Guy N. Woods Commentary On 2nd Peter 1SECTION 2 Peter 1:1-2 2 Peter 1:1 ---Simon Peter,— In the first epistle, the author designates himself by the name “ Peter” only; here, he joins to that designa­tion the Jewish name Simon by which he was known when called into the service of the Lord. See 1 Peter 1:1 and comments there­under on the significance and origin of the names of the apostle. 2 Peter 1:1 ---A servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,— While this precise reference is peculiar to Peter, Paul uses a similar one in Titus 1:1. “ Servant” is, literally, “ bond-slave” (doulos), one who “ gives himself up wholly to another’ s will” (Thayer), i.e., devotion to the utter disregard of one’ s own interests. The word “ apostle” indi­cates the sphere of service into which the devotion led him. See the word fully explained in the comments on 1 Peter 1:1. 1. 2 Peter 1:1 ---To them that have obtained a like precious faith with us—“ With us” embraces the Jewish Christians; “ to them,” the Gen­tile Christians. “ Like precious” is, more accurately, “ equally pre­cious,” thus indicating that the “ faith” which had been made avail­able to the Gentiles admitted them to the same precious privileges vouchsafed to the Jews. “ Faith” in this passage is not subjective; it does not refer to belief; it is objective, being synonymous with the gospel. It is used here in the same sense as in Galatians 1:23, where it is said that Paul preached “ the faith” he once destroyed. This conclusion follows from the fact that the verb “ obtained” (lagchano) denotes that which is received by lot, by fortune, by divine appointment, and not through human exertion or merit The word is translated “ lot” in Luke 1:9, “ portion” in Acts 1:17. In the righteousness of our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ:—“ Righteousness” here is the righteous dealing of God in providing equal blessings for both Jew and Gentile in Christ. (Acts 15: 9.) Righteousness is an essential attribute of God; whatever he does is right. (Acts 10:34.) 2 Peter 1:2 ---Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;—See comments under 1 Peter 1:2. “ Knowledge” in the text is not translated from the ordinary Greek word for knowledge—gnosis— but is from epignosts, knowl­edge toward an object, ever maturing, but never matured. Grace and peace are multiplied— made to abound— in this knowledge. It involves much more than the possession of facts; it includes the idea of deep and loving contemplation of matters too profound for complete mastery. The word often occurs in the New Testament. TO GROWTH IN GRACE2 Peter 1:3-11 2 Peter 1:3 ---Seeing that this divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness,—These words are to be closely construed with verse 2. On our part there is no occasion for alarm that we will not be properly supplied seeing that all things pertaining to life and godliness have been granted us. “ Life” refers to the spiritual vigor which the soul possesses; “ god­liness” to the conduct necessary to preserve and maintain it. This verse is a clear affirmation of the sufficiency of God’ s revelation to man, as well as an unmistakable assurance that every need of every kind will be supplied. 2 Peter 1:3 ---Through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue;—“ Knowledge” here is from the same word as in verse 2. This grant of all things needful is supplied through this knowledge. (John 17:3.) The manner in which Christians are called by his glory and virtue is explained by Paul in Ephesians 1:17 ff. 2 Peter 1:4 ---Whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and ex­ceeding great promises;— It is through the glory and the virtue mentioned in the preceding verse that these precious and exceeding great promises have been vouchsafed to man. The promises are precious because of what they mean to the human soul; and they are exceeding great because they include forgiveness, peace, the promise of eternal life and a share in the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4 ---That through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.— The word for “ partakers" (koinonoi) is, literally, “ sharers," “ partners," and points to the relationship which Christians sustain to the Lord. By availing themselves of these precious and exceed­ing great promises they are privileged to share in the divine nature — the holy character which God possesses. The chastening and disciplining to which children of God are subjected in this life is for the purpose of enabling them to be “ partakers of his holiness." (Hebrews 12 Hebrews 10.) Man was originally created in the image, and after the likeness, of God (Genesis 1 Genesis 26) ; but this image and rational likeness was lost in the fall. It is restored to man in the transfor­mation which occurs in conversion. (2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10.) “ Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust,” is, in the Greek text, “ having escaped from the corruption that is in the world in lust." The meaning is, that corruption is in the world; it operates through lust; and only those who are partakers of the divine nature escape its ravages. The second clause of the verse sets forth the positive side of Christianity; the third, the negative side. 2 Peter 1:5 ---Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all dili­gence,— An exhortation based on premises drawn from verse 4. “ Because of the precious and exceeding great promises which are yours, be adding on your part all diligence." “ Adding on your part" translates a remarkable word (pareisenegkantes) occurring nowhere else in the Greek Testament, and meaning, literally, “ bringing in by the side of.” The term indicates the comparative unimportance of man’ s participation in his salvation by suggesting that his part is merely contributory, “ brought in by the side of what God does,” and yet is absolutely essential, since God’ s part is done only on condition that man complies with his. In view of the absolute necessity of man’ s contribution by the side of what God does, Peter admonishes “ all diligence.” “ Diligence” is from spoude, to hasten. All children of God are thus exhorted to hasten to bring in their part, though small and insignificant compared with what God does for us, in order that they may avail themselves of the blessings which the Father has made available to them. That in which diligence is particularly enjoined follows. 2 Peter 1:5 ---In your faith supply virtue;—“ Without faith it is impossi­ble to please God” (Hebrews 11:6); hence, it is the foundation and the source from which all other duties spring. The word “ supply” (from the Greek epichoregeo) is highly suggestive and interesting in the implications which follow from its origin. Originally it meant to found and support a chorus, to lead a choir, to keep in tune, and then, to supply or provide. As here used, the graces which adorn the Christian’ s character are to be chorused into a grand symphony to the delight and pleasure of him who fashioned and made us for his own good pleasure. It will be seen that there are eight of the graces, and that they thus form an octave of soul tones, the first being faith, the. last love, an octave higher. When these are harmonized and played on by the divine Spirit, dishar­mony disappears and life’ s discords vanish. How we should re­joice that we have been privileged to provide such an instrument in the hand of our God! “ Virtue” (arete) which faith supplies is courage and soul vigor, the manliness and the determination to do that which is right. 2 Peter 1:5 ---And in your virtue knowledge;—As faith is to supply vir­tue, virtue is to supply knowledge, knowledge is to supply self­control, and so through the entire list of graces mentioned. Each thus becomes an instrument by which that which follows is to be wrought out and perfected. “ Knowledge” (gnosis) is the discrimi­nation indicated in Ephesians 5:17 and Hebrews 5:14. This knowledge is gained by, and grows out of, the practice of virtue. 2 Peter 1:6---and in your knowledge self-control—The familiar “ tem­perance” of the King James' Version has properly given way to the more accurate rendering “ self-control.” The word is derived from en and krates, “ one who holds himself in.” It denotes self-govern­ment, discipline, the ability of one to control his own life. It is ac­quired through the exercise of discernment, the knowledge by which one differentiates between right and wrong, and thus develops from it. One possessed of such knowledge and being thus equipped to identify evil is able to avoid it. 2. 2 Peter 1:6 ---And in your self-control patience;—The word translated patience here is more nearly endurance, inasmuch as it suggests somewhat more than mere resignation to life’ s difficulties. It in­cludes the idea of positive resistance of evils and a stedfast bearing up under them. Self-control leads to and perfects patient endur­ance, because only those who discipline themselves are able to endure patiently the trials of life. 2 Peter 1:6 ---And in your patience godliness;—“ Godliness” (eusebeia) is humble reverence and deep piety toward God. Often unbelievers manifest a stoical patience toward the adversities of life, but with­out the motive which springs from respect and devotion toward God. Patience is approved only when it results in submission to the burdens of life for the sake of pleasing the Father. The desire to be godlike is the motive from which all our actions should origi­nate, and without which there can be no acceptable service ren­dered to God. 2 Peter 1:7 ---And in your godliness brotherly kindness;—“ Brotherly kindness” is from the Greek word philedelphia, literally, love of the brethren. As God is our Father, his children are our brethren, and the obligation to love them is clear and explicit: “ And whoso­ever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” (1 John 5:1.) 2 Peter 1:7 ---And in your brotherly kindness love.—A warmhearted af­fection for the brethren is to lead to love, love not only for the brethren, but for all men, love— the crown and jewel of all graces. '‘ And the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13: 13.) Its right to occupy this foremost position among all the graces is further evidenced by Paul to the Colossians: “ And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness." (Col. 3: 14.) It is important to observe that it was the apostle’ s intention to indicate that each of these graces grows out of, and is produced by the one which precedes it. Before each grace mentioned, the verb “ supply” is to be understood. Each creates and makes possible the next; each tempers and makes perfect that which goes before it. The preposition in which he attaches to each indicates that the grace which follows is included in the one which precedes it, and is thus produced by it. The list of graces enumerated may be ana­lyzed as follows: (1) Those which are necessary to form the Chris­tian character: virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience; (2) that which reveals the follower of Christ to be a servant of God (godli­ness), a member of the family of God (brotherly kindness), and well disposed toward all men (love). From this we learn that no grace can stand alone; each is possessed only as it is able to pro­duce and make permanent in the life of others without which the Christian character cannot exist. 2 Peter 1:8 ---For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.—“ Are yours" is a better translation than the “ in you” of the King James’ Version, since the verb conveys the idea of a permanent possession rather than a mere indwelling of the graces designated. These graces are to become an integral part of Christian character and to reproduce themselves in the manifold acts of the Christian life as they “ abound" (better, multiply) to that end. Thus activated, one is neither idle nor unfruitful; the trend of his life is toward the “ full knowledge" (epignosis) of the higher life of the spirit. Thus full, or complete, knowledge is the goal toward which all Christian service tends, and which may be reached in no other way. Either one abounds in good works, or his life is idle and fruitless. There is no alternative. 2 Peter 1:9 ---For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.——“ For” is causal and indicates the sequence of thought intended by the apostle. We are to possess the Christian graces and allow them to multiply in good works unto the knowledge of Christ, for if we do not do so we suffer an impairment of sight making it im­possible for us to discern the most elementary matters of the Chris­tian life. The words “ seeing only what is near” are from the Greek muopadso, and used of one who is able to see only by constantly blinking his eyes and keeping them partially closed. One so af­flicted closes his eyes, not to keep from seeing, but in order that he may be able to see, his myoptic condition rendering him unable to look directly into the'light. Thus hindered in his vision, distant objects are to him indistinct, and he sees only that which is near. In this figurative fashion Peter pictures for us the man deficient spiritually and hence able to see only the things about him— the world and its affairs— having lost the power to look into the future and see by faith beyond the gate of life eternal. Such a one has forgotten the cleansing he received from his old sins when he was baptized (Acts 2:38 Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21), because he is no longer influenced by such recollection. His atti­tude is so much the same as before he was baptized that he regards himself as in his original condition of sin. The words “ having forgotten” are from an unusual phrase, occurring only here in the New Testament, lethen labon, signifying “ having received or ac­cepted forgetfulness.” By a voluntary act such a one has adopted an attitude of forgetfulness toward his former obedience. The meaning is that one who does not supply in his faith the graces mentioned accepts a situation in life wherein he disregards the fact that he was once purged (cleansed, forgiven) of his sins. 2 Peter 1:10 ---Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure:—“ Wherefore,” i.e., in view of the matters set forth in verses 5-9, “ give the more diligence . , .” “ Diligence” here, as in verse 5, means “ to hasten,” and the exhor­tation is to more (mallon) haste, greater zeal and earnestness in the pursuit of those qualities essential to the Christian life. The infinitive to make is significant, and is translated, not from poiein, absolutely to make or do a thing man is incapable of, respecting his salvation, but from poiesthai, present middle infinitive, to make or to do for one’ s self. Unable to fashion a plan by which to save himself, man may and must comply with God’ s plan in order to his salvation. Salvation is indeed a “ calling” and an “ election” ; it is God who calls and elects; but he calls by his gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14), and he elects only those who place themselves in the way of salvation through obedience to his will (Matthew 7:21). Election and calling never operate to destroy the free agency of man. God’ s grace is not irresistible; man may make it void (Galatians 2:21) and receive it in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1). God’ s calling is the invitation (klesis); the election (ekloge) is man’ s acceptance. This calling and election is to be made sure (actually, secure), and this is done through human instrumentality. Here is a thorough and decisive refutation of the doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy. It is impossible to make secure that which has never been in doubt. 2 Peter 1:10 ---For if you do these things, ye shall never stumble:—“ If,” i.e., on condition that you do these things— supply in your faith the graces hereinbefore enumerated. Those who thus do have an ef­fective defence agains falling; they shall never stumble (ptaio, to strike one’ s foot against an object and fall). 2 Peter 1:11 ---For thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.—The verb “ supplied” is translated from the same word as “ sup­ply” in verse 5, where see comments. There is a designed corre­spondence between the words “ supply” and “ abound” in verses 5 and 8 and the words “ supplied” and “ richly” here. We are to supply the virtues mentioned, and God will supply the entrance into the eternal kingdom; we are to abound in these graces and he will richly provide his part. The kingdom is styled “ eternal” be­cause it will never end. The blessings which it contains will never fail. Because it is described as the kingdom “ of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” we are not to conclude that Christ wijl reign as king over it after the second coming. At the end of this, the Christian dispensation, and following the resurrection and the general judgment he will abdicate in favor of his Father: “ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’ s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall de­liver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:23-24 -) “ Kingdom of our Lord . . .” is genitive of the agent, and not of possession, and it designates the kingdom which was esta- lished through his direction on the first Pentecost following his resurrection. It is styled “ eternal” because it shall stand forever.SOURCE OF THEIR 2 Peter 1:12-21 2 Peter 1:12 ---Wherefore I shall be ready always to put you in remem­brance of these things, though ye know them, and are estab­lished in the truth which is in you.—The meaning, in the light of the connection in which the verse appears is, In order that the blessings and privileges of Christ’ s kingdom may be yours, I shall not fail to exhort you with reference to those duties and responsi­bilities which you sustain, though you are aware of them and are established in the truth. There are two distinct phases in the Christian ministry: (1) preaching the gospel to the untaught and (2) exhorting those who have been taught to greater faithfulness and zeal in the matters which they have received. Man is by nature very prone to forget the lessons of the past, and truth once received may become dim and indistinct to those whose hearts incline toward the world. There is therefore a weighty responsi­bility upon those who preach and teach the word to be tireless in exhorting to greater fidelity and devotion to the cause which they have espoused. The only guarantee against apostasy is ceaseless vigilance against error and constant instruction of those who have received the truth. 2 Peter 1:13 ---And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;—His obligation to stir them up by putting them in remembrance of their duties was a continuing one and would terminate only with his death. The “ tabernacle” to which he refers is used figuratively of his fleshly body. By implication, the word suggests the immortality of the soul, the transient nature of this earthly existence, and the ease with which the spirit throws aside at death its tenement of clay. Paul refers to the body by this term (2 Cor. 5: 1-4), and as Peter does here and in the verse which follows, mixes the figure by re­ferring to the body as a building (tabernacle), and then as a gar­ment which must be put off. 2 Peter 1:14 ---Knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me.— The familiar King James’ rendering, “ knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle,” makes the apostle to say that the time of his departure draws near and that death was rapidly approaching. The Revised Version more correctly conveys the meaning of the original text. He did not say that he must soon put aside his tabernacle, but that the putting off, when it did come, would be sudden and swift. The verb “ signified” is translated from a Greek aorist and indicates a definite time in the apostle’ s mind when this information was revealed to him. In John 21:18-19, the Lord had said to him: “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest: but when thou shall be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God.” While this text refers primarily to the swiftness with which death would come, Peter was by now an old man and must have known that in the natural order of events death could not be far distant. 2 Peter 1:15 ---Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remembrance.—In the word “ diligence” of this verse the apostle looks back to verse 10. As he had urged diligence upon them, he would not be for­getful to exercise the same in their behalf by leaving an inspired record of instruction for their continued edification after his death. Two words of great significance occur in this section relating to the genuineness of the epistle of Second Peter. Skene, translated tabernacle, and exodus, decease, occur in the narrative of the trans­figuration. (Luke 9:31.) Peter was present and powerfully impressed with the events there occurring, and in the use of these terms he gives an undesigned guarantee of the genuineness of the record and the authenticity of the matters recorded. 2 Peter 1:16 ---For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty.— In the verses immediately preceding this, Peter wrote of the things which he was doing; here, he passes from the singular “ 1” to the plural “ we” as he describes matters which involved not only himself, but the other apostles, James and John. (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36.) The verb “ follow” in the text, from the com­pound exakolouiheo, means to take the lead and follow the direc­tion of another; and as here used with the negative, is highly sig­nificant in that in it the writer clearly disavows secondhand sources of information regarding that about which he was testifying, af­firming instead that he and those with him were eyewitnesses. “ Fables” (muthoi) are myths, legends, fictitious stories without basis of fact. The words “ cunningly devised” are from the verb sophizo, to invent artificially, to devise artfully. Thus, in making known the power and coming of the Lord, the apostles were not influenced by men who had deceived them by skillfully told ficti­tious stories, but were themselves eyewitnesses of the things al­leged. The word translated “ eye-witnesses” (epoptes) was cur­rent at the time Peter wrote of those who were initiated into the highest order of mysteries of the heathen religions Such were styled “ beholders” (from the word epopteuo) from the fact that they had attained to the highest degree possible. This word the apostle adopted to indicate that he, along with James and John, had been admitted to the highest degree of evidence in being privileged to see with their own eyes the glory and majesty of the transfigured Saviour. The manner in which the power and coming of the Saviour were revealed was both oral and written. This was a familiar theme both in their writing and in their preaching, and the New Testament is filled with it. (Matthew 24:3; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19, etc.) The apostle had written of the matter in his first epistle. (1: 7, 13; 4: 13.) The “ coming” referred to is his second advent (parousia, presence) when he shall judge the living and the dead. (Matthew 25:31-46.) 2 Peter 1:17 ---For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:—The “ honor” which was conferred upon him was the announce­ment which came from heaven that he was God’ s Son; and the “ glory” he experienced was the transfiguration he underwent when his face shone above the brightness of the Syrian sun. The “ ma­jestic glory” from which the Voice which acknowledged his deity was borne was the Shekinah, the visible presence of Grod. In the Greek translation of Deu 33:26, God is described as “ the majes­tic One of the firmament.” The Voice which was heard was God speaking, and it came from his divine presence. Affirmed in the announcement was (a) the deity of Jesus; (b) his relationship to God; (c) the intimacy which obtained between God and his Son; and (d) God’ s good pleasure in Jesus. The tense of the verb in the latter clause of this verse emphasizes that this pleasure had existed from all eternity. (Cf. Matthew 3:17 Matthew 12:18.) 2 Peter 1:18 ---And this voice we ourselves heard borne out of heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount.— To emphasize the personal connection which he and James and John sustained to the events which he relates, Peter repeats the pronoun and makes it emphatic: this voice we ourselves— and no other— heard. Further, it was when they were with him that the events he records tran­spired, thus making them personal witnesses of that recorded. It is styled a “ holy mount” because of the significance of the events there occurring. (Cf. “ holy hill of Zion,” Psalms 15:1; “ holy ground of Horeb,” Exodus 3:5.) The exact location and identity of the mount of transfiguration is unknown. The context places Jesus in the vicinity of Mount Hermon shortly before this time (Matthew 16:13 Matthew 17:1), though the later tradition is that he was transfigured on Mount Taber. The location, at this date, cannot be definitely determined. 2 Peter 1:19 ---And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,—The “ word of proph­ecy,” literally, “ the prophetic word” (ton prophetikon logon), re­fers to the revelations received and recorded by the Old Testa­ment prophets. (Verse 21.) The apostle thus affirms, “ And we have the prophetic word more sure.” More sure than what? Many expositors assume that the comparison which the apostle draws is between the transfiguration scene which he had witnessed during the personal ministry of Christ and the prophetic word which he mentions, thus making him to say that these prophecies were more convincing and constituted better evidence of the deity of Jesus than that which he had just related concerning his expe­riences in the “ holy mount.” Such was the view of the King James’ translators, hence their rendering, “ We have also a more sure word of prophecy.” Had the apostle been writing exclu­sively of others, it is barely possible that he might have intended to convey such an idea; it will, however, be seen that he includes himself— in the personal pronoun we— among those who have the prophetic word more sure. It is inconceivable that Peter could have regarded any evidence, whatever the source, as more con­vincing than that which he received on the occasion of the Lord’ s transfiguration. He saw the light above the brightness of the noonday son flash about the Saviour. He looked upon the trans­figured face of his Lord with his own eyes. He witnessed the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and was so enraptured with the scene that he wanted to build three tabernacles there. He heard the Voice from heaven identify Jesus as deity. Surely no word of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, or other Old Testament prophet could have supplied more irrefutable and convincing evidence than this. A more reasonable and satisfactory view— and that which the American Standard Translators adopted, as their translation indi­cates— is that the word of prophecy was made more sure and fur­ther confirmed by that which he had witnessed, and which he was, in turn, passing on to his readers. Being additional evidence, it would serve to strengthen, to corroborate, and to make more sure the faith already existing which, in the final analysis, was based on the testimony of the Old Testament prophets. The transfiguration scene confirmed the testimony of these prophets concerning the deity of Jesus, and established more clearly the relationship which obtains between God and his Son. The testimony of these proph­ets was thus made more sure by that which Peter, James, and John had witnessed in the holy mount, and which Peter was then recit­ing. “ Whereunto" is dative of the relative and refers to the pro­phetic word. To this prophetic word Peter's readers would do well to take heed. “ To take heed" is, literally, to give attention to, to fix the mind upon. The participle (prosechontes) is present, hence suggesting continuous and uninterrupted action, “ Where­unto ye do well to keep on taking heed . . .” The testimony which he had given regarding the transfiguration was not designed to supplant the evidence which the prophets supplied of the deity and identity of the Lord, but to confirm and strengthen it. 2 Peter 1:19 ---As unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts:—The term translated “ dark place" is that which denotes a squalid, filthy, and dark dun­geon, a fitting description of the condition which characterizes men without the light of truth. Into such a world the lamp of prophecy sheds its light bringing hope and cheer. To such a lamp Peter's readers were to look “ until the day" should dawn through the gloom of night and the day star (Christ) should shed its full bril­liance upon them. It is not likely that there is any reference here to the second coming of Christ. The meaning is rather that as darkness flees before the light, so the gloom of a sinful world fades as the daystar is allowed to throw its light upon the heart. As the appearance of the daystar heralds the approach of day, so the reception of the prophecies— confirmed by the story of the transfig­uration— would light up the gloom of the world and bring happi­ness to all who allow themselves to be bathed in its refulgent beams. 2 Peter 1:20 ---Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation.—The words “ knowing this first" would be better rendered “ this first understanding . . As a primary requisite to the study of prophecy, it must be recognized that it is not of “ private interpretation." “ Prophecy of scripture" refers to all prophecy whether in the Old Testament or the New. The verb “ is” in this passage is of significance and sheds much light on the meaning of the passage. It is translated from the verb ginomai, to become, to spring into being, and not from the simple and ordi­nary eimi, is. The meaning is, No prophecy comes or springs into existence by means of private interpretation. “ Private" (idias) refers to that which is peculiarly one’ s own; and “ interpretation” is from epUusis, explanation, exposition. It follows, then, that no prophecy of the scripture came into existence merely as the result of the prophet’ s own personal explanation, but originated, as he points out in the verse which follows, by holy men of God who were influenced by the Holy Spirit. Since the prophecy of scripture is not a product of those who delivered it, nor did it originate as expositions of their own intellects, but came by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Peter’ s readers would indeed do well to give heed thereto, “ as unto a lamp shining in a dark place." Catholics, in an effort to support their doctrine of the right of the pope to interpret all scripture for them, cite this passage for the purpose of showing that it is impossible to understand the Bible without infallible aid. Their effort in this is reduced to an ab­surdity ; for, either (a) one can understand this passage, and their contention is shown to be false; or (b) if it is impossible to under­stand any scripture unaided, then one cannot understand this passage, and they stand guilty of admitting as evidence that which they concede is impossible to understand. If one can understand this verse, their theory is false; if one cannot understand it, how do they know that it teaches that one cannot understand the scrip­tures? The private interpretation refers, not to those who read the prophecy, but to those who delivered it— the prophets them­selves. The passage teaches nothing about men interpreting or explaining the scriptures, but deals exclusively with the manner in which the prophets received and delivered the messages for which they were instruments in the hands of God. Often they themselves did not understand the significance of the things which they spoke. (1 Peter 1:10-12.) 2 Peter 1:21 ---For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.—“ For” (gar) introduces the reason for the statement of the preceding verse, that no prophecy of scripture had its origin in the prophet’ s own mind. Instead, it is affirmed that (a) men spake from God; and (b) those who thus spake were moved by the Holy Spirit. “ Moved” is from pheromenoi, present passive participle of phero, to bear; hence, to be borne along as a sailing vessel before the wind. The prophets are thus declared to be passive instruments in the hand of God, being directed in what they wrote by the Holy Spirit. Since the prophecies are not of human origin; since they did not originate in the will of man; and since they were delivered by men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, they have the weightiest possible claims on our reverence, our most serious con­sideration and prayerful study. 2nd Peter Chapter OneVerse 1 PETER'S SECOND 1 The keynote of this whole epistle is knowledge (2 Peter 1:2-3 2 Peter 1:5-6 2 Peter 1:8; 2 Peter 2:20-21; and 2 Peter 3:18); but it is a very special kind of knowledge which is meant. The Greek word is [@epignosis], that is, precise and correct knowledge.[1] It is the real or genuine knowledge, founded upon the word of God, not the knowledge that is falsely so-called. This chapter, after the signature, greeting and salutation (2 Peter 1:1), gives the basis, and in a sense, the nature and location of this saving knowledge, contained in the exceeding great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:2-4), the growth of the Christian in this true knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-11), a mention of Peter's concern for the perpetuation of this priceless knowledge (2 Peter 1:12-15), and the inerrancy of the sources of this wonderful saving knowledge (2 Peter 1:16-21). ENDNOTE: [1] Stephen W. Payne, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 990. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in righteousness of our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1) Simon Peter ... This inclusion of Peter's original name, along with the one the Lord had given him is significant. "If a forger had been writing in Peter's name, he would have begun almost certainly by copying Peter's name from the first epistle,"[2] where it reads simply, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ." Why did Peter use this double name? Barnett thought it was due to "Peter's resumption in his old age of the name familiar to his youth"[3] and besides this, there is the additional factor of the entire epistle having been written in the full contemplation of impending death. A servant ... The Greek word behind this is [@doulos],[4] the same word also used by Paul in Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1, etc. It means slave, but due to the sinister connotations of that word, it is better rendered servant, as here. It is quite revealing that, despite the Greeks having two words for slave, the apostles always used [@doulos]. The other word ([@andrapoden]) means persons captured in war and sold as slaves; but [@doulos] means one born into slavery.[5] It was by virtue of the new birth that the apostles, and all Christians, became slaves of Christ. And apostle of Jesus Christ ... This is the highest title that Peter claimed, the highest that he could have claimed, and it has reference to his official status as a representative of Christ fully endowed with plenary authority. To them that have obtained a like precious faith with us ... The word "obtained" here means properly to "obtain by lot, as in Luke 1:9."[6] This word is rare in the New Testament but does occur in Peter's speech (Acts 1:17). The word for "like precious" is found only here in the New Testament, but strongly suggests 1 Peter 1:7; and, as Caffin said, "shows a correspondence with that epistle."[7] There are many other such close resemblances in this epistle with the first and with Peter's speeches in Acts, affording strong evidence of its Petrine authorship. The meaning of the whole clause is, "Those who, whether Jews or Gentiles, held a faith like that held by Peter,"[8] in short, all true Christians. In the righteousness of our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ ... This is none other than the "righteousness of God in Christ (Romans 3:22), meaning the perfect faith and perfect obedience of the Son of God, which are in fact the sum total of all the righteousness ever achieved upon earth. All of the apostles, as well as all Christians, were saved by the righteousness of God in Christ; and it is available only "in him." As David H. Wheaton noted, "Though an apostle, he is still a sinner in need of the righteousness of ... Jesus Christ, as much as the newest convert."[9]Of our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ ... The ASV is obviously wrong in this rendition, for it should read, "Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ," as in other versions. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/zerrcbc/ 2 Peter 1:2. This virtually repeats the thoughts of the preceding verse. The favor of God is to come through knowledge of God, and the preceding paragraph shows that such knowledge is to be obtained through the word of God in the Gospel. 2 Peter 1:3. Inasmuch as salvation is the subject under consideration, the phrase his divine power refers to the Gospel for Romans 1:16 declares that it is the power of God unto salvation. Our verse states that this power (which is the Gospel) hath given all things that pertain unto life and godliness. The negative thought would be therefore that any doctrine or practice that is not authorized by the Gospel does not have anything to do with life and godliness. The terrible conclusion that is unavoidable is that when men practice anything in their religious life that is not authorized by the Gospel, they are guilty of that which will result in death to them because it is classed with ungodliness. The offering of these life-giving items is done through knowledge of the Lord since he is the one who has made the call herein mentioned. Glory means honor and dignity and virtue means excellence or a condition of completeness. The word to is from DIA and its leading meaning is "by means of." The statement about the call should then be worded as follows: "Knowledge of him who 'lath called us by his glory and virtue." Such a rendering is also in line with the connection which shows that the Gospel, in which these qualities are contained, is the means by which men are called into the service of Christ. 2 Peter 1:4. Whereby means that by the kind of life that is designated in the preceding verse, we may claim the exceeding great and precious promises. The things promised are great because no one but the Lord can grant such favors, and they are precious because all the wealth of the universe could not purchase them. The antecedent of these is the glory and virtue mentioned in the preceding verse. In addition to enjoying the precious promises offered in the Gospel, we may become partakers of the divine nature. Divine means godlike and nature refers to time qualities that distinguish that which is godlike from that which is not. The man who attains this personality through the Gospel is that much like God. The corruption that is in the world is brought about through lust of sinful men. When one obeys the Gospel he escapes from that corruption in the sense that he has been cleansed therefrom by the "divine power." He is then prepared to proceed with the kind of life that such a person is expected to follow In his service for Christ. 2 Peter 1:5. And beside this. It is not enough to obey the commands that cause one to become a Christian, but he must add to his faith the practices and qualities that are to be named in this and other verses following. Diligence is from SPOUDE and the definition of Thayer is. "earnestness, diligence." He explains the word as follows: "Universally earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything." A brief and workable definition of the word would be "thoughtful activity." Peter directs that it be used in the work of adding these necessary things to one's faith. Virtue is the same term that is used in verse 3. The outstanding word in the definition is "excellence," which means the quality of excelling or going beyond one's present attainments. A Christian should never be satisfied with his present growth, but should be determined to increase more and more. Knowledge. The general meaning of this word is "information " and the particular kind of information that is meant in any case must be determined by the connection. Coloss'ans 2:3 states that all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid (contained) in the Lord. Then the verses in the beginning of our chapter clearly show that such knowledge is to be learned through the Gospel. Thus the instruction of the apostle is for the Christian to study the Gospel (the New Testament) and add such knowledge to the faith he had that caused him to become a servant of Christ. 2 Peter 1:6. The lexicon defines the Greek word for teniperance with the single word "self-control." A practical illustration of the subject is shown in James 3:2-3. In general the word means for Christians to use moderation in the various things of life. Of course the word applies only to things that are not wrong in themselves, but wrong only when carried to excess. Therefore is has no place in the subject of intoxicating liquor as a beverage, for that is wrong regardless of the degree of indulgence. Patience. The leading idea of this word may be stated by the words "constancy" and "endurance." The first term denotes a steadiness of one's activities for the Lord and the second means that he will continue it to the end. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Godliness is from which Thayer defines as follows: "Reverence. respect; piety towards God, godliness." The word not only requires that a man will live as he should, but that his motive for such a life will be his respect for God. 2 Peter 1:7. The two words brotherly kindness come from the one Greek word . Thayer's definition of the word is, "The love of brothers (or sisters), brotherly love: in the New Testament the love which Christians cherish for each other as brethren." The disciples of Christ should feel a nearness for each other that is stronger even than their love for flesh-and-blood relatives. Charity is from AGAPE which is one of the Greek words translated "love" in the New Testament. The principal meaning of the word in the present passage is to have a sincere interest in the welfare of others. The subject of love is often misunderstood by students of the Bible, due partly to the circumstance that the word comes from different Greek originals which have different meanings. There is a complete page devoted to the subject made up from the authoritative quotations from the lexicons of Thayer and Strong. The comments are at Matthew 5:43 which I urge the readers to see and study carefully; they are in the first volume of the New Testament Commentary. 2 Peter 1:8. In you and abound. Thayer defines the original for the last word, "To superabound; to exist in abundance; to increase, be augmented." It is one of the outstanding principles of the teaching in the Bible that the life of a servant of God should be one of growth. Hence the Christian should determine to make these "seven graces" increase in his life as the days go by. If he will do so it will assure him that he will be neither barren nor unfruitful. These words have about the same meaning and are used together as a matter of emphasis. The first specifically means "idle or inactive," and that condition would necessarily result in absence of fruit-bearing. The particular kind of fruit just here being considered is worded knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. If a tree fails to bear fruit it may be attributed to a lack of moisture and other ingredients necessary to produce fruit, or to the failure of the plant to absorb those materials that are near it. Likewise if a disciple is inactive in the matter of acquiring the kno ledge of Christ that is within his reach in the Gospel (verses 2, 3), it can only result in a life that bears no fruit unto God. Such a state is dangerous for Jesus declares that all such trees will he hewn down and cast into the fire (Matthew 7:19). 2 Peter 1:9. Blind. Not "stone-blind" for then he could not see at all whereas this person can see a little. The idea is as if a smoke was raised making the vision dim. Cannot see afar off all comes from MUOPAZO which Thayer defines, "To see dimly, see only what is near," and the Englishman's Greek New Testament renders it "short sighted." We have all seen persons who were afflicted with this defect regarding their bodily eyes and can have only pity for them. But in the case of those who are spiritually "near sighted" there is not much reason for pity, since it is a defect that they can help if they will. Hath forgotten. Not that his memory has become a blank, for that would be impossible as long as he maintains his faculties at all. The meaning is that he ceases to hold in grateful remembrance the glorious time when he was washed from his sins by the blood of Christ in baptism. 2 Peter 1:10. Wherefore the rather denotes that the disciple should not make the mistake just described, but instead he should do the following. Again the apostle advises the use of diligence which is explained at verse 5. By using this "thoughtful activity" the disciple may accomplish a very desirable result which certainly every person would welcome. Calling and election. When a man hears the Gospel and obeys it he is called into the service, and by a proper walk in life he will be "elected" or chosen of God as one of His own. It is up to the disciple to make that relationship with God permanent or sure. Such a thing is possible else the apostle would not exhort the brethren to do so. He explains how it is done, namely, if ye do these things which means the duties outlined in the preceding verses, and if they do he says ye shall never fall. While this language gives a disciple an assurance of salvation that no man can take from him, yet the condition on which the assurance is given just as clearly shows that it is possible for a man to fall even after having been "purged from his old sins." This is disproof of the Calvinistic heresy that says "once in grace, always in grace." If that notion were taught in the word of God, then a Christian could do nothing that would cause him to fall. Neither could he do anything to assure himself of final salvation were he one of the "non-elect." 2 Peter 1:11. An abundant entrance is a phrase of emphasis, meaning that the disciple who is faithful till death will receive all of the glory accompanying the entrance into the delightful place. Everlasting kingdom does not mean the church on earth, for one has to be in that institution first before he can begin to plan for this kingdom. It means the kingdom after Christ has delivered it up to God. (1 Corinthians 15:24). 2 Peter 1:12. Put you always in remembrance. Much of the writing and preaching of the New Testament times was done on the principle stated in this phrase. (See chapter 3:1.) The human mind is inclined to forget what it has learned; that is, in the sense of the word as explained at verse 9. Paul has such a thought in mind in Hebrews 2:1. Therefore the teachers of the present day find it necessary to repeat the same warnings and exhortations over and over again. It is not necessarily for the purpose of imparting new information, but in order to jog the memory on information already made known. Peter implies that if he should fail to do this reminding of his brethren he would be guilty of negligence. Let elders and evangelists and all other public workers take a lesson from this and not become impatient in their labors with indifferent disciples. Present truth means the information that they had received up to the present time. The New Testament had not been completed and additional inspired truth was to come as the time went by, but these disciples were pretty well fixed in their belief of the truth already received. Hence another phase of the duty of a teacher is indicated by this. He should constantly exhort his brethren who may actually be somewhat faithful, lest they should later become unmindful and fall into a state of carelessness concerning their duty. 2 Peter 1:13. Think it meet or suitable to continue the reminding. Stir you up means to rouse them to further activities by approaching them and appealing to their memory. In this tabernacle means as long as he is in the flesh. Paul refers to the mortal body as a tabernacle in 2 Corinthians 5:1-6. The word is from SKENOS and Thayer defines it, "A tabernacle, a tent," and he explains that it is "used figuratively of the human body, in which the soul dwells as in a tent, and which is taken down at death." This is another suggestion of the temporary nature of our stay upon this earth, and of the folly of men in acting as if they expected to live on the earth for ever. 2 Peter 1:14. Shortly I must put off, etc. Peter means he was to die before long; it is stated in Smith's Bible Dictionary that Peter wrote this epistle near the close of his life. As our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. This evidently refers to the conversation recorded in John 21:18-19 in which Jesus predicts that Peter would (lie a violent death at the hands of his enemies. No definite date is given for the tragic event, only he was told that it would happen when thou shalt be old. At the time of this epistle Peter was an old man and hence he could say knowingly that this death was near, based on the prediction of Christ. 