Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Peter 2

Although Israel (“the people” [GK 3295], a common designation for Israel) had a notable succession of true prophets, she was often plagued by false or lying prophets (cf. Dt 13:1–5; 18:20; 1 Kings 18:19; 22:6ff; Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 23:9–18). Likewise, the church must expect false teachers to come in (cf. Acts 20:29), who “secretly introduce” or smuggle in their doctrines. Similar warnings occur in Gal 2:4 concerning the entrance of false brothers into a Christian gathering, and in 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 concerning Satan’s masqueraders. The “destructive heresies” are teachings that lead to darkness and damnation. The focal point of their error was Christological; they denied “the sovereign Lord who bought them.” The “sovereign Lord” (GK 1305) is Christ (cf.Jude 4). “Who bought them” is a difficult phrase. It seems to some to raise questions about the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (i.e., eternal security), for here it appears that persons bought by Christ are lost. Various solutions have been advanced. (1) Some suggest that “the sovereign Lord who bought them” refers to the God of the Exodus rather than to Jesus Christ. This requires understanding the antecedent of “them” to be “the people” in the first part of the sentence. While this is grammatically possible, it is unlikely because of the distance between the pronoun and its antecedent. The natural sense of the verse is that “they” (the false teachers) deny the Lord who bought them (the false teachers). Passages Indicating the Inspiration of Scripture Many passages in both the OT and NT demonstrate that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. This chart compiles the major passages that support this important Christian doctrine. The Bible Writers Write About Themselves Moses spoke and wrote what God told him Ex 19:3; 34:33–36; Dt 18:18 David spoke and wrote as led by the Spirit of God 2 Samuel 23:2; cf. Matthew 22:43 The prophets spoke and wrote what the Lord told them Isa 7:7; Jeremiah 1:9; 2:1; Ezekiel 7:1; Hosea 4:1; Amos 1:3; 3:1; Obadiah 1; etc. Jesus promised to speak to the disciples by his Spirit Jn 14:25–26; 16:13–15 Paul wrote and spoke as the Spirit directed him 1 Corinthians 2:11–13; 14:37; Galatians 1:8–9; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 John wrote and spoke what God showed him and said Rev 1:1–2, 10–11; 2:7, 11, 19, 29; etc. to him The Bible Writers About Other Bible Writers “All Scripture is God-breathed” 2 Timothy 3:16 Prophets spoke and wrote “as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” 2 Peter 1:20–21 To Jesus, the authority of Scripture extends to the smallest letters Mt 5:20–21; Lk 16:17 To Jesus, the Scriptures cannot be broken Jn 10:34–35 To Jesus, what the Scriptures said, “God said”Matthew 15:4 To Jesus, David spoke “by the Holy Spirit”Mark 12:36 To the early Christians, “the Holy Spirit” spoke in the Scriptures Ac 4:25–26 To Paul, “the Holy Spirit” or “God” spoke through the prophets”Acts 28:25; Romans 9:25; 2 Corinthians 6:1–2; Ephesians 4:8 To the writer to the Hebrews, “God spoke... through the prophets”Hebrews 1:1 To the writer to the Hebrews, the Scriptures are “God” speaking or “the Holy Heb 1:6–13; 3:7; 4:3; 8:8 Spirit” speaking to us To Peter, the process of inspiration applies equally to Paul’s writings 2 Peter 3:15–16 To Peter, the process of inspiration applies equally to Paul’s writings 2 Peter 3:15–16 (2) Others suggest that the false teachers were redeemed but fell away or lost their salvation. But to many Christians, the idea that a redeemed person can lose his or her salvation contradicts clear passages that state the contrary (e.g., Jn 10:28-29; Romans 8:28–39). Moreover, v.2 says nothing about the application of redemption to the false teachers or their appropriation of it. (3) Others take the word “bought” (lit., “redeem”; GK 60) in the sense of “temporal deliverance”—i.e., the word is not used here of one’s personal salvation. (4) Still others argue that Peter is speaking not in terms of the reality of the false teachers’ faith but in terms of their profession. They profess to be those who have been bought by the blood of Christ, but they are lying. In my judgment, v.1 asserts that Christ “bought” the false teachers, but this does not necessarily mean that they were saved. Salvation in the NT sense does not occur until the benefits of Christ’s work are applied to the individual by the regeneration of the Spirit and belief in the truth. In other words, Christ crucified is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world . Yet the wrath of God is on all sinners (Ephesians 2:3) until the work of the Cross is applied specifically to those who believe. “Bringing swift destruction [GK 724] on themselves” refers to the everlasting state of torment and death. It will be “swift” because it will descend on them suddenly, either at their death or at the return of the Lord.

