Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Peter 2

FIRST PREDICTION: False teachers shall have great success and certain ruin (2 Peter 2:1–10).

But there were false prophets also.—To bring out the contrast between true and false prophets more strongly, the clause that in meaning is secondary has been made primary in form. The meaning is, “There shall be false teachers among you, as there were false prophets among the Jews;” the form is, “But (in contrast to the true prophets just mentioned) there were false prophets as well, even as,” etc.

Shall be false teachers among you.—We must add “also.” With this view of Christians as the antitype of the chosen people, compare 1 Peter 2:9.

The word for “false teachers” occurs here only. It is probably analogous to “false witnesses,” meaning those who teach what is false, rather than to “false Christs,” in which case it would mean those pretending to be teachers when they are not. “False prophets” has both meanings: sham prophets and prophesying lies.

Justin Martyr, around A.D. 145 (Trypho, lxxxii), wrote: “Just as there were false prophets contemporaneous with your holy prophets” (he is addressing a Jew), “so are there now many false teachers among us.” Another possible reference to this Epistle in Justin is given below on 2 Peter 3:8.

As these references occur close together, they seem to make it probable that Justin knew this Epistle. The verse, There shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall bring in heresies of destruction, is quoted in a homily attributed, on doubtful authority, to Hippolytus (see below, on chapter 3:3).

Privily shall bring in.—Compare Jude 1:4, and Galatians 2:4; and see Notes in both passages. Compare also the Shepherd of Hermas, Sim. VIII.vi.5.

Damnable heresies.—Rather, parties (full) of destruction (Philippians 1:28), whose end is destruction (Philippians 3:19). Wycliffe and Rheims have “sects of perdition.” “Damnable heresies” comes from the Geneva Bible—altogether a change for the worse.

The Greek word hairesis is sometimes translated “sect” in our version (Acts 5:17; Acts 15:5; Acts 24:5), and sometimes “heresy” (Acts 24:14; 1 Corinthians 11:19; Galatians 5:20).

Neither word fully conveys the true meaning of the term in the New Testament, where it points more to divisions than to doctrines, and always to parties inside the Church, not to sects that have separated from it.

The Greek word for “destruction” occurs six times in this short Epistle, according to the inferior texts used by our translators (in the best texts, five times), and is rendered by them in no fewer than five different ways: “damnable” and “destruction” in this verse; “pernicious ways,” 2 Peter 2:2; “damnation,” 2 Peter 2:3; “perdition,” 2 Peter 3:7; and “destruction,” 2 Peter 3:16.

Even denying the Lord that bought them.—Better, denying even the Master that bought them (See Note on Jude 1:4). The phrase is remarkable as coming from one who himself denied his Master. Would a forger have ventured to make St. Peter write thus?

This text is conclusive against Calvinistic doctrines of partial redemption; the Apostle declares that these impious false teachers were redeemed by Jesus Christ (Compare 1 Peter 1:18).

And bring upon themselves.—More literally, bringing upon themselves. The two participles, “denying” and “bringing,” without any conjunction to connect them, are awkward and show that the writer’s strong feeling is already beginning to ruffle the smoothness of his language.

Swift destruction—that is, coming suddenly and unexpectedly, so as to preclude escape; not necessarily coming soon (See first Note on 2 Peter 1:14). The reference, probably, is to Christ’s sudden return to judgment (2 Peter 3:10), scoffing at which was one of the ways in which they “denied their Master.” By their lives they denied that He had “bought them.” He had bought them for His service, and they served their own lusts.

Many shall follow their pernicious ways.—“Pernicious ways” is a translation of the plural of the word just rendered “destruction.” (See fourth Note on 2 Peter 2:1.) But here the reading is undoubtedly wrong. The margin has the right reading—lascivious ways (or better, wanton ways)—being the plural of the word translated “wantonness” in 2 Peter 2:18. Wycliffe has “lecheries;” Rheims “riotousnesses.”

The connection between false doctrine and licentiousness was often real, and is so still in some cases—e.g., Mormonism. But it was often asserted and believed without foundation. Impurity was the common charge to bring against those of a different creed, whether between heathen and Christian or between different divisions of Christians.

By reason of whom.—This refers to the many who are led astray, rather than the original seducers. (Compare Romans 2:24.)

The way of truth.—(See Note on Acts 9:2.) “The way of truth” occurs in Clement of Alexandria (Cohort. ad Gentes, x.), the only near approach to anything in 2 Peter in all his writings that have come down to us. This is strong evidence that he did not know the Epistle, especially as references are frequent to 1 Peter, which is sometimes quoted thus: “Peter in his Epistle says” (Strom. iv. 20).

Shall be evil spoken of.—By the heathen, who will judge of the way of truth by the evil lives of the many who have really been seduced from it, though they still profess to follow it. In the homily commonly called the Second Epistle of Clement (13) there is a remarkable amplification of this statement. Our Epistle was probably known to the writer of the homily, who to a considerable extent preaches against similar evils.

And through covetousness.—Better, In covetousness. This is the atmosphere in which they live. (See Notes on 2 Peter 2:18; 2 Peter 1:1–2; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Peter 1:13.) Wycliffe and Rheims have “in.” Simon Magus offering St. Peter money, which he was no doubt accustomed to take himself for his teaching, may illustrate this (Acts 8:18; compare to 1 Timothy 6:5; Titus 1:10–11).

