2 Peter 2:1-10a

1: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

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.

4: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 

5: and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

6: and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;

7: and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men

8: (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),

9: then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 

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

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Peter warned that there will be false teachers who rise among them, just as there had been false prophets in the past. They would begin subtly introducing destructive doctrine which opposed and denied the Lord—the very one who paid the price for sin. He said many would follow their seductions causing the way of truth—the Christian faith—to be criticized and falsely accused. These false teachers would, motivated by greed, lie and exploit believers.

They would bring destruction on themselves. Peter said the judgment and destruction on these false prophets/teachers from long ago was not idle or asleep. Since judgement was brought on them in the past, it would also be brought on those who currently do similar things. He gave examples of God’s judgement on these types—the angels who sinned and rebelled against Him (Jude 6); those of the ancient world alive in Noah’s day, except Noah and his family—eight people (Genesis 6-8); and those of Sodom and Gomorrah except Lot and his two daughters.

The residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were made an example of (Genesis 18, 19). God spared Lot who was oppressed by the wickedness of the men in the city. Lot was tormented daily by what he saw and heard and God spared him--sending His angels to get him out of the city before it was destroyed. 

Peter said the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation and keeps the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. The condemning judgment is especially reserved for those who indulge in corrupt, sensual behavior of the flesh. Giving in to unnatural fleshly desires, sexual perversions, allowing fleshly temptations to lead as if one was a brute beast rather than a sensible, wise, godly person. Those who follow these fleshly impulses, as well as those who rebel against authority, are listed as two of the worst judgements to come (See also Jude 6-8).