About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman

One
Last Reminder

My
Commentary On 2 Peter

written in 2022

The Biblical text used and quoted in this commentary is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) as seen in the authorization statement below.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Table Of Contents

Author's Note

The Title Of This Commentary

Other Books By Stephen Sweetman

Contact Information

Author's Note

If you have read any of my books prior to this, you will have already read my author's note. I feel compelled to insert it at the beginning of each and every book I write, and this book is no different. So, as I normally say, before you read any further, I tell you in advance that due to the fact I have been legally blind since birth, because I am not a professional editor, and, because this book has not been edited by an outside source, you may find a few grammatical or spelling errors. I have tried to keep them to a minimum, but knowing myself, I have surely, without any doubt, missed some mistakes. Hopefully you will not find too many errors, but most importantly, I hope those you do find will not detract from what you read.

This edition of my commentary on Peter's second letter is my fourth edition, my first in book form. I am always learning, which means, all that I write will inevitably be modified at some future date. That has been my experience.

I admit that there are more scholarly commentaries than mine, and I have learned from them. Part of my thinking in writing my commentaries to help the new Christian is his or her study of the Bible. We all need to get started on the right foot in our new life as a Christian, and that cannot be accomplished without the study of God's word.

Hopefully you are like me and you are always learning all that can be learned from the Word of our Lord, that is, the Bible. Hopefully and prayerfully, what you will read will be of some assistance to you as you do your study.

Why The Title Of This Commentary

The reason why I have entitled this commentary "One Last Reminder" is due to what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:13 and 14, that reads:

" Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me."

Introduction

2 Peter was probably written somewhere around 61 AD to 66 AD, just before Peter was executed for his association with the Lord Jesus Christ in and around 64 to 66 AD. Peter was executed by Caesar Nero's regime, who around 64 AD became very anti-Christian. Tradition states that Peter was hung upside down on a cross. Some tradition, whether true or false, states the he was hung upside down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same way His Saviour died.

Peter's second letter was written to the same people to whom his first letter was written, as seen in chapter 3, verse 1, that reads:

"Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder,"

These people lived in what is now known as North West Turkey, or, North West Asia Minor in Peter's day. We read this in 1 Peter 1:1, that reads:

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus , Galatia , Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia , chosen..."

The authorship of 2 Peter has been in much dispute and debate over the centuries. This letter was not accepted into the Canon of Scripture until the Council of Carthage in 397 AD.

Some scholars over the years have tended to believe that Peter did not actually write his second letter. This is due to its very poor writing style, especially when you compare it to the writing style of Peter's first letter. Others suggest that he actually did write second Peter by himself, without any help, and that accounts for the poor writing style.

We know from 1 Peter 5:12 that Silas penned Peter's first letter for him. That verse reads:

"Through Silvanus, [Silas] a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"

As a side note, Silvanus is most likely the Romanized version for the name Silas.

Silas, or Silvanus, penned some of Paul's letters as well. He was a very scholarly man, which is seen in his writing style. It's clear to me, and to many others, that Silas did not help Peter write his second letter. Peter might well have written it himself. That being the case, it has been recently learned that this poor writing style we see in 2 Peter was a writing style that was commonly used by many in the region where the recipients of Peter's letter was written. This writing style has been called Asianism. Whatever the case, we should not make too big of a deal over the poor writing style of this letter.

As late as the Reformation period (1500 AD and later) people debated the canonicity of 2 Peter. Martin Luther kept it in the canon of Scripture while John Calvin thought it shouldn't be part of the canonized Bible.

2 Peter is the most disputed New Testament book. The earliest known list of New Testament canonized books, that is, the Marsian listing of canonized books (145 AD) did not include 2 Peter in the canon of Scripture. That's not all that significant because it didn't include other books in the list that we would include today. The Muratorian Fragments, dated around 170 AD, did not include 2 Peter as being in the canon of Scripture either. Origen, in and around 225 AD, questioned 2 Peter. In 325 AD, Eusebius mentioned that 2 Peter was a disputable book. The fifth century Syriac translation of the Bible, translated from Aramaic to English, did not include 2 Peter in its version of the Bible either.

Another so-called problem that some point out concerning 2 Peter is that Peter quoted from what Protestant Christians would call non-canonical, Jewish writings, as if these books were inspired by God. For the sake of clarification, Judaism thought highly of these, mainly historical type of books. It is Christianity that has debated their significance. For this reason, Peter, being a Jew, would not have a problem quoting from these books of Jewish history. Much could be said on this point, but I will leave this issue with what I have written.

Another problem is that 2 Peter and Jude have phrases that are very similar, if not exactly the same. The suggestion by some is that one of these men plagiarized the other. This is speculative, so I would not put much thought into any notion of plagiarism. Both men could have easily, at some point, talked such things over, or, it might well have been the run of the mill thinking of the day.

Part of the reason for this particular letter is to refute false teaching that was penetrating the church throughout Asia Minor . Many say that Peter was addressing what is known as Antinomian Gnosticism. The word "Antinomian" means "no law." Those who held to this doctrine believed that all things physical were sinful and all things spiritual were holy, so, they stressed the importance of knowledge. because they believed knowledge was part of the spiritual. Such knowledge was seen as the means to their brand of salvation. Those holding to this view believed they were a very special group of people who possessed knowledge that most did not have. They viewed themselves as being the elite. These Gnostics tended to be immoral because of their view of the body. They didn't think their bodies could experience any kind of salvation so they simply gave into their sinful lusts, thus the word "Antinomian," or, "no law," attached to the word "Gnostic." Their bodies could never be tamed by any kind of law, not even a law instituted by God.

Our English word "Gnostic" is translated from the Greek word "ginosko," which simply means "to know." In short, then, the designation Antinomian Gnostics simply means "those knowing no law."

Because all things bodily are sinful and evil, these Gnostics could not believe that God could ever become human. A pure holy God could never associate Himself with a sinful humanity. For this reason, they believed Jesus to be an angel and that He never came to live on earth.

Gnosticism is a general term that includes sub groups within Gnostic thinking, which was basically a part of Greek philosophy. You might say that Gnosticism was a combination of Greek philosophy, Greco-Roman religion, Judaism, with a little Christianity thrown into the mix for good measure, although it was certainly not good.

When it comes to Peter's second letter, I have a basic presupposition, and that is this. I believe Peter wrote second Peter and I believe it should be part of the canon of Scripture. That being the case, all of what he wrote to those in his day, certainly apply to us in our day. We have similar problems today that Peter faced in his day.

2 Peter 1:1 - 2

The Text

1 - Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

²May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

My Commentary

Verse 1

"Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ."

In his first letter, Peter introduced himself as Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. In his second letter he introduced himself as "Simon (Simeon in the CSB) Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ." Simon was Peter's Aramaic name. Peter (Petros in Greek, meaning a rock or a stone) was his Greek name; a name Jesus called him, as seen in Matthew 16:17 and 18, that reads:

"Jesus responded, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.'"

Like the apostle Paul, and many other of the apostles, Peter called himself by two names. If he was in the Hebrew speaking world, he would be Simon. If he was in the Greek speaking world, he would be Peter. I think this is important because both Paul and Peter, and really, all of the apostles, were called to preach the gospel of Christ to the entire world, and that would certainly have included the Greek speaking world.

"Petros" means "a rock." Jesus was saying that Peter will turn out to be a real rock, a stability, in the first-generation church. This was in contrast to Peter's apparent instability many think they see in his life before he received the Holy Spirit into his life at Pentecost. You can read about Peter and one hundred and twenty other believers receiving the Holy Spirit into their very beings in Acts 2.

I would suggest that we really don't know enough about Peter to say that he was an unstable person prior to him receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He appears to have been a pretty successful business person, and to me, that may suggest some kind of stability. Nevertheless, more would need to be known about Peter for us to formulate any concrete notion to what kind of a person Peter really was.

Some people believe that first-century Christians changed their names when they became Christians. For example, Saul became Paul. This was not the case. Saul was his Hebrew name while Paul was his Roman name. Paul was Jewish, but he was also a legally-born Roman citizen, and thus, the name Paul. There is no Scriptural support for the notion that people changed their names after becoming Christians.

Peter called himself a "servant," or a "slave" of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the early apostles, and really, all of the early Christians, believed that they were bond servants of Jesus. A bond servant was a servant by their own free choice. This is really important in our day when Christians don't view themselves as being servants of the Lord Jesus. Many well-known Christian leaders are often promoted more like rock stars than the servants they are called to be. Unless a Christian leader serves, he is not fulfilling his duty as a minister of the gospel of Christ. Jesus made this pretty clear, as we read in Luke 22:25 and 26.

"But he [Jesus] said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them have themselves called Benefactors. It is not to be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever is greatest among you should become like the youngest, and whoever leads, like the one serving.'"

An apostle, that Peter was, is simply one who is sent, and in this case, Peter was sent by Jesus to serve Him by preaching the gospel of Christ. The Greek word "apostolos" is translated as "apostle" throughout the New Testament. This Greek word was not a religious word. It was an everyday, street-level word. If a husband was sent out by his wife to buy food, he would have been sent out on an apostolic mission.

We need to note that when the word "Christ" is attached to Jesus, that means Jesus was, and is, the long awaited Messiah of Israel. The title Christ in English, or Messiah in Hebrew, in its simplest form, means "the anointed one." Our English word "Christ," in its original Jewish meaning, was understood to be God's anointed One who was chosen to be the Saviour of the Jews, yet in the end, became the Saviour of all who would trust their lives with Him, whether they were Jews or non-Jews.

I have noticed over the years that many Biblically-illiterate people use the word "Christ" as if it is Jesus' last name. It's not His last name. Jesus has no last name. It's a title attached to His name, just as the title Lord is attached to His name. Jesus is both Lord and Christ, as seen in Peter's sermon that we read in Acts 2:36.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."

As Messiah or Christ, Jesus is our Saviour. As Lord, He is the ultimate authority to whom we must submit. Evangelical Christians over the years have stressed the fact that Jesus is Christ, our Saviour. In doing so, I think we have down-played the fact that Jesus is the ultimate universal Lord to whom we must submit our lives. When leaving the Lordship of Jesus out of the gospel message, we fail to preach the gospel. It is for that reason why we have so many immature Christians these days, if they are in fact really Christians in the first place.

I was raised in the Methodist tradition, that at least in my thinking, taught that you accept Jesus as your Saviour to be saved. Then, after that acceptance, at some point you accept Him as your Lord in order to be, what Methodists called, "Entirely Sanctified." I don't see it that way. To become a Christian, you must give yourself to Jesus because He is just as much Lord as He is Saviour. He becomes both your Lord and Saviour the moment you are born again as a new creation in Christ. Biblically speaking, there is no separation between the day you get saved and the day you make Jesus your Master. A two stage conversion is not Biblical. What is Biblical is that once you are saved, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that salvation is worked out in your life until the day you die and end up in heaven.

Peter's second letter is addressed to those, who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ have received faith like Peter's faith. This is a very important verse. One reason for its importance is that Peter states that righteousness is only found through Jesus. This is the true gospel. There is no other way to stand before God as one who is righteous other than to accept the righteousness that God has placed on them. Even though we are far from righteous, God has declared the Christian to be righteous. So, what does it mean to be declared righteous? What does Biblical righteousness mean?

We often think of righteousness in moral terms. That is to say, if one is righteous, he is a good moral person. That is the secondary meaning of the word "righteous." The primary meaning of righteousness is to be in right standing with something or someone. Righteousness, then, as it applies to us and God, means that the Christian is in right standing before God, and why? Due to the cross of Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, God now declares the Christian to be in right standing before Him. There is nothing that separates us from Him. That is the primary meaning of Biblical righteousness. Once we have been declared righteous, or in right standing before God, we then, by the help of His Spirit, begin to live out that morally good life. In other words, we begin to live what we have been declared to be.

At this point, I do need to define Biblical faith as well because Peter acknowledged that those reading his letter had received faith. Biblical faith is not merely giving mental assent to the reality of Jesus' existence. Biblical faith, or believing, is not simply acknowledging what Jesus did on the cross for us. Both the words "faith" and "believe" are translated from the Greek word "pistis." Pistis simply means trust. Pistis was an everyday usage word. It was not a religious word. Simply put, if I have faith in Jesus; I trust Him. To be more precise; if I have faith in Jesus, or believe in Him, I have entered into a trusting relationship with Jesus. Entering into a trusting relationship with Jesus means much more than acknowledging His existence. Such acknowledgment alone makes no one a Christian. It saves no one. I can acknowledge the existence of my friend, but that acknowledgment does not mean I have entered a trusting relationship with him.

Note that Peter said that those to whom he wrote this letter had received faith from God. Now that is interesting. If faith in Jesus means entering a trusting relationship with Him, how then can you receive a trusting relationship with the Almighty Creator God? As with anything in our Christian life, we need divine help, and that includes entering into a trusting relationship with Jesus. This is where God's help, via His Spirit, comes into play. When we "receive" God's Spirit into our lives, at that point, we enter into a trusting relationship with Jesus. From then on, our trust in Jesus grows and matures, or at least it should.

The apostle Paul also wrote about people receiving faith. Romans 12:3 reads:

"For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one."

Paul wrote that the Christian has been given a measure of faith, that is, a measure of the ability to enter into a trusting relationship with Jesus. To me, that suggests that some have been given more of an ability to trust their lives with Jesus than others. I believe I can say that the measure of the ability to trust Jesus would depend on the ministry calling one is called to accomplish. I believe the context of Romans 12:3 suggests that. Paul, for example, would have needed lots of ability to trust Jesus due to all of the struggles and problems he faced in fulfilling His ministry calling. He suffered much in the outworking of God's will that he could not have survived on his own.

Another major point in verse 1 is that Jesus is associated with God. In fact, Peter said that Jesus Christ is God. This is one of seven or eight verses in the New Testament that clearly makes the claim that Jesus was in fact God in a human form while on earth, and, now exists in some kind of super-human, spiritual form in heaven at this very moment. The Greek text of verse 1 makes this even clearer than the English text, although the English text is pretty clear. There is no doubt in Peter's mind that Jesus was God in human flesh. Christians call this "the Deity of Christ." Believing in the Deity of Christ is a must for every Christian. It is foundational to all Christian doctrine. If you get this wrong, you will get all of which you call Christian, wrong as well.

Peter brought up the subject of God in human flesh here, and maybe, because of the Gnostics that he will refute later in his letter. Gnostics believed that all flesh was evil and sinful, and therefore, there would be no way that God would come to live within a human body. Gnosticism, one of the first heresies that infected the early church, did not believe in the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. What Peter said here in his opening statement of his second letter would have irritated these Gnostics immensely.

Concerning the word "faith" here, scholars point out that in the later writings of the New Testament the word faith began to take on a secondary meaning. Faith was still trusting one's life to Jesus, but was beginning to also be seen in terms of a body of Biblical truths for Christians to embrace and follow. In today's Christian world, this second aspect of faith seems more predominant than the primary meaning of faith, and in my thinking, presents a problem because it distorts the basic meaning of saving faith. Faith should first be understood in terms of trust, and only after that, be understood in terms of a body of Christian doctrine. Christian doctrine is very important, but it doesn't replace trust in Jesus, as is often the case in what is often called "Liberal Christianity." The sad fact of the matter is that in many so-called Christian circles, having faith simply means to acknowledge certain Christian doctrines or belief systems, but such an acknowledgement makes no one a Christian.

I personally believe that humans do have some ability to trust. I don't think there's much argument about that. We trust all sorts of things and we trust all sorts of people. We trust the grocery store to sell us good food. We trust our cars to get us from one place to another. That being said, I also believe that our ability to trust has been negatively affected by our sinful nature. For this reason, we certainly need divine assistance when it comes to trusting our lives with Jesus who we have not seen with our eyes. If we are willing, He will indeed give us the ability to trust our lives with Him.

Verse 2

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

We see in verse 2 that God and Jesus are linked together. We see such linking in the Greco-Roman world of Peter's day when the Caesars were linked with god. Some of the Caesars believed they should be called Lord because they were the supreme lord over all things. Peter might well have had this in the back of his mind when he wrote these words. Maybe this was a bit of a slam against Roman polytheistic paganism that would often promote a Caesar to the status of a god. Of course, this is speculative. I really can't say what was in the back of Peter's mind when he penned these words, and no one can.

In verse 2 Peter said grace and peace come through the knowledge of God and the knowledge of Jesus. We note again that God and Jesus are linked together. This is the case throughout the New Testament. Christians believe in the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not believe in any other God. It is also important to believe, especially in our day when so many are attempting to unify all the religions of the world, as if, they all believed in the same God. This has been attempted in recent years with the union of Islam and Christianity, which makes no sense. Islam believes that God had no son. Christianity believes that God did have a son, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason alone, Christians uniting with Muslims is illogical and should never be attempted.

God has extended much grace towards us through Jesus, both in His life on earth and in His death. Inner peace is a by-product of God's grace. Christians in Peter's day had little outward peace, and that due to their constant conflict with the Roman anti-Christ culture in which they lived. They did, however, have access to inner peace, and that, due to the Spirit of Christ Jesus who resided within them. If those suffering Christians in Peter's day could have survived their sorrows, there is no reason why we can't survive anything we go through today.

Grace has two definitions in the Bible. One is God's unmerited favour. God shows mercy to us even though we don't deserve it. The other aspect of grace is the divine ability that God gives us through the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will in our lives. The second definition of grace is not known as well as the definition of undeserved favour, but it is a Biblically valid understanding of grace. 1 Corinthians 3:10 is an example where the New Testament uses the word "grace" in this second respect. That verse reads:

"According to God's grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it."

It wasn't that God's unmerited mercy caused Paul to succeed at his ministry calling. It was God's divine ability given to Paul from God that enabled him to accomplish God's plan for his life.

When Peter told his readers, who would have been suffering greatly from an anti-Christ culture, that both grace and peace could be theirs in abundance, that might have been difficult for them to get their heads around, so to speak. The simple fact is that the worse we suffer, the more grace and peace there is available for us to get through the times of suffering. If we can trust Jesus in the midst of suffering, then grace and peace will be ours.

