Some scenes in Scripture are lovely beyond description. Like a flower-filled field, these scenes are imbued with colors and fragrances, gentle rolling hills and fleecy clouds—images that bring us needed comfort. Such visual feasts leave us encouraged and full of hope. And then there are other pen portraits so harsh we find them repulsive. They stab us awake, they make us frown, they disturb our peace. The verses of 2 Peter 2:12–19 fall in the latter category. Among the most severe in the Bible, these words hold nothing back. They vividly represent the ugliness of unbelief...disobedience gone to seed. Going through this passage is as distasteful as walking through a garbage dump, where rotting food and rotten animal corpses fill the air with their vile pungency. But God commanded Peter to lead us through this wasteland and learn from what we see, hear, and smell.

2 Peter 2:12–19

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