2 Peter 1:15. After my decease. There is an interesting item in this phrase. The last word is from EXODUS which Thayer defines, "Exit, i. e. departure; departure from life, decease." We know by the connection that Peter is writing about his death but calls it by a word that means "departure" or going out. The meaning of this word is what gives the second book of the Bible its name, because the "going out" of the children of Israel from Egypt is the main event of that book. But the passage is fatal to the doctrine of soulsleepers and other materialists. They teach that nothing leaves the body at death; that all there is of man goes to the grave at that time. The statement of Peter about his death belies the heresy for we know that his body did not depart when he died. Have these things always in remembrance. By putting the teaching in writing with assurances of its truthfulness, the brethren would have the reminder before them even after the soul of Peter had "put off its tabernacle" and had made its exit from this world. 2 Peter 1:16. Cunningly devised fables. Certain speculators among the Jews joined with others in those days in delivering myths (here translated fables) to listeners, and many of them were so tricky in their wording that the uninformed were deceived. The apostles found it necessary to give warnings against heeding such speeches (1 Timothy 1:4 1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14). Peter declares that he was not depending on such stories in his revealing of the things concerning Christ. What a man sees is a matter of positive knowledge and does not require any ingenious wording to make the report acceptable. We is literal and means actually that more than one were witnesses, not just the "editoral I" as is sometimes used for the sake of modesty. If one inspired witness makes a declaration it is as true as if a hundred would say it, yet if more than one witness the same thing it will be strengthened on the basis of corroboration. Power and coming. The last word is elsewhere defined "presence," and since we know Peter has direct reference to the scenes of the transfiguration, the word is used in that sense and applies especially to the majesty (greatness) of Christ. However, the very visible demonstration of His greatness of which Peter and others were witnesses, would give evidence of the reasonableness of the predictions of the second coming of Christ to earth. 2 Peter 1:17. He received means Christ when lie received honor and glory in the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5). Such a voice refers to the voice of God that was heard by Peter, James and John who were taken by Christ up into the mount. The honor and glory consisted in the acknowledgement of Christ as the Son of God, and also the announcement that the Father was well pleased in his Son. 2 Peter 1:18. This is called the holy mount because of the sacred things that transpired there, not that any physical change was made in the spot. The first definition of the word for holy is, "worthy of veneration" or great respect. Certainly a place where such an awe-inspiring scene took place as the transfiguration is worthy of the most profound respect and in that sense it was holy. 2 Peter 1:19. More sure is from the one Greek word BEBEIOS which Thayer defines, "Stable, fast, firm; sure, trusty." The word more is unnecessary because no comparison is being made, but only some additional information that corroborates the report that Peter just made of his own personal knowledge; nothing could be surer than it. No particular prediction is cited but the fact of there having been such statements made by the prophets of old time is the point Peter is making. The apostle advises his readers to take heed unto those prophecies. He compares them to a light penetrating the dark place meaning the (then) future. Until the day dawn means the day of the fulfillment of those prophecies, at which the day star (morning star) who is Christ (Revelation 22:16) will arise in your hearts. The study of the many prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament (too numerous to cite here), will bring one up to the fuller report in the history as given in the New Testament, and it will be like the morning star that announces to the world that a new day has dawned. In the words of the wise king of Israel. such a procedure of the study will be like the "shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18). 2 Peter 1:20. Knowing this first is Peter's introduction to a further explanation of why the "word of prophecy" is to be considered "sure" as stated in the preceding verse. No prophecy of the scripture. The last word means the Old Testament because the New Testament had not been completed when Peter was writing. and besides it would not make a prophecy of the kingdom of Christ since that institution already existed while the New Testament was in the making. Private interpretation. The Romish church leaders make much of this phrase because they think it supports their heresy about reading the Bible. The pressure of popular sentiment has indured that institution to relax its restrictions against the reading of the Holy Book by the masses. They are now given certain limited privileges of reading it. but they are forbidden to "interpret" it on the strength of the mentioned phrase. The first definition of the original for interpretation is. "A loosening, unloosing," and for that of private it is. "Pertaining to one's self, one's own." Hence it is clear that Peter is not writing about anyone's interpreting the scripture in the sense of explaining it. He is considering the prophecies in the Old Testament and says that they were not just something that the prophets thought about. It was not their own personal production or something that was their own "brain child." A similar use of langauge is in John 11:51 where Caiaphas is making a prediction. The writer explains that Caiaphas did not say it "of himself," but spoke with the inspiration possessed by the high priests. 2 Peter 1:21. The thoughts of the preceding verse are continued. Will of man is used in the sense of "private interpretation." meaning that the prophecies --ere not the production of mere human beings. Instead. they spoke as by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Guy N. Woods Commentary On 2nd Peter 2SECTION TWO WARNING AGAINST FALSE 2 Peter 2:1-11 2 Peter 2:1 ---But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers,—The word “ but” with which this verse begins puts it in contrast with matters dealt with at the close of the preceding chapter. There, the apostle had emphasized the fact that the prophetic word is a product of in­spiration ; that it was delivered by men who spake from God; and that those who thus spoke were moved to do so by the Holy Spirit. Lest from this his readers should conclude that all who affected to be prophets were thus influenced, he hastened to add that as in times past false prophets had risen to lead the people of Israel astray (Deuteronomy 14:1-5; Isaiah 9:15; Jeremiah 14:14; Ezekiel 13:3; Zechariah 13:4), so false teachers were to be expected among them. Such teachers constituted a constant menace to the early church, and many warnings against them appear in the New Testament. (Matthew 24:5 Matthew 24:24; Acts 20:29-30; 1 Timothy 4:1 ff; 2 Timothy 4:1 ff.; 1 John 4:1.) 2 Peter 2:1 ---Who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that brought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.—“ Who” refers to the false teachers men­tioned in the second clause of the verse. “ Privily” (Pareisago) means to slip in by the side of, and indicates that these teachers had artfully and slyly introduced their false doctrines by the side of the truth in such fashion as to deceive those who had accepted them. Such doctrines are described as “ destructive heresies.” They were heretical, because they were false; and they were de­structive from the fact that they brought ruin upon all who ac­cepted them, as well as upon those who propagated them. The doctrine to which Peter particularly alludes here led people to deny “ the Master who bought them.” (1 Corinthians 6:20; Hebrews 10:29.) There were many heresies afloat near the close of the first century, all tending to this end. The Lord’ s deity was questioned by some (1 John 4:15), his humanity by others (1 John 4:2). Some teachers then, as now, denied the threefold personality of the god­head, maintaining that there is but one person, with three mani­festations. Others held to the doctrine that the body of Christ was not real, but only imaginary; while still others, by their wicked and corrupt lives, denied their Master by using their bodies as their own and not his. Reference to denying the Lord by Peter is significant, in the light of his own previous conduct. To him this involved the greatest possible apostasy. But when Peter denied his Lord, the price of redemption had not been paid. How much graver the offense of those who today treat with contempt that precious purchase price! (Acts 20:28.) 2 Peter 2:2 ---And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.—The word “ lasciviousness” (aselgeia) refers to unbridled lust, abandoned ac­tions of the flesh, extreme wantonness, dissolute habits and all unclean living. These teachers of whom Peter wrote made a reli­gion of lust, and while confounding Christian liberty with license, preached the gospel of libertinism. Errors which allow such lib­erty have even been attractive to those who live for the world, and many were led to adopt such and to follow willingly and gladly those who propagated them. In consequence, the “ way of truth” was evil spoken of, i.e., reviled, blasphemed. Many unbelievers did not run to such excesses, and failing to distinguish between those professors and those who taught the truth, they regarded such conduct as the usual and ordinary fruits of Christianity, and held the institution of Christianity itself in contempt. 2 Peter 2:3 ---And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you:—Covetousness— unlawful desire for per­sonal gain— was the motive which influenced these false teachers; and thus motivated, they used feigned words— words artfully and skillfully forged for the occasion— to deceive those whom they could. These teachers “ made merchandise” of their dupes by treating them as merchandise, i.e., as objects by which to enhance their own wealth. Such proselyted only that they might profit, and promised what they could never deliver from motives of greed and avarice. (See 1 Timothy 6:5; Titus 1:11.) Whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.— Being evildoers, and therefore under the ban of all who disobey God, their destiny was definite and their damnation sure. (Philippians 3:19.) Peter solemnly assured his readers that such would not be delayed nor forgotten. “ Linger­eth not” is from ouk argei, is not idle; and “ slumbereth not” is from ou nustasei, does not nod, thus signifying that these deceivers and all those whom they deceived were hastening toward a judgment and a destiny that did not loiter on the way nor nod off to sleep in forgetfulness! 2 Peter 2:4 ---For if God spared not angels when they sinned,—In proof of the proposition that judgment against the wicked is inevitable, Peter cites three well-known instances: (1) angels who sinned; (2) the destruction of the old world in the flood; and (3) the overthrow of the cities of the plain. Angels are created beings, “ sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation.” (Hebrews 1:14.) They are moral creatures and answer­able to God for their conduct, though apparently outside the re­demptive provisions of grace. (Hebrews 2:16.) Thus, when they sin, they are beyond the possibility of salvation. These, despite their rank, the honorable position they occupied, and the holiness they possessed when created, sinned and were not spared. What the nature of their sin was when they sinned and the number of those sinning is not stated. Much speculation has been indulged in regarding the matter. There is a popular view that Genesis 6:2-4 involves an unholy association between angels and women, and that the sin of the angels was fornication “ with the daughters of men.” This exposition is based on an erroneous view of Gen 6:1-4. There is no reference to angels in that passage. The “ sons of God” were human beings. Others, with more reason, have concluded that these angels were the same as those alluded to by Jude when he said that “ they kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation,” and are kept “ in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6.) Some hold to the view that Satan was a created angel; that he led a revolt in heaven (Revelation 12:7); that the occasion for the revolt was spiritual pride and a desire for higher position (1 Timothy 3:6); and that for such arrogance and presumption he was cast out of heaven. Inasmuch as it is inconceivable that God created these angels wicked, the following conclusions seem certain: (a) they were originally holy; (b) they sinned; (c) the occasion of their sin was in abandoning their “ proper habitation” ; (d) as a result they were thrust down to a place of bondage. What this place was is designated in the clause which follows. But cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;— The word translated “ hell” here, tartarosas, does not occur elsewhere in the Greek New Testament. The word is used in Greek mythology of the place of restraint and punishment for the souls of wicked men after death. It seems likely that Peter, writing in Greek, and to people who would be disposed to understand the words of the language in their ordinary signification, here used the word in its usual import, and that by it he intended to convey the idea that these wicked angels were thrust down to such an abode to await the judgment of the great day. Inasmuch as the nature of the place is the same as that which characterized the rich man in torment in Hades, separated by a great gulf from the righteous there (Luke 16 : 23-26), it is reasonable to assume that the places are the same, and that tartarus is that compartment in the Hadean realm where wicked spirits are reserved (kept in restraint) until the day of their final condemna­tion is at hand. The place is described as “ pits of darkness,” from the fact that darkness is the condition which there prevails. The word “ pit,” from the Greek seiros, denotes an underground open­ing or den. 2 Peter 2:5 ---And spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;— The argu­ment— an a fortiori one— continues, and the apostle offers the second illustration of the certainty of judgment upon the wicked. The “ ancient world” embraced the people who lived before the flood. Though these people had clear and unmistakable warnings of impending doom, and despite the fact that the time provided them was ample to flee from the destruction which threatened them, they spurned Jehovah’ s offer of amnesty and died. Only Noah and his family, consisting of his wife, his three sons and their wives, were saved. (Gen. 7: 7; 1 Pet. 3: 20.) The account of the flood is recorded in Gen. 6: 13-8: 19. Noah is called a preach­er of righteousness (Psalm 119: 172), from the fact that he both preached and practiced righteousness. “ Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God.” (Gen. 6:9.) He was a “ preacher” (literally, a herald) of right­eousness ; he denounced the unrighteousness and corruption about him, and exhorted the people to repentance. Josephus, the Jewish historian of the first century, bears this remarkable testimony con­cerning him: “ Noah being grieved at the things which were done by them and being displeased at their counsels, urged them to change for the better their thoughts and actions. But seeing that they did not yield, but were mightily mastered by the pleasure of evil, fearing lest they should kill him, he departed from the land with his wife and his sons and the women whom they had mar­ried.” (Antiq. I, 3, 1.) 2 Peter 2:6 ---And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly;—The histori­cal account of this event is recorded in Genesis 19:23-29. As a third instance of the certainty of God’ s judgment, the fearful destruction of the cities of the plain— Sodom and Gomorrah— is offered. The prophets cited the destruction which befell these Old Testament cities (Isaiah 1:9-10; Ezekiel 16:48-56), as also did our Lord (Luke 17:28-32). Jude, with more detail than Peter, describes the event thus: “ Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7.) The “ over­throw” which these cities suffered evidenced God's extreme dis­pleasure with their conduct and serves as a warning of the destiny which awaits those who live in similar ungodly fashion today. 2 Peter 2:7 ---And delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the las­civious life of the wicked—See Genesis 19:16. The case of Lot is introduced to show that God distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked, delivering the former and bringing destruction on the latter. Lot is called “ righteous” because he kept himself from the combination of the world about him. The words “ sore distressed” are translated from the present passive participle of kata- poneo, to wear down, to tire out, to harass beyond endurance. The verb thus denotes the distress which Lot felt at the open and shameless ungodliness which was practiced around him. Most of the distress which he felt doubtless came from the ungodly conduct characteristic of his own family. Though he sought to keep them from the corruption of the people of Sodom, “ He seemed unto his sons-in-law as one that mocked.” (Genesis 19:14.) 2 Peter 2:8 ---For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds—The parentheses in the text explains the nature of the distress which Lot felt in Sodom. He had him­self selected the plain of Jordan and the neighborhood of Sodom on the occasion of the dissension between his herdsmen and those of Abraham (Genesis 13:1-13) ; and when he made the choice it was said that “ the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against Jehovah exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13). When the consequences of his choice became apparent to him, it appears that he often desired to leave but was not able. Forced to live daily in the presence of gross and unrestrained licentiousness, and to see and to hear it constantly, he vexed (imperfect active of basanizo, kept on tor­menting) his righteous soul with the lawlessness about him. It should be observed that it was Lot who tormented his own soul at what he witnessed. The words describe the pain that a naturally sensitive and righteous man would experience at the sight of such flagrant lawlessness as that which existed in Sodom. Though in the midst of extreme wickedness, (a) Lot was not corrupted by it; (b) he did not become indifferent to it; (c) he was daily concerned about it. In this he serves as a pattern for us today. 2 Peter 2:9 ---The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temp­tation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;—A conclusion drawn from preceding prem­ises. The Lord can deliver his servants, as illustrated by Noah and Lot; and he does keep the unrighteous under punishment, as evidenced in the cases of the angels who sinned, the wicked, antediluvian world, and the cities of the plain. The word tendered “ temptation” in this verse is the same as that translated “ trial” in 1 Peter 1:6, where it refers to the manifold difficulties which Peter’ s readers then faced. This passage is, therefore, an assurance of deliverance to the righteous whatever the danger which confronts them. The words “ under punishment” are from kolazomenous, present participle of kolazo, to punish, and reveals that the punish­ment of the wicked precedes as well as follows the final judgment, a fact also clearly taught in the narrative of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), as well as in the reference to the angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4). 2 Peter 2:10 ---But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion.—“ Chiefly” (malista), i.e., es­pecially these above all others God will reserve under punishment. In a parallel passage, Jude said, “ Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities.” (Verse 8.) These false teachers of whom Peter writes were not only walking after the flesh; they desired the defilement of the flesh which their lusts produced; they greedily reached forth for the unlawful and polluting use of the flesh to which their sin led them. These were evidently guilty of the unspeakable sins and other darker forms of impurity which Paul mentions as prevalent in the Roman empire. (Romans 1:24-28.) Moreover, they despised “ dominion,” i.e., they regarded all au­thority with contempt. Any effort to restrain them in their wild rebellion they despised. 2 Peter 2:10 ---Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities:—Despite the fact that they knew the penalty for their conduct, they defied the Lord; and arrogant, audacious, and proud, they blas­phemed dignities— all authorities— without fear. These words in­dicate the extreme coarseness, insolence, and hardness of heart characteristic of these false teachers. 2 Peter 2:11 ---Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord.—Angels, though greater in every way than these false and designing teachers, do not bring railing judgments, but with becoming mod­esty and restraint leave such matters in the hands of God. Exam­ples of this attitude may be seen in Zechariah 3:2; Jude 1:9. AND FINAL DESTINY OF FALSE 2 Peter 2:12-22 2 Peter 2:12 ---But these, as creatures without reason, born mere ani­mals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed,—The fallen angels recognized the moral law of God and felt the wrath which came upon them in their disobedience; whereas, these false teachers, though greatly inferior to the angels (verse 11), were like mere animals in disregarding utterly any laws of a higher world. Like wild beasts of prey which exist solely for the gratifi­cation of fleshly appetites, and eventually to be taken and destroyed for the harm they do, these false teachers, as similar creatures with­out reason or rational conduct, deserved no better fate. In their senseless railing against matters about which they knew nothing, they would eventually suffer the destruction which was wrought out for all whom they deceived. In destroying others, they would, themselves, eventually, be destroyed. Wild beasts are made to be taken and destroyed by man; and these, being of the same nature, also deserved and would receive destruction. 