^23 (A)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(B)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, ^(C)if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.

³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^38 (A)For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Destructive Doctrines

2 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be ^(A)false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³ By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction ^[a]does not slumber.

Doom of False Teachers

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to ^[b]hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

⁹ then ^(A)the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially ^(B)those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. ^(C)They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of ^[a]dignitaries,

Depravity of False Teachers

¹² But these, ^(A)like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, ^13 (B)and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure ^(C)to ^[a]carouse in the daytime. ^(D)They are spots and blemishes, ^[b]carousing in their own deceptions while ^(E)they feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of ^[c]adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. ^(F)They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. ¹⁵ They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of ^(G)Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ¹⁶ but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.