2 Peter 2:1-11
False sects which lead souls to perdition flourish today. Advance warning has been given of their appearance so that we should be neither astonished nor discouraged by them (v. 1). They traffic in the souls of men (v. 3; Revelation 18:13 end).
In ch. 1 a three-fold testimony confirmed the prospect of the coming glory: the vision of it on the holy mountain; prophecy; and finally the Day Star risen in our hearts. Similarly there are three examples which testify to the certainty of the judgment which will fall on the world: the fate of the fallen angels (Judges 1:6), the flood (Matthew 24:36 . . .) and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha (Judges 1:7). However, in the midst of an ungodly generation, the Lord knows and delivers those who fear Him (v. 9). In spite of his worldliness, Lot was a righteous man. The parenthesis in v. 8 shows that God hears the sighs of His people. Nevertheless Lot could have been spared all those torments had he known, like Abraham, how to appreciate the promised land. Being in a false and ambiguous position amongst men is always a source of trouble for the child of God. Lot is an example of a believer saved "so as by fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15). His entrance in to the kingdom will not be abundant (2 Peter 1:11). May the Lord keep us from being like Lot!