Peter ends verse 2 with the words "Jesus our Lord." This was the confession of the early Christians. They were being pressured by the Roman culture and government, that in many cases, were making them acknowledge that Caesar was Lord. If they refused to acknowledge Caesar being Lord, they were imprisoned and even executed. So, when it comes to the words "Jesus is Lord," they were more than words for these believers. These words were a matter of life, death, and eternity for them. We may sing Jesus is Lord every Sunday in a gathering of the saints, but if some of those people sang Jesus is Lord, and if it was heard by the appropriate person, they might have never sung those words again on this planet. We sing these words with great ease, but not Peter and his friends.

In our day we tend to throw around such words as "Lord" pretty freely. By this, I mean that we take such important Biblical words for granted. We don't understand the significance of these words. The word "Lord" as it was spoken or written in relation to Jesus, really meant something to the first-generation Christians. As our culture becomes more anti-Christ in nature, the word "Lord" as it is attached to Jesus, will mean more to us as well. When we speak of the Lord Jesus, what we are really saying is that He is Lord over all there is, both spiritual and physical. Jesus being Lord over all there is, also means that He is Lord and Master over our lives. We, must then, submit to His will, not our will.

2 Peter 1:3 to 15

The Test

³His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine name, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. ⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, ⁶knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, ⁷godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. ¹¹For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

¹²Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. ¹³I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, ¹⁴since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. ¹⁵And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

My Commentary

Verse 3

"His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

In verse 3 Peter said that God's divine power has given us everything we need to live a godly life, and a godly life is what God desires of us. Peter was not saying that the Lord gives us everything we need in a material or monetary sense. No, Peter was thinking in spiritual terms, because, in the long run, the spiritual is more important than the material. It's eternal.

In our hyper-faith, materially prosperous Christian western world, too many of us believe the word "everything" here includes material possessions. That is not what Peter had in mind when he penned these words. The text itself makes that clear. Everything we need to live a good Christian life is available to us through Jesus, and His Spirit who dwells within us. If you are a true Christian, one with the Spirit of the Almighty God residing in you, then, you have no excuse not to mature as a Christian.

Peter could not have been thinking in terms of material blessings from God when he penned these words. Those to whom he was writing were losing jobs, losing homes, and losing much of their lives due to persecution from their anti-Christ culture. That does not sound like material blessings to me.

When thinking of these things, I often recall what Jesus told some of His followers, as we read in John 10:10.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance."

Over the decades I have heard many Prosperity Gospel preachers say that Jesus was promising us material abundance when He spoke the above words. That cannot be the case, and if it were, people like Peter would have been severely disappointed. Peter, and others like him, might well have given up on Jesus because Jesus failed to provide the material prosperity they thought He had promised them. When Jesus told Peter to leave his fishing business to follow Him, Peter left his income, and from that point on Peter was not wealthy. He was not materially prosperous. Clearly, Jesus was not talking about material abundance in John 10:10.

The words "have given us" are very important here. The Greek words translated as "has given" are only used in two books of the Bible and that is here in second Peter and also in the gospel of Mark. This might tell us something about the gospel of Mark. Remember, Mark became Peter's helper, and many scholars believe that what Mark wrote about in his gospel account is actually the recollections of Peter. You might say, then, that the gospel of Mark is actually the gospel of Peter, and, because of this particular Greek word is only used here and in Mark, might confirm this thinking.

The Greek verb translated into English as "has given" is a Greek perfect, middle, participle. This too is important and adds to our understanding of what Peter was writing. The perfect part of this verse means that the action of giving us all we need to live a good Christian life has already been accomplished in the life of a real Christian. That would have taken place when the Holy Spirit entered the being of the Christian. The middle part of this verb means that the action of giving was given from an outside source, which would be God, and, was actually received by the recipient of the one receiving all that was needed to live a good Christian life. The participle part means that the Christian has not just received all he needed to live the Christian life, but, he, by his very nature is a receiving one. The participle takes the action of receiving one step farther than simply receiving. It means that the Christian, by His new nature in Christ, is a receiving one. Becoming the action of receiving is important because that tells me a true Christian always has God's divine power, both within him and without him that enables him or her to be the Christian he or she is call by God to be.

Note the word "power" in verse 3. It is translated from the Greek word "dynamis." We derive our English word "dynamite" from this Greek word and dynamite describes God's power pretty good. It is the same dynamite power by which God created all things. I would call God's dynamic power pretty powerful. There is no power that can outdo His power. He is the source of all power.

Note the word "knowledge" in verse 3. Remember, Peter, in his second letter appears to be addressing the false teaching of Gnosticism. Gnosticism teaches that knowledge is ultimate. Gnostics only believed that Jesus was a good man, a moral teacher. What Peter said here is that everything we need to live a good Christian life is available to us by knowing Jesus. That clearly suggests that Jesus, although being crucified decades earlier, was still alive. Of course, He is still alive in the heavenly world. Gnostics would have rejected that as not being intellectually true.

The Greek word translated as "knowledge" here means "full knowledge." This too puts a damper on the Gnostics way of thinking. Full knowledge is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's definitely not in any other kind of knowledge. Jesus is ultimate knowledge. All the knowledge that we know and don't know, originated in God, in Jesus.

Peter used the word “called” in verse 3. Those who have come to true knowledge and trust in Jesus came to this knowledge and trust by God's Holy Spirit calling, or inviting, them. If not for God calling or invitation, people could never come to God. You might think that we are to call on the Lord to be saved. The Biblical fact of the matter is that we do not have the ability to call on God, come to Him, on our own. We need God's help in this endeavour. I believe John 6:44 makes this clear.

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day."

One of the huge Biblical debates over the centuries has been whether God calls everyone to salvation or just those He chooses to call. I will certainly not end that debate. Traditionally speaking, I have always believed that in one way or another, God calls everyone to salvation. Whether they accept that call might well be their choice. That being said, I have come to the position that I cannot rule out the notion that God calls only those He chooses for salvation. I will leave this debate up to you to figure out, if that is indeed possible.

Verse 4

"⁴By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire."

In verse 4 Peter wrote that God has given us great and precious promises. There are many promises that God has given. I am sure we could make a very long list of them. Salvation is a broad term and within that which is called salvation are many promises. Going to heaven is one promise. Forgiveness of sins, the reception of the Holy Spirit into our lives are two more promises. The promise of present grace and peace in our lives is yet two more promises. The list just keeps going.

One point to be made about God's promises, at least for the most part, is that they come with conditions. If we need to receive from God, then we must do what is necessary to receive what we need, and even then, He gives us the ability to do what we need to do.

Too often as Christians we quote the promises of God and leave out the conditions. Just so you don't get confused; God's love is unconditional. He loves us despite our sin, but if we want to participate in His salvation, at that point, there are conditions to be met, and that with the help of the Holy Spirit. I'm not talking about human effort here. Our lives as Christians are a cooperative effort between us and Jesus. It's not all Him and it's not all us. All of that being said, God is sovereign and if He so desires to fulfill a promise without us meeting a condition, He certainly can do that and He certainly has done that.

Peter said that these promises are available to us for a reason. The reason is so that we can participate in the Divine Nature. What does this mean? Peter was saying that the Christian life is in fact a participation in the divine life of God. God's divine life has come to dwell within us through His Holy Spirit. It is all about the cooperative effort I wrote about in the last paragraph. I strongly maintain that if the All-mighty, Creator God, actually lives within your very being, that should make a huge difference in your life, and if it doesn't, it might well be that the Holy Spirit does not live within you. If that is the case, you are not a Christian. Romans 8:9 makes that clear.

"You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him."

The English word "share" in verse 4, or "participate," in other versions, is translated from the Greek word "koinonia." Koinonia means to have or to hold something in common with someone. As Christians, and in the present context, we all hold in common the divine life that is within us as individuals and within us as the corporate Body of Christ, the church. This is what being born again of the Spirit of God is all about as Christians. It's what gave birth to the church in the first place, as we read in Acts 2. We have been born into a whole new dimension of life; the life of the Spirit of God. We have become those we have never been. Being a Christian is not merely following a belief system. It's participating in the divine nature of God Himself. It's you sharing your nature with His nature.

Peter said that we should be able to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires when we share in the Divine Nature. Once again, we see Peter's attitude towards this present world, this present age. We see it in his first letter and in the things he said in the book of Acts. Peter, and the rest of the first-generation Christians, believed that Christians were strangers in a corrupt world. It was something that we needed to be rescued from. Here is what Peter said in the very first Christian sermon ever preached. Acts 2:40 reads:

"With many other words he [Peter] testified and strongly urged them, saying, 'Be saved [rescued] from this corrupt generation!'"

Peter believed, as we should believe as well, that the world and all of its systems and thought processes have trapped all of humanity. It has been that way since the events we read about in Genesis 3. Our participation in God's divine nature, as Peter said here, and, the reception of the Holy Spirit into our lives as He implied in Acts 2, gives us the ability to be released from being trapped by this present evil age.

When I think of the idea of being rescued or saved from the corrupt world around us, I think of a fireman rescuing people trapped in a house that's on fire. This is how the early church viewed the necessity of being rescued from the world. They viewed the world around them as a house on fire, something to be rescued from as soon as possible, before the flames burned them alive. Again, I don't think Christians today think of the world as something to be rescued from, and that is to their detriment. Christians, and thus the church, is meant to be a counter-cultural community, but, when the church resembles the world around it, it loses its counter-cultural status and defeats the purpose for its existence.

We should note that we are rescued from the kingdoms of men and placed in the Kingdom of God . Our foremost allegiance, then, is not to the nation in which we live, but to the Kingdom of God . This transfer of allegiance only happens when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives. It happens when our spirit is joined to the Holy Spirit, who is, the Divine Nature. We can never underestimate the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

One thing I should make clear at this point and that is when thinking of an evil world, I'm not thinking of the natural, God-created, surroundings in which we live. Creation itself has been inflicted by man's evil ways. It too is in need of being rescued, and it will be at some future date, when a new heaven and earth will replace this present heaven and earth. Here is what Romans 8:20 through 22 says about creation.

"For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God's children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now."

Verses 5 through 7

"⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."

Verse 5 begins with the words "for this reason." For what reason did Peter have in mind to make the following statement? Contextually speaking, the reason why Peter said what we are about to read is because we have been rescued from this corrupt world in which we live. We have been relocated into God's world, His kingdom, where His divine nature exists within us. Peter, thus, told his readers to add to their faith, or trust in Jesus, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and then love. The addition of these things to our trust in Jesus tells us that there is a maturing process once we enter into a trusting relationship with Jesus. We are to grow in all of these areas of life that Peter mentioned here, and he could have mentioned more. Growth in these areas must be seen as a product of our faith, or, as a product of our trust in Jesus, because our trust in Jesus is the definition of Biblical faith. True Biblical faith, then, is productive. It will produce the godly character qualities God desire us to have.

It is important to realize that maturing as a Christian in the areas Peter pointed out, and again, he could have added more to the list, is a product of our trusting relationship with Jesus. It is not a matter of maturing all by ourselves. That is what Paul called working out your salvation by fleshly means, or, by human effort, as older versions of the New International Bible put it. Galatians 3:3 reads:

"Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh [human effort]?"

In short, maturity in our relationship with Jesus is part and parcel of the Christian life. If there is no visible form of maturity, I might question one's claim to faith in Jesus.

Another thing to know about our trusting relationship with Jesus is this. You will note all of the character traits that Peter listed that we need to add to our faith concern our relationships with others. Anything we learn from our relationship with Jesus must be passed on to our relationship with others. Trusting our lives with Jesus is more than a "me and Jesus thing." We have had to many "me and Jesus" Christians over the years. Our relationship with Jesus is meant to help us in our relationships with those who cross our path at any given time and those to whom Jesus has united us with in the Body of Christ, the church. In short, if you have received love from Jesus, He requires you to pass that love on to others. Whatever you receive from Jesus must never be selfishly kept for yourself. You and Jesus are all about sharing with others.

We should note that these qualities that Peter listed here were qualities well known to his readers and to the Gnostics as well. What Peter was saying was that these qualities come through faith in Jesus, not simply through worldly or universal knowledge, otherwise known as the flesh, or, human effort. This was yet another reminder of the Gnostics who claimed special knowledge but lived a very selfish life.

The way some versions of this verse read, it looks like a mathematical formula. The NIV, for example, says "add to your faith." It's like, one plus one equals two. Two plus one equals three. Then, add another number to your three and you get four. No, it's not a math formula. I think I can safely say that Peter gave some examples of areas of life we are to mature in. One person may add love at any given time while another may add patience, at any given time. In the end, all people mature in all aspects.

I will not explain each and every aspect of life Peter tells his readers to mature in. I believe they are pretty much self-explanatory. I would, however, like to point out the word "knowledge." Maturing in the knowledge of all things godly, Biblical, and Christian are important. It's my opinion that much of western-world Christianity has become Biblically illiterate because they have not taken Peter's advice to increase in knowledge seriously. They have not matured in knowledge, and the life of the church and the individual believer shows that to be true. Hosea 4:6 tells us what happens in this kind of situation. That text in the NIV reads:

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. 'Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.'"

Verse 8

"For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Verse 8 tells us that if the character qualities that Peter mentioned, and more could be added to his list, do not mature in your life as a Christian, then, as a Christian you are useless and unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus. That doesn't sound very nice if you're a Christian. Obviously, these character qualities are to be increasing in our lives. As we mature in these qualities, that is, with the help of Jesus, then our relationship with Him matures, resulting in a productive Christian life.

I am far from convinced that many western-world Christians think of their lives as being productive in the service of their Lord. When we think of productivity, in our western-world, we think in terms of business, manufacturing, sales, and commerce. As in these secular ways of being productive, so a Christian is to be productive, or, fruitful as this text states. When God created us in His likeness and image, as Genesis 1:26 tells us, productivity, in all areas of life, was meant to be part of the human experience.

We should not think in terms of just being a Christian. We should think in terms of doing the productive work as a Christian. We all have a job to perform. We all have some kind of God-appointed ministry calling to facilitate. We all have God-given talents that are meant to be used in the service of the Lord. We can't leave the work of the Lord up to a pastor or a leader of a church. No, Peter told us that we are to be productive, and if we are not productive, we are useless as Christians. Peter was pretty blunt here, but blunt he must be, and blunt we must be as well when it comes to this all-important issue.

I remind you what the apostle Paul wrote about the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians. Fruit, whether it is natural fruit on a tree like apples or spiritual fruit in one's life, is by nature a process of productivity. If, then, the Spirit of God is within you, He, if you allow Him, will produce fruit of His presence in your life. Galatians 5:22 reads:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things."

Paul's list of godly character qualities looks very much like Peter's list. We would do well to grow in these qualities.

Note the word "possess" in verse 8. Putting these character qualities into action is one thing, but possessing them is another thing. We can do certain actions because we are told to do them, but, when we actually possess what we are to do, we do them based on who we are. They come natural to us, and being natural as a Christian is what Jesus wants.

When training a child you will tell him or her to do certain things. If the child is obedient, he or she will do them because he was told to do them. That's great, but, the reason why we tell children to do certain things is that they will learn to just naturally do them, and that is what you want as a parent. You want your child to be loving, not just because he or she is told to love. The goal of you telling him or her to love is that he or she will be a loving person. The same is true with being a Christian. The goal of our obedient acts as Christians is so we can, by virtue of who we are, be obedient ones.

Verse 9

"The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins."

In verse 9 Peter went on to say that if we do not possess the above character qualities in our lives, we are blind and shortsighted. We have forgotten that we have been purified from our past sinful existence. This paints a picture of a person who has merely gotten saved and has stopped growing in his or her salvation. I don't believe Peter was suggesting that those in this state of spiritual blindness have lost their salvation, only that they are still, or have reverted back, to being spiritually blind.

What Peter was saying here is that there are some Christians who are productive and some who are not productive in the service of the Lord. There are many Christians today who are unproductive Christians. I believe in that which we call church today, there are more immature, unproductive Christians than mature, or productive Christians. This should not be.

The lack of productivity on the behalf of Christians reminds me of the parable Jesus spoke concerning seed being sown on different types of ground. In Mark 4:13 and following we read that seed is sown on various types of ground, and depending on the type of ground on which the seed is sown, will determine how productive that seed will be. In terms of Christians, then, some Christians will be thirty percent productive, others sixty percent productive, and others ninety percent productive. In short, the type of a person one is, will determine his or her productivity as a Christian. This tells me that the lack of Christian productivity in a life is par for the course of the Christian life. I personally believe that the Holy Spirit is quite capable to increase our productivity in the service of the Lord, but many are not willing to cooperate with Him.

Peter wrote about unproductive and short-sighted believers forgetting that they have been cleansed from their sins. This is a sad commentary on those believers. Forgetting what Jesus has done for them on the cross is probably one of the worst sins a Christian can commit, but I would suggest this sin marks much of the identity of the modern church.

The blindness that causes us to forget the cleansing of our sins that Peter wrote about here in verse 9 tells me that our salvation is more than a matter of us benefiting from God. Salvation is not just about getting from God. It is also about giving what we get from God to others. Again, it is the concept of being a productive Christian.

If all that Jesus provided for us through His earthly death really sinks into our souls, it will produce visible fruit in our lives. We really do need to search the Scriptures to learn all we can, and then, that which we learn must sink deep into our hearts, into our souls, were it will become the conviction by which we live.

Verse 10

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble."

In verse 10 Peter said that in light of the above facts, his readers, including us, must make every effort to confirm our calling and election. What does Peter mean about that?

Another word we could use instead of the word "calling" is the word "invite." The number one thing that God invites us to is Himself. Included in this invitation to God is all that salvation has to offer us. Also included in this calling or invitation is the need for us to submit our lives to Him. It is what Jesus' two titles are, that is, Lord and Christ. As Christ, Jesus is our Saviour from whom we benefit from all aspects of salvation. As Lord, Jesus is the supreme universal authority to whom we must submit our lives.

The words "elect" and "election" carry much theological baggage that has been a source of controversy for centuries. Some say that God predetermines who will be saved. That is to say; He chooses or elects certain people to be saved. The rest remains unsaved. Others believe that all people are called, invited, or chosen to be saved, but only those who respond with a "yes" are chosen to be saved. I will not end that debate, and so, I will not try. I will only say this. Over the years I have believed that all people are invited to salvation. No one has been predetermined by God to be saved. I have derived that thinking from all of the "whosoever will be saved, will be saved" verses, of which are many. That being said, I certainly do understand the opposing view, and so, I do not discount it. In short, I am not as dogmatic on this issue as I once was. It is up to you to make the needed diligent effort and study to come to your own conclusions.

