prophesied that the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, their teachings, will spread among the whole meal, the whole Church.

If the prophecy of the Lord is right, the leaven shall spread among the whole Church and their teaching of Pharisses and Sadducees, the false and the rational of men, shall fill all the corners of the Church in the end time.

How do we see the teaching of the Church of the present day? It may look to have no problem. But, if the Lord gives the warning like this and we respect it, we should first of all look at the teaching of the present Church according to His saying.

Even though many theologians and teachers say the same thing, it is not necessarily correct. If 400 teachers agree with some teaching, it is also not necessarily right. For Micaiah has stood against 400 false prophets.

Once the Lord has said so, we should think that the false, rational and human teachings are filling the Church of the present.

In any case the Word is right, and when we see the things according to the Word of the Lord we will then understand them rightly.

Let’s do the will of the Lord all the time.

End.