Why are false teachers compared to wells without water (2 Peter 2:17)?

In 2 Peter 2:17 an apostate is a spring or fountain 'without water:' he has left the only source of life.

And when preferred and in high office, what have they to give? Just, nothing. They are "wells without water" and so no spiritual thirst can ever be slaked by them. They are as "clouds carried by a tempest" which deposit little or nothing to refresh the weary earth.

They are also following in the way of Balaam, who was rebuked for his iniquity by the speaking of the dumb ass. The love of money controls them, as it controlled the heathen prophet. Verses 17 and 18 give additional descriptions of the character of these false teachers. They are springs without water, men look to them for the refreshing water of life, because they profess to be teachers; "the hungry sheep look up and are not fed." They know nothing of the water of life. They are nothing but obscuring mists driven by the tempest of their natural hearts. The great swelling words are the divine estimate of empty, human rhetoric by which thousands are swayed, but they are words of vanity, instead of bringing souls to Christ and the knowledge of redemption, they allure them through the lusts of the flesh, while they promise liberty to others, they are themselves slaves of corruption. Such is the character of the false teachers, who deny the Master that bought them.

(Vv. 14-17). Carried away by the lusts of the flesh, they have eyes that cannot cease from sin, hearts filled with covetousness, and feet that have forsaken the right way. As with Balaam of old, God uses the very beasts to rebuke their madness. They are wells without water, to whom men turn for help and refreshment, only to find they have nothing to meet the need of the soul. They are “mists driven by storm” of their own passions, which obscure the light of heaven. For such the gloom of darkness is reserved for ever.

They are wells that promise refreshing water, but are empty; mists carried with a tempest, obscuring the light, yet bringing no rain to a thirsty earth; and carried wherever the tempests of circumstances blow; no stability, no dependability.

They are able to speak great, swelling words, but "of vanity," that is, emptiness, like a puffed up balloon. And by this they entrap souls for whom they are watching, those who are just escaping from others who live in error. For there are some who are concerned that their associations are bad, and look for something else; and these men are ready with both fleshly inducements and high sounding religious sentiments, to allure them into this morass of corruption. Notice these people are not said to be escaping from corruption, but from those living in error. How different it is for those who seek to escape from the guilt and folly of their own sins. These men would have no message for such. Thank God His message of pure grace is, ready for every soul who is brought, to a state of repentance as regards his own ruin and need.

It is no longer contrast with angels or comparison with Balaam, but the gravest picture of spiritual worthlessness with the seal of everlasting darkness affixed before judgment consigns to it. It is the privilege of every Christian, not only to be begotten of God but to have the Spirit of His Son given to be in him a spring of water springing up into life eternal. Yea the Lord adds elsewhere, He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water; and that this great gift should not pass away like Jewish favours, but abide for ever. And surely the Christian teacher has yet more, not only the δωρεα; to enjoy but his special χάρισμα to make it known, and appreciated, and applied. But these teachers of Christendom, certainly not of Christ, "are springs without water" (they never had any), and "mists driven by storm," instead of luminaries directed by the Holy Spirit; they express nature empty and fallen, and under gusts of feeling if not the enemy's power. And the end is not death only but divine wrath for ever, in character with the darkness they loved because their deeds were evil.

Scripture also exposes the true character of these false teachers and makes abundantly clear their utter incompetence to understand, or expound things which can only be known by the Holy Spirit. A man may have had the best university and theological training, he may possess the very highest intellectual abilities, he may be a Doctor of Divinity, a theological professor, and fill the highest position in the ecclesiastical world, but all these things, so highly esteemed by men, will not in themselves give him any capacity to comprehend, or competency to expound, the truths of God. Before giving heed to one who professes to instruct us in Divine things, Scripture warrants us in requiring some evidence that such an one has discovered himself to be a sinner in the sight of God, and, through faith in a living and personal Saviour, has received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If he knows nothing of "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," he is simply a natural man not having the Spirit.

In the New Testament, at any rate, the church is taught, but teaches nothing. "We are of God, he that knows God hears us" — the apostles — hears what they (not the church) taught. "He who is not of God does not hear us," and from this the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error are known. The false teachers invite us to hear, first, themselves, and then, the church, which, by accrediting them (these false apostles and liars), practically declares that He that is in you is not greater than he that is in the world; that is, that the spirit of Antichrist is not only in the world already, but in the church also, and greater there than the Spirit of God. But this means that the lamp is gone out, the church fallen, and, having failed in its responsible place as pillar and ground of the truth, must be judged, for judgment begins at the house of God. The Lord marks it that they call themselves apostles, as Jezebel called herself a prophetess. (See Rev. 2, 3; 1 Peter 4:17.) The church's teachings, therefore, are to be dreaded rather than received. "I commend you to God," said the apostle Paul, "and to the word of his grace;" not "to my successors," or "to a teaching church." "He that is of God hears us," says the apostle John: "and he who does not hear us is not of God" (not a believer). A rationalist he may be, but certainly an infidel — not of God.

These false teachers are often learned, intellectual, and able men, but "of the world that lies in the wicked one," and speak (not "about the world," which is not the thought, but) as themselves of the world, belonging to it — a different thing. And naturally the world hears them, themselves and their hearers are simply of the world; this accounts for their popularity. The tables of the rich and intellectual are covered with their books, but their words are neither living nor powerful, piercing no conscience, and reaching no heart, they serve the enemy's purpose as channels of deadly poison. Let us remember that the church itself is under judgment. Oh, if it had been faithful in its position as pillar and ground of the truth (and that was its calling and responsibility on earth, not to teach, but to keep the truth, and hear what the Spirit of God would teach it), from what sorrow and mighty evils it would have been preserved! How great would have been the gain, both for itself and the poor world around! The false prophets, the antichrists, and grievous wolves would have been kept outside, the flock lying down in green pastures, and led by the waters of quietness. But it has failed, like everything else, from the beginning. What, then, is our resource? God, in the fulness of that name — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! He never fails; Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and the Holy Ghost abides with us.

Those who minister the truth to others have especially to watch lest they should only have an intellectual acquaintance with truth, not experiencing it to be spirit and life in their own souls; otherwise they are but as the pipe that carries the water to others, themselves not drinking in, themselves remaining unrefreshed.

Jude continues to heap up the invective against these evil men. He has strong words for these intruders, and he scours creation for apt illustrations of their wretched character, likening them to clouds, trees, waves and stars. As clouds they bring promise of God's blessing but there is not a drop! Today we have the same characteristic, whether it is in the charismatic movement or in any other new religious movement: there is a prospect of great blessing, but it is just a bubble. In Proverbs 25:14 we read, 'Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and winds without rain.' We expect rain from clouds, and so we might expect good instruction from these teachers, but we find none. The supposed advanced teaching with its new light has really nothing to offer the christian at all.