They have turned away from the truth. They say that the time when people will rise from the dead has already come. They destroy the faith of some people.
Many people will follow their lead. These people will do the same evil things the false teachers do. They will cause people to think badly about the way of truth.
Paul writes the same way in all his letters. He speaks about what I have just told you. His letters include some things that are hard to understand. People who don’t know better and aren’t firm in the faith twist what he says. They twist the other Scriptures too. So they will be destroyed.
These enemies left our community of believers. They didn’t really belong to us. If they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by leaving they showed that none of them belonged to us.
The great dragon was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him. The dragon is that old serpent called the devil, or Satan. He leads the whole world astray.