Setting aside all of the controversy, we do need to make sure that we have indeed responded favorably to God's invitation. We need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are indeed saved. For most of my life as a child and a youth I was never sure that I was a real Christian. It was not until February 1970 that this assurance miraculously came into my life. One day, in a brief moment of time, I became sure, and that due to God's confirmation in my life. We cannot be effective and productive in God's kingdom if we are not sure if we actually exist in His kingdom. That is not difficult to figure out.

Beyond knowing whether we are actually saved or not, Peter said that if we do the previously mentioned things, that is, the things that are added to our faith, we won't stumble. That simply means that if we are progressing and maturing in our relationship with Jesus, we will not stumble in our faith. We will not back away from our relationship with Him and remove our trust in Him. The reverse is also true. No maturity increases the chance of falling backwards. That is just a natural law. We are created to move forward in life, and if we stand still, inevitably, we will fall backwards.

Verse 11

"For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you."

Peter also said that those who experience the character qualities that accompany the process of maturing in our relationship with Jesus will enter the eternal kingdom of our Lord, that is, the Kingdom of God . When this life is over for us, Jesus will welcome us into His eternal kingdom, and His welcome will be rich. His arms will be open wide for us as we enter those eternal, heavenly gates. This rich embraced welcome will make up for any material loss that we have experienced in this life due to our association with Jesus. Just to remind you, those to whom Peter was writing this letter were losing much due to their unfading faith in Jesus. Their present losses would be made up for in the next life.

As Christians we live in the eternal Kingdom of God right now. That is a spiritual kingdom that we enter when the Holy Spirit came into our lives. The Kingdom of God came to earth in this spiritual form when the first disciples received the Spirit of God into their lives, as we read in Acts 2. For that reason, the New Testament speaks of the Kingdom of God in two different ways. There is the spiritual Kingdom of God in which Christians now exist, and there is the material Kingdom of God that will come to earth when this age ends. Right now, this spiritual kingdom is invisible to the human senses, but can be experienced by the true Christian through the presence of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. By the material Kingdom of God I mean that as a nation exists today, so the Kingdom of God will exist when Jesus returns to be the King of the earth. Unlike the invisible Kingdom of God , the material Kingdom of God will be visible for all to see.

The Greek verb tense in this verse clarifies for us what form of the Kingdom of God Peter had in mind when he penned these words. Our English word "provided" is translated from a Greek future, passive, indicative verb. The future part of this verb tells us that the kingdom that will be provided is in the future. The passive part of this verb tells us that it is Jesus who causes us to enter this future eternal kingdom. Our entrance is not something we decide to do. The indicative part of this verb means that our future entrance into the material Kingdom of God is a certain fact. There is no doubt about it.

Our present problem is that we also live in the kingdoms of men, and that brings about many problematic conflicts between us and our culture. This will not always be the case. Revelation 11:15 tells us that all of this conflict will cease to be at some future point. That verse reads:

"The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

Until that future Kingdom of God comes and rules over all, their will always be conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men. We just need to accept that as a factual reality of our lives as Christians.

Note that the kingdom spoken of here is the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. As I have previously stated, Jesus is the Saviour, who being Lord, has invited us to live in His eternal kingdom. The Kingdom of God , then, is both the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Jesus .

As I said earlier as well, Peter might have had another reason for making mention of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus. Many of the Roman Caesars wanted to be called Lord and Saviour. Nero would have been the Caesar when Peter penned this letter, and he did want people to recognize him as the supreme lord over all. Of course, the Christians could not accept this pronouncement by Nero and that is one reason why they were persecuted as they were.

Verse 12

"Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have."

In verse 12 Peter told his readers, and us too, that he was reminding them, and us, of the truth that they already know, in which they were very much grounded. There is never any problem with refreshing people's memories when it comes to the things of our Lord. Really, the one way in which people learn is by repetition. If people hear something one or two times, they tend to forget. If, though, they hear something over and over again, what they hear will sooner or later be burned into their brains and hopefully sink into their souls where what they hear will become the conviction by which they live. This is one important principle in commercial advertising these days. This is why Coca Cola has become a household name. Their advertisements keep coming at us year by year, decade by decade, day by day, and even hour by hour.

Many things that we hear, we often don't retain. One doctor of sociology recently said that we only retain and comprehend about thirty percent of what we hear. That is not a lot of retention on our part. This is where repetition comes into play. Any parent will tell you that repetition is just part of raising children.

There is a process of integrating knowledge into our lives. First we need to hear the knowledge. Then we need to retain the knowledge. Then we need to understand the knowledge. Last of all, we need to incorporate the knowledge and its understanding into our daily lives. As Christians, then, we need the Holy Spirit's influence in our lives when it comes to this knowledge and how we should apply it to our lives. The difficulty is that the knowledge that is presented to us doesn't always end up at this last step. Many times it doesn't get passed the first step, that is, having it enter our minds.

In Luke 22:32 Jesus told Peter that once he had returned back to Him after his denial, Peter should strengthen his brothers. The word "strengthen" is the same Greek word that is translated here as "established." Peter was doing what he was told to do. Luke 22:32 reads:

"But I [Jesus] have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

The Greek verb tense in 2 Peter 1:12 tells us that without any doubt, those to whom Peter was writing already knew the things that he was reminding them of. Even more than that, the same verb tense makes it clear that this knowledge was well established in their lives, and that was very important because of all of the severe trials these people were going through. It just goes to tell us that one important aspect of surviving trials of life is that our knowledge of the ways of our Lord must be firmly burned into our minds and cemented into our souls.

Verses 13 and 14

"I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me."

In verses 13 and 14 Peter said that he believed it was right to refresh the memory of his readers of all that they had known. The verb "to wake" here is a Greek present, middle, indicative verb. The present part of this verb means that the waking up was in present time. The indicative part of the verb means the waking up was a certain fact. Peter was indeed refreshing their memories. He was reminding his readers. The middle part of this verb is interesting. Peter was doing the action of waking up or reminding these people, but, since this is a middle voice verb, there was an outside source involved in this waking up reminder. Obviously, the outside source was Jesus, via His Spirit. This, then, was a very important reminder in the eyes of the Lord. We all need to be reminded of many things the Bible teaches us.

Peter also said that as long as he was alive, he would remind people of the things they needed to know. Peter suggested in verse 14 that he felt that his time in this tent, his body, was now coming to a conclusion. I am sure that all that was going on in Rome , where he probably wrote this letter, was telling him that he would be imprisoned and executed for his association with Jesus, not too far off in the future, and as I believe, the future was not far from Peter.

Remember, Nero was the Caesar of the Roman Empire , and as time moved on, he became progressively anti-Christian in all that he did. This letter might well have been written close to the time when Nero was having Christians executed, or, maybe the executions had already started. That would surely have made Peter think of soon leaving this earth.

Note the word "tent" in verse 14. Peter does not use the word "building" or even the word "temple" in reference to his body, as Paul often did. A tent is different from a building in that it is temporary and moveable. Peter viewed his existence in his body, here on earth, as being temporary and moveable.

Our earthly bodies are associated with this present world. We often see the word "world" used in Christian terminology. This word has a very wide range of meanings in Christian circles. The apostle John wrote the word "world" in 1 John 2:15.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

What did John mean when he penned the word "world?" The world means anything that has to do with our earthly, sinful, human existence and all it has created. It doesn't mean the earth and all that is in or on the earth. The world, as understood in Biblical terms, is often understood in terms of the systems of men, and not all that God has created that exists around us.

Again, in verse 14 Peter said that he would soon leave his earthly existence, as the Lord had made clear to him. This remark by Peter could easily be an illusion to what Jesus told him, as we read in John 21:18.

Jesus clearly told Peter how life would end for him on this planet. I doubt if Peter understood what Jesus was telling him at the time, but he sure understood it when he was writing this letter. Also, Peter understood that his death would glorify God.

You might wonder how Peter's death by execution would glorify God. I believe that Peter's execution, which was due to the fact that he was a servant of Jesus, was the greatest testimony he could share to the world. I believe the same is true for Paul and all Christians that have been executed over the centuries because of their association with Jesus. You can preach all of the sermons you can, but living your sermon is worth millions of words. Peter, Paul, and the rest, lived their sermon, even if that meant living their sermon in death. People would have seen that Jesus is worth dying for and many would come to Jesus as a result. As the old saying goes, "the martyrdom of the saints is the seed of the church." It is what Jesus meant, as is recorded in John 12:24.

"Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit."

Verse 15

^"And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure."

In verse 15 Peter said the he would make every effort to have those to whom would read this letter after he died be able to recall what he had been telling them. Just what preparation Peter meant is questionable. The fact that he was writing this letter, and also his first letter, might well have been one way that he could refresh their memory after he died. It also might be very possible that he had the gospel of Mark in mind as well. Remember, most scholars believe that what Mark wrote in his gospel was actually the recollections from Peter. It just might be possible that while Peter was writing this letter, he was relating to Mark things that he could put in his gospel account. In this way, Peter could leave these people a legacy.

Many of the New Testament letters were rewritten for public distribution. Peter might have had this in mind as well. He would have known that this letter would probably be copied and distributed among the various churches. It might even be possible that Peter had arranged with certain people to have his letters copied. In this way, many Christians would recall all that Peter had written to them.

2 Peter 1:16 - 21

The Text

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!" ¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet's own interpretation, ²¹because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

My Commentary

Verse 16

^"For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

In verse 16 Peter told the recipients of his letter that he, and those with him, did not follow cleverly contrived myths. I like these words, for many non-Christians, especially atheists, believe that Christians follow such cleverly contrived myths. These myths are just stories that have captivated our over-active imaginations, but they are not that. Our faith, or trust in Jesus, is not based on such stories. Our faith is based on documented historical records. Our faith is based on universal truths that can be proven by many historical facts, scientific facts, and archeological facts.

Peter walked the dusty roads of Galilee, Samaria , and Judea with Jesus. He was a first hand witness to all that Jesus said and did, and that is what he was telling those who would read his letter. Of course, the atheist will question why we could ever think of accepting and believing someone like Peter wrote so long ago. My response would be, how, then, can anyone accept what anyone wrote that far back in history, and that includes all of the Greek philosophers. Why can we believe that Plato even existed let alone write what he wrote. What you apply to one must be applied to all. Besides that, we have more accurate documentation of the historicity of the Biblical books than we have of those philosophers.

Peter mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 16. Again, Peter heard of these things directly from the mouth of Jesus. If the gospel of Mark is really the gospel of Peter, as I and others think it is, then Mark 13 is what Peter heard Jesus say. Mark 13 concerns the return of Jesus to earth and the lasts days just prior to His return.

Peter said that he, and others, were eye-witnesses of the majesty of Jesus. I think I can safely say that when Peter, and those with Him, saw all of the miracles, and that would include the resurrection of Jesus; that was quite majestic.

Verse 17

^"For he [Jesus] received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!'"

In verse 17 Peter was probably referring to what has been called the transfiguration of Jesus, as seen in Luke 9:28 through 36. There, we read that Jesus appeared alongside Moses and Elijah. A voice from heaven was heard to say, as Peter quoted, "this is my beloved Son, with whom I am pleased." In my thinking, this event represents a revelation straight from God Himself. Moses represented the Old Testament Law, while Elijah represented the Old Testament prophets. God, In Old Testament times spoke to His people, the Jews, through the Law of Moses and through the prophets. In these New Testament times, however, He speaks to people through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the voice from heaven made known. Obviously, the voice from heaven was the voice of God Himself. This is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian church, but it is often misunderstood by many Christians.

How we view the Old Testament, especially the Law of Moses, as New Testament Christians really needs to be well understood, but often isn't. Christians are still attempting to obey the Law of Moses when in fact they are to obey Jesus. According to Paul, as we read in Romans 10:4, obedience to the Law of Moses has ended and has been replaced by obedience to Jesus Christ. That verse reads:

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes,"

Read also Colossians 2:13 and 14 in the New International Version of the Bible.

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross."

The term "legal indebtedness" is in reference to the Law of Moses. Christians are no longer subject to the Law of Moses, but many do not realize that. Some, even go as far as to teach that we still must give ourselves in obedience to the Law of Moses, but that nullifies all that Jesus did for us on the cross. Colossians 2:14 tells us that the Law of Moses died on the cross with Jesus. The fact of the matter is that Jesus rose from the dead, but the Law stayed dead.

The simple fact is that the Law of Moses was never written to us in the first place. It was written to Old Testament Jews. For us to attempt to obey all six hundred and thirteen laws in the Law of Moses is both impossible and not necessary. This includes such laws concerning tithing and the Sabbath. Many preachers teach that Christians must tithe ten percent of their income to the church, and they base this on the Law of Moses. Little do they realize that the Law of Moses teaches three tithes, and when added together, equals twenty seven, point three percent, not ten percent. For more information on the tithing issue, you can read my book entitled "Should I Tithe?" For more information on how Christians are to view the Old Testament, you can read my book entitled "Understanding The Old Testament As New Testament Christians."

The words "honour and glory" are important words for us to understand. Both of these words have a great Hebrew tradition in the Old Testament. On many occasions God showed Himself in glory and honour. One example was when God spoke to Moses in the clouds. In Old Testament Hebrew culture, clouds were a symbol of God's glory. We note that Jesus returned to heaven in the clouds, as is recorded in Acts 1:9.

"After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight."

For those Hebrew Christians who saw Jesus ascending back to heaven through the clouds, the word "clouds" would have had double significance. Yes, Jesus went up through the clouds but in their minds that would have been a totally glorious sight to behold. Jesus, ascended to heaven in a cloud of glory. Those clouds might well have reminded the disciples of the Old Testament's symbolic meaning of the word "clouds."

The designation of Jesus being God's son is a good way to describe Jesus to us in our own human terms. That makes complete sense, but, when thinking of Jesus in His totality, you might consider Him as being more than a Son. He is God, and He was God in a human form while on earth, and He is God in some kind of super-spiritual form right now. Jesus being a son speaks to His role in what Paul called "the Godhead." A son submits to his father, and Jesus, submits to His Father to carry out all that His Father has asked Him to accomplish. Jesus is described in many ways in the New Testament. For example, He is seen as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). He is seen as a lawyer and living sacrifice in 1 John 2:1 and 2. he is seen as the Lamb of God, as is recorded in John 1:26 and Revelation 5:6.

Prior to God becoming human, we should know that Jesus did exist, but His existence, you might say, was the Mind of God. It is probably next to impossible to explain, but John 1:1 tells us that Jesus was not just with God, He was, in fact, God. That verse reads:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

The Greek word "logos" is translated as "Word" in John 1:1. Logos speaks of someone's very thoughts being communicated in some form. In the first-century, Greco-Roman world, logos was associated with some kind of deity. Those in the Greco-Roman world, would then, have understood what John was writing. They would have known that John was saying that Jesus was God.

John wrote that Jesus was, prior to His incarnation, the mind of God that was eventually revealed in a human form. That being said, once He entered a human form, and then, returned to heaven in some kind of super-human, spiritual form, Jesus did not return to heaven to exist as He did prior to His incarnation. He will always be separated and distinct, although with the same mind, from God, which He was not prior to His incarnation. This speaks to the plural nature of God, that most have come to call "The Trinity." It also speaks to the love of God, that is, God sacrificing Himself for His creation, that includes you and I. I say that because God has eternally modified His existence just for us. Jesus has been recreated into something He has never been, and again, because He loves us, and wants us, someday, to be as He presently is. 1 John 3:2 reads:

"Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is."

Romans 8:29 says the same thing but in a different way. It reads:

"For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."

Jesus is the firstborn among a brand new creation of beings. We, as Christians, will follow Him in this new creation of beings.

Verse 18

^"We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain."

In my thinking, verse 18 refers directly to the transfiguration of Jesus that I mentioned in the last verse. The holy mountain Peter wrote about here is not Mount Sinai , where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, as some might suggest. That mountain was far away from where the transfiguration of Jesus would have occurred. It is not known for sure just what mountain the transfiguration took place, but the most common traditional thinking is that it happened on Mount Tabor . Mount Tabor is eleven miles west of the Sea of Galilee, in northern Galilee, just north of Jerusalem .

When Peter wrote "we ourselves heard this voice" he is giving first hand, credible documentation that the voice from heaven really did take place. He was a present-day witness to the voice and what it said.

The transfiguration of Jesus is also seen in Mark 9:2 to 13, and Matthew 17:1 through 13, as well as Luke 9:28 through 36. The account states that Peter was with James and John on this occasion, and thus, the pronoun "we" in verse 18 would be in reference to all three men.

Verse 19

"We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."

In verse 19 Peter wrote about the prophetic word which I believe was spoken by the prophets of the Old Testament. He was basically saying that these prophets have predicted what he was now talking about. You might go as far to say that they were a pre-confirmation of what the voice from heaven had spoken on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Peter said that these prophets had spoken a very certain and specific word, a word of prophecy that can be trusted by all who heard them. One example of what Peter would have had in mind is Isaiah, chapters 42 through to chapter 46. These chapters predict the future Messiah, who Peter said, was Jesus. Beyond that, Jesus is both Lord and Christ. As Lord, Jesus is the supreme universal authority, and as Christ, He is the Saviour or Messiah (anointed One) the Jews had been waiting for. Obviously the Jewish leaders of Peter's day were not in agreement with Peter on his interpretation of the Old Testament prophets.

I have said that the prophets spoken of here are the Old Testament prophets. You will note that the text doesn't refer to them as being the Old Testament prophets. Some might think they are the New Testament prophets, but I don't think this is the case. It's generally accepted that when the New Testament speaks of "the prophets," unless otherwise qualified, it is speaking of the Old Testament prophets. The term "Law and prophets" is seen many times in the New Testament. The prophets mentioned here are clearly the Old Testament prophets because of their association wit the Law of Moses. The simple fact is that when Jews heard the term "the prophets," they would have naturally understood these prophets to be Old Testament prophets, not New Testament prophets.

Concerning New Testament prophets, I do believe this prophetic ministry is still in effect today. You can see New Testament prophets throughout the New Testament. I do not believe they ended with the first generation church, as I also do not believe the gifts of the Spirit ended with the first generation church either.

In today's Christian world there are many who, what I believe, over-emphasize the prophetic ministry. It is my opinion that many who call themselves prophets are not valid prophets and many who prophesy simply speak out of their over-active imaginations. We need to have a spirit of skepticism here in order to validate what is a true or false prophecy. On the other hand, there are people who disregard the present-day ministry of the prophet altogether, and that is certainly not me.

