2 Peter 2:17

‘These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved.'

What his readers must recognise is what that these men are. They are springs without water. They may seem to have much to offer, but really they are empty and dried up. The truth is that they cannot offer the water of life, because spiritually they are devoid of life. They are totally empty. Men come to them, as to a spring in the desert, looking for satisfaction for their thirst, and find the spring is dry. (Contrast Jesus Who said, ‘He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst'.

And they are as temporary and as lacking in provision as mists or clouds driven by a storm, which pass overhead without emptying their contents. They bring no fruit producing rain with them. One moment they seem to be offering everything. Farmers' hearts are full of hope. The clouds seem full of rain. And the next they are gone. And meanwhile they have left behind nothing worthwhile.

But for such people the blackness of darkness is reserved for ever. We can compare here the ‘pits of darkness' above, and the outer darkness spoken of by Jesus (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13). Compare also Jude 1:13, ‘for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved for ever'. Rather than bringing light they themselves will finish up in total darkness.