Explore the Bible
Dean, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
SPIRITUAL ERROR IS RAMPANT
2 Peter 2:1–22
Primarily 2 Peter aimed to refute false teaching and warn against false teachers.
Prediction of Their Coming (1–3)
Because there were false teachers among God’s people in Old Testament times, Peter’s readers should not have been shocked to find them in their own day. Though there were false teachers (cf. 2:10, 17–18), in the future, Peter’s readers would face a larger danger. Hordes of heretics would smuggle false teaching into truth, making a destructive mix that spelled eternal spiritual doom for their followers. They “denied the Sovereign Lord” who died for them on the cross.
In what sense did Christ buy or redeem them? It is possible that they were genuine Christians that were misled (similar to the case of Lot in 2:7–8), but verses 1, 3, 9, 12 and 17 seem to indicate otherwise. Perhaps Peter meant that, although Christ died to redeem all men — including them — they did not accept the redemption He bought and offered.
Peddlers of pernicious doctrine make a good living from it, lure others to think and act wrongly and so discredit Christ.
Though judgment be delayed, it waits for the false teachers with unsleeping eyes.
Punishment of Their Error (4–9)
In the original language of the New Testament, this section is a single sentence, with verses 4–8 making up the “if” clause and verses 9–10 the result clause.
In verses 4–8, Peter underlined the certainty of judgment. He gave three examples of God’s destruction of the wicked, all from Genesis: fallen angels (2:4; a reference to Gen. 6:1–4), the world of Noah’s day (5) and Sodom and Gomorrah (6–8). Nevertheless God kept the godly who were caught in bad situations safe, e.g. Noah and Lot. If God condemned the wicked in old times, He will do so in the present and future. Likewise if He delivered the righteous in the past, He will continue to do so. “Sent them to hell” is literally “put them in Tartarus,” the deepest, darkest part of hell. Verses 7–8 bring out an aspect of Lot’s character not evident in the Genesis 19 account. Three times Peter said Lot was righteous (or just, justified).
Description of Their Conduct (10–17)
Beginning with verse 10, Peter turned to the situation faced by his readers. The false teachers engaged in sexual malpractice and scorned authority. Perhaps he had in mind people who believed ordinary rules of morality did not apply to them and freethinkers who accepted no authority but their own reason. The “celestial beings” of verse 4 are evil angels, but the angels of verse 11 are God’s good angels. Why Peter condemned the heretics for speaking evil of these angels is puzzling. Some interpreters identify the “glorious ones” as church authorities or governmental authorities, but these ideas are alien to the context. “Slander” could indicate overconfident and unjustified contempt for the power of demonic beings. Only God can deal with the demonic with complete impunity.
Verse 13 shows the shamelessness of Peter’s opponents. It is unclear whether the word should be “pleasures” or “love feasts.” In verses 15–16, Peter used Balaam (Num. 21–24) as an example of the kind of false prophet infiltrating first-century churches.
Effects of Their Influence (18–22)
New Christians were a soft target for false teachers. The heretics promised sexual and intellectual freedom. But the liberty they promised was not true liberty. “They themselves” were proof, since they were “slaves of depravity” to their own passions. Once they had known Christ (head knowledge and not heart knowledge; Matt. 13:20–21) and the way of righteousness. If a person with clear knowledge turns away, he winds up worse than he was at the beginning (cf. Matt. 12:45).
Were these Christians that had lost their faith and salvation? No. The closing verse makes it clear. Dogs and pigs were unclean to Jews and symbolized pagan immorality (cf. Matt. 7:6; Rev. 22:15). Despite an outward change for the better, in both pictures, the animal’s inner nature remained unchanged.
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