April 12, 2026, Sunday School Lesson

The Destruction of False Teachers

Lesson Text: 2 Peter 2:1-10a

Related Scriptures: Jude 1:3-7; Luke 17:22-27; Genesis 6:1-8; 19:1-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

TIME: between A.D. 63-64

PLACE: unknown

Golden Text – “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punisher” (2 Peter 2:9)

Introduction

Second Peter 3:1 notes that this is the second letter written to the audience, which tells us that the audience is likely the same as 1 Peter. As such, it is written to churches in the western and northern regions of modern-day Turkey. Given a time of writing to A.D. 63-64, Peter wrote to these churches approximately fifteen years after Paul established fellowship in Falatia and the other regions. While Peter’s first letter dealt with Christian suffering, 2 Peter dealt with false teachers and the denial of the second coming of Christ.

The false teachers denied God’s coming judgment. In doing so, they ignored His judgment in the past. Peter responded to their claims by referring to God’s judgment in the past as recorded in Scripture. If God brought judgment in the past to preserve those who were faithful and remained righteous despite the influences they faced, then He would do so again.

OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCING THE FALSE PROPHETS – 2 Peter 2:1-3a

2. THE JUDGMENT OF THE ANGELS – 2 Peter 2:3b-4

3. THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT FLOOD – 2 Peter 3:5

4. THE JUDGMENT OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH – 2 Peter 3:6-8

5. GOD’S RESUCE OF THE RIGHTEOUS FROM THE JUDGMENT – 2 Peter 2:9-10a

QUESTIONS

1. To what event did Peter allude when he mentioned the apostle’s eyewitness account of Christ’s majesty in 2 Peter 1:16?

2. In what ways were the Old Testament prophecies comparable to the apostolic message?

3. What two fundamental doctrines did the false teachers of 2 Peter deny?

4. What seems to have been the false teachers’ motive?

5. What was Peter’s point in citing three Old Testament examples of divine judgment?

6. What respective ideas did Jude 1:6-7 and 2 Peter 2:4-9 emphasize that account for the differences in the two parallel passages?

7. In addition to a judgment warning, what message does Peter deliver to us by discussing Noah?

8. How does the account of Lot in Genesis 19:30-38 contrast with Peter’s depiction of Lot in 2 Peter 2:7-8?

9. What message does Lot’s life convey to us who live in a very immoral world?

10. What was Peter’s logical argument when he posted the for “If God” statements?

ANSWERS

1. The reference to witnessing Christ’s majesty was an allusion to the encounter with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration when they heard the Father’s voice from the cloud (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7)

2. Peter understood that just as Old Testament prophecy was given through the Holy Spirit as objective truth, not subject to an individual’s personal interpretation, so it was with the apostles’ message. They did not manipulate the message for their own benefit; they reported the prophetic message that had been confirmed by their personal experience of Jesus.

3. They denied that Jesus would return to judge the world (2 Peter 3:3-4). In addition to their teaching about the Secon Coming, they both practiced and encouraged an immoral lifestyle (2:2). Whereas the apostles grounded their teachings in the Scriptures and affirmed Jesus’ identity as the Son, the false prophets taught deceptively and denied (or disowned) Jesus-even though they were bought by Him (vs. 1)! Such strong language probably implies that they repudiated not just the Second Coming but also the messianic identity of Jesus.

4. Second Peter 2:3 is the first of several times that Peter spoke of the greed of these false prophets.

5. This second half of verse 3 introduces three examples of God’s judgment of the disobedient from the Old Testament. Essentially, Peter’s argument was, “Just as they received judgment back then, so also these false prophets will receive judgment.

6. The differences between the two passages highlight Peter’s and Jude’s distinct purposes for their respective audiences. Jude concentrated on examples of punishments of the wicked, while Peter supplemented those with examples of God’s deliverance of the righteous, reminding his readers of God’s promise to those who remain faithful.

7. It is not, however, only judgment that is in view here. God’s salvation of Noah through the Flood is also in view. Peter described Noah as a “preacher of righteousness,” or one who makes a public declaration of righteousness,” (2 Peter 2:5). This description of Noah reminds us that our task is to be preachers of the good news of Jesus Christ, which encompasses both His sacrifice and His future coming.

8. Although the narrative of Genesis 19:30-38 shows a moral failure for Lot and his daughters, Lot’s departure from Sodom showed his righteousness at the time, even if it was derived from his relationship with Abraham.

9. Peter’s language strongly conveys how Christian’s ought to be vexed by the filthy conversation (i.e. manner of living) that the wicked model before them (2 Peter 2:7). Christians are not to become acclimated to wickedness but to be sorely vexed by the sin that so pervasively surrounds them.

10. Peter introduced his ongoing arguments with four “if God” statements; (1) “spared not the angels”; (2) “spared not the old world”; (3) “(turned) Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes”; and (4) “delivered…Lot” (vss.4,5,6,7). After the setup of this logical argumentation, Peter finally provided the “then” of the text. If God had been faithful to the righteous in the past – through the judgments of the Great Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah – surely, He would preserve the godly today, just as He did Noah and Lot.