2 Peter 2:13 ---Suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing;—These words are to be construed with the final clause of the verse which precedes, i.e., these false teachers “ shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, suffering wrong at the hire of wrong-doing.” The King James’ rendering, based on a well-supported variation of the Greek text, has here, “ and shall receive the reward of unright­eousness.” The “ reward of unrighteousness” is ruin. Balaam (Numbers 31:8 Numbers 31:19) and Judas (Acts 1:18) are examples of those who received the reward of unrighteousness in this life, and all the wicked will receive it in the world to come. 2 Peter 2:13 ---Men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time,—Ordi­narily, even the wicked confine their excesses to the night; but these, under consideration by Peter, were so abandoned in sin that they extended their revelings into the day, finding pleasure only in ceaseless and unrestrained indulgence. (1 Thessalonians 5:7.) 2 Peter 2:13 ---Spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceiving while they feast with you;—Hitherto the apostle had dealt with the in­subordination and disrespect for authority characteristic of these false teachers; with this verse he begins a description of their abandonment in sin. They were full of spots and blemishes, in contrast with the Lord who is “ a lamb without blemish and with­out spot” (1 Peter 1:19); and his body, which he desires to be with­out “ spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27). Further, these teachers had injected themselves into the feasts which the Christians commonly held, and there sported themselves in their deceivings, using such occasions as additional opportunities to deceive the people. 2 Peter 2:14 ---Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin;—“ Having eyes full of adultery” is, in the Greek, “ having eyes full of an adulteress” (moichalis). It is a vivid term, descrip­tive of a man who is unable to look at a woman without regarding her as an objective for lasciviousness. It is the disposition of heart which violates the injunction of the Lord when he said, “ Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28.) The hearts of these false teachers were filled with lust, and they ever sought opportunity for the gratification thereof. Thus motivated, they did not, and could not, cease from sin. 2 Peter 2:14 ---Enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in cov­etousness; children of cursing;—“ Enticing” is derived from deleazo, a bait. The word also occurs in verse 18 of this chapter, and is such a term as would be most familiar to Peter, a fisherman. Unsteadfast souls, deceived by their teachers, suffered themselves to be entrapped by the bait which was dangled before them. The hearts of these men were exercised (practiced) in covetousness. The word “ exercised” is from a term which indicates training in a gymnasium. These teachers were trained in habits of greed. They are styled “ children of cursing,” a Hebrew idiom expressing character through sonship. Compare “ the son of perdition” (John 17:12); “ sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2); “ sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). These were “ children of cursing,” because they were a curse to all others, and would themselves suffer the curse of destruction in judgment. 2 Peter 2:15 ---Forsaking the right way, they went astray,— The “ right way” is the “ way of truth.” (Verse 2.) It is variously designated “ the way of the Lord” (Genesis 18:19) ; “ the way of peace” (Romans 3:17); “ the way of wisdom” (Proverbs 4:11); “ the way of life” (Proverbs 10:17); and “ the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). The false teachers whom Peter describes in this section of his epistle had “ forsaken the right way” and had gone “ astray” and were thus apostates to the faith. One cannot forsake a way in which he has never been. These had abandoned the doctrine of Christ, and they no longer conformed in life to the principles which he taught. (Cf. Acts 13:4-12.) 2 Peter 2:15 ---Having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;—“ For the story of Balaam and his effort to curse the children of Israel, see Numbers 22:1-41. Ba­laam desired the reward which the Moabite messengers brought, here called “ the hire of wrong-doing,” because he hoped to receive the money for the wicked work he sought to do. These teachers to whom Peter alludes were like Balaam in that they prostituted the doctrine of Christ for personal gain, and taught doctrines con­trary to the will of the Lord because they loved the wages of unrighteousness. The word “ followed” in the text is translated from a Greek verb which means to follow out to the end. It occurs in 2 Peter 1:16 2 Peter 2:2. 2 Peter 2:16 ---But he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet.—Balaam’ s transgression was in his readiness to go and curse Israel despite the solemn warning he had received from God. The dumb ass was a beast of burden. Actually, it was the angel who hindered Balaam on his way, but the clearer vision of the beast resulted in the first delay, and the miracle which followed — when the ass spake with the voice of a man— brought to his attention the perverseness of his way. It is significant that Peter accepted and adopted the narrative in Numbers 22, regarding Balaam and the ass, as authentic. It was, to him, no imaginary incident, no fictitious account. Modernistic scholars in seeking to eliminate the supernatural from the sacred writings entirely, allege that Balaam merely heard the promptings of an uneasy conscience on this occasion and that the beast did not really speak. Such a view not only impeaches Moses as a historian; it also convicts Peter, an apostle of the Lord, as an unreliable writer. The beast spake; he spake with the voice of a man; he spake audibly, and his words have been recorded and preserved. (Numbers 22:28.) There is no miracle in the Old Testament better authenticated than this. 2 Peter 2:17 ---These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved.—The apostle, in the verses which precede this, has described the sins of the false teachers about whom he writes; here, he directs attention to the emptiness and worthlessness of that which they taught. Though they paraded under the guise of teachers of truth, they were as springs without water, toward which tired and thirsty travelers hasten, only to meet with bitter disappointment when they arrive and find there is no water there. Though such teachers make great promises, the promises they make do not materialize. They are like mists driven by a storm containing the promise of rain, but blown quickly by the wind over the land and away. The harassed farmer looks longingly at the skies and hopes that the cloud which he sees will bring moisture to his parched fields, only to observe it fleeing before the tempest. Such was characteristic of these men who, though they offered a blessing, deceived and disappointed those whom they duped. For all such the blackness of darkness has been reserved and awaits. (Jude 1:13.) The way of the wicked is often described in the scriptures as a “ way of darkness.” (Proverbs 4:19; Jeremiah 23:9-12.) 2 Peter 2:18 ---For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error;— In the verse which precedes, Peter describes the false teachers of whom he writes in figures; here, we are informed why they are waterless springs and rainless mists: all that they say is vanity. (Ephesians 4:17.) “ Van­ity” (mataiotes), as here used, signifies that which is empty, use­less, vain; and the “ great swelling wcrds” (huperogka) these teach­ers were accustomed to use, though pompous and high sounding, were nothing more than hollow, vain phrases, sound without sub­stance, mere bombast. Their purpose was to “ entice” in the lusts of the flesh by (dative of the instrument) lasciviousness. The word “ lasciviousness” is, in the Greek, plural (aselgeia) ; there was no temptation of that nature which these teachers did not offer. Hence, (a) their motive was to allure and lead astray; (b) their method of enticement was by high sounding words; (c) the sphere in which the enticement was accomplished was in the list of the flesh; and (d) the bait (deleazo) which was dangled before them (verse 14) was gross fleshly indulgence. The victims of these false teachers were those who were just escaping from the dark night of heathenism through obedience to the gospel, only to be thrust back into the shadows of their former manner of life by these deceivers. Those “ that live in error” were the heathen who knew not God. These unfortunate victims of deceit who were just escaping from the influence of those who lived in error— through their obedience to the gospel— were seized by these false teachers and thrust back into the benighted state formerly characterizing them. 2 Peter 2:19 ---Promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.—The “ great swelling words” which these teachers were accustomed to speak included the offer of liberty, a characteristic feature of their teach­ing. The freedom which the Christian enjoys from the bondage of the law they interpreted to include the privilege of unrestrained indulgence. Disregarding Paul’ s warning, “ For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one of another” (Galatians 5:13), their “ liberty” became libertinism, and they practiced the grossest corruption. While offering liberty to others, they were themselves in the most advanced slavery, the bondage of sin. Overcome by their vices, they were in bondage to them and were the most enslaved of all creatures. They had become the servants of a master who was using them to enslave others, and who would eventually destroy them. (Verse 12.) 2 Peter 2:20 ---For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first.—The antece­dent of the pronoun “ they” is the false teachers of the preceding verse. These men had obeyed the gospel and had thereby “ es­caped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,’’ only to return to their former state of defilement by a lapse into their earlier manner of living. “ Knowledge,” here, is not from the ordinary gnosis, but the com­pound epignosis, used so often by Paul (Ephesians 4:13; Colossians 2:2 Colossians 3:10; 1 Timothy 2:4) and Peter (2 Peter 1:2-3 2 Peter 1:8) of the highest form of knowledge. These men had thus not always been hypo­crites ; they had known Christ in the fullest possible sense as their Saviour, only to apostatize from the faith. The “ defilements” into which they had fallen were the corruptions of the heathen world from which they had earlier escaped. (2 Peter 1:4.) To these corruptions they had returned, and in them they were again en­tangled. The word “ entangled” (emplakentes) suggests the figure of fishes entrapped in a net. Though these men boasted of their freedom, they were, in reality, like fish entangled in a net, the helpless captives of their own enticements, entrapped by the very bait which they dangled before others. (Verses 14, 18.) The words ‘‘ the last state is become worse with them than the first” appear to be suggested by a comment of the Lord in the parable of the unclean spirit who was cast out only to return with seven other spirits more wicked than itself. (Matthew 12:45.) Such is the condition characteristic of those who have been delivered from the corruption of the world only to return to its defilements. The last state for all such is worse than the first: (a) apostates are usually more abandoned in sin than those who have never walked in righteousness; (b) 'such a state involves more guilt because of the greater knowledge such a one possesses; (c) such individuals are far more difficult to influence for good than those who have never known the way of righteousness. 2 Peter 2:21 ---For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them.—The verb “ known” is, like the noun “ knowledge” in the preceding verse, from the compound epignosis, the fullest possible form of knowledge, and emphasizes the fact that these teachers had enjoyed a clear percep­tion of the principles of Christ which they had now repudiated. Christianity is styled a “ way” because it is a course to be fol­lowed, and it is a “ way of righteousness” because righteousness characterizes those who walk in it. (Isaiah 35:8.) These deceptive teachers had not only “ known” this way; they had walked in it and enjoyed its benefits and privileges. Despite this, through yielding to their sensuous desires, they had turned back to the world and had fallen into a state worse than that in which Chris­tianity found them. It would have been better for them never to have known Christ and his teaching than, after having known it, to turn back from “ the holy commandment” delivered unto them. The “ holy commandment” was the moral law which Jesus taught, and which these teachers disregarded. It would have been better for them never to have known the right way in view of their sub­sequent apostasy, for (a) in this event they would not have brought reproach on the cause of Christ; (b) they would not have fallen to such a level of depravity as that which now characterized them; and (c) they would not suffer as great punishment in the last day, since with increased knowledge comes an increase of responsibility and consequently greater condemnation for those who do not avail themselves of the advantages afforded them. (Luke 12:47-48.) 2 Peter 2:22 ---It happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.—Cited in this proverb are two beasts held in greatest contempt in all Oriental lands. The dog is a scavenger, and the swine is regarded as an abomination. Jesus associated these two beasts in an illustration of what is most profane and degrading. (Matthew 7:6.) Reference to the dog is a variation of a statement made by Solomon in Proverbs 26:11; that of a sow does not occur in the scriptures, though the truth of that which is affirmed is a matter which has come under the observation of all even casually acquainted with the habits of either of these animals. The proverb was one of general currency when Peter wrote. It should be observed that in both instances the animal was changed. That each returned to its former offensive habits does not alter the fact that a change had occurred. Advocates of the doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy, in an effort to avoid the obvious force of this passage, insist that the dog remained a dog, the sow a sow. Such is not the point of the proverb. The dog had ejected that which was foul; the sow had been washed. That each returned to its former manner of life reveals that the old nature returned. Peter cites the proverb as an illustration of that which had occurred in the lives of these men who, though they had escaped the corruptions of the world through the knowledge of Christ, had become entangled again therein, and overcome, a$d their last state was thus worse than the first. (Verse 20.) 2nd Peter Chapter TwoVerse 1 CHAPTER 2 This entire chapter is a prophecy of the great apostasy foretold by Christ himself and by Paul, Peter and John. It is printed as a single paragraph in the ASV, but a workable outline of it is given by Strachan, thus:[1]The false teachers and their judgment (2 Peter 2:1-3). Historical illustration of Divine judgment on the wicked, and care of the righteous (2 Peter 2:4-10 a). Further description of the false teachers (2 Peter 2:10 b-14). The example of Balaam (2 Peter 2:15-16). The libertines are themselves slaves (2 Peter 2:17-19). The consequences of apostasy (2 Peter 2:20-22). The connection this chapter has with other New Testament writings on the subject was pointed out by Paine, who observed that the warnings here are "somewhat after the manner of Act 20:29-30; 1 Timothy 4:1-6, and 2 Timothy 3:1-5."[2] Plummer noted the same thing, pointing out that, in addition to the references just cited, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; and 1 John 2:18,1 John 4:3, also deal with the apostasy, observing that, "Those in 2Thessalonians and 2Timothy are especially worthy of comparison, as containing like the present chapter, a mixture of future and present."[3] For a fuller list of New Testament prophecies related to the great apostasy see my Commentary on 1,2 Thessalonians , 1,2Timothy, Titus and Philemon, pp. 106-109. With regard to the strange mingling of future and present tenses, this was exactly the manner of the ancient prophets, such a device even being called the prophetic tense. Green agreed that this is the correct view on the mixed tenses, and that they do not, "as some maintain, (come from) the failure of some second century writer to be consistent."[4][1] R. H. Strachan, Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), pp. 133-141. [2] Stephen W. Paine, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 197l), p. 994. [3] Alfred Plummer, Ellicott's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 450. [4] Michael Green, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, 2Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), p. 93. But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1) False prophets ... One of the outstanding teachings in the Petrine writings is the correspondence between the Old and the New Israel, an analogy that he had surely learned from the Lord himself. Jesus himself had flatly predicted the same thing Peter prophesied here (Matthew 7:15-23). A number of Old Testament references to the false prophets of the Old Israel were cited by Barclay, thus:[5]The false prophets said, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace (Jeremiah 6:14). Its priests teach for hire, and its prophets divine for money (Micah 3:11). The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink; they are confused with wine (Isaiah 28:17). They commit adultery, and walk in lies, they strengthen the hands of evil-doers (Jeremiah 23:14). They lead my people astray by their lies and by their recklessness (Jeremiah 23:32). The prophets invited the people, Let us go after other gods (Deuteronomy 13:1-5 Deuteronomy 18:20). Paul evaluated the character of false teachers in the New Israel in the same terms (1 Timothy 6:5; Titus 1:11). Among you, also, there shall be false teachers ... The scholars who see some dependence of this epistle upon Jude are confronted with a real problem in this. Is it possible that Peter was here prophesying a condition that Jude spoke of as already existent? As a matter of fact, this writer rejects outright any notion that either one of these epistles is dependent upon the other, despite the fact of Jude's certainly having 2Peter in mind when he wrote. Who shall privily bring in ... The significance of "privily" is that, "The heresies were to be introduced under the color of true doctrine, in the dark as it were, little by little."[6]Destructive heresies ... Heresies are often thought of as sects; but the thing in view here is, "given opinions, which came to mean the tenets of a party,"[7] at variance from orthodox Christianity. They are called "destructive," because, "They foster licentiousness and contempt for the way of truth."[8]Denying even the Master that brought them ... This is a surprise, coming from one who himself had denied his Lord; and, as Plummer said, "No forger would have ventured to make Peter write this."[9] The reference is, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ who, in a special sense, bought the church with his own precious blood (Acts 20:28), the important deduction from this being that the apostate teachers foretold here would arise from among the Christians themselves, in full agreement with what Paul wrote in Acts 20:29-30. Again, from Plummer, "The Apostle declares that these impious false teachers were redeemed by Jesus Christ,"[10] a fact absolutely opposed to teachings in Calvinism. Caffin also agreed that, "The word for Master, here, implies that the deniers stand to the Lord in the relation of slaves, bondservants."[11]Despite this clause, however, Calvinistic ideas are defended in spite of it by some. Bruce attributed to the false teachers not any salvation at all, but a "measure of enlightenment," showing "in the end, their real unregenerated nature."[12] Throughout this chapter, there are extensive teachings which demand the understanding that the apostates had indeed known the Lord in the primary salvation of their souls, but who fell away, forsook the right way, and "went back." Bringing upon themselves swift destruction ... This does not mean, "coming soon," but, "coming suddenly and unexpectedly so as to preclude escape."[13][5] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 314. [6] James Macknight, Macknight on the Epistles, 2Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, reprint, 1969), p. 540. [7] Albert E. Barnett, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XII (New York and Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 187. [8] Ibid. [9] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 451. [10] Ibid. [11] B.C. Caffin, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22,2Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 43. [12] F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), p. 131. [13] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 451. Verse 2 And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.Many shall follow ... True Christianity was prophesied to be followed by a period of wholesale defection from the truth. The vast majority of people will fall in with error and immorality. The truth will not be popular in the period foretold here. As Adam Clarke said: Lasciviousness points to the nature of the heresies, a sort of Antinomianism; they pampered and indulged the lusts of the flesh; and if the Nicolaitans are meant, it is very applicable to them, for they taught the community of wives, etc.[14]The way of truth ... This was an early name for Christianity (Acts 9:2). Shall be evil spoken of ... According to Plummer, Clement of Rome in the second epistle to the Corinthians (xiii), elaborated this clause extensively, indicating that, "this epistle was known to him."[15] Regarding the date of this Clement, see introduction. Antinomianism has foundation in the misunderstanding of Paul's teaching on salvation "by faith," which people have willfully perverted to mean "by faith alone," being apparently blind to the fact that if one is saved by faith alone; he is by that very definition saved without morality of any kind. The scholars, many of them, do not understand this; but the great multitudes make their own application of the obvious meaning of it. [14] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. VI (London: Carlton and Porter, 1829), p. 885. [15] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 451. Verse 3 And in covetousness shall they with reigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.In covetousness ... The making of money is the motivation for a great deal of false teaching, the false teachers invariably being concerned, not with what is true, but what is popular. With feigned words ... Any allegation that the apostate teachers appearing at various times during the historical progression of Christianity may be thought of as "sincere and honest" is vigorously denied by this. They, many of them, if indeed not the vast majority, are not sincere and honest in any sense of the words. Their words are "feigned," translated by Goodspeed as "pretended,"[16] by Weymouth as "bogus,"[17] and by Williams as "messages manufactured by themselves."[18] See more on the nature and quality of their words under 2 Peter 2:18. Whose sentence now from of old, etc .... As Zerr said: This means that the judgment or condemnation of such characters is of long standing, but that God has not changed his mind about it, nor tempered his wrath against them.[19]Slumbereth ... It is of interest that the word occurs only one other time in the New Testament (Matthew 25:5).