The term "morning star" obviously refers to Jesus here in this passage. It is an Old Testament term that is found in Isaiah 14:12, that reads:

"Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You

destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground."

An alternative reading for "morning star" is "day star." Many commentators understand the reference to the morning or day star of Isaiah 14:12 to be in reference to Satan. I can certainly understand that when thinking in New Testament terms. That being said, it is, according to many scholars of ancient Old Testament history and culture, highly unlikely that Isaiah and those in his day thought of the morning star as being precisely Satan. They might have thought of it in terms of some chaos creature or an evil angel, not so named as Satan.

However you think of Jesus, New Testament Christians view the morning star as Jesus, as did Peter. Jesus makes that claim Himself as seen in Revelation 22:16.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star."

We also see the term "morning star" in Revelation 2:26 through 28 where Jesus was addressing the community of believers who lived in and around the city of Thyatira . That passage reads:

"The one who conquers and who keeps my works to the end: I will give him authority over the nations — and he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will shatter them like pottery —just as I have received this from my Father. I will also give him the morning star."

Look closely at the above verses. Jesus said that the one who overcomes will be given the authority over the nations, just as the fallen morning star of Isaiah 12:14 appeared to have this authority. Jesus then said that as He had received authority over the nations, so He, would give the over-comer the morning star, or, that authority. It appears to me, then, that as we will be like Jesus presently is, so we, like Him, will share in rule over the nations of the world. This is confirmed by many other Biblical passages.

Jesus acknowledged that He had authority over the nations as we read in Matthew 28:18.

"Jesus came near and said to them, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.'"

Verses 20 and 21

^"Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet's own interpretation,because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

Note the word "Scripture" in verse 20. It is translated from the Greek word "graphe." It is this Greek word where we derive our English word "graphic" and other related words, like photograph.

In the preceding couple of verses Peter was reminding those reading his letter that they had not followed cleverly crafted myths. No, they had heard the voice from heaven confirming that Jesus was indeed, the only Son of God to whom they must hear and follow. Now, in verse 20 Peter wrote about the Old Testament prophecies that predicted the coming of Jesus.

Peter noted that the Old Testament prophecies were not an invention of man's own imaginative or crafty mind. The prophets of old didn't think these prophecies up on their own. They didn't prophesy from their own process of interpretation. Prophets of old were moved upon by the Spirit of God, and they spoke what the Spirit of God told them to speak. Peter said that these prophets were carried along by the Spirit. This paints the mental picture of the Holy Spirit setting the prophets aside and placing them in a special spiritual place where they could clearly hear the Word of the Lord they were to speak. This should tell us how important the Old Testament, and its prophecies, are. Too often Christians avoid the Old Testament but they do so at their spiritual peril.

Verses 20 and 21 are quite relevant for us today. In many parts of the church today the ministry of the prophet and the gift of prophecy have really come to the forefront. It is my opinion that many of those who call themselves prophets are not God-appointed prophets. They are self-appointed and that does not constitute a legitimate prophet. The same is true with the prophetic word. Many claim to have spoken a prophetic word that they claim has come directly from God. I am far from convinced that many of these prophecies are valid prophecies. As far as I am concerned, those in this camp, don't take the ministry of the prophet and prophecy serious.

My point here is simple. We must judge the prophetic word based on what the Bible says. It is what the apostle Paul told us to do, as we read in 1 Corinthians 14:29.

"Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate."

The Greek word "diakrino" is translated into English as "evaluate" in the CSB version of 1 Corinthians 14:29. This Greek word is made up of "dia," which means to separate and "krino," which means to judge. Paul was telling us to listen closely to what is prophesied, and then, dissect what you hear and pass a judgment. Many will tell us that we are not to judge, but here, Paul specifically tells us to judge the prophetic word and we do so by separating its content, or, by analyzing it, in what I would say, is based on what the Bible teaches.

Another point to be made about verses 20 and 21 is that we must be careful how we interpret Old Testament prophecies, which I would say, is not an easy process. Far too often we approach these prophecies with our own presuppositions and biases, and that is a mistake. Understanding the culture, the history, and the genre of the prophetic passage will go a long way in helping us understand the prophecy. Most of us know very little about those things. That being said, we should be careful not to get overly dogmatic with our conclusions that are probably based on a good measure of ignorance and lack of knowledge.

2 Peter 2:1 - 22

The Text

1 - There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. ³They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. ⁴For if God didn't spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; ⁵and if he didn't spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; ⁷and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral ⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; ¹¹however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. ¹²But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. ¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you. ¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse! ¹⁵They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness ¹⁶but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. ¹⁸For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them. ²⁰For if, having escaped the world's impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first. ²¹For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them. ²²It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, "A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud."

My Commentary

Verses 1 through 3

"There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep."

In the last couple of verses of chapter 1, Peter had just written about the prophets of God of the Old Testament who spoke under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Not everyone who claimed to be a prophet of God in Old Testament times was really a true prophet of God. There were many false prophets, speaking false prophecies that people would rather hear. As a matter of fact, my reading of the Old Testament tells me that there were more false prophets than true prophets. Peter used these false Old Testament prophets as a springboard to move the discussion over to New Testament false prophets and false teachers.

As I have already pointed out, the New Testament era of false prophets that Peter was specifically addressing were Antinomian Gnostics. The word "antinomian" means no law. These prophets basically believed they were a law unto themselves. They believed that the spirit of man was holy while his body was sinful. There was nothing one could do about the body of sin, so, they just went ahead and indulged in sin. There was no law against that which you have no control over.

Whatever era in which one lives, people will inevitably hear and embrace what they want to hear and embrace. It reminds me of what Paul wrote about this human tendency. I like how the King James Bible translates 2 Timothy 4:3 and 4. It is an ever-present cultural reality, and that is especially true in today's social media influenced culture.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

In Peter's day, as in our day, which is always the tendency, certain so-called Christians attempted to fuse Christian thought with non-Christian thought, which was Gnostic thought in Peter's day. If you logically think about it, that mixture is impossible. Some are doing the same today by attempting to fuse Islam with Christianity. The two religions are diametrically opposed to each other and cannot be mixed together, or merged into one religion. The reason for this impossible merger is due to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Islam views Jesus as a prophet of God. Christianity views Jesus as the one and only Son of God, that is, God in human flesh while He was on earth, and is now, in some kind of super-spiritual form in heaven. These two concepts of Jesus are impossible to merge together. Islam also believes that God has no sons while Christianity believes that God had one specific Son, and through Him, many sons and daughters will follow after Him. How can you fuse these two religions when the fundamental concepts of both are so opposite and cannot be fused? There is no logic to this merger.

We, as the church should always be on the watch for false teachers and false teaching. When we discover such teaching we should expose it for what it is.

Antinomian Gnostics believed all things spiritual are good and all things physical are bad. Therefore, a good God could never be incarnated into an evil human body. Again, this is diametrically opposed to Biblical theology. This clearly flies in the face of the Deity of Christ, one of the most basic truths of Christianity and the Bible. Jesus, while on earth, was indeed God in a human body. He was fully God and fully human at the same time. Right now, He is fully God and fully super-spiritually human, or, whatever other term you think might fit. There is simply no logic in fusing Christianity with Gnosticism or any other kind of "ism" there might be.

Peter wrote that these false teachers bring in destructive heresies into the church. The Greek word "pereisago" is translated as bring in, here in this verse. This Greek word suggests a bringing in of false teaching secretly or seductively. It's not necessarily trying to persuade Christians to adopt the false teaching. It's a matter of tricking them, seducing them to believe false teaching.

With the above paragraph in mind, we should note that Jesus does nothing in secret. Those who live in the Kingdom of God should be like Jesus and do everything above board and in the open. Doing things in secret for false motives is deceptive, and any form of deceptiveness is ungodly. The apostle Paul said this very thing about himself. 2 Corinthians 2:4 reads:

"Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone's conscience by an open display of the truth."

When you think of it, deception was what brought mankind down, as seen in Genesis 3. However you view the serpent and his conversation with Eve, deception was the tool the serpent used by which mankind fell from the presence of God.

Peter wrote that these false teachers will introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord. There have been many destructive heresies over the centuries, but denying the sovereignty of Jesus is the worst kind of heresy. The sovereignty of Jesus means that Jesus is God, whether on earth or as He now is in heaven. The Deity of Christ is the foundation to Christian teaching. You cannot; you must not; set aside the Deity of Christ, and if you do, you do not believe in the Biblical Jesus.

Note that Peter wrote words "who bought them." This purchase was made with Jesus' shed blood, His death on the cross. If you are a true Christian, you should know beyond any doubt that Jesus has bought you. Jesus actually owns you, something the false teachers had obviously ignored. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:20, made this purchase clear.

"... for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body."

In today's western world, we do not like the idea that someone owns us, and for good reasons. I certainly understand that. We think of slavery when we think of such a thought. That being said, Christians have a quite different Master, unlike any earthly slave owner. Jesus has given, and still gives, Himself to those He owns, and He does own the Christian.

This question is often raised about the Gnostics. Were these Gnostics really Christians in the first place? The same question is raised about the Judaizers in Paul's letter to the Galatian believers. Some suggest that these false teachers were Christians, or, at least once were Christians, because Peter said that Jesus had purchased them. I cannot say that these false teachers were ever real Christians in the first place. This borders on the long-standing debate whether one can lose his salvation, and that is an issue for a later date. It also borders on the long-debated issue over God predetermining some to be saved and others not to be saved. Again, that is an issue for another day.

Another way some think of this is that Jesus paid the price for all mankind to be bought. In this sense of the word, even if these men were not Christians, the price for their purchase was paid for by Jesus, the One that they were rejecting. They simply refused the purchase.

Peter stated that these false teachers will bring swift destruction on themselves. In the process of their attempt to destroy the church, they themselves will be destroyed. Such destruction could easily be seen as a judgment by God, whether during the life of these heretics or at the end of this age. Both scenarios are possible.

Verse 2 says that many will follow the depraved ways that will malign the way of the truth of God. The word "depraved" tells us something else about these false teachers. Depraved suggests utterly sinful and not capable of being less sinful. This is a strong hint that the false teachers are the Antinomian Gnostics I mentioned earlier. Again, the word "Antinomian" means "no law." This particular subgroup of Gnostics believed that sense man's spirit was good and his flesh was evil, there was absolutely no way to control one's flesh, so, you might as well sin and enjoy the sin at the same time. Those holding to this view indulged themselves in many immoral sexual practices that Peter called depraved, and so should we call depraved. Their teaching, then, might well have been a means to an end, and that was, to enhance their sinful way of living, which would have included sexual immorality.

With the word "depraved" in mind, read Jeremiah 17:9. This verse states the foundation of the human condition from God's standpoint. It should also form the basis for our thinking concerning the human condition. We are just so utterly depraved that we have no clue to know how depraved we really are, and, there is no human cure for our state of depravity. These false teachers had no desire to resist their depravity. Jeremiah 17:9 reads:

"The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable — who can understand it?"

Peter said that many in the church would follow the way of these shameful and deceptive false teachers. The fact that those in the Community of Christ would follow such heresies not only diminishes the reputation of the church, it disgraces the truth of God and brings it into dispute. People will dispute, even reject, the truth of the gospel because of these false teachers. People will deny the truth of the gospel because of the bad behaviour of those in the church who claim to be Christian.

One of the biggest problems in the church over the centuries, and that includes today's church, is its hypocrisy. We, as individual Christians, and, we as the church collectively, are bringing great disgrace to the gospel and to Jesus Himself when we teach that which we should not be teaching, and, when we live in a way we should not be living. I have always maintained that the church is its own worst enemy. I am convinced of that. We may blame things on the devil but we should start thinking of blaming ourselves. Satan cannot influence us, or tempt us, if there is nothing in our lives that he can grab hold of. James 1:14 in the King James Bible reads:

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."

It's our own lusts and sin that gets us into trouble. Our own lusts and sin, then, might be said to be a tool of the devil.

I believe that church leaders are responsible for making sure that false teaching does not creep into the church. In my opinion, many of today's church leaders are doing a poor job at this, mainly because many have downplayed the importance of the Bible in both the life of the church and in the lives of individuals within the church. Upholding sound theological doctrine is important, but in today's church the word "doctrine" has become a bad word. Church without sound teaching is a church that will fail, and fail miserably. Anyone who has studied church history will confirm that to be true. You can read what Jesus told the seven churches of Asia , as is recorded in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, to see the truth of this.

On the other hand, those under the leadership of the church should pay attention to the sound doctrine that their sound-doctrinal teachers are teaching. Far too often, individuals in church these days don't really follow the instruction and teaching of the local pastors. They see him or her as a Sunday morning speaker that you can take or leave.

With the prevalence of social media these days, many Christians are receiving Biblical instruction from Bible teachers who live far away from them and who they have never met. This can be of great benefit for the Christian because some of these teachers are more knowledgeable than the local pastor. On the other hand, this often takes away the local pastor's place of authority and Biblical instruction in the local church. This can be quite challenging for a local pastor.

In verse 3 Peter sheds some light for us on the motives for some of these false teachers. He said that greed is one of the motives for many of these false teachers. Peter wrote that these teachers will actually exploit Christians with their stories. Their teaching is only made up stories that they know will interest and entice certain gullible people. I think of today's explosion of positive thinking and motivational speakers who make a good income at speaking in Christian conferences. The gospel of Jesus is far more than a motivational speech.

I also think of all of the so-called prophets today who also gain a good income by their books, their public speaking, and their so-called prophecies. Yes, I can't judge their hearts, but I can judge their prophecies. As I mentioned earlier, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:29 tells us to judge prophecies, and in context, these prophecies were spoken from true prophets of God. That text reads:

"Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate [judge]."

It's my thinking that the modern day Prosperity Movement with its prosperity teachers come very close to exploitation of Christians. Prosperity teaching basically states that as kids of the King, the King being Jesus, we can and should have all we want in life. We should be the most materially prosperous people in the world. That plays on our human tendency of greed and wanting more than what is good for us. In the long run, these teachers benefit financially from their books and teaching conferences. Some of them have gone as far to tell their audience to send them money, and if they do, Jesus will greatly reward them many times over. I find that utterly disgraceful.

The Bible warns us against such greediness from false teachers, as seen in Micah 3:11, 1 Timothy 6:5, and Titus 1:11. Titus 1:11 reads:

"It is necessary to silence them; [false teachers] they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn't in order to get money dishonestly."

In verse 3 Peter pictured the condemnation of these false teachers as a dark cloud hanging over them that has not been sleeping. Sooner or later these false teachers will reap what they have sown and are sowing. Some reap what they sow in this present life, while others will reap what they sow in the next life, or, a combination of both. That being said, I believe what Peter was saying here is that the cloud of judgment and condemnation on these particular teachers won't take place at the end of this age. The clouds of judgment could burst on these teachers at any given moment. It was what Peter expected.

It is interesting that the judgment of God on these false teachers was pronounced long ago, as Peter wrote. The obvious question would be this. How long ago was this judgment pronounced? I suggest, and it is a suggestion, that long ago might well mean prior to creation. The New Testament often speaks in terms of things happening now as being determined before creation. Paul understood his apostolic calling was decided by God before he was born. Galatians 1:15 reads:

"But when God, who from my mother's womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone."

Ephesians 1:4 implies that God chose us before the foundation of the world was created.

"For he [God] chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him."

1 Peter 1:20 tells us that Jesus was foreknown, and chosen, to be our Saviour before the world was created.

"He [Jesus] was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you."

Many things in this present life seem to have been decided, or at least foreseen, long before the creation of this universe. Much of what is transpiring now was in the mind of God in eternity past. I realize that such talk is somewhat mystical in nature, and I'm not into mysticism, but, Scripture is pretty clear on this point. What I do not do is attempt to get into the mind of God on this matter, or any matter. That is far too mystical for my liking. It's also bad Biblical interpretation. Getting into the mind of God concerning things not written about in the Bible would be speculative and speculation proves nothing to be valid or true.

At this point we should distinguish between overt heresy and wrong teaching that is based on a lack of understanding, yet with good motives. Wrong teaching, no matter where it comes from is still wrong teaching. Misguided teaching does need to be corrected, but Peter was specifically pointing out false teaching of the false teachers who knew what they were doing. He was not thinking in terms of Christians who simply don't know any better because of their lack of understanding. Many of us, me included, are wrong on some points in our teaching, but we are not classified as false teachers. We are not overtly attempting to distort the gospel and draw people unto ourselves for some kind of gain.

Verses 4 through 11

^"For if God didn't spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; and if he didn't spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral (for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord."

A quick reading of the above passage is difficult to not only read, but to understand. For this reason, allow me to share some background information that may help you as we study our way through this difficult to understand passage of Scripture.

In Genesis 5:21 through 24 we read about Enoch. The name "Enoch" means dedicated. The text of Genesis states that Enoch walked with God, suggesting that he was a very godly man and in good relational fellowship with God. The word "walk" should not be taken literally. Walk simply suggests an ongoing functional relationship with God.

The text also states that Enoch did not die. It simply says that he was no more because God took him. Enoch had a son named Methuselah. Methuselah had a son named Lamech, who was Noah's father. Although I have not fully worked out the math, it is said that the year Methuselah died was the year the flood came upon the earth. This suggests to some, but not all, that the name "Methuselah" means "when he dies, it shall be sent." Those who understand this to be the meaning of the name "Methuselah" link his death to the flood. Others believe "Methuselah" means "man of the javelin or worshipper." That being the case, his name would have nothing to do with the flood in Noah's day.

From Genesis 5 we now go to Genesis 6:1 through 4. There, we read that men began to increase in number on the face of the earth and when daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw the daughters of men were beautiful, and so they married any of them they chose. The text continues to say that Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after those days. These Nephilim were the heroes of old, men of renown, according to the Genesis text.

This question is raised. Who are these sons of God that we read about in Genesis 6? Some believe that there were two lines of humans prior to the flood in Noah's time. One good line of people from Seth and one bad line of people from Cain. Those who believe this also believe the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 are those of the lineage of Cain. The text does not clearly confirm this to be the case.

Others believe that the sons of God were bad fallen angels that engaged in sexual relations with the daughters of men that I just mentioned. That sounds weird, but there are a vast number of well respected theologians who believe this to be true. It's been a position taken by many in both Christianity and Judaism over the centuries, but again, the text does not clearly confirm this position to be correct.

