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A further characterization of the false teachers:
v. 10. Presumptuous are they, self. willed; they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
v. 11. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
v. 12. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption,
v. 13. and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
v. 14. having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children.
This is a harsh, but true description of the false teachers, showing just how the Lord regards people that do not hesitate to steal His honor: Insolent, arrogant creatures, not shrinking in their blasphemy of glories. The expressions are heaped up to indicate the overweening pride which actuates these men. They are foolhardy, haughty, insolent, presumptuous creatures, without the slightest feeling of reverence for either God's or man's authority. ALL glories, all dignities, everything that is heavenly, divine, is to them only the butt of a coarse jest; they delight in blasphemous speeches, which are all the more dangerous since they are veiled by specious talk. "Their tendency seems to have been to make light of the Unseen, to foster a sense of the unreality both of sin and of goodness, and to reduce the motives of conduct to a vulgar hedonism."
What the Lord thinks of such presumption is shown in the next words: Whereas even angels, being greater in power and strength, do not bring a defaming accusation against them before the Lord. The false teachers arrogate to themselves the privilege to do what even angels, who most certainly exceed them in greatness and power, would never have dreamed of doing. For the good angels did not bring a defaming accusation against their former brethren, the evil angels, before the Lord. Not even the greatest of them all, the Angel of the Lord, Gen_16:7-12, Jehovah, the Son of God Himself, spoke the sentence upon Satan in the vision of Zechariah, saying merely, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, Zec_3:2. Now if this is true, how may one adequately portray the insolence of those that despise the divine Majesty and blasphemously assume to themselves the honor which belongs to the Lord alone!
The apostle uses another strong comparison to characterize their arrogance: But these, like irrational brutes, born creatures of instinct, made to be caught and slaughtered, speaking evil in things which they do not understand, will also be destroyed in their corruption, receiving the reward of unrighteousness. The men whom the apostle has in mind are past all use of reason and common sense, like animals that have only their instinct to follow and cannot apply any intellect, whose only worth is in the flesh gotten from their slaughter; Their own corrupt and foolish conduct will prove their undoing, their destruction; they will be given that just reward which their unrighteousness merits to the full extent.
One phase of their conduct is now described at length: Deeming reveling in the daytime their highest pleasure, spots and blemishes, dissipating in their deceits while they feast with you. The thoughts of such people are centered in the sensual delights which they aim to enjoy. They do not shrink back from reveling and carousing even in broad daylight, living in every form of dissipation, a disgrace to the entire community. And the money for such delicate living, for such rioting and reveling, these men obtained from their dupes, some of the readers of this letter, by deceit. That is the first form in which their unrighteousness appears.
Closely associated with this sin is another: Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot give up sin, seducing infirm souls. The evil desire of the heart is shown in the lustful glances of their eyes, which even so commit adultery. Sin has taken such a strong hold of them that they are fully in its power, they cannot shake it off, they are its slaves: they must yield to every form of uncleanness and harlotry. So they make it a practice to seduce the souls of women that are easily beguiled, their hearts being as yet not established in the faith. Under false pretenses and with glittering promises their victims are led astray, to serve the men who profess an interest in their spiritual welfare. That is the second form which their unrighteousness takes.
And, finally, the apostle characterizes them: Having a heart exercised in covetousness, children of the curse. This point is usually very prominent in the false teachers, their lust for money, their insatiable greed; it is not the hearts and souls of their followers that they are concerned about, but about their money, namely, how they may get as much of it as possible into their own possession. They are thus truly an accursed generation, people upon whom the curse rests, who will finally feel the weight of God's curse. These three points, then, stand out most strongly: a life of luxury, unchastity, and covetousness; the one or the other is found with all false teachers, and some sectarian heads combine all three in themselves.