[20][16] Edgar J. Goodspeed, The New Testament, An American Translation (Chicago: The Chicago University Press, 1923), in loco. [17] J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960), in loco. [18] Charles B. Williams, The New Testament, a Translation in the Language of the People (Chicago: Moody Press, 1950), in loco. [19] E. M. Zerr, Bible Commentary, 2Peter (Marion, Indiana: The Cogdill Foundation, 1854), p. 273. [20] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 451. Verse 4 For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;Peter with this verse cited some historical examples of God's judgment and condemnation of the wicked (noting also that the righteous were spared), these being: (1) the example of the sinning angels; (2) the case of Noah and his generation; (3) the example of Sodom and Gomorrah; and (4) the deliverance of Lot. It is an unqualified mystery to this writer why anyone should suppose that Peter found all this in the Book of Enoch, or some other apocryphal writing. Peter received this from the Lord; for he was present when the Lord cited these very things, and in exactly the same order, (Luke 17:25 ff), and connecting them, as Peter did here, with developments in the after times. Furthermore, as Paine pointed out: There is (in Peter's account) an absence of that rather wild and questionable theorizing and intrusion of non-spiritual concept which is evident even to the casual reader of Enoch.[21]The reason for this is clear. Peter was not inspired by Enoch, but by the Lord Jesus Christ. Angels, when they sinned ... Very little is known of this; but, if as widely assumed, Satan himself was the leader of the sinning angels, it was through pride that he fell (Ezekiel 28:12 ff, and 1 Timothy 3:6); and from this is the deduction that pride was also the sin of the angels, a suggestion not denied by Jude 1:6. The point Peter made was that God did not spare them, but condemned them. Cast them down to hell ... The word here rendered "hell" is "Tartarus," a word not found in any other of the sacred writings.[22] The meaning of the word must therefore be sought in the pagan literature. Strachan said: In Homer, Hades is the place of confinement of dead men, and Tartarus is the name given to a murky abyss beneath Hades, in which the sins of fallen immortals are punished.[23]Macknight tells that there were other pagan references to Tartarus as being "in the air."[24] It was natural for Peter, writing to Greeks, to use their word with reference to the state of condemnation of the angels, but without endorsement of any of the pagan traditions about the fallen Titans. It was an "ad hominem" use of the expression here. It would appear that the demons themselves used another of the pagan words for this very place. See Luke 8:31, where is the record that the demons besought Jesus not to send them into the abyss. Committed them to pits of darkness ... The language here is figurative, darkness symbolizing their separation from God and their existence under his disapproval and condemnation. To be reserved unto judgment ... The fallen angels are not being punished now, but they are reserved to the day of judgment. The point is that, "If angels that sinned are confined in nether gloom until the judgment, assuredly heretical teachers and their immoral followers should know that `their destruction has not been asleep.'"[25][21] Stephen W. Paine, op. cit., p. 995. [22] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 543. [23] R. H. Strachan, op. cit., p. 135. [24] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 544. [25] Albert E. Barnett, op. cit., p. 190. Verse 5 and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;Significantly, Peter here refers to the flood recorded in Genesis as an historical event, denying the allegation of some that it was a myth. The ancient world ... In the Greek text here, Peter omitted the article; but Strachan said, "This is not a mark of illiteracy. The chapter is prophetic in form, and the omission of the article is characteristic of this style."[26]Noah with seven others ... These were Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, with their respective wives. A preacher of righteousness ... There is not a word in Enoch about Noah's having been a preacher of righteousness;[27] nor, for that matter, even a word in the Old Testament about it. The link is not between Peter and Enoch, but between Peter and Christ. Furthermore, the implication is clear, even in the Old Testament, that Noah attempted to persuade his contemporaries to renounce their evil ways and turn to God. [26] R. H. Strachan, op. cit., p. 135. [27] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 99. Verse 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly;Sodom and Gomorrah ... These cities were destroyed by God because of their wickedness; and it should not be lost on people of our own generation that the very type of sins prevalent in those two cities has become accepted in some circles today. Such a thing is a commentary upon the depravity of our own era. What were those sins? The sin of Sodom was unnatural lusts (Genesis 19:5), and pride with fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness, especially among the women, and hard-heartedness towards the poor (Ezekiel 16:46, and Jude 1:7).[28]It is quite significant that the two destructions in view in this and the preceding verses were (1) by water in the first instance, and (2) by fire in the second, a sequence which we have already observed was pointed out by Jesus himself (Luke 17:25 ff). Barnett noted that: The sequence also prepares for 2 Peter 3:6-7, where the destruction of the world that then existed by water serves to warn that the heavens and the earth that now exist have been stored up for fire.[29][28] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 546. [29] Albert E. Barnett, op. cit., p. 190. Verse 7 and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wickedPeter injected this to show that whatever judgments may be executed upon the wicked, God will acknowledge and preserve the righteous. Sore distressed ... "The corruption of Sodom was open and shameless; and as Lot was compelled to see much of it, his heart was pained."[30]ENDNOTE: [30] Albert Barnes, Barnes' Notes on the New Testament, 2Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1953), p. 244. Verse 8 (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their lawless deeds):In view of the rather sordid record of Lot's life in Genesis, some have questioned why such an epithet as "righteous" should be repeatedly applied to him here. However, all human righteousness is relative; and when Lot's life is evaluated in connection with the depraved culture of his day, the true value of it is evident. He was displeased with the wickedness around him; he did not participate in it; he was thoughtful to entertain strangers, thereby entertaining angels unawares, as extolled in Hebrews 13:2; he was accounted righteous by Abraham who, in his great intercession for the doomed cities, evidently included Lot among the ten righteous persons who, he felt, were living there; and when God commanded him to leave Sodom, Lot did not hesitate to obey. It was also at Lot's intercession that Zoar was spared. In view of all these things, Peter's reference to him here is justified. Verse 9 the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment;The great point of this is that the righteous will be preserved through all of God's judgments against the wicked. Under punishment ... From this, some have concluded that the fallen angels, and other wicked beings are now suffering punishment; but Peter may well have used "under punishment" as a short form for "under sentence of punishment." It seems clear from Matthew 8:29, that there is "a time" appointed for the punishment of the wicked, a time yet future. (See Jude 1:6). See more on this below. This verse is actually the culmination of all Peter had been saying, reaching all the way back to 2 Peter 2:4. As Kelcy said, "The protasis (that is, the conditional clauses antecedent to a conclusion) begins in 2 Peter 2:4; the apodosis (conclusion), is here."[31]Despite what is said in the second paragraph above, scholars like Russell and Caffin are sure that the wicked are under punishment at the present time. Caffin said, "The wicked are already under punishment, awaiting the judgment, as indicated by the parable of Dives and Lazarus."[32] Russell has the following: This verse implies that the unrighteous are always under punishment from the time that sin is committed, both before the judgment and after. Even between death and the judgment there is apparently a division between the righteous and the wicked (Luke 16:19-21).[33]We do not despise such views as these, for there is certainly a measure of truth in them. The only uncertainty pertains to the scarcity of information in the Bible about such things, and the inability, really, to be certain about the full implications of what is revealed. The Lord simply has not given people a blueprint of the unseen world. Zerr, for example, on this very verse made the deduction from the word "reserve" (as in KJV) that, "The punishment of the unjust is to be at a future time."[34] Barnett struck a kind of middle position, which may be exactly right, saying, "They will get a foretaste of the punishment which will become their permanent destiny after the Second Coming."[35][31] Raymond C. Kelcy, The Letters of Peter and Jude (Austin, Texas: R. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/zerrcbc/ 2 Peter 2:2. The leading thought in pernicious is something that is destruction of the truth. That definition is confirmed by the rest of the verse, for it says the way of truth shall be evil spoken of by the ones who follow the false teachers. 2 Peter 2:3. Through coretousness indicates the motive of the false teachers. Feigned words means those so formed as to deceive the hearer. Make merchandise denotes that they were so successful in imposing their false theories on the people that they could make a gain off of them. There are so many things that could be conducted on this Principle that it would be useless to try specifying. We understand that many people are conscientious regarding the propagation of religious principles. If they can be made believe that people are working in the interest of truth, they will be willing to give liberal support to a man engage'l in it. Whose judgement now of a long time. God has always condemned the false teacher and evil worker. Lingereth not. The leading definition of the first word is "to be idle." The passage means that the judgement or condemnation of such characters is of long standing, but that God has not changed his mind about it nor even tempered His wrath against them. Thayer explains the definition as follows: "Whose punishment has long been impending and will shortly fall." However, the word "shortly" must be understood in a compartive sense, because the apostle proceeds at once to illustrate his declaration by referring to the unjust to be reserved unto the day of judgement to be punished. 2 Peter 2:4. For if. This phrase will be taken up with comments when we get to verse 9. God spared not the angles that sinned. We occasionally meet people who are troubled over the idea of angels sinning since they are in heaven. They are overlooking the truth that neither angels nor man have reached the judgement day, and until that time both classes are capable of sinning. Were that not the case there would not now be such a creature as "the devil," for he was once in heaven and was thrust out because of his pride (1 Timothy 3:6; Luke 10:18). But after the judgement no more changes will take place either for better or for worse. (See Revelation 22:10-11.) That means after that all wicked men and angels will be in the place of everlasting punishment where they can never reform, and the righteous men and angels will be in heaven where they can never sin because the divine decree is that the righteous shall "be righteous still." The English word "hell" in the King James Version comes from three different Greek words that have different meanings. In our present passage it comes from which means that part of the intermediate state where the wicked go at death. This whole subject of "hell" is explained in detail at Matthew 5:30, in the first volume of the New Testament Commentary. Into chains of darkness is figurative and refers to the regions of the wicked dead, because that place was thought of as one of midnight darkness. Reserved unto judgement. These fallen angels have no prospect of deliverence but must await the final judgement day. The only relief that any of them ever had was when some of them were released temporarily to enter into men in the time of Christ and the apostles. See the long note on this at Matthew 8:28-31 in the first volume of the New Testament Corn-mentary. 2 Peter 2:5. Spared not the old world refers to the people that were living in the days of Noah, because the last v ord is from KOSMOS which is defined "the inhabitants of the earth." They were wicked and God did not spare them from the flood; Noah was spared because he was a man of faith. Noah the eighth. This could not mean that Noah was number eight in the genealogy for he was tenth. The lexicons and various translations prefer to word this place, "Noah and seven others." He is called a preacher of righteousness because lie preached what was right and what pertained to the needs of the day. The people were wicked and living after their evil imaginations, and the situation required teaching directing them to reform. World of the ungodly is the same as old world in the beginning of the verse. 2 Peter 2:6. The history of Sodom and Gomorrha is in Genesis 19. Into ashes states the result of the overthrow which was sent on them in the condemnation from God. An example. The punishment of evildoers is not only for their own sakes, but also that the example may be a lesson for warning to others. (See 1 Timothy 5:20.) 2 Peter 2:7. Just Lot. This statement is made by an inspired writer and must be accepted as true. Much criticism has been made of Lot because of the choice he made in the time of Abraham. The criticism is unjust because it is contrary to the facts of the circumstance. The reader may see a full explanation of this subject at Genesis 13:9-12, in Volume 1 of Bible, Commentary. Vexed with the filthy conversation (conduct) of the wicked. This has special reference to their gross immorality, for the account that is given in Genesis 19:4-11 shows them to have been worse than dumb beasts. 2 Peter 2:8. This is the same as the preceding verse. 2 Peter 2:9. This verse resumes the thought that was introduced at verse 4, but was interrupted with a list of facts set forth as a basis for the present passage. The argument is that if God was able and also disposed to do all the things referred to, He is able and determined also to do the following. Deliver the godly out of temptation. God does not promise to work a miracle to keep the trials from coming, but if a disciple is faithful He will care for him and hell) him overcome them (1 Corinthians 10:13). Reserve the unjust indicates that the punishment of the unjust is to be at a future time. This spoils a wishful-thinking notion that "a man will get all of his 'hell' in this life." Wicked men as well as wicked angels will not be given their final sentence until the judgement at the last day. 0 2 Peter 2:10. Chiefly has no reference to the kind of punishment that is to be meted out to these sinners for all will receive the same doom. In Matthew 25:31-46 we see that those whose only sin mentioned is a failure to relieve the needy, will receive the same punishment that was "prepared for the devil and his angels." The word chiefly means that Peter is making particular mention of these characters. Walk after the flesh. The connection shows they were living after the lowest desires similar to the Sodomites. Despise government means they belittled the laws that would curb their immoral lives. Presumptuous and self- willed mean virtually the same, referring to people who are determined to have their own way, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. Speak evil of dignities. The last word means any thing or any being that is glorious, but the connection shows Peter is writing of angels because of their dignity and glory. 2 Peter 2:11. The angels of whom the mentioned "presumptuous" persons are not afraid to speak evil, show more courtesy toward their inferior accusers than the accusers show to them. Power and might have virtually the same degree of importance in the lexicon definition, hence their use is for the sake of emphasis. Bring not railing accusation which means blasphemous charges. A specific instance of this kind of angelic mildness shown in Jude 1:6. 2 Peter 2:12. These refers to the ungodly people described in verse 10. The Englishman's Greek New Testament translates the next four words, "as natural irrational animals," and it is these creatures that Peter says were made to be taken and destroyed. He compares the wicked men to these in that they act as if they were as irrational as they. He is expressing the situation as one that is surprisingly foolish, that human beings would behave no better than creatures that were not intended to be any more important than to be taken and slain. But the comparison is just, since they speak cell of the things that they understand not. Certainly men who thus speak do not show much better intellect than the brute beasts. Utterly perish in their own corruption. This is said as a contrast to the case of the dumb animals. They are taken by others and slain, while these will be self-destroyed; perish in their own corruption. 2 Peter 2:13. Reward of unrighteousness means they will be treated as an unrighteous man should be treated; they will "reap what they have sowed." Pleasure to riot in the day time. It is wrong to riot at any time, but the usual practice is to use the night for it. "For they that be drunken are drunken in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:7). But these characters are brazen and take pleasure in flaunting their evil conduct at a time when everyone can see it. Spots and blemishes. Paul says the church was desired to be without spot (Ephesians 5:27), but the conduct of these wicked men puts a terrible blemish on the institution. Sporting themselves is defined by Thayer, "To live in luxury," and it was done while they feast with you. This has refesence to the love feasts that the Christians conducted in the early times. Such feasts were intended only as an expression of good will and were put on for the special benefit of the poorer Christians. But they were often abused as most good things may be, and evil persons attended the assemblies merely to indulge themselves in the good things provided by the brethren for the help of the poor. (See Jude 1:12.) 2 Peter 2:14. Adultery is from a Greek word that is defined by Thayer, "An adulteress." He explains about eyes being full of her as follows: "Eyes always on the watch for an adulteress, or from which adulterous desire beams forth." That cannot cease from sin. We know the Lord will not condemn a man for something he actually cannot avoid, hence we must look for the meaning of this phrase. In Thayer's definition of the Greek (the words in italics), he says, "Not quieted, that cannot be quieted," and he explains it as follows: "Eyes not quieted with sin, which they commit with adulterous look." Hence it does not mean these men cannot cease looking at an adulteress (for they could), but they cannot satisfy themselves just by looking; they will desire to obtain gratification. Doubtless that is why Jesus said "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her bath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). Beguiling unstable souls. These men looking round for an adulteress may not find one with such intentions, but if they are unstable (not firm in character), these evil men may entice them into sin. Covetous practices. In addition to being immoral they are grasping and try to take undue advantage of the free provisions that were intended as an expression of brotherly fellowship. Cursed children. The first word is an adjective and describes children which means a certain class of individuals. These people are under the curse of the Lord because He has pronounced condemnation upon all such characters who do not repent before death. 2 Peter 2:15. Forsaken the right way indicates these men had once been righteous, but had gone astray which means to step aside from the pathway of righteousness. Bosor is the same as Beor, the father of Balaam. Balaam pretended that all the wealth of Balak could not entice him to come to him, but he finally yielded and went in the direction of sin (Numbers 22-24). 2 Peter 2:16. This verse continues the case begun in the preceding one, and the record is included in the chapters in Numbers cited. The point is that the false prophet was rebuked even though no other was at hand through whom God could speak. Yet since He was able to give speech to the dumb brute to chastise the prophet, it is made sure that the Lord will be able to give wicked men their proper punishment when the time comes for the judgement of evildoers. 2 Peter 2:17. Wells without water are places that are supposed to furnish water but have gone dry. Clouds carried with a tempest are those without much moisture and hence are so light they are driven about with the wind. Both figures are used to illustrate men who make the pretense of service for the Lord but who are empty of real worth. Mist of darkness is reserved. Since these pretenders are like a mist without rainfall, they deserve to go into another form of mist or gloom, and that is eternal darkness which is being reserved for them. 2 Peter 2:18. The principal subject of this verse is the influence these evil men have over those who would de sire to be good if left alone. They accomplish their wicked designs by means of great swelling words of vaity. This means they use deceptive language that causes others to expect certain enjoyments. They make their contact with the victims at the point of wantonness (impure desires) and lusts of the flesh, that being the place in the nature of a human being where he is the most apt to be influenced. These wicked pretenders are so successful that they allure (draw aside) those who were clean escaped from a life of error. Some translations render this as if the victims were only in the process of being brought out of error, but the word for clean is defined by Thayer, "Truly, in reality, in point of fact." This definition agrees also with the reasoning in verses 20-22 below. 2 Peter 2:19. A man cannot truly impart something to another he does not have himself, especially when it concerns moral or spiritual principles. These evil workers held out the prospect of a life free from the restraints of law. Yet while emphasizing the good fortune of being "free men," they were themselves a group of slaves. Not to temporal or literal masters it is true, but to the harsh master of sin. Peter proves his assertion by the self-evident truth that if a man is overcome by any person or thing he is the slave of that thing; Paul teaches the same in Romans 6:16. 2 Peter 2:20. The words latter end are from a Greek word that is defined "last state" in the lexicon. It does not mean that he has come to the end of his oportunity; that there is nothing he can do about it. The only point the apostle is making at this place in the man's life, is a comparison between his state at the two periods of his experience. They are the one where he escaped from error and the one after he went back to it; of the two the second is worse. 2 Peter 2:21. For it had been better, etc. It is sometimes argued from this verse that it would be wise not to become a Christian in the first place, then one can avoid what Peter says is the worse of two states. The apostle had no such idea in mind when he wrote this passage, and the theory does him an injustice. Besides, the one who makes such a proposition assumes that only two states are possible and everyone must take one or the other of them. Such is not true for it is not necessary to decide on either, namely, either remain unconverted or go back into sin afterward. The thing he can do and should do is to know and enter the way of righteousness, then remain in it. The reason a backslider is in worse state than the alien sinner, is that his heart has been hardened by the experience and will be less favorable to the truth. 