As an aside, both the flood in Noah's day and the notion that evil angels came to earth and had sexual relations with human women are concepts that can be seen in other ancient religions. The two events are described differently in other religions, but they are there. This has caused some difficulty for many over the years. How did other religions come to such knowledge, and why do they explain them in different ways? It's a question that I have no answer for. At the moment, I can only speculate, and there is no use speculating.

When it comes to angels, there is more that we don't know about them than there is about what we do know about them. The Bible speaks of angels, but not to the degree that clues us in on the totality of the angelic world. We should be careful not to speculate, but we often incorporate such speculation into our interpretation of Scripture and our theology. That is not good. If you speculate, you should make it clear that you are indeed speculating.

However you think of these things, the Genesis text does say that children born to the sons of God and their wives were heroes, and men of renown. That is what we know for sure.

The word "Nephilim" is translated from the Hebrew word nephiyl. Nephiyl comes from the Hebrew word "naphal," meaning to fall. Some versions of the Bible, including the KJV, translate this Hebrew word as giants, but some say it is more likely that this Hebrew word should be understood in terms of fallen ones, excellent ones, noble ones, or skillful ones.

The ancient world seems to have associated the Hebrew word "nephiyl" with the constellation Orion, thus its association with angels.

The term "sons of God" or "ben elohiym" (Hebrew) is used three other places in the Old Testament. They are, Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7. In these three instances, it is clear to many that the term "sons of God" refer to angels. Also, in Daniel 3:25 "bar Elohiym" (Son of God) is used in reference to the fourth man in the furnace of fire, who many believe was pre-incarnate Jesus. He would have appeared in an angelic form.

We also note from the text that these Nephilim lived both prior to the flood and after the flood. This might be the reason why we see them again in Numbers 13:31, which was long after the flood.

It is interesting that the Alexandrian Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) translates the words "sons of God" in Genesis 6:1 as "angels of God." This means that the Jewish translators who translated the Old Testament Hebrew into Greek believed the sons of God were angels. What makes this interesting is that much of the New Testament writers read and drew their thinking and understanding from the Greek Septuagint and not the Hebrew Old Testament. It is, therefore, thought that the first generation church might well have viewed the sons of God in Genesis 6 to be angels, just like their Jewish heritage would have taught them.

Now we turn to Jude 6. I mentioned in my introduction that Jude and Peter used exactly the same phrases and terminology, as if one of them plagiarized the other, which I do not believe to be the case. These phrases might well have been common phrases among Christians back then, or, maybe Jude and Peter had been in close contact with each other and talked these things over.

Jude quoted from the Book of Enoch as we see in Jude 14 through 16. Jude appears to be quoting from 1 Enoch 1:9 and 10. The Book of Enoch has never been accepted into the canon of Scripture in most Christian Protestant circles, although in some circles it is accepted into the canon of Scripture. It seems to be dated somewhere around 300 BC and some think it seems to be ascribed to the Enoch in Genesis 5, but that is speculative.

Scholars who believe the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 are fallen angels believe that Jude 6, 14 and 15 are speaking of these fallen angels who had sexual relations with the daughters of men. Jude wrote that these angels had a position of authority. He then said that they abandoned their own home. If these angels are the angels of Genesis 6, it would be clear that these fallen angels left their heavenly home to unite themselves with women here on earth. Jude said that God judged these fallen angels by putting them in eternal chains. Then, on the Day of Judgment, they will be judged again.

Jude 7 is very enlightening if you believe the angels spoken of by Jude are the fallen angels of Genesis 6. Jude said that in a similar way Sodom and Gomorrah gave themselves to sexual immorality. What some believe Jude said is that the angels spoken of in Jude 6 gave themselves to sexual immorality as those in Sodom and Gomorrah had done.

With all of what is most likely confusion to you from the above paragraphs, we now turn to 2 Peter 2:4. Here, Peter was basically telling the false teachers, and those reading his letter, that if God judged angels for their sin, you can bet He will judge all false teachers for their sin.

Just what angels Peter was thinking of here is debatable. Many believe he was thinking of those pre-flood fallen angels that Jude spoke of'; those who had left their home in heaven to have sex with women. Some others suggest that these angels were fallen angels back prior to creation.

The CSB version of the Bible, which I am quoting from throughout this commentary, states that God sent these angels to hell. The Greek word "tartarus" is translated as hell in this verse. This is the only place in the New Testament where we read the Greek word "tartarus." This might well be because Peter was addressing mostly Gentile believers who would understand the meaning of tartarus, which in Greek mythology was a subterranean place where the wicked dead were located. It was a place lower than Hades, also the place of the dead. Peter said these fallen angels were put there by God as a means of judgment. Jude tells us that once God put them in this dark and gloomy dungeon, He then put them in eternal chains.

We see the reference to Noah in verse 5. Since Peter referred to Noah, many Bible teachers suggest that the angels Peter wrote about in the previous verse were the pre-flood angels of Genesis 6. Again, that is a mere interpretation, and somewhat speculative.

It's interesting to note that Jesus said that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be before His return to earth. Matthew 24:37 reads as follows:

"As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be."

What Jesus said tells me that all of the sin and immorality that was so all-consuming in the pre-flood world will exist prior to the end of this age. I believe I can safely say that we are well on the road to the end of the age in respect to such immorality. Of course, sexual immorality has always been prevalent no matter the era or the culture, but what Jesus was talking about is more widely accepted and publically displayed.

In order for God to have caused this flood, no matter how it came about and how much of the earth it covered, and that is a matter of debate, the moral nature of man must have been extremely bad for God to do what He did. Again, it will be as bad, if not worse, at the end of this age.

Note in verse 5 that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. The Genesis account does not exactly put it that way. Genesis 7:1 states that Noah was a righteous man. It doesn't say that he was a preacher of righteousness, but that could have easily been the case. Genesis 7:1 reads:

"Then the LORD said to Noah, 'Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.'"

Note also in verse 5 that God protected Noah from the flood. The point here is that God protects those who are truly His when His wrath is poured out on earth, as He did with Lot , as seen here in verse 7. Some Bible teachers use this in support of a pre-tribulation rapture, which in my thinking, is a bit speculative. God does protect us from His wrath, but this does not mean we will never escape the decay and death that has invaded creation after the events we read about in Genesis 3. That being said, we should not confuse this death and decay as being God's wrath. What we read in Genesis 3 could be understood in terms of God's judgment but His judgment does not always include a demonstration of wrath.

To be sure, the wrath of God that will be seen at the end of this age, as seen in the Book of Revelation, is not poured out on the Christian. I say that because of what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:9, that reads:

"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

We think things are morally bad today, but they cannot be as bad as they were back in pre-flood days. If the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 are really fallen angels who had sex with human women, producing giants, heroes, and men of renown, then things got so bad that it is difficult to imagine. The mixing of angels and human women, if that did indeed take place, is more than a bit bad. God had to create a massive flood as an act of divine judgment to come against that. Again, there is much speculation when thinking of these things, but many do speculate. Some day we will know the truth on this issue.

In verse 6 Peter mentioned the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an act of divine judgment. This was to be an example to other societies, both in Old Testament times, in Peter's day, and throughout history, which includes our day. The sad fact of the matter, though, the Biblically illiteracy of our day makes this message unknown to many. Humans will never learn the needed lessons of history.

There are a number of Bible scholars who suggest the reason for the Dead Sea being dead and full of salt is due to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . Recent archeological discoveries are actually proving this to be the case.

When it comes to one being righteous, we must first think of righteousness in terms of God declaring that the believer in Jesus is in fact righteous, is in fact in right standing before God. After we think in those terms, we can then think of righteousness in moral terms, that is, living a righteous life. Yes, we can find some things about Lot that might bother us, that we think are not righteous, but, if God viewed or declared him to be righteous, righteous he was, and that despite any short comings he might have had. We all have our short comings. We must acknowledge that, but if you have been declared righteous, declared to be in right standing before God, that is fundamental to the life of the Christian.

The meaning of Biblical righteousness is when one is in right standing with someone or something. Being in right standing is the fundamental meaning of being righteous. When one is in right standing with another, then, that one must live as if he is in right standing, and that is where the moral concept of righteousness comes into play.

In verse 9, Peter said that God will rescue the righteous as He punishes the unrighteous. When thinking of verse 9, and really, all of this section, we should think in terms of God demonstrating a wrathful judgment on any given society. Believers, whether Old Testament believers or New Testament believers, do not experience God's wrath, as I mentioned earlier. That does not mean believers will live a peaceful and easy life. Many Christians have been martyred for their association with Jesus. We need to distinguish between God's judgments on a culture from His demonstration of wrath on that culture. I believe they are two separate and distinct issues.

God's wrath was poured out on Jesus while He was on the cross so we as Christians would never experience God's wrath. His wrath will be poured out on the world at the end of this age. God's judgments and His demonstration of wrath are based on Him being just. God has judged nations in the past and has caused them to fall, but I don't see that as a demonstration of wrath. That, I see as a demonstration of justice. God is just and justice, sooner or later, always demands a verdict and then a sentencing.

In verse 10 Peter pointed out two particular sins of these false teachers in his day. One is following their corrupt nature, which obviously leads to all sorts of sins, which includes arrogance. The other particular sin is not following proper authority, and just what authority he had in mind might be questionable.

The word "authority" here is translated from a form of the Greek word "kyrios" that we translate into English as lord or master. In Colossians 1:16 it's translated as one of the ranks of angels. For this reason, and for the reason that Peter mentioned angels in the next verse, many think the authorities here in verse 10 are in reference to angelic authorities. Others suggest the authorities are civil, human authorities.

Despite the fact that Peter has been writing about Old Testament people and times in the last few verses, he was writing these things because he was comparing the wicked people of old with the wicked false teachers in his day. They, too, were arrogant sinners who despised all kind of authorities, whether human or angelic. They were not afraid to slander the angelic world, or, dignities, as the KJV states.

You can see there is some difficulty translating verse 11 into English. Some translations, like the NIV, think Peter was thinking of angelic beings and other translations, like the KJV, don't really specify who they think Peter was thinking about. We have to admit, that even with the help of the Holy Spirit, we find it difficult to get into the mind of the writers of the books of the Bible. For that reason, we should be very careful not to get overly dogmatic about any of our particular interpretations of certain more obscure issues.

These false teachers in Peter's day, like certain false prophets le in Old Testament times, slandered the angelic world. Part of the Gnostic doctrine that Peter was refuting concerned an over emphases on angels and the spirit world. They believed that there were many levels of angels between God and humans. These levels were meant to separate God from sinful humanity. They believed that Jesus was one of these created angels. Gnostics claimed to have special secret information from the spirit world that the ordinary man didn't have. Both Peter and Jude must have viewed Gnostic beliefs concerning angels as being slanderous.

It's clear to say that in these verses that Peter wrote, we don't have his full thinking on the issues he raised. We are, therefore, really not sure how Peter viewed the angelic world from what he wrote in his second letter. We don't know if he really accepted the Assumption of Moses' account or not. I'm not convinced that just because he quoted from this book that he actually believed it to be the inspired Word of God, although I can see why people would think he did accept the validity of this book that Protestant Christians view as non-canonical.

Verse 12

^"But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed."

Peter went on to say in verse 12 that these false teachers blasphemed in matters that they do not understand. They didn't understand because the motive for their teaching had more to do with greed than with understanding what they taught. As long as they personally benefited from their false teaching, why would they care if it was a valid teaching? They got what they wanted, and there was certainly nothing new about that. It is just the way of the world and our sinful human condition.

Peter had no love for these false teachers. He called them irrational animals. That is a pretty good descriptive way for the Christian Standard Bible to put it. As human beings, we balance our human instincts with our rational capabilities, or at least we should. We just don't do what we always feel like doing, or that is the way it should be. This reminds me of what a social worker who once told me that if a child is not raised properly under a healthy authority, the child will eventually turn out to be no different than an animal, just behaving in whatever way comes natural to him. Children need to be trained, and if not trained, they are not much different than a wild dog.

The problem with our human natural instincts is that they are inherently evil and sinful. The only reason why the false teachers should exist, according to Peter's thinking, is so God could judge them and destroy them. That is a pretty descriptive way of putting this. That comes close to sounding like predestination, meaning, God predestined these men to be false teachers so He could destroy them. I'm not saying that this idea is what Peter had in mind when he penned these words. I'm only saying that maybe someone could derive this understanding from what Peter wrote here, especially sense in 1 Peter 1:1 Peter wrote about Christians being chosen by God to be saved. Could God have chosen some people not to be Christian? Some people think so. You can come to your own conclusion. This has been a long-standing debate over the centuries, and I will certainly not end that debate.

Peter used some very strong and forceful words here in verse 12. Such strong words would not be tolerated in today's world, and that includes in today's church, but Christians must not go soft when it comes to false teaching. When I say false teaching, I'm not talking about disagreements on secondary issues that are difficult four us to understand. I'm talking about primary issues that go to the heart of our Christian thinking, and in this case, the primary issue was the Deity of Christ. We can never concede to someone denouncing the Deity of Christ in our churches. We must allow for differences on secondary issues, such as, end time theology, but primary issues are a different story all together. Of course, we often differ over what is a primary issue and what is a secondary issue. Such is the nature of the human condition.

At this point, and before I continue to verse 13 I would like to insert an article I wrote entitled "Atheisms Final Fight." It is based on verse 12.

Over the decades many of us have attempted to figure out the Book of Revelation. Some claim great success in this endeavour, but I question that. I've done the research and understand the various prophetic scenarios. I've written, rewritten, and written again, a verse by verse commentary on Revelation. I have a verse by verse audio commentary on YouTube, and have taught two classes on this prophetic book. I have my prophetic leanings, but they're just leanings. I'm not overly dogmatic, and am reluctant to hold down to one fixed position. That being said, I think I can safely say, if anything can be safely said from Revelation, that before it's all over, atheism will admit to the God it claimed never existed. Revelation 19:19 reads:

"Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army."

The context of Revelation 19:19 tells me that the rider on the white horse is Jesus, who the nations have the audacity to think they can defeat in battle. At this point, humanity knows exactly who it is fighting. It's Jesus, the Son of the God they said never existed. Any lingering remnant of atheism would, thus, become a memory of the misguided.

How can humanity be so arrogantly foolish, thinking a fight with God is winnable? This reminds me of 2 Peter 2:12, as quoted from the Christian Standard Bible.

"But these people, like irrational animals — creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed — slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed."

Peter's intolerance of the false teachers of his day who rejected the divinity of Jesus is seen in him calling them "irrational animals, creatures of instinct." These heretics had exchanged any rational capabilities they might have possessed for irrational, animal-like instincts. They were like humanity at the end of this age, who like a frightened fox, fearfully, frantically, and instinctively, attempt to defend itself from a God it finally admits exists. Like the heretics in Peter's day that were born only to be caught and destroyed, so an irrational humanity will be caught and destroyed at atheism's final fight.

Verse 13

^"They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you."

In verse 13 Peter wrote that these false teachers will be paid back for the harm they have plundered on the church community. Peter could have been thinking of the Day of Judgment when he wrote these words. The Bible teaches that Christians should not repay evil with evil, because God Himself will do the repaying on the Day of the Lord, and He can certainly do a much better job of repaying than we can ever think of doing. Romans 12:19 reads:

"Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God's wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord."

2 Timothy 4:14 reads:

"Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works."

You might wonder why Peter used the word "harm" in verse 13. These Gnostic false teachers were doing great harm to the church. They, and what they taught, were destructive. So, in like manor, as they attempted to destroy the church, they themselves would be destroyed by God in an act of divine judgment. Basically, the idea here is what you sow you will reap. If you sow harm, you will reap harm.

In verse 13 Peter pointed out the sins of these false teachers. He wrote that they caroused around in broad daylight. Many pagans back then would openly have wild, drunken sex parties in the city center. These teachers obviously were involved in such activity. They were involved in such sexual immorality because of their Antinomian Gnostic belief system that stated all human flesh was evil and beyond any means of repair, therefore, there's no use fighting the flesh. You simply give in and do whatever comes natural to your sinful flesh, and in the process, you enjoy it as much as possible, and thus, the reference to wild, drunken orgies.

These heretics were also influenced by the worship of the various pagan gods that incorporated sexual expression as a part of worship. Many pagan temples provided both male and female prostitutes that provided their service for the worshippers.

Peter said that these false teachers were spots and blemishes. They were stains in the fabric of their cultural surroundings. They were a cancer, infecting all they came in contact with. While they were staining everything around them, they ate with Christians, causing blemishes to be seen on the church as well. It was common in those days for the church to gather for what was commonly called love feasts, and these Gnostics would be part of those gatherings. For that reason, the church had to confront and expel such false teachers from its midst.

These pagan Gnostics might well have taken advantage of the church in the sense that the church called their gatherings love feasts. The term love feast to pagans would have meant something altogether different than to Christians. Love feasts to the pagan Gnostics might well have implied a wild sex party.

Besides the above, as we have seen, these false teachers snuck into the church. They were deceptive. They would have first appeared like nice Christians, making friends with those in the church. It was not until after they had fit into the church and were accepted by the believers that they would begin, step by step, preaching and teaching heresies. At that point, many believers would have been tempted, to at least hear these false teachers out.

Verse 14

"They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse!"

In verse 14 Peter wrote that these false teachers had adulterous eyes. They never stopped looking around for an excuse to sin. These sins, as I have said, included sexual sins. The eyes of these men were always on the move, looking for new adulterous situations to be captivated by. Again, the basis for this adultery was their Antinomian Gnosticism. Part of their involvement in church circles might well have been to seduce the women, and often men as well. Homosexuality was common in the first-century, Greco-Roman world. At least in part, this might be what Peter meant when he said that these men seduce the unstable. The word "unstable," therefore, could refer to unstable men as well as women. All of this sexual stuff aside, the word "unstable" in my thinking implies unstable in thought. When someone is unstable in his or her thinking, he or she will fall to any kind of deceptive idea. This places much importance on us as individual Christians to be mentally stable, mentally alert, in our understanding of Biblical truth. It places the importance of sound teaching within the church, for without sound Biblical teaching, the church will certainly, sooner or later, go astray.

Although we often associate the word "adulterous" with sexual sins, it can also be understood as lusting after anything that one should not have. We know that these teachers were full of greed. This would mean that in terms of material wealth, they were adulterous. They lusted after more than what they needed.