The false teachers will be popular with many followers. John speaks of the same phenomenon when, speaking of the false prophets who do not acknowledge that Jesus is from God, he says, “The world listens to them” . Moreover, Peter says that the many adherents of the false teachers will follow “their shameful ways” (i.e., “vices,” “sexual debaucheries”; GK 816; cf. 1 Peter 4:3; 2 Peter 2:7, 18). Their disciples will be like the false teachers and, bringing their sexual immorality into the churches, will cause “the way of truth” to be defamed. “The way” (GK 3847) was a common early name for the Christian faith (cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4: 24:14, 22). Such ungodly conduct brings reproach on the name of God or Christ (cf. Romans 2:23–24; 1 Timothy 6:1; Titus 2:5). It is also important to understand that the Christian faith is “the way of truth”—the “way” of life that responds to and is determined by the “truth.” True doctrine must issue in true living .

Christian teachers have the right to financial support (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:1–14; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17–18), but their motivation in the ministry should not be mercenary. For false teachers, however, religion will be commercialized; they will “exploit” people. With fabricated stories they will fleece the sheep. In the light of the commercialism of religious cults today, Peter’s warning is clear enough. But the popularity and prosperity of the errorists will certainly come to an end. Their judgment and doom have been announced long ago (cf. Psalms 1:5–6). “Destruction” (GK 724; cf. v.1) is now personified as “not sleeping.”

The first example of divine judgment is that which came upon the fallen “angels.” If angels are judged, then certainly human beings will also be judged. Of which judgment of angels does Peter speak? The most common and best interpretation relates the judgment Peter speaks of with the mention of angels in Ge 6:1–4, where “sons of God” apparently means “fallen angels” (cf. Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). (1) This interpretation was common in Jewish literature. (2) The three examples (angels, Flood, and cities of the plain) all come one after another in the early chapters of Genesis. (3) The angels referred to here in 2 Peter are confined to “gloomy dungeons.” Apparently some fallen angels are free to plague human beings as demons while others are imprisoned. The connection with Ge 6:1–4 provides a reason for this phenomenon. Peter uses the verb tartaroo (lit., “to hold captive in Tartarus”; GK 5434) to tell where the sinning angels were sent. “Tartarus,” considered by the Greeks as a place under the earth that was lower than Hades where divine punishment was meted out, was also regarded this way in nonbiblical Jewish literature. The usual translation of this verb as “sent them to hell” (so NIV) only approximates the idea of a special place of confinement until the final judgment. Though “gloomy dungeons” may be correct, “chains of darkness” is an equally possible translation (cf.Jude 6).

Peter’s second example is the Flood. He has referred to this in his first letter (1 Peter 3:18–22) and will do so again in the next chapter of this one (3:6). With Noah seven others were saved (his wife, his three sons, and his three daughtersin-law). They were guarded or protected by God during the Flood that wiped out the ungodly pre-Flood civilization. Noah was a “preacher [GK 3061] of righteousness.” This could refer to his preaching activity not recorded in the OT or to the fact that his lifestyle condemned sin and proclaimed righteousness to his contemporaries (Genesis 6:9).