2 Peter 2:22. The proverb about the dog is in Proverbs 26:11, but I have no information about the one concerning the sow. The two proverbs are stated only as an illustration of what men did, not that they had to do. If we apply the reasoning and my comments of the preceding verse to this one, it will say that the sick dog did not have to retain the objectionable matter in his stomach, nor did he have to return to it afterward. Likewise, it was proper to wash the sow after her mire and then for her to stay away from the place of filth. It is not so strange that dumb animals would act as here described, but men may be expected not to imitate them. If they do they will duplicate the saying in verse 12 where men are shown to act like the "brute beasts that were made to be taken and destroyed," and certainly no person would wish to place himself in that class. Guy N. Woods Commentary On 2nd Peter 3 THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD AND THE END OF THE WORLD2 Peter 3:1-13 2 Peter 3:1 ---This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you;—Literally rendered, the Greek text here is, “ This already (ede) a second epistle I am writing to you.” In the use of the word “ already” (ede) rendered “ now” in the translation, there is the suggestion that the second epistle came soon after the first. From this it appears that (a) Peter had written an earlier epistle shortly before this; and (b) it had been addressed to the same readers. In pursuing his design to expose the pretentions of the false teachers so minutely dealt with in chapter two, he calls atten­tion here, and in the succeeding verses, to the mockery character­istic of all such in denying the coming of the Lord merely because it was delayed. The vocative “ beloved”— a term of endearment— occurs four times in this chapter and indicates the intimate connec­tion which Peter sustained to these addressed. 2 Peter 3:1 ---And in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance;— Both of the epistles were, therefore, written for the same purpose: to stir up the minds of his readers by putting them in remembrance of the vital and fundamental matters with which the chapter particularly, and both epistles generally, deal. Repeated here is the thought which occurs in 2 Pet. 1; 13. The word “ stir” (diegeiw) means thoroughly to arouse; and the adjective “ sincere” (eilikrines), occurring also in Phil. 1; 10, de­notes that which is clear, open, candid. The minds (understand­ing) of these to whom Peter wrote were open and reasonable; and he addressed them with the view of arousing them to a recollection of matters that had been taught them but which they might have, for the time, forgotten. What these matters were he reveals in the verse which follows. 2 Peter 3:2 ---That ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:—“ That ye should remember” is translated from one Greek word mnesthenai, aorist passive infinitive of mimnesko, to remind; signifying, as in the King James’ Version, “ That ye should be mindful.” The things which Peter would have them recall were the principles, the proph­ecy, the truth, and the doctrine which the apostles and prophets had taught them. The association of “ prophets” and “ apostles” here makes it likely that the New Testament prophets who had spoken of the coming of the Lord were included, and that the combination is similar to that which occurs in the epistles of Paul. (Ephesians 2:20 Ephesians 3:5 Ephesians 4:11. Cf. Acts 11:27 Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 14:29.) Much emphasis is given to prophecy and to prophetic statements in the epistles of Peter. (1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:19.) It should be recalled that at the time when Peter wrote the New Testament revelation had not been completed; and unable to appeal to it as a final and complete body of truth in the matters under considera­tion, it was necessary for him to direct his readers to the announce­ments of the prophets and to the oral deliverances of the apostles. The reference to “ your” apostles is significant; they could properly and fittingly be styled the apostles of those to whom they had written or spoken. Peter was included among those thus desig­nated; and also Paul, Peter’ s readers being acquainted with cer­tain of that apostle’ s writings. (2 Peter 3:15.) The “ command­ment” was “ of the Lord” in that it originated with him, and “ through” the apostles in that they were the instruments by which it was borne to the people. It is equally important that the Lord’ s people today should have their minds stirred to remembrance of the vital teaching issuing from the apostles and prophets of the Lord. Ceaseless vigilance is the price of a pure faith and a faultless practice, and the obliga­tion of all teachers and preachers in this matter is indeed weighty. Remissness in this respect leads to eventual apostasy. 2 Peter 3:3 ---Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts,—“ Know­ing this first,” i.e., recognize this fact in the beginning. See comments on 2 Peter 1:20, where the same phrase occurs. “ The last days” embrace the period of the Christian dispensation — the final age of the world. In the words “ mockers shall come with mockery” there is a play on the word empaizo, to sport, play, jest, or deride (etnpaigmonei empaikcd). The meaning is that these men would ridicule and hold up to contempt the idea that the Lord would return, and that his return would signal the consum­mation of the age. This, to them, provided an occasion for mock­ing and jesting; the idea they ridiculed, and the prophecy they held up to scorn. In doing so, they were but “ walking after their own lusts,” thus revealing that this was the real cause of their cynicism and doubt. “ And this is the judgment that light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.” (John 3:19.) 2 Peter 3:4 ---And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.—These mockers insinuated that the promise of the Lord’ s coming was a delusion, and the expectation thereof a vain hope. The Lord had promised it (Matthew 24:3 ff) ; Paul frequently alluded to it (1 Corinthians 15:51; 2 Corinthians 5:4); and Peter taught it (2 Peter 1:16). Yet, the Lord had not come; and scoffers were pointing to this fact as proof that he never would appear. From the day the “ fathers fell asleep” (died) all things continued as they had from the beginning. The “ fathers” to whom they referred were evidently the first genera­tion of Christians, many of whom by now had died. These had passed without witnessing the Lord’ s return, the natural order of the seasons, seedtime and harvest; the usual continuity of things were as they had been from the beginning. Why, then, should such a radical change be expected as would attend an event of the type predicted. Likely there were many such questions, this being representative of the type propounded. It is possible that some of the Christians of this period inadvertently supplied these scof­fers with an occasion for such objections. Some of the saints of the first century entertained erroneous views regarding the time and nature of the Lord’ s return. To correct the impression that Christ would appear immediately, portions of the Thessalonian letters were written. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Thessalonians 5:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7.) The question these mockers raised may, in view of these facts, have implied this: The return of Christ has been widely predicted and confidently expected. The fathers with anxious anticipation awaited it. They lived to old age and in the natural order of events died without its realization. Since their departure all things continue as before. Since they were disappointed in his coming, why should we, with no better basis of hope, expect it ? These cavilers were the uniformitarians of the day, the proto­type of those who deny any divine superintendency in the universe today. They argued that that which is, is because it has ever been, and must, therefore, ever be. The reference to the fathers falling asleep as a figure of death is a reminder of the words of the Lord regarding Lazarus: “ Our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death: but they thought that he spake of taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus therefore said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” (John 11:11-13.) The figure is a common one in the scripture. The rest from labor that death involves, the peaceful aspect of those in death, and the position of the body, all symbolize death. In our English word “ cemetery” (from koimeterion, a sleeping place) the idea is preserved. 2 Peter 3:5 ---For this they wilfully forget,—Here, Peter begins his reply to those who alleged that the uniformity of nature constituted an argument against such a change as the return of Christ would necessitate. He pointed out that in reaching such a conclusion they had disregarded important facts relevant to the issue. These facts they had not only ignored, they had done so willfully and deliber­ately. The word “ forget” in the text is from lanthano, to escape the notice of, to be hidden from. That these facts had escaped them was not due to inadvertency; they had willfully and purposely allowed them to pass. The word “ wilfully”” is from thelontas, present active participle of thelo, to wish or will. Their ignorance of these matters was, therefore, designed and willful; a guilty lack of information of the matters involved. Far from an unvarying constancy in nature from the beginning, as these men had alleged, the most radical changes had occurred, an instance of which the apostle next introduces. 2 Peter 3:5 ---That there were heavens from of old, and an earth com­pacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God;—The “ heavens were from of old/’ i.e., they dated from the original creation. (Genesis 1:1-3.) The earth was “ compacted” (formed) out of water, and in the midst of water, being separated from the waters. “ And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters Arhich were above the firmament. . . . And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas.” (Genesis 1:7­10.) All of this was accomplished by “ the word of God.” (Cf. “ And God said . . .” Genesis 1:6 ff.) 2 Peter 3:6 ---By which means the world that then was, being over­flowed with water, perished:—“ By which means,” i.e., by the waters which were above the firmament and those under it— the waters out of which the earth was formed. The earth was formed by the separation of the waters; it was kept together (compacted) by such a separation; and it was at length destroyed when this separation was no longer maintained. In the deluge “ were all the fountains of the great deep broken up” (the waters from below), and “ the windows of heaven (from above) were opened.” (Genesis 7:11.) The waters from above and below joined as instruments in the hands of God in the judgment upon the wicked world. It thus “ perished” (apollumi), i.e., it was destroyed. It was not annihilated, for such the word does not mean. The existing order was changed; the evils of the age were removed, and there emerged a new world cleansed from its former impurities. 2 Peter 3:7 ---But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.—The ‘‘ heav­ens that now are, and the earth” are put in contrast with “ the world that then was” in verse 6. As “ the world that then was” suffered destruction in the flood, “ by the word of God,” so the present heavens and earth, by the same word (and thus by the same limitless and inexhaustible power which accomplished the destruction of the world in the flood), have been stored up (liter­ally, treasured, preserved, kept) for fire, i.e., for destruction by fire, at the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. In this latter clause the word “ destruction” is identical in meaning with the verb “ perished” in the preceding verse. By this it is not meant that the ungodly will cease to exist, any more than the earth, following the flood, existed no more. What is meant is that there will be a change in their condition attended by penal conse­quences as great as that which characterized the earth in the flood. Paul reveals that the destruction of wicked men will be accom­plished “ at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints . . .” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10.) 2 Peter 3:8 ---But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.—The apostle’ s first reply to the scoffers who alleged an unvarying conformity in nature as an argument against the Lord’ s return (verses 3-7) is that they had willfully and deliber­ately ignored the lessons of the flood which demonstrate conclu­sively that all things have not continued as they were from the beginning. His second answer to their allegations is that lapse of time between the promise and the realization is not to be inter­preted as meaning that God will not fulfill his commitments and discharge his threatenings. “ But forget not this one thing” is, literally rendered, “ let not this one thing escape you,” i.e., be primarily impressed with the fact that with the Lord “ one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." “ With the Lord” signifies the manner in which the Lord regards time. With him, a thousand years is as a day; a day is as a thousand years. This does not mean that a day in “ God’ s calendar” is a thousand years long, as materialists allege, or that God will punish the wicked a thousand years for every day they have sinned in this life, as some affirm. The meaning is that the passing of time does not affect the promises and threatenings of God. Whether it be a day or a thousand years between the time of the promise and the reward, the threatening and the retribution, God will perform it. In this he is wholly unlike man, who the greater the interval be­tween the promise and the fulfillment, the less likely that he will accomplish it. There are many reasons why this is so. (1) Man may die; (2) he may forget his promise; (3) he may violate his word and simply refuse to do that which he promised; (4) condi­tions may arise making it impossible for him to perform it. Since none of these contingencies are ever characteristic of God, it is idle for the wicked to infer that apparent delay in the execution of the penalty is evidence that God has forgotten. (Psalms 90:4.) 2 Peter 3:9 ---The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. —A third answer to the scoffers earlier alluded to begins here, an admonition to them to make good use of what they allege is delay by making their own calling and election sure. God does not loiter or delay in the discharge of his purposes; that which unbelief may regard as such is simply the normal development of the will of God which conceived the operation and now works it leisurely out. The words “ is not slack concerning his promise” reveal not only that there is no indifference involved, but also that there will be no tardiness in the ultimate accomplishment thereof. The purpose in the apparent delay is to exhibit God’ s longsuffering, a charac­teristic they were ironically perverting into an argument against the truth of his word. The scriptures abound with evidences of God’ s longsuffering. (Romans 11:11-36 Romans 12:1.) Far from desiring that any should perish, he longs for all to come (move on to, cho- resai) repentance. Any theory which teaches that God does not will the salvation of all men is therefore palpably false. 2 Peter 3:10 ---But the day of the Lord will come as a thief;—The verb “ will come” is in emphatic position in the Greek text; whatever else occurs, coming surely is the Lord. The “ day of the Lord” is the day when he shall appear in the clouds on the occasion of his second coming for the purpose of raising the dead and insti­tuting the general judgment. (John 5:28-29.) The phrase is of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament, where it usually de­notes the idea of judgment; and in the New Testament it desig­nates the Lord’ s coming which will precede the judgment. (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:2.) The day will come as a “ thief” because it will come with the suddenness and unexpectedness characteristic of a thief. The figure was first used by the Lord (Matthew 24:43-44, a passage which must surely have been in Peter’ s mind when he wrote these words), and Paul and John used it in similar fashion (2 Thess. 5; 2; Revelation 3:3). 2 Peter 3:10 ---In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat,—The “ heavens” here include the visible portion of the universe immediately above us in which the birds fly. (Genesis 1:20.) In the mighty conflagration which shall attend the destruction of the earth great and wonderful changes are destined to occur in the elements immediately surrounding it. Accompanying its dissolu­tion there is to be “ a great noise.” The word thus translated is rhoisedon, an onomatopoeic term, in which the sound denotes the meaning. Its kindred noun, rhoidsos, was used in classical Greek of the whizzing of an arrow, the whirring rush of wings, the sound of the wind, and the murmur of waters. Here it describes the crash of dissolving worlds and the tremendous roar of flames as they consume the earth. The “ elements” are the rudimental por­tions of the earth system, the minute parts which comprise the whole. The heavens and the earth are to be dissolved; they are to lose their form and be returned to the original atoms from which they were constructed, all of which sprang into existence in the divine fiat of the omniponent God. 2 Peter 3:10 ---And the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.—The works that are to perish in the fire which shall ultimately destroy the earth are those which belong to the earth and are characteristic of it, whether of God or man. Along with its dissolution there will be the burning of all that man has accomplished of a material nature— houses, cities, monuments, etc. — everything to which he has set his hand here. These, along with all of God’ s material creation, are to be dissolved, consumed in the heat of the mighty catastrophe. The manner in which the Lord will accomplish this is not stated, and it is idle to speculate. It is sufficient for us to know that it will occur; the manner in which the Lord purposes to do it remains hidden in the counsel of his own will. 2 Peter 3:11 ---Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,—An admonition based on preceding premises. The Greek term translated “ what manner of persons” is, literally, “ of what country,” thus emphasizing Paul’ s reminder that Christians are citizens of the colony of heaven (Philippians 3:20), and they ought therefore to remember always that they are merely strangers and sojourners here (Hebrews 11:13-16). The verb in the phrase “ ought ye to be” denotes continuous being, and might properly be trans­lated, “ ought ye to be found,” i.e., found constantly engaging in all holy living and godliness. These words— living and godliness — are, in the Greek text, plurals, livings and godlinesses. They thus sum up all the duties and characteristics of Christians. In view of the transitory nature of the world and all that belongs to it, children of God should cease their concern about it and fix their attention on those matters that are eternal. “ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18.) 2 Peter 3:12 ---Looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?— The faithful are to look forward to, and earnestly desire, the com­ing of the day of God, because it will signal the end of earthly trials here and betoken the ushering in of the eternal and blissful state for which they sigh. “ Earnestly desiring” (spendontas) is “ hasting unto” in the King James Version. There is no ground for the introduction of the preposition “ unto.” It is, however, possible to render speudontas, transitively, i.e., “ hastening on,” causing the day of God to come more quickly by helping to accomplish the things which must occur before it dawns. Christians are, there­fore, not only to desire the Lord’ s return, but to hurry it on by performing their duties faithfully in his kingdom. It will be by “ reason of his” coming that the destruction already described in verse 10 will occur. 2 Peter 3:13 ---But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.—The prom­ise of a new heaven and a new earth is in Isaiah 65:17 Isaiah 66:22. John had a vision of it which he describes in Revelation 21:1. The “ heavens and earth” to which Peter refers here is described as “ new.” There are two words translated “ new” in the New Testa­ment; one is prospective and indicates that which is young as opposed to old; the other is retrospective and points to that which is fresh in contrast to that which is worn out. It is the second of these (kainos) which is used here. The heavens and the earth which the apostle describes in this passage will be fresh and new, and not worn and old, as are the heavens and the earth which now exist. In this new heaven and earth righteousness will dwell. Righteousness dwells wherever righteous people live. The heavens and the earth here contemplated will, therefore, be the abode of righteous and obedient people. More than this we cannot, with our present store of informa­tion, know. Numerous questions men are disposed to raise regarding the matter it was not Peter’ s intention (or, for that mat­ter, any inspired man’ s) to answer. Where will the new heaven and earth be located ? What will be the nature and characteristics of it ? are questions beyond our ken. It is sufficient for us to note that: (a) The new heaven and earth will follow the destruction of the present heavens and earth, (b) The earth that will then be is not this one. (1) It is this earth which embodies the hopes and expectations of future kingdom advocates, (d) There is no hint of a reign of Christ on the earth which Peter describes, (e) Christ will have terminated his reign and delivered the kingdom to the Father before the events are accomplished which the apostle here details. (1 Corinthians 15:23 ff.) (f) There is, therefore, no support whatsoever in this passage for the premillennial theory. From a careful consideration of the matters set forth in the foregoing passage, these facts seem to appear: (a) The present heavens and earth serve as a figure of the heavens and earth to fallow, (b) The words “ heavens and earth” are not intended to embrace all of God's material universe, but only that portion where his people dwell, (c) In the antetype, this limitation must be understood, and the words “ new heaven and earth” must then be regarded as a designation of where his people dwell, and not a detailed description of the future abode, (d) Heaven is the final abode of the people of God. (e) Therefore, the phrase “ new heavens and earth” must be understood as a designation for heaven! AND 2 Peter 3:14-18 2 Peter 3:14 ---Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight.—The “ things” toward which they looked were the matters which the apostle had just presented: the second coming of Christ, the destruction of the world, and the new heavens and earth. Because such stupendous events were certain to occur, it was virtually important that all who desired to escape the destruction certain to come upon the wicked should “ give diligence” (strive earnestly, 2 Peter 1:10) to be found “ in peace” (with both God and man), “ without spot” (undefiled), and “ blameless” (not condemned). 