These false teachers, like the Greek Sophists, taught for money. A bombastic mysticism, promising to reveal secrets about the unseen world and the future, was a very lucrative profession in the last days of Paganism, and it passed over to Christianity as an element in various heresies. (Compare to the Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude IX.19.3.)

Make merchandise of you.—The verb literally means to travel, especially as a merchant on business, and therefore “to be a merchant,” “to trade,” and, with an accusative, “to deal in,” or “make merchandise of.” (Compare to our commercial phrase, “to travel in” such and such goods.) It may also mean simply “to gain,” or “gain over,” which would make good sense here; but our version is perhaps better. The word occurs elsewhere only in James 4:13.

With feigned words possibly refers back to cunningly devised fables (2 Peter 1:16).

Lingereth not.—Literally, is not idle, the cognate verb of the adjective in 2 Peter 1:8. Their sentence has long since been pronounced, is working, and in due time will strike them. We have a similar thought in 1 Peter 4:17.

Their damnation slumbereth not.—Better, their destruction. (See fourth Note on 2 Peter 2:1.) Wycliffe and Rheims have “perdition.” The destruction involved in the judgment pronounced by God is awake and on its way to overtake them. The word for “slumbereth” occurs in Matthew 25:5 only.

We now proceed to see how this judgment, of a long time, has been working. It was pronounced against all sinners, such as they are, from the very beginning of the world.

For if God.—The sentence has no proper conclusion. The third instance of God’s vengeance is so prolonged by the addition respecting Lot, that the apodosis is missing, the writer in his eagerness having lost track of the sentence structure. The three instances here are in chronological order (wanton angels, Flood, Sodom and Gomorrha), while those in Jude are not (unbelievers in the wilderness, impure angels, Sodom and Gomorrha). Both arrangements are natural—this as being chronological, that of St. Jude for reasons stated in the Notes there (See on 2 Peter 2:5).

The angels that sinned.—Better, the angels for their sin: it gives the reason why they were not spared, and points to some definite sin. What sin is meant? Not that which preceded the history of the human race, commonly called the fall of the angels—of that there is no record in the Old Testament; and, moreover, it affords no close analogy to the conduct of the false teachers. St. Jude is somewhat more explicit (Jude 1:6); he says it was for not keeping their own dignity—for deserting their proper home; and the reference, both there and here, is either to a common interpretation of Genesis 6:2 (that by “the sons of God” are meant “angels”), or, more probably, to distinct and frequent statements in the Book of Enoch, that certain angels sinned by having intercourse with women—e.g., Enoch vii. 1, 2; cv. 13 (Lawrence’s translation).

Not improbably these false teachers made use of this book, and possibly of these passages, in their corrupt teaching. Hence St. Peter uses it as an argumentum ad hominem against them, and St. Jude, recognising the allusion, adopts it and makes it more plain; or both writers, knowing the Book of Enoch well, and calculating on their readers knowing it also, used it to illustrate their arguments and exhortations, just as St. Paul uses the Jewish belief of the rock following the Israelites (See Note on 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Cast them down to hell.—The Greek word occurs nowhere else, but its meaning is plain—to cast down to Tartarus; and though “Tartarus” occurs neither in the Old nor in the New Testament, it probably is the same as Gehenna (See Note on Matthew 5:22).

Into chains of darkness.—Critical reasons seem to require us to substitute dens, or caves, for “chains.” The Greek words for “chains” and for “caves” here are almost exactly alike; and “caves” may have been altered into “chains” to bring this passage into closer harmony with Jude 1:6, although the word used by St. Jude for “chains” is different (See Note there). If “chains of darkness” is retained, compare Wisdom 17:17. There still remains the doubt whether “into chains of darkness” should go with “delivered” or with “cast down into hell.” The former arrangement seems better.

On verses 4-8:

Three instances of divine vengeance, proving that great wickedness never goes unpunished.

And spared not the old world.—The fact that the Flood is taken as the second instance of divine vengeance gives us no clue as to the source of the first instance. In the Book of Enoch the Flood follows closely upon the sin of the angels, as in Genesis 6 upon that of the sons of God, so that in either case the first instance would naturally suggest the second.

Noah the eighth person.—According to a common Greek idiom, this means Noah and seven others; and the point of it is that the punishment must have been signal indeed if only eight persons out of a whole world escaped. The coincidence with 1 Peter 3:20 must not pass unobserved, especially as there the mention of spirits in prison immediately precedes, just as here, the angels in “caves of darkness.” The suggestion that eight is here a mystical number (the sabbatical seven and one over) is quite gratuitous; as also that “eighth” may mean eighth from Enos, which would be utterly pointless, there being neither mention of Enos nor the faintest allusion to him. (Compare 1 Clement 7:6; 9:4; and see Note on 2 Peter 2:9.)

Bringing in the flood upon the world.—“In” should be omitted. The phrase is exactly parallel to bring upon themselves swift destruction in 2 Peter 2:1. The word for “bring” is the same in both cases.