Peter continued to say that these false teachers were experts in greed. You might call them professionals when it comes to greed. They knew how to get more from whomever and wherever, and it did not matter the way in which they exercised their greed. So once again, we see this adulterous lust for more of anything and everything.

Verses 15 and 16

^"They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness."

These false teachers followed the way of Balaam. Balaam was a non-Jewish prophet in Old Testament times. He turned out to be a very greedy man and was judged by God for his adulterous lust for what was more than what was good for him. Peter reminded his readers that Balaam had to be rebuked by a donkey. This is clearly meant to be a slam against these irrational Gnostic, false teachers.

Peter used the word "madness" in relation to Balaam. By comparing the false teachers with Balaam, Peter was saying that these Gnostic teachers were mad. They were insane; despite the fact they appeared to be smart, rational teachers. They were insane because the fusion of Antinomian Gnosticism with Christianity is illogical and irrational. There is no logic when we, or anyone, attempts to fuse a pagan philosophy with the Christian religion. They are miles apart in what is taught and believed. Gnostics did not believe in the Deity of Christ, the very fundamental point of theology that Christians embraced as universally true. It made no sense to fuse two opposing viewpoints, other than, if there was something for the false teachers to benefit from. Logic did not matter to these false teachers. What mattered was their goal, and that was to fulfill their adulterous lusts in whatever way was possible.

Verses 17 through 19

^"These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them."

Peter didn't end his railing against these men. In verse 17 he wrote that they were springs without water, meaning, they were empty of anything of useful substance. They claimed to have been something, when in factual reality, they had absolutely nothing. They were like mist, driven aimlessly by the winds of a storm. These men had no stability and when the storms of life blew there way, they blew wherever the wind took them. They had no control over their lives. They were subject to the natural elements around them. A blackened darkness was reserved for them. All this speaks of God's judgment on their lives. This wasn't just darkness. Neither was it just blackness. It's the blackest of darkness that one could ever experience. The place that God had prepared for these false teachers is that darkest place that can ever be known. This blackened darkness is mostly likely a metaphor for "tartarus," as we saw back in verse 4. There, the Greek word "tartarus" is translated into English as hell in many versions of the Bible.

In verse 18 Peter said that these false teacher's mouths were empty. They spoke boastful words that appealed to our human sinful nature. Once again, basic human nature is evil, not good. It's what Jeremiah 17:9 has clearly told us. Once again, I quote that verse.

"The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable — who can understand it?"

The things these men taught were spoken in order to entice those who follow their sinful nature to embrace. The situation is circular, that is, they spoke things from their sinful nature to entice others with their sinful nature that would in turn return to them to satisfy their own sinful nature. Sin is a pandemic. It spreads across a culture faster than any virus.

Verse 18 zeroes in on what sin was being enticed by these false teachers. It had to do with sinful desires, that Peter said was debauchery. That speaks to sexual immorality. The free flow of sexual immorality was, in part, that which these teachers were teaching, with the hope they could be involved in such immoral practices with their new converts. Remember, the basis to these men's teaching was that a human spirit was good and a human body, or flesh, was evil. There was nothing you could do about one's evil fleshly nature, so just give into it, and as you do, enjoy it as much as you can.

These men were all about playing on our sinful nature, like many modern preachers do today. I believe present-day prosperity-gospel teachers do the same today. They play on our greed for more. They stir up the lust for worldly, material things within us. They say that we can have all we want from the Lord. They say that having it all is just part of the gospel of Christ. If, then, you have sufficient faith in Jesus, He will make you materially prosperous. Such teaching cannot be supported by Scripture. It certainly was not the reality for Peter, Paul, and most all of the first-century Christians. If Peter and Paul ever expected to benefit materially from their faith in Jesus, they would have been severely disappointed. Just read Philippians, chapter 3, and you will see that to be true. Philippians 3:8 reads:

"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ,"

Now Read Revelation 3:17 and 18 where we see Jesus Himself slamming the church at Laodicea for their wealthy lifestyle apart from Him. They had actually left Jesus out of their church, as we read in Revelation 3:20. Revelation 3:17 and 18 read:

"For you say, 'I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,' and you don't realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see."

One way in which you can distinguish between a false teacher from a real teacher is that if the teacher appeals to your sinful nature, you can next to bet he is a false teacher. This is why I say that many prosperity-gospel teachers are false teachers. They appeal to our lust for more material possessions.

Also in verse 18 Peter wrote that these teachers entice those who have just escaped from their lives of error. These men preyed on new Christians who were in the process of escaping the corruption of the world. Once again, we see Peter's use of the word escape. Peter believed that Christians should understand that they need to escape from the things of the culture in which they lived. These false teachers were trying to seduce new Christians back into the world that they had just left. These Gnostics believed that there was no escape from the world and that's why they gave themselves to fleshly lusts.

In the very first Christian sermon ever preached, Peter told his audience that they needed to escape the grips of the corrupt culture in which they lived. Acts 2:40 reads:

"With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, 'Be saved [escape] from this corrupt generation!'"

In verse 19 Peter said that these false teachers offered their prey freedom while they themselves were slaves to corruption, or, slaves to depravity. You see Peter's thinking on the theological doctrine of the depravity of man in this verse. Both Peter and Paul agree that man is corrupt and depraved. Paul clearly pointed this out in Romans, chapters 1, 2 and 7. Mankind is trapped in his fallen state of depravity. This means that there is no goodness within man, especially when compared to God's standard of goodness. When we compare ourselves with others, we might well appear to be very good. The problem with such a comparison is that God does not compare us with others. He compares us with Himself, and in that sense, there is no real comparison. We are far from good, as God defines good. We cannot get out of this depraved state of being on our own. We need to escape with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the very Holy Spirit that Peter said in the first Christian sermon, that would come to live within those who would repent and hand their lives over to Jesus. Acts 2:38 reads:

"Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

You cannot escape the corrupt depravity of the world without being born again, which occurs when the Holy Spirit comes into your life. Then, once being reborn by the Spirit of God's entrance into your being, you begin to live by the power of the same Spirit.

The Antinomian Gnostics would have believed like Peter when it came to the depravity of man, and that man had no capacity to escape this depravity. Where the Gnostics and Peter disagreed was that God came to earth in the form of Jesus so that the Holy Spirit could come to live within man, which in turn, could free man from his depravity.

Peter continued by saying that a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. A smoker is a slave to his cigarettes. Anyone who is addicted to anything is a slave to that which he is addicted. When it comes to our own sinful human nature, we are all addicted to it. We all tend towards serving ourselves and fulfilling our human fleshly lusts. We must all admit to this human failure. In Biblical terms, this admittance is the first step in the process of repentance that leads to trusting your life with Jesus, that in turn leads to salvation.

During the decade of the 1960's the youth were searching for freedom. No man is really free, and the youth of the 1960's were no exception to this rule. They may have freed themselves from one world system, but in the process, they enslaved themselves to another world system. In one real sense of the word, people are all slaves to something. It reminds me of Bob Dylan's late 1970's song entitled "You've Got To Serve Someone." How true that is.

The new freedom the youth of the 1960's gave themselves to has ended up in much cultural disaster. The free sex has led to the spread of sexual decease more than ever. It has led to distressful marriage breakups and children who have never experience family as it was meant to be experienced. The freedom to indulge in drugs has led to much addiction throughout every aspect of culture. Homelessness has become one of the major problems in the western world, a place on this planet where there should be little to no reason for anyone to not have a home. It is said that at least sixty five to seventy percent of the homeless men and women today are homeless because of drug addiction. Setting one's self free from community restraints, as the youth did in the 1960's has led to much of our social problems today, like school shootings, mass murders, and other such things. So there you go. Freedom to serve yourself ends in disaster. Logic only tells us, if our human nature is as sinful as the Bible says it is, then, addiction to self never ends good.

Verse 20

^"For if, having escaped the world's impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first."

Verse 20 speaks to the issue of Christians falling back into a non-Christian way of living, and in this case, a pagan way of living. For those who backslide, as we used to call it, the last state is worse than the first state. This is a difficult verse to get our heads around. Some people might suggest that what Peter said here means that once a person is saved, he can get unsaved if he returns to his old way of living. Others say getting unsaved is impossible, if in fact, you are really saved in the first place. That doctrine is called "Eternal Security," as in, your salvation is eternally secure, sealed up in the Book of Life, never to be removed. Many who believe in eternal security believe a backslidden Christian was never a Christian in the first place, but that does not seem to be the case in those people who Peter was writing about. It appears to me that they were genuine Christians. They escaped from the world and their escape came about through the Lord Jesus Christ. That sounds like a genuine conversion.

The Greek verb tense used here is an aorist verb. This suggests that at one given time, whenever that time was, these people acted in two precise ways. They escaped the corruption of the world, and they knew the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, in my thinking, that seems to suggest that these false teachers had come to true Christian salvation.

When Peter wrote that these people became entangled in the corrupt world once again, the Greek verb tense here is a perfect verb. That means the entanglement is an accomplished fact. There should be no doubt about that. These false teachers were not just dabbling in the corrupt world. They were totally entangled in it. They were consumed by it.

With the above two paragraphs in mind, you will have to dig around the Scripture to come to your own conclusion. There are a few other passages like this one. Hebrews 6:4 through 6 is an example. That passage reads:

"For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt."

I will never solve this debate, so I will not try. I will leave it up to you to figure out, that is, if you can. Whatever the case, Peter said that the last state of these people is worse than the first. If their first state was darkened blackness, their last state is even darker and blacker. If you believe this darkened state is the eternal destiny of these people, then you believe they lost their salvation. If, however, this darkened state of being is just the miserable life these people now found themselves in, that does not necessarily suggest that they lost their eternal salvation. It just means that as a backslidden Christian, their life was next to not worth living. Maybe you have seen people like this. I certainly have.

Verses 21 and 22

"For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, "A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud."

In verse 21 Peter confirmed, at least to me at this moment, that these false teachers and their followers were once real Christians. He said that they knew the way of righteousness and had now walked away from it. That sounds to me like they were real Christians. That being the case, once they had departed the way of righteousness, it would be better for them if they were never on the way of righteousness in the first place. It would have been better for them if they were never Christians in the first place. Despite all of the problems these verses plague us; we should take what Peter wrote as a very strong warning. Even if you walk away from your life of salvation, and, you stay saved, your present earthly life will never be satisfying to you. As I wrote earlier, many live a very miserable life after they walk away from Jesus.

How you interpret the word "known" in verse 21 will determine your stance on eternal security in relation to this verse. If the word "known" means to simply mentally know, then one might say those who knew the way of righteousness weren't saved in the first place. They only knew, as in head knowledge, the way of righteousness. They did not experience the way of righteousness. I believe that the Greek word "epiginosko" that is translated as "know" here suggest otherwise. This Greek word means to know thoroughly, and that suggests experiential knowing to me. Also, since knowing is a Greek perfect verb, it suggests a real and completed experiential knowing, not just a mental knowing about Jesus and the righteous way of living.

What did Peter mean when he used the word "command" in verse 21? In context, I believe the command is the command to be saved and to walk in the way of righteousness. It is the command to repent and hand your life over to the Lordship of Jesus, that would, allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life. That would make a person a genuine Christian, who would begin to live and experience the righteous way of living Peter was writing about.

Verse 22 ends this chapter. Peter quoted from Proverbs 26:11 where it says "a dog returns to its vomit." This analogy shows us the life of one who turns back from the Lord. He is like a dog returning to his vomit. That doesn't sound very appealing. From my observation from those who, what we in Evangelical Christian circles call being in a backslidden state, life is not pretty. Those backsliders tend to be pretty miserable.

I usually hesitate to use the term backslide because depending on who uses the term, will depend on its definition. Christians, from my experience, can backslide, but that does not mean they have lost their salvation. I have seen many come back to Jesus in a real way. That tells me that even though they are not walking in the way of righteousness at the moment, that does not necessarily mean they have lost their eternal salvation. That being said, those Peter was writing about, at least in my thinking at the moment, had actually forsaken Jesus and their salvation. If that is true, you would have to think the issue of eternal salvation through.

Peter used another proverb as an analogy. He wrote about a pig returning to the mud. Now this is not an Old Testament proverb. Where Peter picked up this proverb is unknown. It's probably a regular run of the mill street-level proverb used in everyday conversation by anyone and everyone.

These last three verses of 2 Peter 2 are tough verses to interpret. They challenge some of our doctrinal positions. Beyond that, they speak of the serious nature of actually becoming a Christian. I believe that in many respects, Evangelical Christians have taken away the serious nature of becoming a Christian by their quick and easy salvation message. We have preached "come to Jesus and live happily ever after." We have preached, "Repeat this simple sinner's prayer after me and you will immediately become a Christian." We have ignored the aspect of repentance in much of our preaching. We haven't explained that faith is handing your entire life over to Jesus. It's not adopting a Biblical belief system. Faith, or belief in Jesus, is not acknowledging the existence of Jesus. We have failed many times to lead people to the place where they could receive the Holy Spirit into their very being. We have told them to simply make a mental decision to be saved, without understanding that becoming a Christian is responding to the call of God on their lives. There are so many ways that we have done more harm than good over the years concerning this issue. What Peter pointed out here is that becoming a Christian is a serious, life long, and life changing matter. God forbid that we minimize this.

Another thing to note along this line is that becoming a Christian is not a matter of our choice alone. We can't simply become a Christian just any old time we want. As Jesus said in John 6:44, no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him. The Father draws us by means of the Holy Spirit. I would suggest that becoming a Christian is more about God drawing us to Jesus than we simply deciding to accept Jesus in our lives, or as some say, "accept Jesus into your heart." This is why prayer for our loved ones is so important. God is the initiator of all things, and that includes our salvation.

I realize that there are many passages that say that we are to call on God to be saved. There are also many passages that seem to suggest that it is God who chooses those to be saved. With this in mind I write the following paragraphs.

The Greek word "pistis" is translated as believe, faith, and trust in our English New Testament. Pistis means trust. If you believe in Jesus, you trust Him. If you have faith in Jesus, you trust Him. There are many New Testament verses that tell us to believe in Jesus, which suggests that we have the inherent ability to trust Him. "Whosoever believes will be saved" in John 3:16 is one such verse. Acts16:31 is another.

"They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.'"

In light of Acts 16:31 implying that we have the ability to trust Jesus, does 2 Peter 1:1 create a problem for us?

"Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (CSB)."

Read also Romans 12:3.

"For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one (CSB)."

Verses like John 3:16 and Acts 16:31 that tell us to believe in Jesus imply that we have the inherent ability to generate sufficient faith, belief, or trust in Jesus to be saved. That suggests faith, belief, or trust in Jesus originates within us. Verses like 2 Peter 1:1 and Romans 12:3 imply that we have received belief, faith, or trust in Jesus from God. So, is the source of our faith within us or within God? It's an age-old question.

Here's my feeble attempt to answer this question. Jeremiah 17:9 implies that we are so depraved that we can never know how depraved we are. That tells me that we have no capability to trust our lives with Jesus. We don't even have the ability to come to Him to get saved unless God draws us to Him (John 6:44). God, thus, chooses to save us (Ephesians 1:4) and in the process becomes the originator and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:3). That makes sense to me because, from the beginning of all things, to the end of all things, Jesus is the first and last, the initiator and finisher of all things (Revelation 1:8).

I conclude that whosoever wishes to be saved by believing (John 3:16, Acts 16:31) are those whom God chooses (Ephesians 1:4) to draw close to Jesus (John 6:44) to receive the ability to trust Him (2 Peter 1:1, Romans 12:3). The source of my faith, my belief, my ability to trust Jesus, comes from Jesus, not from me. I realize this opens a long-standing debate that I will never end. Whatever the case, it's my feeble attempt to unite two opposing Scriptural concepts, and who knows, my feeble attempt may be modified at a later date.

2 Peter 3:1 - 18

The Text

1 - Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, ²so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles. ³Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires, ⁴saying, "Where is his coming that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation." ⁵They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water. ⁶Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded. ⁷By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸Dear friends, don't overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.¹¹Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness ¹²as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. ¹³But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. ¹⁵Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures. ¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

My Commentary

Verses 1 and 2

"Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, ²so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles."

In verse 1 Peter acknowledged the fact that this is his second letter that he has written to these people. To see to whom exactly Peter was writing, you can refer back to 1 Peter 1:1 and 2. He was writing to Christians in what we call North West Turkey today.

Peter explained the reason for his letters. It was to stimulate his readers' understanding, which would be their understanding of the things pertaining to their salvation, which obviously included doctrinal issues. Peter realized, as we should realize too, that good thinking, right, doctrine, and all that goes along with these things, are important in one's life. What you think, you become is so true. What goes into your minds will come out in your actions is also true. Peter wrote this because the Antinomian Gnostics were spreading heretical and irrational doctrines.

Peter said he wrote both of his letters as a reminder for his readers. We read the word "remember" throughout the Bible in terms of remembering the Word of the Lord. Of course, you must first hear and then know the Word of the Lord before you can remember it. In our day when there is so much Biblical illiteracy, many Christians can't remember the Word of the Lord because they don't know it. They have no knowledge to be remembered. If the Word of the Lord is not in both our brains and our hearts, the Holy Spirit can't find any Words of God within us to bring to our remembrance when we desperately need to recall the Word of the Lord.

In verse 2 Peter said that he wanted his letter to be a means by which his readers recall the words spoken by the holy prophets, and, the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. There are a few points to consider here. One point is that Peter linked the first century apostles with the Old Testament prophets in the sense that they both spoke the Word of God. You might say the New Testament apostles were the Old Testament prophets for our age, the Age of Grace. This elevation of New Testament apostles to the same level as Old Testament prophets has made some think the place of apostles ended with these New Testament apostles. It is clear that there were other apostles mentioned in the New Testament, that is, other than the Twelve plus Paul. It is my thinking that the ministry of apostles have continued on to this very day. It is one of the ministry gifts given by Jesus to the church, as seen in Ephesians 4:11, that reads:

"And he [Jesus] himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,"

There is no specific New Testament passage that suggests these ministries of Christ disappeared once the first generation of Christians passed on. Many who claim that the apostolic ministry ended with the death of the original apostles often quote from 1 Corinthians 13:9 and 10, that read:

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end."

