A Commentary of the Book of 2 Peter
By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins
Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible
Bible Study 2 Peter 2: 1-22
Text:
The Rise of False Prophets
2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words, their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
4 For if God did not spare angels who sinned, but cast them into the [a]pit and delivered them to chains of darkness, being kept for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a [b]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from [c]trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who go after the flesh in its corrupt lust and despise authority.
Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they blaspheme [d]glorious ones, 11 whereas angels who are greater in strength and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, blaspheming where they have no knowledge, will in [e]the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, 13 suffering unrighteousness as the wages of their unrighteousness, considering it a pleasure to revel in the daytime—they are stains and blemishes, reveling in their [f]deceptions, as they feast with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery and unceasing sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed—they are accursed children. 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 16 but he received a rebuke for his own lawlessness, for a mute donkey, speaking out with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.
17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the [g]black darkness has been kept. 18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity, they entice by sensual lusts of the flesh, those who barely escape from the ones who conducted themselves in error, 19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if they are overcome, having both escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and having again been entangled in them, then the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. 22 The [h]message of the true proverb has happened to them, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”
Verse by verse commentary:
Verse 1: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”
Peter will provide some characteristics of false teachers in this chapter. Notice the absolute statement that there will be false prophets “among the people.” These false teachers will compromise the true way of salvation. There will also be false teachers in the church deceiving the people by compromising the gospel. This is the most destructive heresy in the church. They will do so in secret. Be careful when those teaching want to corner you and speak privately denying the Sovereignty of God, the depravity of man, Holy Spirit conviction, and blood redemption. “Even denying the Master who bought them” does not mean that the person can lose their salvation. Rather, it is part of the false teaching being provided by the heretical teachers. If you have been born again, you will not deny the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 2: “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned.”
“Sensuality” refers to sins of the flesh to include adultery, fornication, and sexual immorality in general. The truth being “maligned: means immoral behavior by those who claim to be Christians gives Christianity a bad name among unbelievers. Christians instructed to have exemplary behavior so that the message of the gospel will not be compromised.
Verse 3: “And in their greed they will exploit you with false words, their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
Peter observed that the underlying motive of the false teachers was not love of the truth, but love of money. Just as in the Old Testament (“from long ago”), false teachers will be judged and punished. The “destruction” of the false teachers is certain and the executioner of that judgment is just waiting. He is not asleep and He will not miss His appointed time. While it appears God is asleep, He is not. Judgment cometh.
Verse 4: “For if God did not spare angels who sinned, but cast them into the pit and delivered them to chains of darkness, being kept for judgment;”
There are several interpretations of the “angels who sinned.” Some believe they were the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 or the angels that rebelled with Satan against God before the world began. Either way, the point is that if God judged evil angels, He will certainly judge ungodly people as well. Judgment is coming for the unrepentant and the evil angels. It is guaranteed.
Verse 5: “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”
The second illustration provided as precedent for God’s future judgment on false teachers is the judgment on the ancient world through the world-wide flood. Noah was a herald of righteousness. Just as God preserved him and his family and brought judgment through the flood to the unrighteous, He will do the same to the false teachers when it is time. Delay does not mean judgment will not come.
Verse 6: “and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;”
The third example for a future divine judgment on the wicked is the total destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities. God made them an example for future generations to know for certain that a day of judgment is coming. It is a guarantee.
Verse 7: “and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men”
Lot’s righteousness may have been inferred (either by Peter or from rabbinical tradition) from Abraham’s intercession for the righteous of Sodom and Lot’s subsequent deliverance. It does appear strange that Peter would call Lot “righteous.” His actions recorded in Genesis 19 do not reveal righteousness as we would interpret it. To offer your two virgin daughters to evil men seems incredibly wicked to me. Nevertheless, Scripture is true and Lot had a degree of righteousness. I personally think it was relative to the extreme wickedness found in Sodom and Gomorrah. Here this all of you that believe that homosexuality is not an abominable sin. Judgment is coming for you as well.
Verse 8: “(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),”
Lot stands on the pages of Scripture as a saint of God who was justified because of his faith, but his life denied everything he believed and we may assume that his life was a series of spiritual ups and downs. This is the life of professing Christians that do not have the walk to match their talk. The removal of Lot and his family The greatest lesson for us in these verses is that God’s rescue of Lot from Sodom prefigures the rapture of the church.
Verse 9: “then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,”
Verses 4-8 make clear that God will surely judge the wicked and deliver the righteous. “Keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” is a reference to future punishment on Judgment Day. Some commentators see here a reference to preliminary punishment before the final judgment, however since Peter’s emphasis in this passage is the certainty of the final day of judgment, the former view seems best.
