2 Peter 2:10-11

10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.

Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,

In verses 10-16, Peter speaks of the depravity of the false teachers of his day and compares them to the depravity of those in Noah’s and Lot’s day. We will begin with verses 10-12.

Just as in the ancient days, they indulged the flesh in their lusts, and despised all authority, especially the authority of Christ, but also of the angels—good ones and bad ones. And Peter writes that they were daring and self-willed and did not tremble when they reviled (or spoke evil of) “angelic majesties” (or the demonic world). It seems that evidently they disregarded any demonic power and maybe joked about them, and disbelieved them. I think that these false prophets were so demonized that the devil convinced them that they weren’t real or couldn’t hurt them; hence they were flippant about their power, just as they were toward Christ. They only believed in themselves, that they were their own God with their own power.

Now here on this issue of questioning and despising authority, since it is so important, I will take a little more time on it than usual. This issue was not new with these false teachers. It came to all people from the beginning—in the garden. Just after God created Adam and put him in the garden He commanded him saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Then, after He made the woman, along came Satan in the garden, and he said to Eve, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” … “You surely will not die!…”

Hence, in this interaction, Satan tempted the woman (and also the man) to question God’s authority—and they did sin by disobeying His command.

And so, from the fall of man in the garden sin entered into the world, and notably the sin of rebellion against authority (authority that God has set up for us for our good).

As we have seen in 2 Peter 2, this rebellion against authority came radically upon the ancient world in Noah’s time, and also in Lot’s time. And of course, it has always been with us to this day.

But we can be thankful to God for Paul’s instruction in Romans 13:1-3, where he has wisely taught us from God that all people are to be in subjection to the governing authorities; and all who resist those authorities are opposing the ordinance of God.

Also, in Ephesians 5:22-23, Paul writes to wives that they are to be subject to their husbands, as to the Lord, since the husband is the head (the authority) over the wife, as Christ is the head of the church.

Now back to 2 Peter 2:10-12.  Here Peter tends to concentrate on the false teacher’s flippant attitude toward the demonic realm, having no regard for their supernatural power (Eph. 6:12). John MacArthur suggests that they blamed their wickedness on them.

It may even be that these teachers tried to excuse their wicked lusts by pointing to the angels in Genesis 6 “who did not keep their own domain” (Jude 6). The blasphemy of even bad angels by the false teachers demonstrated their arrogance and antipathy toward any authority, be it good or bad.1

Peter, in verse 11, states that even the good angels did not bring a reviling judgment against the demons before the Lord. Hence, we see in Jude 8-9, that the archangel Michael did not dare to speak against the devil.

In verse 12, Peter refers to these teachers as “unreasoning animals,” because they had no understanding of the demonic, supernatural realm; and they, just like wild animals will be captured and killed—by God’s judgment.

1 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible: (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2006), John MacArthur’s notes on 2 Peter 2:10.

2 Peter 2:2-3

2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Here we see the evil character of the false teachers. They are full of sensuality and greed. And they will use it to entice people to follow them and listen to their lies, in order to get hold of their money. But Peter again affirms their swift judgment (v. 1), just as God has brought to evil men long ago (in Old Testament times).