In the above passage, Paul admitted that none of us have all the knowledge concerning anything. He then said when that which is perfect comes, all of our lack of knowledge will end. This is the question. What is that perfect thing Paul had in mind? Those claiming that the apostolic ministries no longer exist for today's church say that perfect thing is the Bible. There is no logic to this claim. The Bible does not claim to provide us with the full knowledge of God. That perfect thing is Jesus Himself. He only is perfect, and when He returns to earth, full knowledge will be ours.

If you think the Bible is that which is perfect, then, I would need to ask what version of the Bible is perfect. That would be a difficult question to answer, because, every version translates certain verses a bit differently. You might then say that it is not our English translations that are perfect. It is the original version that is perfect. The problem with that line of reasoning is that we do not have the original version of any Biblical text, so, those perfect original texts that we do not have are no use to us today. No, Jesus is that which is perfect, and, when He returns to this planet, we will know all that is needed to know.

Believing that the ministry of apostles still exists, I do believe we need to make a clear distinction between the Twelve apostles plus Paul and other apostles, including today's apostles. The Twelve plus Paul should be elevated to a higher level than what I would call secondary apostles. Secondary apostles would include the apostles we read about in the New Testament, other than the Twelve and Paul, and, the ones we see today. Secondary apostles, including today's apostles, merely repeat what the Twelve plus Paul have taught. These secondary apostles do not teach new doctrine that is not in Scripture.

I use the term "plus Paul" because I think the New Testament makes it clear that Paul was on the same level as the Twelve. Some Bible teachers suggest that Paul actually in the mind of God took Judas' place as the twelfth apostle. That could well be the case, but it is speculation. If you read the account in Acts 1 where Judah 's replacement was chosen, you will note that after prayer, lots were drawn to see who would become apostle number twelve. That could well have been God's choice, but, the way in which the choice transpired seems a bit to humanistic to me. You never see a decision made like this once the Holy Spirit came to live within the lives of the believers. Determining the will of God was then based on the leading of the Spirit of God, not a game of chance, even if that chance was preceded with prayer.

It's also my opinion that as Moses was to the people of God in the Old Testament, so Paul is to the New Testament people of God. More than any other New Testament personality, and that includes Jesus Himself, Paul defined much of our Christian doctrine. It is for this reason that I have always said that if Paul got things wrong, we as Christians, are in one huge miserable mess. Paul Himself said something similar in 1 Corinthians 15:19.

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

Paul taught that because Jesus rose from the dead, we, like Him, will rise from the dead too. We will be resurrected into a new existence and spend eternity in heavenly bliss. He admitted, though, that if he was wrong on this point, we as Christians, of all men are most miserable. Of course, Paul was absolutely convinced of both the resurrection of Jesus and his future resurrection as well, and so am I. We have no need to exist in a miserable mess.

The reason why Paul said that if Christians would never be raised into new life once they died is because, he and others, were experiencing many trials due to their faith in Jesus, trials that if they were not Christians would not have to be faced. Life would have been much easier for them if they were not Christians. The fact of the matter, though, is that with the hope of eternal bliss, these Christians could, and would, plow through the trials without caving into them.

When linking the apostles with the Old Testament prophets, Peter in a round about way, would have been saying that what the New Testament apostles wrote would be on the same inspirational level as what the Old Testament prophets wrote. This, then, hints at the canonization of the New Testament letters as far back as the first-generation church.

Note also the phrase "your apostles" in verse 2. With the addition of the word "your," we see a possessive understanding of apostles. By this I mean, apostles are given to people. They are given to us, the church, just as Ephesians 4:11 states. As a matter of fact, any of the leadership gifts of Jesus in a church, as seen in Ephesians 4:11, should be seen as being servants of the church, those who have been given to the people of God to help them mature as Christians.

Notice the word "commandment" in verse 2. This is an Old Testament word used in a New Testament sense. The command spoken of here is the command to obey the gospel of Jesus. You might not see the gospel as being a command from God, but it certainly is a command. You obey the gospel and give yourself to Jesus, or else face the eternal consequences.

Verses 3 and 4

"Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires, saying, 'Where is his coming that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.'"

Before we get to verse 3, which speaks of the last days, we should realize that there are two aspects to the last days as seen in the New Testament. One is seen in Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost when he alluded to the fact that the last days had just begun on that very day when the Holy Spirit came to reside within the lives of the believers. The other aspect to the last days, as seen throughout the whole Bible, is that the last few years just prior to Jesus' return to earth are considered to be the last days. This last aspect is what Peter was writing about here in this chapter of his letter.

Note the words "first of all” in verse 3. Peter was now going to tell his readers what the prophets of old and the apostles of their day taught, especially concerning the return of Jesus. Concerning Jesus' return, Peter said that scoffers will come, mocking the very idea about Jesus returning to earth. These scoffers will follow their own evil desires. The Greek word “empatzo” is translated as scoffers here. This Greek word is made up of two other Greek words, one meaning to play as a child, and, the other meaning to make fun of something or someone. This paints a mental image for us that shows that these scoffers make fun of those who believe that Jesus will return to earth, just as children can make fun of various things. It is a making fun of, based on little intelligence. It's that irrational way of thinking that Peter mentioned earlier.

There were scoffers in Peter's day and there are scoffers today when it comes to Jesus' return to earth. These scoffers make fun of the idea that Jesus could possibly return. Beyond these scoffers, there is an element in the church that almost comes close to scoffing. These are people who say that we should not pay much attention to the return of Jesus because it takes away from our daily witness and the work of the Lord we need to do right now. These people would say that those who look forward to the return of Christ don't live for today, and fail to be a good witness. They say such people are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good, a phrase I often heard when I was a child. This is not necessarily scoffing, but it is heading in the same general direction, especially if those holding to this view make light of those who preach the return of Jesus. I would suggest the opposite to be true. From my vantage point, many of those who believe Jesus will return soon are those who are serious about having their family and friends come to Jesus before that day comes. So, their witness is extremely important to them.

The specific scoffers that Peter would have been talking about here, at least in his day, not our day, were the Gnostics. They believed that Jesus was an angel and He would not return to this earth and unite Himself with an unholy humanity.

In this small letter, Peter spent a fair amount of time writing about the return of Christ. Jesus' return to earth was a very important factor in the apostolic teaching in the first century. We should not leave this teaching out of our pulpits either. That being said, we should keep all Biblical issues in what I would call Biblical balance. Stressing one Biblical issue at the expense of others is not good Biblical teaching. There are some in the church who preach pretty much nothing except their version of end time prophecy. That is not being Biblically balanced.

The scoffers of Peter's day did more than scoff. They continued in their indulgence of their evil desires, as Peter also said. These people were far from being godly. These scoffers were the false teachers, the Antinomian Gnostics, who believed that our flesh is so evil and beyond repair that we might as well give into it and sin all we want, because sin can be enjoyable to a sinful person.

In verse 4 Peter gave an example of what these scoffers will say. They ask where is the coming of your Lord? Ever since our forefathers have died, over the centuries, everything goes on as it always has. Nothing really changes. Even so-called Christian groups have changed their thinking on just what the return of Christ really means. They have no patience to wait, so they change their doctrine to match their impatience.

Verse 5

^"They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water."

In verse 5 Peter said that these last-day scoffers will deliberately forget, or purposely ignore, some important things in their understanding, and thus, their teaching. Note the word "deliberately." This forgetting will be willful and calculated. It will not be a mere slip of the memory. The scoffers will say that everything has remained the same since creation. Speaking of creation, Peter then reminded his readers about how God is the Creator, something these scoffers no longer believed. That is clearly what has been happening in the western world over the last one hundred and fifty years. Ever since Darwinian based science became popular, the Biblical creation account of God being Creator has been deliberately scoffed at.

Peter said that long ago, the heavens existed and the earth was formed from water. This suggests to me that the heavens existed before the earth was created. What Peter said here confirms the Genesis account in many respects. In Genesis 1:1 we read that God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:2 tells us that the earth was formless and empty, but there was water covering the earth. It wasn't until later that God separated the waters on the earth from the waters in the heavens, the sky.

I will not get involved in the creation account here. That is a topic for a later date. The only thing I will say is that a good hermeneutical approach to the account of creation demands we understand the text in the cultural setting, and the language, in which it was originally written. With that in mind, your concept of creation, and how it came about, might undergo a change, as it has with me.

The "word of God," as Peter put it here in verse 5 reminds me of John 1:1 and 2, which reads:

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were created by Him and without Him was nothing created."

The very words that spoke things into existence, was in fact, Jesus Himself.

This also reminds me of Psalm 33:6, that reads:

"The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth."

Verse 6

^"Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded."

In verse 6 we see the point to Peter's answer to the scoffers. He said that the same water that formed the earth destroyed the earth. Although Peter didn't speak of this flood as being the flood in Noah's day, it's pretty well accepted that it was. God, in fact, brought judgment onto the earth, so the scoffers are wrong. Things have not been as they were since creation. God sent a major judgment to the earth, and in the process, things did change.

All of the above being said, I do need to make mention that not all Bible scholars believe the flood in Noah's day covered the whole earth. For many good reasons, that is beyond the scope of this book, the flood might well have been a large regional flood. I would not be so quick to dismiss the notion that the flood was not world wide until you study through both sides of this issue.

Verse 7

^"By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."

In verse 7 Peter said that if God destroyed the earth once, He can, and He will, destroy it again. According to Peter, the heavens and the earth are reserved for fire. God will judge both the heavens and the earth once again, but this time it will not be by a flood of water, but by a storm of fire.

Concerning this fire, some believe Peter was thinking metaphorically, or symbolically. Others believe this fire is literal. The flood of water was literal in Noah's day so it makes sense that the fire that burns the heavens and the earth in the future will be literal, but still, that might well be open for debate. This fire brings judgment to all the ungodly.

When thinking of this fire, the Lake of Fire that we read about in the Book of Revelation, which is not the fire Peter was writing about here, might come to mind. I used to think that the Lake of Fire was a place of literal fire, but I have come to believe that the fire in the Lake of Fire might well be symbolic fire. It all depends on how you view the Book of Revelation as a whole. Is all that you read literal or symbolic? If you take a symbolic approach to Revelation, then you'll believe the fire in the Lake of Fire is not literal fire. If you understand Revelation to be a literal account of future events, the fire in the Lake of Fire is literal fire.

Verses 8 through 10

^"Dear friends, don't overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed."

Verse 8 is a well known and much quoted verse within Evangelical Christianity. It tells us that one day is like a thousand earth years to the Lord, and, a thousand earth years is like one day to Him. This verse is quoted many times, and it is also misquoted many times, and thus, misunderstood and misapplied. I have heard so many people over the years simply quote half of this verse. They say that in the eyes of the Lord a thousand earth years is one day in His eyes. They, then, claim that since two thousand earth years have passed since Jesus’ first coming, that is seen as only two days in the eyes of Jesus. From such thinking, all sorts of prophetic scenarios arise. This concept is often used when certain Bible passages say the Jesus will come soon. How can soon be soon, when two thousand years have passed? Soon can only be soon when thinking of soon in terms of days instead of a thousand years. I don't see it that way. Revelation 1:1 is one of those verses with the word "soon" used in it in a prophetic sense. That verse reads:

"The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,"

Revelation 3:11is another such verse.

"I [Jesus] am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown."

The problem with simply thinking that a thousand years equals one day in God's sight is that Peter did not say that. He said that a thousand years is like one day in God's sight, and one day is like a thousand years in His sight. The two statements cancel each other out. This means that when it comes to God, there is no such thing as time. There is no such thing as a day or a thousand years. He exists outside of our time space environment. He lives in an eternal spiritual environment that is difficult for us to understand. There are many implications to this. One implication is that He knows the future here on earth before the future becomes a present reality. He not only knows the future, He exists in the future, and thus, the reason why He can foretell future events.

When thinking that God exists in a timeless space, this timelessness is actually seen in His Hebrew name, which is, Yahweh. Yahweh simply means "I AM." God exists in the eternal present. He always has been, presently is, and ever will be, all at the same moment of our earthly time environment. I call this "the eternal present." Even as I use that term, I realize it, or anything I could write or say on this issue, does not do this issue justly. It is too difficult for a finite, mortal human being to explain an infinite, eternal God.

Peter might have had Psalm 90:4 in mind when he wrote these words. That Psalm says that a thousand years is as a day in the sight of the Lord. The Psalm doesn't say the reverse is so, as Peter wrote here. Peter might have added the second phrase to clarify what the writer of the Psalm meant. You might say that Peter was commentating on this Psalm. Psalm 90:4 reads:

"For in your sight a thousand years

are like yesterday that passes by,

like a few hours of the night."

With all of this in mind, we should be careful how we interpret certain prophetic numbering systems. Is, for example, the thousand years we read about in the Book of Revelation a literal thousand years or is it one day. Should we understand that thousand years to be a literal thousand years or a symbolic thousand years? Again, it depends on your approach to the Book of Revelation as a whole.

So, Peter said that the Lord is not slow as some count slowness. What some suggest as being slow should be viewed as God being patient, which He certainly is. God, nor Jesus, is slow. He is patient. He does not want anyone to perish. Besides, in one sense of the word, if God exists outside our time space environment, which He does, then, the word slow becomes irrelevant. The whole concept of slow or fast is a matter of our human, earthly time space environment. Once again, this is one of those spiritual realities that are difficult to translate in our time space world.

Note the words "as some understand delay" in verse 10. In the sense that man understands time, delay should be viewed as patience when thinking of God's relationship with humanity. The point here is that Peter was speaking in human terms of slowness or delay. He was not thinking in God's terms, because God can neither be slow or fast. He is not constrained by our time space realities. Besides all of this, what Peter was writing was in response to the false teachers who were promoting the notion that due to the laps of time that has passed without Jesus' return, proves Peter to be wrong. Peter was simply telling the false teachers that they, not him, were in the wrong. They failed to understand the whole concept of time as it would be experienced by God. That would have been a slam against the false teachers, who being Gnostics, believed they had special insight when it comes to God.

Peter said that if you understand slowness in human terms, then you must understand slowness to be God's patience. God desires all to come to genuine repentance so they can be saved from the coming fiery judgment. Peter believed that repentance is fundamental when it comes to salvation. Repentance is one of those Biblical words, concepts, and truths, that do not get enough pulpit press these days, or so I believe.

No matter what or how you think, the Day of the Lord will come, Peter said that it will come like a thief who robs someone who is asleep in the night. For those who are not looking for Jesus' return, it will be a horrible and scary surprise, very much unexpected. For us who wait for His return, though, it should not be a big surprise, although I think it will be anyway. We can't really imagine what that day will be like. We may think Jesus is coming soon, but when He actually does come, I think it will not only be surprising, but shocking and scary, even for the believer.

Peter said that that the heavens will disappear with a loud noise. I imagine that this loud roaring noise will be unbearable to the human ear. Beyond this, the elements will be laid bare, or burned, as some manuscripts say. It's what we read about at the end of the Book of Revelation, and, what Peter wrote here was about thirty years or so before John had received the revelations that were recorded in the Book of Revelation. So, even prior to the Book of Revelation being written and distributed, Christians believed how this age would end, as is described in Revelation.

If you read through the Book of Revelation, you might note that what the apostle John heard always seems to be loud to his human ears. It appears to me that all of the sound waves, if you can call them sound waves, in the spiritual world, are very loud. Revelation 1:10 is an example of loudness that John heard.

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet"

Revelation 11:12 is another example of this loudness.

"Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them."

This question is often raised concerning verse 10. What was Peter speaking of here? Was he speaking of the return of the Lord to earth when He sets up his kingdom for a thousand years or was he speaking of the day when the Book of Revelation speaks of a new heaven and new earth? I really don't know for sure, but I lean to this being the destruction of the heavens and earth that we see at the end of the Book of Revelation. I think this is confirmed a few verses down the line. Some might suggest that the destruction Peter wrote of here will be realized in the Great Tribulation, and that might be right. That being said, the earth still exists after the Great Tribulation. What Peter seems to have suggested here is that the earth will no longer exist in its present state.

Verses 11 through 13

^"Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells"

In verse 11 Peter asked what kind of people Christians should be in light of how this age will end. We should be holy and godly people as we look forward to the Day of God. Understanding that the Day of God being referenced here is the destruction of this present universe and it being replaced by a brand new universe, is a pretty awesome, even scary thing to look forward to.

There are two things to note here. We should be godly, and we should look forward to the Day of God. There is nothing wrong with looking forward to the day this universe is no more, as is stated in Revelation 21:1. There is also nothing wrong with looking forward to the time when the acts of divine judgment take place before that new creation becomes reality. Revelation 21:1 reads:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more."

I believe part of what Peter was saying here is that being holy and looking forward to the days of the end of this age can't be separated from each other. Watching for the end is part of being holy. The two just go hand in hand.

I should remind you what being holy is. First and foremost, being holy is a status that has been declared by God on the believer. If you are a genuine Christian, then, God has declared you to be holy. He has declared you to be separated from the rest of the world. He has declared you to be His people. I say this because in Biblical terms, the word "holy" means to be set apart from something or someone. Beyond that understanding of holiness, then, there is the moral aspect of being holy. If in fact you are a real Christian and one of those God has chosen for Himself, then you have the ability to live the godly life, the life that comes from God Himself. This is what Peter was getting at here.

The number one way in which we should prepare for the Day of the Lord is to be more holy today than we were yesterday. That is to say, we express God's life through our daily lives more today than we did yesterday. This speaks to ongoing, daily Christian maturity. We may think we need to buy gold, move to the country, or whatever else we have been told over the years in preparation for the end of the world, but Peter simply told us to live a godly and holy life. Doing things like moving out to the country and becoming self-sufficient sells books. It will get you some convention speaking engagements. I get that. Preaching holy living, sad to say, doesn't sell as many books, and speaking engagements may be difficult to come by.

Note the usage of the words "Day of God.`` Man and the devil have had many days to do their thing, but there will come a day when God will be doing the doing so to speak, and all of creation will sit and watch. It is what the Book of Revelation is all about.

In verses 12 and 13 Peter repeats himself by saying that day will bring about destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. After this, Peter adds a new thought which is the creation of new heavens and a new earth. All of that which is old throughout the entire universe will suddenly and totally be replaced by a new universe. This tells me that Peter has not been talking about the return of Jesus to set up His thousand year rule on earth, although that begins the process of the end that leads to a new universe. I believe when Peter wrote about the destruction of the heavens and earth, he was doing so in terms that we see at the end of the Book of Revelation when after this destruction; there will be new heavens and a new earth. I refer you to Revelation 21:1 that I mentioned a couple of paragraphs back.