Verse 10: “and especially those who go after the flesh in its corrupt lust and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious ones,”
The “glorious ones” are most likely angels. The false teachers apparently mocked the power of Satan and his demons. Even today, a careless attitude toward Satan and his power can lead to spiritual danger and sin. We are not to be afraid of Satan but rather be on guard to resist him and he will flee.
Verse 11: “whereas angels who are greater in strength and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”
“Angels” are a reference to the holy angels. These “angels” respect authority and power to such a level that the angel Michael would not even speak ill of Satan. The false teachers did not respect authority, but the angels did.
Verse 12: “But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, blaspheming where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,”
The false teachers have no appreciation of the power and presence of demons or holy angels, but like wild animals, insubordinate and arrogant, they charge into spiritual warfare, evil speaking at persons and matters they don’t understand.
Verse 13: “suffering unrighteousness as the wages of their unrighteousness, considering it a pleasure to revel in the daytime—they are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they feast with you,”
The false teachers were not promoting love at their feasts, but harmful lies and hurtful behavior. The word Peter used for “deceptions” could be translated as “love feasts.”
Verse 14: “having eyes full of adultery and unceasing sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed—they are accursed children.”
“Eyes full of adultery” is literally “eyes full of an adulterous woman.” This is a description of the extreme sensuality and lust in their eyes. Instead of establishing people in faith, these false teachers made people unstable. They had the exact opposite result of Peter’s ministry. “Trained in greed” reveals their motive for teaching, i.e. lust for money. Peter calls them accursed and they were.
Verse 15: “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,”
Jewish rabbinical tradition made Balaam proverbial for his greed, so the false teachers with their desire for gain are compared with him. These false teachers had heard the truth, but they cast the true way off to make money to satisfy their greed. Whatever you love in life, you will love throughout eternity.
Verse 16: “but he received a rebuke for his own lawlessness, for a mute donkey, speaking out with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.”
While the false teachers were like “irrational animals” in their passion for greed, their prototype Balaam was himself rebuked by a beast that saved his life. Both were victims of their own greed and Peter desired them to see the similarities. To be compared to Balaam was not a compliment, but instead a great insult.
Verse 17: “These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been kept.”
The Jews were an agricultural community. Water was essential to growing food. Just as water sustains physical life, so true spiritual teaching brings spiritual life. The false teachers brought death, not life. The “black darkness” is a reference to hell.
Verse 18: “For speaking out arrogant words of vanity, they entice by sensual lusts of the flesh, those who barely escape from the ones who conducted themselves in error,”
The false teachers’s fruit was sins in the flesh. New believers could easily believe their erroneous teachings. The false teachers used many flowery and persuasive words to attempt to deceive true believers. “Those who barely escape from the ones who conducted themselves in error,” is a reference not to believers but to those that suffer emotionally from anxiety or mental stress.
Verse 19: “promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”
Whatever controls or dominates your thought life is your master. The false teachers most likely took Paul’s teaching of freedom from the law as an excuse to live to please the flesh through sensual activities. “Slaves of corruption” is the result one can anticipate when one seeks freedom from God. To seek to be outside the will of God is to land in a prison of sin.
Verse 20: “For if they are overcome, having both escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and having again been entangled in them, then the last state has become worse for them than the first.”
The false teachers apparently professed to be Christians, but their return to their old sinful lifestyle showed that their knowledge of Christ and the way of righteousness was only mental assent and not from the heart. A person with this condition is most miserable. They are unsaved, but think they are. They don’t have the comfort of a real relationship with God, but while they commit sins they do so in moderation so as to keep up religious appearances. Their last state is emotionally and spiritually empty. “Defilements” has the idea of putrid or poisonous vapors. Morally, the world gives off a deadly influence. This is why we must not only resist Satan, but also the worldly influences that surround us.
Verse 21: “For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.”
Intentional rejection of the Gospel truth increases one’s responsibility before God. The phrase “to have known the way” refers to a mental assent to the truth of the Gospel without real repentance and faith in the moral teachings and mode of life characteristic of Christians. Their conversion was like vapor. Here today and gone tomorrow.
Verse 22: “The message of the true proverb has happened to them, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and, ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.’”
In the first century, dogs were despised. They were not pets like today. Peter’s message is that mere religious profession or even outward reformation of behavior does not change a person’s heart or eternal destiny. The apostasy of the false teachers reveals their true lost nature and their ultimate sentence to the fires of hell.