2 Peter 3:15 ---And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is sal­vation;—Instead of regarding an apparent delay in judgment upon the world as an indication of slackness on God’ s part, it should be gratefully received as a token of his longsuffering and patience to enable man to have every possible opportunity to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:15 ---Even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you;—This second epistle of Peter, like the first, was written to Christians living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Paul wrote letters likewise bearing testimony to God’ s patience and longsuffering to brethren dwelling in some of the same provinces, e.g., to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Galatians. From this significant allu­sion to Paul, we learn that Peter was acquainted with the writings of that apostle; that those to whom he wrote them were familiar with them; that he was on intimate terms with Paul, having ad­dressed him as his beloved brother; and that he considered Paul’ s writings as inspired and equally authoritative with his own. 2 Peter 3:16 ---As also in all of his epistles, speaking in them of these things;—It is probable that the epistles of Paul were at this time being read in the churches generally and were thus enjoying a much wider circulation than among the congregations to which they were primarily addressed. The brethren would obviously desire to exchange the letters that had been received from the apostle; and from such exchange they must have come to be well known to all the saints. The churches in Asia Minor would thus be acquainted, not only with the letters to the Galatians, the Ephe­sians, and the Colossians, but also the epistles to the Thessalonians, the Corinthians, the Romans, etc. In each of these there were numerous references to the themes Peter had just been discussing. The judgment is taught in 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Romans 14:10; the res­urrection of the dead in 1 Corinthians 15; heaven, the future abode of therighteous, in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; the end of the world and the destruc­tion of the wicked in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. 2 Peter 3:16 ---Wherein are some things hard to be understood,—In these epistles were many matters, in the very nature of the case, hard to be understood. Subjects of such profound import would obviously involve difficulties of interpretation, and the preconceived notions which the people had— particularly the Jews— added to the diffi­culties. It is significant that Peter said that in these epistles were “ some things” hard to be understood. It was not his intention to assert that all of Paul’ s writings were of this nature, but only such as dealt with the themes particularly under consideration. If such were hard to be understood even by Peter, an inspired man, we need not despair if we find them difficult today. And if Peter, an inspired man, regarded them as difficult, it is utter folly to assume that any so-called successor of his could do any better with them. He who seeks earnestly to find his duty in the sacred writings will not be disappointed; the scriptures are able to make one wise unto salvation. (2 Timothy 3:15.) “ If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching . . .” (John 7:17.) The difficulties to which the. apostle refers are not such as involve the plan of sal­vation or the duties of the Christian life. On these matters the teaching is clear and explicit, simple and plain. 2 Peter 3:16 ---Which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.—The “ igno­rant” are the “ uninstructed,” the “ unstedfast” those without definite convictions. Such are unable, from lack of accepted principles, to arrive at a conclusion regarding the meaning of a passage because they are unstable in all matters. It will be seen that those who wrest the scriptures to their own destruction are men who are uninstructed in the way of truth and who lack the stability of character necessary to espouse a position and hold it. Such wrest the scriptures. “ Wrest” (strebloo) means to twist, to turn from the proper position, to torture, to pervert. It is used here of those who twist the scriptures from their intended purpose in order to make them teach matters never intended by the sacred writers. Those guilty of doing this did not limit their perversion to the subjects primarily referred to, but to other scriptures, even to those dealing with simple and elementary matters of the Christian life. Such a course leads inevitably to destruction because it pro­duces a manner of life that must eventually result in destruction. Important considerations which follow from this are: (1) The destruction which results is due, not to the scripture or its writers, but to its improper handling by men. (2) The passage does not teach that all scripture is difficult of understanding and should not be read. (3) It does not lend support to the view that man needs an infallible interpreter of the scriptures. (4) What is taught is that some scripture is hard to understand and that evil men utilize such for ungodly purposes. (4) The lesson, by implication, is that we should be on guard against any interpretation contrary to the general teaching of the Bible. It is clear that Paul's writings were then generally accepted as scripture, and that Peter, another in­spired man, so regarded them. 2 Peter 3:17 ---Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own stedfastness.— To be “ forewarned" is to be “ forearmed," and such was the purpose of the apostle’ s ad­monition here. The pronoun “ ye" is in emphatic position; others had been led astray by false teachers; “ ye . . . beware." “ Beware" signifies to keep watch, to be on one’ s guard. The saints to whom Peter wrote were therefore to maintain unceasing vigilance lest they, too, should be “ carried away" (led off) by the error of the wicked, and so fall from their own stedfastness. This warning is significant only on the supposition that it is possible to fall. If, as some allege, it is impossible for a child of God to fall from grace, this warning is without force. The conclusion is irresistible that Peter’ s readers would escape the destruction of the wicked only by being constantly on their guard against the seductions of the wicked. 2 Peter 3:18 ---But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and for ever. Amen.—“ Grace" is here used to sum up all the favor of God, which favor increases toward us as we advance in stature as his children. To grow in “ knowledge” is to become better in­formed in the doctrine of Christ, and to enter more fully into sym­pathy with his cause. He is the divine giver of the grace in which Christians are to grow, and the object of the knowledge which they are to possess. The doxology with which the epistle concludes ascribes glory to Christ forever, literally “ to the day of eternity.” The Greek phrase thus rendered, eis hemeran aionos, occurs only here in the sacred writings. It is proper to refer to eternity as a day, because it is indeed an everlasting one, without a yesterday to precede it, or a tomorrow to follow it. 2nd Peter Chapter ThreeVerse 1 CHAPTER 3 There is here a continuation of the discussion of the great apostasy to occur in the "last days" (2 Peter 3:1-7), revelations concerning the "day of the Lord," with refutation of the mockers (2 Peter 3:8-13), and exhortations to stedfastness, and the doxology (2 Peter 3:14-18). This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them, I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; (2 Peter 3:1) Beloved ... This word is somewhat of a keynote in this chapter, occurring here, and in 2 Peter 3:2 2 Peter 3:14-15 2 Peter 3:17. It contrasts with the vehement pronouncements against the false teachers and mockers. The second epistle that I write unto you ... There is no good reason for supposing the reference to be anything other than a citation of 1Peter. The arguments that seek to use this as evidence of pseudonymity and a late date are without any value, and are founded upon a total misunderstanding of what Peter meant by "remembrance," viewing it as an assertion that the content of the two letters is the same! Such a view, in its own right, is preposterous; for Peter indicated immediately, as again in 2 Peter 1:12, that he had in mind their remembrance of the whole corpus of Christian truth as revealed not only by the holy apostles but by the prophets of the old dispensation as well. Such views are the fruit of a myopic unawareness of the breadth of revelation characteristic of both of these epistles. As Kelcy said, "It has been generally held that this refers to 1Peter, and it is not necessary to think otherwise."[1]ENDNOTE: [1] Raymond C. Kelcy, The Letters of Peter and Jude (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Company, 1972), p. 152. Verse 2 that ye should remember the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles:This outlines the things Peter wished to refresh the memory of in the minds of his readers. Wheaton observed that this verse "taken in general terms could describe the contents of 1Peter."[2] However, Wheaton voiced the usual reservation that, "If this verse is taken as having to do with the second coming, it hardly describes Peter's first letter."[3] It is an unqualified mystery to this writer why some scholars are so up tight about Peter's intimation here that both epistles are concerned with the Christian's remembrance of vital truth. What truth? All truth revealed by the prophets and the apostles! True, Peter mentioned the second coming in this chapter; but that is by no means all of it. The doctrine of the end of the world, the salient features of the great apostasy, the forthcoming judgment of all mankind, the new heavens and the new earth, the inspiration of both the Old and the New Testaments, to name only a few things, and many, many other cardinal tenets of the Christian religion are copiously mentioned in both epistles. In this comprehensive view, the truth of which cannot be denied, Peter's bracketing both epistles as "reminding" the saints of these things is exactly what should have been expected. Peter did not mean that his epistles were carbon copies of each other. "His words do not exclude the supposition that their contents differ in many respects."[4]By the holy prophets ... Even an innocent expression like this is pressed into service by the critics who assert that it indicates a later date, a time, they say, "when the reference to the prophets had become stylized!"[5] Only the advocates of a bankrupt cause would resort to an argument like that, especially in view of the facts that Luke mentioned "the holy prophets" (Luke 1:70), as did Peter also (Acts 3:21). The commandment of the Lord and Saviour ... This is very significant as showing that Peter had no reference whatever to some single promise of the Lord, such as the Second Advent, but to the "commandment," a comprehensive term here standing for the totality of our Lord's teaching. Through your apostles ... These were not "your missionaries," as alleged by some, but, "The apostles of Jesus Christ ... they alone were put on a level with the Old Testament prophets."[6] Note also that Peter included all the apostles as equal in authority with himself. As Caffin said, "We must therefore understand this passage, along with verse 15, as a distinct recognition of the apostleship of Paul."[7] Paine was also correct when he wrote, "This unaffected claim to apostleship, as though the writer realized it was known to all his readers, is a strong corroboration of Petrine authorship."[8] This expression, "your apostles" has also been seized upon as the basis of an allegation that post-apostolic time is indicated; however, as Robinson said, "This need not imply the end of the apostolic age, any more than when Paul said to the Corinthians, `If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you' (1 Corinthians 9:2)."[9] Far from indicating a late date and some forger as the author, this passage actually denies such a thing. "A later writer would have insisted upon asserting Peter's personal authority here."[10][2] David H. Wheaton, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1256. [3] Ibid. [4] R. H. Strachan, Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 114. [5] Michael Green, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 2Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), p. 125. [6] Ibid. [7] B. C. Caffin, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22,2Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 65. [8] Stephen W. Paine, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 998. [9] John A. T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 179. [10] Alfred Plummer, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 458. Verse 3 knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts,Wheaton declared that it is "likely"[11] that the mockers here are the same as the false teachers of the preceding chapter; and Dummelow considered it "probable";[12] but the view here is that they were almost certainly the same. This is indicated by two considerations: (1) They are sensual characters, walking after their own lusts, as were the false teachers; and (2) they are evidently people who were familiar with the "promise" of the Lord's coming, who had indeed once believed it, but then became mockers. From this, the deduction is that the great apostasy is still under consideration. In the last days ... There is a difference in this expression from "latter times" (1 Timothy 4:1) "the last days" (2 Timothy 3:1);[12] from which Macknight concluded that, "Perhaps it means the last part of the days of the world's duration."[13] There is also a marked difference in the attitude of those mentioned in 2 Peter 2 and here. There, the approach is one of stealth and deception; here the opposition is bold and challenging. "Anthropocentric hedonism always mocks at the idea of ultimate standards and a final division between the saved and the lost."[14][11] David H. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1257. [12] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1052. [13] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, reprint, 1969), p. 560. [13] Ibid. [14] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 129. Verse 4 and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.Where is the promise of his coming ... ? As the centuries pass away, this objection recurs repeatedly, with greater and greater intensity. The central thesis of Christianity is the Second Coming of Christ in the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment, the Lord's Supper itself being oriented absolutely to that future event. Peter here foretold the ultimate mockery with which unbelievers and apostates would receive such doctrine, there being in all probability at the time he wrote outcroppings of the same thing. From the day the fathers fell asleep ... One is amazed that so many commentators jump to the conclusion that was stated by Caffin, thus: "By `fathers' there must be meant here the fathers of the Christian church."[15] That this is not the meaning of the reference is apparent in the fact that "nowhere else in the New Testament does this expression mean anything other than the Old Testament fathers."[16] It should have been translated "patriarchs" as in Romans 9:5, where the same expression is used.[17]All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation ... If the fall of Jerusalem had already occurred at the time 2Peter was written, scoffers would not have been saying such a thing as this; for that event was enough of a cataclysm to silence the gainsayers for a generation. The Lord had clearly predicted the fall of the Holy City, the destruction of its sacred temple, and the removal of the Jewish state, making all of these things to be a type of the ultimate destruction at the time of the final coming and judgment. These prophecies of Jesus were well known, the Pharisees even citing garbled references to them in the trials. The cataclysmic fulfillment of those great prophecies so soon after 2Peter was written would not have contributed to the hostile attitude in evidence here. The proper time for the flowering of such mockeries was in the decade preceding 70 A.D., to which period the writing of this epistle must be assigned. The prophecy Peter gave here (and it is a prophecy) has regard to the end of time, when by reason of passing centuries, the old mockery would flower again with greater intensity than ever. And even today, it could not exist except in those who are ignorant of the full import of the destruction of Jerusalem, a fact which, through neglect of the New Testament, many fail to connect with that final and terrible event of which it is the standing prophecy. From the beginning of the creation ... The implications of this make it impossible to view "fathers" here as any other than the patriarchal progenitors of the human race. It is not the time between the resurrection of Christ and this letter which is in view but the whole sweep of human history. As Green pointed out, "It is not said that things continue as they were from the coming of Christ, but from the beginning of the creation."[18][15] B. C. Caffin, op. cit., p. 66. [16] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 139. [17] Raymond C. Kelcy, op. cit., p. 154. [18] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 129. Verse 5 For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God;They wilfully forget ... Far from being any intelligent and well-reasoned objection, the mockery of the scoffers was merely a loud and arrogant denial, "based upon their unbelief in the supernatural, and because they resented any interference in their "walking after their own lusts.'"[19] This is a perfect example of the enmity of the carnal mind against God. For men who nourish a belief in human self-determination and perfectability, the very idea that we are accountable and dependent is a bitter pill to swallow. No wonder they mocked.[20]Heavens ... earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God ... As Payne said, Peter's source here is Genesis 1:6-10.[21] Caffin also stressed this saying, "Peter's words are evidently derived from the Book of Genesis, not from any other sources, whether Greek, Egyptian, or Indian?[22]Therefore, the best commentary on what Peter meant here is in Genesis, to which he obviously referred. Disputes about what is meant by the earth being compacted out of water and amidst the water are best resolved by understanding this as Peter's reference to what took place in Creation. The big point is in the final phrase of this clause: By the word of God ... The universe itself was created by the great First Cause, who is God. The heavens and the earth were created by God, "not by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, or by spontaneous generation."[23] Peter is presenting arguments against the mockers, his first being against their naturalism, as in this verse. God is behind everything, and that immeasurably important truth the mockers were willfully ignoring. [19] Eldon R. Fuhrman, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 334. [20] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 129. [21] David F. Payne, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 604. [22] B. C. Carlin, op. cit., p. 66. [23] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 459. Verse 6 by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:Wheaton stated the argument here as follows: "The argument used by the scoffers is phony. They have conveniently forgotten that God did intervene in judgment at the time of the Flood."[24] God's intervention and interruption of the orderly process of nature in the cataclysmic event of the great flood proved several things, willfully put out of their minds by the scoffers: (1) It cannot be argued that God will not again interrupt the steady rhythm of the earth. He did it once and certainly can do it again. (2) The excessive wickedness of men caused the first interruption, and it is logical to believe that excessive wickedness will be counteracted by another interruption. (3) It is quite easy for God to do such a thing. It was the mere word of God that created all things. Only a word brought the flood. Only another word will bring another judgment. (4) The flood came upon the promise of God to Noah that it would be done. God kept that promise. (5) God has now promised that the world is stored up for fire; and God will keep that promise also. ENDNOTE: [24] David B. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1257. Verse 7 but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.This sequence of destruction, first by water, then by fire, was indicated by Jesus himself in Luke 17:25 ff, and reiterated by Peter in 2 Peter 2:5-6. No blue-print of what will occur is given, merely the bare fact of ultimate destruction by fire. People may choose to disbelieve this if they will! Noah's generation did not believe God either; but those who are the elect will receive these words by faith that not a jot or a tittle shall pass away until all be fulfilled. "This verse is the clearest prophecy in the Scripture of the final conflagration of the universe,"[25] but it is by no means the only one. OF THE ENDThere are a number of prophecies of the end of the world which do not suggest that it is to be accomplished by fire. Hebrews 12:27 mentions the shaking of the earth and the heavens in a context that implies their removal. Matthew's commission mentions "the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20). Psalms 102:25 is quoted by the author of Heb 1:11 : "The earth ... and the heavens ... they shall perish." Jesus declared flatly, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). The entire 24th chapter of Matthew was in response to three questions, one of which was, "What shall be the sign of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3). However, there are other prophesies of the final destruction by fire, and it must be admitted that none of the prophecies cited above is in any way incompatible with the thought of the great conflagration at the end of the world. Paul mentioned that Jesus would come from heaven "with flaming fire" to render judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7 f). Jesus mentioned in the general judgment scene of Matthew 25 that the wicked should be turned aside into "everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41). Isaiah gave the word of the Lord saying, "Lo, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind" (Isaiah 65:17); and "Behold the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger and fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire" (Isaiah 66:15); also, "And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, etc." (Isaiah 34:4). Daniel connected fire with the final judgment thus: "A fiery stream issued and came forth from him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:10). These passages are enough to show that 1Peter fully harmonizes with other words of inspiration both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, which mention the world being stored up for fire. Neither the scoffers of Peter's own times, nor those of our own are willing to believe this; but it is nevertheless true, for the Lord has spoken it. The prevailing impression created from reading the New Testament is that the general resurrection of all the dead, the Second Coming of Christ, and the general judgment of all mankind will occur simultaneously with the destruction of the earth. The very event of the flood itself is viewed as a myth by some; but the reason for their rejection of Biblical history on this point lies in their unwillingness to believe in the ultimate destruction of the earth by fire, the first event being the proof of the other. It is easier to scoff at the truth than to conform one's life to the pattern required by accepting the truth. The day of judgment ... is always mentioned in the singular in the New Testament, indicating that it is the time when all of the happenings associated with it shall occur. The rational thought sustaining the Biblical concept of a judgment day is extensive: (1) Without judgment day, there can never be any such thing as justice for every man. (2) Without a judgment day, the wicked would have the better of things in countless instances. (3) Without a judgment day and the accompanying assignment of the correct destiny for every man, the very justice of God himself could be questioned. (4) The question of whether or not the universe itself is absolutely controlled by the God of eternal and infinite righteousness is definitely related to the Biblical revelation of "the day of judgment." (5) The conviction that man is accountable to his Creator and that God will reward the fidelity of his servants and overthrow the ungodly is the soul's last shield of protection from frustration, despair and madness. (6) The revelation that there is to be a judgment day with the consequences outlined in the Bible is the divine regulator, or governor, of human conduct, the only ultimate restraint of the unbridled lust and savagery of the human race. For further study of the judgment day, see in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 121-123, and in my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 180,181. Regarding the basis upon which God has promised to judge his creatures, see in my Commentary on Romans, pp. 58-79, where are outlined the ten basic principles upon which God will judge mankind. Stored up for fire ... is a very interesting expression; and Macknight thought it related to the rainbow promise God gave to Noah (Genesis 9:11), and the declaration in Genesis 8:22, "That while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, etc., shall not cease." Note the words while the earth remaineth with the inherent suggestion that the earth shall not always remain. Macknight said: The apostle has his eye on God's oath to Noah, etc. Wherefore, the earth is not always to remain; but it is not to be destroyed by a deluge. It is kept from floods to be destroyed by fire.