Note the words "as you wait" in verse 12. The Greek verb tense here suggest that by virtue of who you have become in Christ, that is, a brand new creation, you have become a waiter. That is to say, you do not just perform the action of waiting, you have become that action. You have become a waiter, waiting for Jesus to return to earth. Waiting, then, is just a natural thing for you to do. It's just your nature due to your new nature in Christ.

You can bring a meal to your dining room table. You would be doing the action of waiting on those at the table. That action does not make you a waiter. If, however, you work in a restaurant, and you bring meals to those sitting at tables, you are a waiter. You do more than waiting on tables. You have become the action of waiting. You have become a waiter. This is the sense of the Greek verb tense Peter used when writing about Christians waiting for the Day of the Lord.

Note the word "hasten" in verse 12. We should not think that if we live a godly life, the Day of God will come sooner due to our godly living. It is my thinking, that all of what God does is based on His specific time table of events. We see this was the case with Jesus while He was on earth. Many times you will read that He did not do a certain thing because His time had not yet come. John 7:8 is one such example of this.

"'Go up to the festival yourselves. I'm not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.'"

The Greek word "speudo" is translated as "hasten" here in the CSB. This Greek word means to desire. Peter was saying that as we live a godly life, our desire for the Day of God will increase within us. That fact alone will help us take the next step to live the godly life that God has called us to live. This should be our desire until the next step we take is the first step we take into eternity. This reminds me of a friend who recently died. He knew his time was up. He had hours left, and he was not buried in a sad state of depression. He was looking forward to that first step into the presence of Jesus. What a step that will be.

Note the word "elements" in verse 12. It is translated from the Greek word "stoicheion." This Greek word implies that which something is derived from. Another way to say this is the first thing or things that other things are produced from. This suggests the very elementary, microcosmic things in our universe will be destroyed by fire. Whether fire is literal or symbolic, they will be no more. Nothing from our present universe existence will remain. This tells me that all of creation, and pre-creation, if there is such a thing, will be burned up, or, as Revelation 20:11 puts it, will flee from the presence of God. Revelation 20:11 states.

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them."

I also quote Revelation 21:1 again.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more."

Verse 14

^"Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace."

In verse 14 Peter said that those reading this letter, and us as well, should be looking forward to that day, that is, the days the mark the end of this age, and, in the context of his letter, the creation of a new heaven and earth. For the record, the return of Jesus to earth and the moment that this heaven and earth flee from God's presence, as Revelation 21:1 states, are in two separate and distinct moments in prophetic history.

While we look forward to the days of the end, Peter told us to be blameless, without any kind of spot or blemish of sin. Looking forward to Jesus’ return and all that goes along with it, does not give a license to neglect the present, where we should be maturing as Christians. It should actually motivate us towards holiness because we will soon see Jesus who is holy. We should view Peter's words here as a command from the Lord, just as Jesus commanded us to watch and pray for the events that precede the end of this age. Mark 13:16 in the King James Version of the Bible reads:

"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."

After reading verse 14 you might wonder how, we sinful but saved humans can be spotless and without any blemish when it comes to sin. One thing we should note is that due to the cross of Christ, God already views us as being spotless and without sin. That being the case, He still knows we sin, and, He still sees our sin. Just read Revelation, chapters 1 and 2. There, you will see that Jesus sees sin within those in the church. Those chapters make it clear that despite the fact that God declares us perfectly sinless, He still sees our sins. Peter's admonition is simply for his readers, and us, to do our best with the Spirit's help to live what we have been declared to be. With this in mind, 1 John 2:1 and 2 become very important. That passage reads:

"My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world."

In brief, the apostle John recognized that we still sin. That being the case, we have an advocate, a lawyer who is Jesus, who sits right beside God in a place of authority, as 1 John 2, verse 1 states. Verse 2 states that Jesus, our lawyer, is, right now in present time, our atoning sacrifice. The Greek text of verse 2 implies that Jesus, right now, in present time, deflects God's wrath away from us due to our sin. It's what atoning sacrifice means in this passage. You can read my commentary on 1 John entitled "An Elderly Mans Speaks" for further clarification of this passage. It's a passage that needs more teaching than what it is getting in church these days, or so I believe.

The words "at peace" here in 2 Peter 3:14 are interesting. Remember, Peter is writing to Christians who were far from being at peace with their surrounding anti-Christ culture. He was telling these Christians to be at peace with God. That suggests that Christians can find themselves in a place where they feel they are not at peace with God. In one sense of the word, we are at peace with God, despite the fact that we are not spotless and without sin. The fact of the matter, though, is that there are things we do that disrupt the fellowship we have with our Lord. In this sense of the word, this is a disruption of the peace we should be experiencing with Jesus.

Verses 15 and 16

^"Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures."

In verse 15 Peter went on to say that our Lord is very patient, just as our dear brother Paul wrote so much about. Christians were being criticized because they preached the return of Jesus, and maybe even, the immanent return of Jesus. Since Jesus had not returned to earth as yet, non-believers scoffed, thinking that Christians were out of their minds. Peter's response to this was that Jesus has not returned to earth as yet so that more people could have the opportunity to be saved. Another way that some would put this is that the Lord is patient so those who have been chosen to salvation will have their salvation realized in their lives. I say it that way in the last sentence due to the way Peter uses the word "chosen" in his two letters. He viewed Christians as God's chosen people, that is, God chooses us to be saved. It is up to you to attempt to understand the word "chosen" in terms of salvation.

I remind you of 1 Peter 1:1, that reads:

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus , Galatia , Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia , chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you."

Note the word "chosen" in the above passage. It's a word that needs our serious thought and attention.

Peter then commented on the apostle Paul. In verse 16, he said that Paul wrote things that were very difficult for people to understand. Paul was quite the intellectual. We see this in the Book of Romans, which, all of us should study and have burned into our brains and into our souls. It is the foundational teaching of the Christian faith. When it came to knowledge and understanding of this knowledge, Paul was light years ahead of most in his generation. No wonder Peter said that some of which Paul taught was difficult to comprehend.

We know that Paul had many visions and dreams from the Lord which would have been reflected in his teaching. 2 Corinthians 12:1 reads:

"Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord."

2 Corinthians 6 and 7 also read:

"For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself."

Note that Peter has full love and respect for Paul, and that despite the fact that Paul had to rebuke him for his hypocrisy, as we read in Galatians 2. Peter obviously learned from his rebuke, and, he did not hold that against Paul. Such an attitude is an example for us all to have. Galatians 2:14 reads:

"But when I [Paul] saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas [Peter] in front of everyone, 'If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?'"

All of what Peter wrote here in chapter 2 is as relevant today as it was when Peter wrote his letter. Some, in his day, were misusing the difficult things that Paul spoke and wrote about. They twisted what Paul said to benefit themselves. If we don't totally understand a portion of Scripture, we should just admit to our lack of understanding. We should not, intentionally or unintentionally, make a comment or an interpretation that twists what we don't understand. Far too often we make wrong Biblical interpretations based on ignorance and we claim it to be Biblical truth.

Romans 6:1 provides us with a hint of an example how what Paul taught was twisted by false teachers to benefit themselves. In this case, the benefit was distorting Paul's teaching so people would believe their false teaching. That verse reads:

"What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?"

Paul taught that because of the cross of Christ, the believer's sins were forgiven. He also taught the Jesus had replaced the Law of Moses, as we read in Romans 10:4. Those who opposed Paul twisted Paul's teaching on this matter and told everyone that Paul was teaching that we could sin, because the more we sin, the more of God's grace would abound towards us. Paul was teaching no such thing, and that is why he penned what he did in Romans 6:1.

Peter attributed all of Paul's writings to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and wisdom of God. Many commentators see this as a strong suggestion that Peter, and really, all of the early church, understood Paul's writings to be inspired by God and equivalent to the Old Testament. This is especially so when Peter used the word "Scriptures." This is a clear indication that Peter viewed Paul's writings in the same way that he would have viewed the Old Testament. He viewed Paul's writings as legitimate Scripture. Even though the subject of a canonized New Testament was far from being fully developed at this early stage in church history, we see the roots of canonization right here.

I think Peter's respect for Paul might say something to the Catholic doctrine that states Peter was the first pope and that the church would have been subject to him. Peter said that he, at times, had a difficult time understanding Paul. If that was so, how could Peter have been an infallible pope? From what we see in the New Testament, this lack of understanding by Peter, and probably by others, would have come from Paul's many revelations that it appears Peter didn't have. I believe this is one verse Catholics miss when they claim Peter to be the first infallible pope.

Also in verse 16 we see that ignorant and unstable people distort what Paul taught. The specific people Peter would have had in mind, once again, were the Antinomian Gnostics, which Peter said will fall in destruction. We have so-called Bible teachers today who are distorting Biblical theology as well. This will never change. Just read Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 where you will see it all over again.

Verses 17 and 18

^"Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity."

In verse 17 Peter closed his letter by acknowledging that his readers knew all of what he has written to them, therefore, they should be on guard. The words "on guard" were military type words in the first-century Greco-Roman world. Those reading this letter, and us as well, should be keeping watch, as a soldier would keep watch for the enemy. We all should be guarding our souls, so we will not be carried away with false teaching and enticing conspiracies, both of which are swirling around us these days in our social-media world.

I have said it before, but some spiritual skepticism is important. We cannot believe all we hear. One thing that will help us avoid the pitfalls that will take us away from the straight path of life is understanding the Bible, at least, as best we can. Our problem, as I see it, is that much of western-world Christianity is fairly Biblically illiterate, with no desire that that to be changed. It is for that reason many are falling away from the faith and giving themselves to any and every new doctrine that passes them by.

Peter said that his readers should not follow false teachers that would lead them away from their secure position. Is Peter addressing the "once saved always saved” doctrine here, otherwise known as the doctrine of "Eternal Security"? Maybe he is, and maybe he isn't. I can see how you might think Peter is suggesting one could lose his salvation when he talked about falling from one's secure position. Remember, Peter has been writing about Gnosticism that believes Jesus was a mere angel and not the Son of God that He really is. This denial of who Jesus really is, goes to the core of the gospel, the core of our salvation. The Gnostics believed in a different Jesus than whom Peter and the church gave themselves. I suggest that switching to a different Jesus, meaning, trusting your life to another Jesus, who in this case, was an angel, might cause you to lose your salvation. Nevertheless, I am not convinced that Peter had losing your salvation in mind when he penned these words, especially as I have pointed out that God as chosen us to be saved. You can reread 1 Peter 1:1 and 2 concerning the concept of being chosen by God to salvation. This is a subject that has been debatable for centuries. I will not end the debate, and I will not try to end it.

The words "lawless men" in verse 17 refer specifically to the Antinomian Gnostics, the false teachers who were trying to lead Peter's readers astray. The very word "Antinomian" means no law, or, lawless. So, it is clear to me who Peter had in mind when he wrote the words "lawless men."

Verse 18 ends Peter's second letter. When he wrote that his desire and prayer was that they would grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory, both now and forever, belonged to Jesus.

Jesus is both Christ and Lord. As Christ, He offers us Himself to us. As Lord we offer ourselves to Him. He is both the Saviour who has given Himself for our salvation and He is the Supreme Lord over all things spiritual and all things material.

Peter told us to grow in grace. Grace has two meanings in the Bible. The one is unmerited favour. God loves us even though we don't deserve His love. The second meaning of grace is God's divine ability given to us to accomplish His will in our lives. I think this second meaning might well be what Peter had in mind here. Growing in God's ability to accomplish His will in our lives might be easier to understand than growing in unmerited favour in this particular verse.

Peter also told his readers to grow in knowledge of Jesus. Knowledge is important, especially in our present post-modern culture, including today's church culture, where knowledge has been downplayed. The Bible provides us with all of the knowledge of God and Jesus we need to know, understanding that there is way too much about God that we just cannot know in this age. If we neglect this knowledge found in the Bible, we will not grow and become the mature Christians we are called by God to be. It is that simple. Our problem today is that Christians and the church, in general terms, aren't all that interested in growing in Biblical knowledge. No wonder we are going astray in all sorts of areas, especially in knowing who the real Jesus is. This is where Hosea 4:6 comes into play. Here it is in the King James Version of the Bible.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."

We may not have Antinomian Gnostics influencing the church today, but we sure have other false teachers attempting to drive us away from the Biblical Jesus. Peter's second letter is, thus, very important for us today.

Peter closed his letter by writing: "To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity."

Peter ends with a very lofty theological point, and that, concerns the eternal nature of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Peter wrote to the fact that Jesus isn't a created angel. He is eternal, without beginning and without end. He is, in fact, God in some kind of present-day, super-spiritual being. This is what puts the final nail into the coffin of Antinomian Gnosticism.

No matter what generation in which we live, human nature is the same. For this reason the Bible is always relevant. The message of Peter's second letter is just as appropriate today as it was in Peter's day. We have similar false teachers who are attempting to lead us away from the true Jesus, and we have scoffers that tell us that Jesus will never return. The two main themes of Peter's second letter were directed towards the people of his day, but they are obviously directed towards us in our day as well.

Summing Things Up

Peter wrote his second letter during the rule of Caesar Nero, sometime between 61 AD and 66 AD. This letter was written to those who were suffering persecution from an anti-Christ culture. They lived in what we now know to be North West Turkey.

From what Peter wrote in chapter 1, verses 13 and 14, we know it was near the end of his life. Church historical tradition also confirms this to be the case. For this reason, what Peter wrote would be important to those reading his letter. They would have been reading this letter sent to them from a dearly beloved brother in Jesus, who, was about to venture into the heavenly realm. What someone would say who is that close to death needs to be taken seriously, because at that point in one's life, most things in life become unimportant. Only the vitally important remain to pass on to others. With this in mind, then, it would be beneficial for us to take Peter's words to heart. It is the reason why I write this commentary.

The following are some things that I believe are important for us, as our western-world culture becomes more anti-Christ in nature. We might not be in the same severe cultural shape as the Christians in Peter's day, but we are heading in that direction. It only makes sense, then, to hear what Peter has to say.

God's divine nature - 2 Peter 1:1 - 4

If you are a real Christian, and a real Christian is one who has the Holy Spirit of God living within him or her, then, due to the residency of God's Spirit within you, God's divine nature is more than capable of causing you to survive the worst of trials of life. Just think this through for a while. The God who created all things material and all things spiritual lives in you. Should not that make a huge difference in your life? Is not this why the apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 2:17, wrote that we are a brand new creations in Christ? Does not this mean that a true Christian is no longer the exact person he or she once was? I sure think so. So, don't under estimate the divine nature that lives within you. Christian maturity will only come when you allow this divine nature to rule your life, and that's what being a Christian is all about.

Being a productive Christian - 2 Peter 1:5 - 9

I don't really think that the average western-world Christian views his life in terms of being productive. We think of business and commerce as ventures where we expect to be productive, but Peter told us that Jesus expects us to be productive Christians.

Being a productive Christian means that the Holy Spirit who lives within you will reproduce something of Himself in your life. The apostle Paul called this the fruit of the Spirit, as we read in Galatians 5:22 and 23. These fruit of the indwelling Spirit of God should be readily seen and demonstrated in the way you live. If the Holy Spirit is not reproducing Himself in your life, I suggest that you are not allowing Him to do His job.

Begin to think of your life with Jesus as being productive because that is exactly what He wants in your life.

Make your calling sure - 2 Peter 1:10 - 11

If you are a Christian, God has called you, or invited you, first of all, to Himself. That is your ultimate calling as a Christian. Beyond that calling, He has called you to a specific ministry. All Christians, none excluded, have a job to do in the service of the Lord, and, we do this service alongside those Jesus has called us in His body, the church.

We all need to take all aspects of God's call on our lives seriously. We need to know and understand the nature of God's call and to what and where He has called us. Participating in God's call will help you to be the productive Christian He has called you to be.

Understanding the Bible - 2 Peter 1:12 - 21

Biblical theology is important. We need to give ourselves, not just to the reading of the Bible, but to the study of the Bible. The words we read must be burned into our brains, and then, they must sink deep into our souls where they become the conviction by which we live. Without a firm Biblical foundation, we will go astray. We will be temped to get sidetracked by today's heretical teachers. We must not be numbered among today's Biblical illiterate who are prey to every new teaching and conspiracy theory that crosses our path, and there are many these days. There is no productive growth as a Christian apart from Biblical truth being realized in your life.

False Teachers - 2 Peter 2:1 - 21

Whatever the era in the history of the church, there has always been false teachers with their false teaching. Jesus Himself told us that as this age winds down towards its end, false teachers will abound. I don't know how close you think we are to the end, but we are obviously closer now than ever before. As each year passes, you can expect false teachers to be on the prowl to draw people unto themselves in order to benefit their selfish goals.

Both the church and the individual Christian must be on guard and watch out for these heretics. This must take priority among the leadership of church. Church leaders must recognize who these false teachers are and what they are teaching. They, then, must expose them for who they really are. It's a simple matter of guarding and overseeing God's people, which is, part of the responsibility of church leaders. Beyond that, the correct doctrine must be taught so those in the church can distinguish between the true and false teaching.

The coming Day of the Lord's wrath - 2 Peter 3:1 - 18

In Biblical terms the Day of the Lord refers to the end of this age when God will pour out His wrath on this planet and the system's of men. We see this in the prophetic Book of Revelation. Despite our inability to completely understand Revelation, we must know that life as we know it will have an end, and that end will be dramatically destructive as an act of divine judgment.

With this in mind, we must confirm our allegiance to the Kingdom of God . We may well be citizens of an earthly nation, but our real and eternal citizenship is in the Kingdom of God , and that citizenship takes priority over any earthly citizenship. The nation in which you live, will sooner or later, fall at the hand of God. The creation of a new heaven and a new earth is our hope of the future, and this hope, can be a living hope within us that spurs us on, that motivates us to live the life that Jesus wants us to live.

The apostle Peter wrote two letters that we know of. He may have written more than these two letters, but we don't have them at our disposal. What we do have, though, are very beneficial for us as we live as people of God in a godless culture. May what I have written help you in some way as you study your way through the Bible.

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One Last Reminder

My Commentary On 2 Peter

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My
Commentary On 2 Peter