[26]Strachan summarized the teaching of this verse thus: The writer means that both the rainbow promise and the delay are not to be regarded as implying that there will be no more great cosmic changes. The heaven and the earth are reserved for destruction by fire.[27]Jesus himself, a number of times, appealed to the flood as a warning to the wicked; and Peter also stressed it in his other epistle, as well as here (1 Peter 3:9). [25] B. C. Caffin, op. cit., p. 67. [26] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 565. [27] R. H. Strachan, op. cit., p. 144. Verse 8 But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.This verse is based upon Psalms 90:4, the thought being a refutation of the mockers who took the Lord's delay as proof that he would not act. "Faith orients man to eternity, whereas scoffers remain children of time."[28] Wheaton pointed out that Peter here opposed the mockers with two arguments: (1) "Time is of no consequence to God," and (2) "Through his love for men, God is keeping open the door of repentance for men as long as possible."[29] The first of these arguments is in this verse, and the second is in the next. Both Robinson and Green considered it very significant that Peter's reference here to Psalms 90:4 omitted all reference to millennialism, or chiliastic claims, the omission being a strong indication that this epistle was not written at a late date. At the very time the advocates of a late date for 2Peter propose to date this epistle, millennialism was running absolutely wild; and Green asks: If this epistle had been written in the second century when this doctrine was so widespread that it almost became a touchstone of orthodox Christianity, is it likely that the author (pseudonymous) could have refrained from making any allusion to it whatever when quoting the very verse (Psalms 90:4) which gave it birth?[30]The implications of the truth in view here are a profound denial of a late date for 2Peter; and Green's perception of this prompted Robinson to quote this passage in full,[31] including it in the mass of evidence that led him to change his mind and date it in the 60's. [28] Barnett, as quoted by Michael Green, op. cit., p. 134. [29] David H. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1257. [30] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 135. [31] John A. T. Robinson, op. cit., p. 181. Verse 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."Here the writer of this epistle enables us to view the summit of the Christian faith, and to rise to a magnificent conception of God."[32] Barclay even went so far as to see a hint of universalism in it: "Ever and again there shines in Scripture the glint of the larger hope ... that somehow and some time, God ... will bring the whole world to himself."[33] Green expressed amazement that Barclay could have held such a view, asking, "How can he in view of 2 Peter 3:7?"[34] Of course, God wants all people to be saved; and Jesus gave himself as a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Nevertheless, some people will exercise their free will to exclude God from their lives; and this God cannot prevent without taking away from people the very freedom of choice that makes them people. But is longsuffering ... Long ago, Augustine said, "God is patient because he is eternal." "He who is from everlasting to everlasting can afford to wait."[35] There would appear to be another reason for God's delay, evident in the next clause. Not willing that any should perish ... A viewpoint in this verse (including 2 Peter 3:12) which is ancient, reaching all the way back to Ecumenius, was quoted by Macknight thus: "The time of the end is deferred, that the number of them that are to be saved may be filled up."[36] See more on this under 2 Peter 3:12. Peter also included the principle of God's longsuffering towards people in 1 Peter 3:20, which recounts the longsuffering of God in the days of Noah. [32] R. H. Strachan, op. cit., p. 144. [33] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976), p. 343. [34] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 136. [35] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 459. [36] James Macknight, op. cit., p. 568. Verse 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.We shall not attempt to follow the lead of the commentators who spiritualize this passage, making it teach some figurative or symbolical lesson regarding God's dealing with human wickedness, the obvious intention of the apostle Peter being that of giving a literal account of what will take place on the day of the Lord. It is not clear whether the planet earth in totality is to be destroyed, or if the total re-doing of it, as in the instance of the flood, is indicated. The actual meaning is the same either way. It was the literal earth which was, in a specific sense, destroyed by water; it is the literal earth which Peter here prophesied would be destroyed by fire. Macknight said, "There are things in the apostle's prophecy which show that it was intended to be taken literally."[37]What will it all be like? We do not know. Faith in God and in his holy word is the only true enlightenment that is available on such a passage as this. As a thief ... Paul used this figure of the thief's sudden coming (1 Thessalonians 5:2); the apostle John used it twice (Revelation 3:3 Revelation 16:15); but it was Christ who first used it (Matthew 24:43). As Dummelow said, "All through this passage, Peter had in mind the prophecy of our Lord recorded in Matthew 24."[38]Plummer was correct in seeing that: This repeated reproduction of words and ideas from one of the most impressive of Christ's discourses (Matthew 24), which only Peter and three others were privileged to hear, may fairly be added to the evidence of the authenticity of this epistle.[39]The day of the Lord ... As used throughout the New Testament, this word indicates the second coming and the judgment. In Isaiah 2:12; Ezekiel 13:5; Joe 1:15; and Malachi 3:2 it is also associated with judgment. In which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise ... The word for "heavens" here is from [@ouranos], a word with different meanings in the New Testament.[40] Among these are "the atmosphere" (Matthew 6:26), "the sidereal heavens" (the sun, moon and stars) (Matthew 24:29 Matthew 24:35), and "the eternal dwelling place of God" (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 12:50). Peter's obvious remembrance throughout in this passage of Matthew 24, where Jesus used the word for the sidereal heavens, makes it probable that Peter meant that here. With a great noise ... The word for noise is [@rhoizedon], a powerful word used for, "the swish of an arrow through the air, the rumbling of thunder, the crackle of flames, the scream of the lash as it descends, the rushing of mighty waters, or the hissing of a serpent."[41] Peter has chosen it as if he would unite many horrors in one."[42]The elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat ... By this is meant the basic building blocks of all material things, the very atoms themselves. "These words were written by Peter long before the atomic age, but they fit strikingly into the atomic vocabulary."[43] Well into the period spanned by countless people now living, the scientific world was certain that such a thing as that mentioned by Peter here was impossible. During this writer's years in school, a science professor ridiculed him for being baptized, observing that, "One cannot believe the New Testament, because it teaches that the earth will burn up." He even "proved" that it cannot burn (with a Bunsen burner, no less!), by applying it to a handful of soil! Well, science has at last caught up with revelation. And if such a fact as this does not convince one of the apostles' inspiration, such a person cannot be convinced. Today, all nations tremble in fear of atomic fires that may devastate and make uninhabitable the whole earth. Besides that, the strides in the field of astronomy postulate a fate of our earth that almost invariably is described as fiery dissolution, whether from the explosion of our sun, or by the sun's becoming a "black hole" and drawing our earth into itself! No one knows, of course, how the end will be; but only a fool can believe that the end will not occur; and there is no reason at all to reject Peter's prophetic revelation that the end will be by fire, a fate which he prophesied nearly two millenniums ago, and which today is recognized as true by every scientist on earth. What Peter evidently meant here was summarized by Bo Reicke, thus: The solar system and the great galaxies, even space-time relationships, will be abolished. All elements which make up the physical world will be dissolved by heat and utterly melt away. It is a picture which in an astonishing degree corresponds to what might actually happen according to modern theories of the physical universe.[44]Another important meaning in this verse was pointed out by Strachan. "No distinction is made between the Day of the Lord and the Coming of Christ. This is remarkable as excluding any idea of millennarian teaching."[45]Those familiar with some of the so-called translations and certain writers will be aware that some attempt to translate "will be burned up" in this passage, as "shall be manifested"; but as Caffin said, "The reading `shall be burned up' is well supported, and suits the context best."[46][37] Ibid., p. 566. [38] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1052. [39] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 460. [40] W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, vol. 2(Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), p. 208. [41] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 138. [42] Lumby, as quoted by Green, Ibid. [43] Eldon R. Fuhrman, op. cit., p. 336. [44] Bo Reicke, as quoted by Green, op. cit., p. 139. [45] R. H. Strachan, op. cit., p. 145. [46] B. C. Caffin, op. cit., p. 68. Verse 11 Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,The great ethical purpose of Christianity is clear in this. Christ came to save people from their sins, not in their sins; and the recognition of the ultimate fate of all created things, to say nothing of the immediate fate of all mortals, should have but one issue, that of godliness and holy living. Caffin pointed out that the prophetic tense is in use here: "Seeing that all these things are being dissolved. The participle is present, and implies the certainty of the event foretold."[47]All to be dissolved ... In our version, the same word occurs in Isaiah 34:4; but, as one reads Peter's words here, the conviction deepens that the Saviour himself had given instructions to his apostles which have their outcroppings in passages like this, despite the fact of their not having been recorded elsewhere in the New Testament. People who will not believe in the second coming of Christ and the accompanying judgment of all the world inevitably have a tendency to live careless and sinful lives. There is a positive and definite connection between what one believes and what one does. It was to this principle that this verse is addressed. When people reject the knowledge of God and the revelation in his word, life for such persons automatically loses all real value. On the other hand, when people view life as a probation lived under the guidance and observance of the Father of all Creation, life becomes, for them, endowed with infinitely greater dimensions. The goal, purpose, or intention of living immediately invests with true meaning and significance every experience of life. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/zerrcbc/ 2 Peter 3:2. The holy prophets refers to those of the Old Testament times and the apostles pertain to the New. The truthfulness of each is the same, because the former "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost or Spirit (chapter 1:21), and the latter spoke "as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4). The particular things in their sayings being considered were predictions of complainers that were to show up. Peter wishes his brethren not to be confused and hence he is reminding them about it. 2 Peter 3:3. Knowing this first. They had first-hand information because it came from inspired prophets and apostles. Last days. Some of the things to which Peter refers were being said at the time he was writing, for in verse 5 he speaks in the present tense when he says "are ignorant." Therefore the last days is a general reference to the Christian Dispensation. Scoffers means men who mock or make light of things they do not like but cannot refute. Robinson says the word was "spoken of impostors, false prophets, deceivers." The motive of these objectors is revealed by the words walking after their own lusts. It is a common practice of men who do not wish to be disturbed in their sinful ways, to make light of any authorities that threaten their punishment. They would naturally take that attitude toward the second coming of Christ, because it was predicted that He would judge the world when he comes (Matthew 25:31-46; Acts 17:31). 2 Peter 3:4. Promise is from a word that is somewhat general and includes the idea of "announcement." It is that feature of the term that was worrying the scoffers, because it was announced that when Jesus comes he will condemn the wicked. Where is the promise. What has become of this promise that was predicted? The fathers comes from a word with so various a meaning that the connection will need be considered in each passage. One of the definitions of Thayer is, "The founder of a race or tribe, progenitor of a people, forefather." This is the sense Peter uses and hence it refers to the patriarchs in the beginning, because he mentions the flood as coming after these fathers fell asleep. The scoffers asserted that since that happened there have been no interruptions into the course of things that were arranged in the creation. Their point is to pooh-pooh such "pessimism" as that any change will ever take place. 2 Peter 3:5. Willingly are ignorant because it is recorded in the Scriptures, and these scoffers could have known about it had they wanted to know the truth. It was by the word of God that the "heavens and earth" were created (Genesis 1:1), and by which also the earth and water were separated from each other (Genesis 1:9-10). 2 Peter 3:6. World is from Kontos, which means the inhabitants of the earth, and that is the world that perished in the flood. The account of the flood is in the book that the scoffers did not deny being true, but their interest in lustful practices had kept them from learning about it. 2 Peter 3:7. Heavens and earth are the same that are in verse 5 which were created by the word of God. After the people living on the earth were destroyed by the flood (except Noah and family), it left the heavens and earth still in existence and again was covered with inhabitants. The same word that created them is keeping them in store, being reserved against (until) the destruction by fire. That will be done on the same day that the ungodly men will be judged and sent into perdition. The earth will be permitted to remain until the day of judgment because man is to live on it that long. 2 Peter 3:8. Having made his exposure of the scoffers and their wilful ignorance, the apostle devotes the rest of the epistle to the good brethren. They have been advised against being misled by the false statements of the scoffers, yet they doubtless wished sincerely to have information concerning the seeming delay of the second coming of Christ. Peter will take up that matter and explain it for the sake of them and other readers of the epistle. One day is with the Lord as a thousand years. It should be noted the apostle does not say a day is as long as a thousand years with us for that would not be true. When the earth revolves once man has been given a day. It must make such a revolution 365 times to give him one year and that must be multiplied a thousand times to amount to the period of the italicized statement. But with the Lord no such measurements are necessary for He inhabits eternity (or time, which is the same), and as there is no limit or end to it, He can prolong the earth's existence through hundreds of such revolutions as easily as through one. To man it seems like a drawn-out delay and hence the apostle gives the explanation herein. 2 Peter 3:9. To be slack means to delay or be slow in doing something that has been promised or predicted. As some men count slackness. What would be regarded as tardiness by men does not apply to the Lord. That is, the seeming delay in bringing the earth to an end is not due to that cause as the scoffers implied. It is rather due to the longsuffering or patience that He is manifesting toward humanity. Not willing that any should perish. This statement is another proof that no chance of being saved will be given after the earth is destroyed. If men are delievered from their sins at all, it must be before the end of the world or before their death. In contrast with perish the apostle sets the phrase come to repentance, which shows that all who do not repent will perish. Jesus taught the same truth in person as recorded in Luke 13:3 Luke 13:5. But the longsuffering of God is not endless; it was not in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:3; 1 Peter 3:20). When God in his infinite wisdom decides that His long-suffering has served its full purpose He will bring about the end. 2 Peter 3:10. The Lord is nowhere compared to a thief, but the time of His coming is where the likeness is. That is because a thief makes no announcement of his approach but comes in by surprise, usually selecting the time of night for the event. There are three heavens spoken of in the Bible, the third one being the dwelling place of God (2 Corinthians 12:1-4), and of course that will never pass away. The other two are in the material universe, comprising the region of the atmosphere for the first and that of the planets for the second. These shall pass away with a great noise. The italicized words come from one Greek word which Strong defines, "Whizzingly, i. e., with a crash." The origi- nal for elements is defined by Thayer as follows: "The elements from which all things have come, the material causes of the universe." These materials will become liquefied by the intense heat that the Creator will send upon them. The earth is a part of the same material universe mentioned in the quoted definition, but it is given special mention because it is where man lives at the present, thus giving him serious warning of the fateful event. 2 Peter 3:11. All these things. The things of the material universe named in the preceding verse are all to be dissolved or melt. That will be the end of man's existence on the earth and hence the end of his opportunity to prepare for the judgment. Such is the reason for the exhortation to be holy (righteous) in conversation (conduct) by living according to godliness; live as God has directed us to live. 2 Peter 3:12. Hasting means "to desire earnestly" for the coming of the day of God. And this notwithstanding the day will bring the dissolving of this earth on which we have lived and enjoyed the blessings of God. But this seeming contradiction in our attitude will be explained in the next verse. 2 Peter 3:13. The promise referred to is in Matthew 5:5 where the meek are promised to inherit the earth. The future state of the saved will be spiritual, hence the only way man can be given a foresight of it is by likening it to what he understands and enjoys while living in a material home. The present abode is on the earth with its two heavens, the atmosphere and starry region. Genesis 1:14-16 says the planets were made to give light upon the earth, hence it is proper to mention those heavens in connection with the earth when referring to the home of mankind. But while the form of language is based upon man's present abode, in reality his eternal home will be spiritual and one wherein shall dwell righteousness. 2 Peter 3:14. With such a prospect as this it should be an incentive for us to live in view of it. To do so we should be diligent (thoughtfully active) and maintain ourselves in the peace that is according to the wisdom from above (James 3:17). Since that wisdom is pure (unmixed) it will make those without spot who follow it. 2 Peter 3:15. Longsuffering is salvation is the same as mentioned in verse 9, hence Christians should not fret over the seeming delay of His coming. Peter says that Paul wrote to these people on the same matters as the present epistle. Peter wrote both of his epistles to the same brethren for he calls this one the second one he had written to them (verse 1). In the first epistle he mentions brethren in Galatia and Asia, and we know that Paul wrote to brethren in those same regions (Galatians and Ephesians). Peter says that Paul wrote according to the wisdom given unto him. This refers to his inspiration for he tells us himself that his preaching was "In demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Corinthians 2:4). 2 Peter 3:16. Peter here makes a more general reference to the epistles of Paul, and says that in all of them he speaks of the same things that the present letter treats. This shows that Peter was familiar with the Pauline writings and that he had great respect for them. Since both apostles wrote about so many items that pertain to the kingdom of God, it would be unnecessary to try pointing out which Peter means by these things. All of the words hard to be understood are from the one Greek word , which Thayer defines with the same four words. Robinson defines it, "difficult of perception." We should note it does not say that it is impossible to understand them, hence the expression does not contradict the general idea of the simplicity of the Gospel. Moreover, it merely says there are some things like this, which would not be surprising in documents that have to do with performances of both God and man and of both bad men and Satan. Besides, the only ones who had any serious trouble were those who were unlearned (uninformed) and unstable (unsettled in their convictions). But even these are not to be excused for they could do better, since they wrest (twist) the scriptures which means to force them out of their obvious meaning. And since they wilfully misuse the sacred writings Peter says it will be unto their own destruction. 2 Peter 3:17. The foregoing remarks are said for the warning of the better class of disciples to whom Peter is sending this epistle. They should beware and not be led astray by designing false teachers who are "walking after their own lusts." No person can be on both sides of a subject at the same time, hence in order to be sted-fast in the faith one must turn away from such evil characters. 2 Peter 3:18. Grow in grace means to grow (or increase) in the favor of the Lord. Note that this exhortation is coupled with the knowledge of Him. Hence our favor with the Lord will increase as our knowledge of Him increases, which we may obtain only by becoming familiar with the Gospel. To hint be glory means that all honor and dignity should be ascribed to the Lord, and that such respect will be due Him for ever. Amen is ascribed as an expression of emphasis; its uses and meaning are explained in the comments at Romans 16:24 in first volume of the New Testament Commentary.