2 PETER 2

(Unless otherwise indicated, the scriptures quoted here are from the English Standard Version (ESV).

This chapter of Second Peter seems quite similar to the letter of Jude in its intent, though there are many differences in the details mentioned by the two authors. In 2 Peter 1, Peter says that no prophecy has ever been originated by man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. In this chapter, Peter contrasts this with false prophets and false teachers who speak falsehoods from their own hearts, claiming their words are from God. Jude never mentions false teachers, but only says some men have crept into the church stealthily, but they continue to live immoral lives, turning God's grace into a license for sin.

2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6 both indicate God has punished angels who sinned, and Peter mentions Noah and Lot, as men God rescued from their immoral generations. Jude does not mention either Noah or Lot. Jude tells about the archangel Michael disputing with Satan over the body of Moses and Enoch prophesying about the ungodly, stories which may have appeared in Jewish apocryphal writings, but are not found in the Old Testament, both stories which Peter omits.

Although Peter makes many of the same points in this chapter which Jude makes in his letter, Peter's letter has a somewhat broader purpose, in that he is not just reminding us of God's judgment of the unrighteous, he is contrasting this with Christians who patiently cultivate virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection and love, and he will go on to teach about the certainty of the return of Christ, though it seems to have been delayed from a human perspective.

Nevertheless, this chapter and the letter of Jude are probably the most similar chapters in the entire Bible, with the exception of Psalms 14 and 53, which are virtually identical. Recall from Genesis that Joseph told Pharaoh that the doubling of his dreams meant God would surely bring them to pass, so the doubling of the warnings in these chapters ought to get our attention. We cannot afford to ignore, nor should we fail to teach others, about God's repeated warnings about the eventual consequences of sin.

There is a lot of controversy among Bible commentators about whether Peter borrowed much of this material from Jude or Jude borrowed most of his letter from Peter. Because Peter speaks in the passage below in future tense that there will be false teachers and Jude speaks about people who have crept into Christian assemblies, it is possible that Jude borrowed this message from Peter at a later date. However, that would mean that the book of Jude was almost completely adapted from this chapter, and the reliance on some apocryphal texts by Jude may indicate that Jude was written first. In either case, it's more important that we are given these warnings twice by the Holy Spirit than which human author originated them.

2 Peter 2:1 "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

2:2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

2:3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."

These opening verses deserve some comment, because we live in an era in which apostate churches are arising, disregarding the clear teachings of scripture in favor of personal opinions and preferences. I believe the leaders of these congregations and their followers have three primary motivations:

1. A desire to please men rather than God. They want to be popular with other men, they want to control others for their own personal advantage, and they do not want the burden of Christian suffering, persecution and carrying their own cross.

2. Like the Pharisees, they are lovers of money. For them, full churches and full collection baskets are better than empty ones. Therefore, they tell people what they want to hear.

3. They have rejected scripture's call for purity and personal holiness, preferring instead to indulge in sexual sins and animosity.

Whenever a church teaches and permits something which is contrary to the written word of God, one or more of these things is almost always the reason.

So what should we do as Christians if we know in our hearts that we ourselves are tempted to take a broad and easy path which leads to destruction instead of walking the straight and narrow path which leads to salvation? One obvious answer is to stay in the word, which constantly reminds us of both God's promises to those who do what pleases him, and his judgment of those who don't. Secondly, we have to be honest with God about the temptations we struggle with in our own prayer time, confess them and ask God to cleanse us from all unrighteousness by the blood of Christ. Finally, if we know someone we can trust, we should confess our faults to them and ask them to pray for us.

2 Peter 2:4 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2:6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

2:7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked

2:8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

2:10A and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority."

There are three interesting points in this section. Both Noah and Lot were surrounded by immorality, but they did not indulge in it themselves. The "everybody's doing it" excuse can never justify sin. God expects more from us than an immitation of the behavior around us.

Secondly, God separated Noah and Lot from the evil men of their generations at a time of his own choosing, and if we will separate ourselves in an appropriate way from the world around us, we can expect him to rescue us at the right time.

Finally, the punishment of the unrighteous has already begun, even prior to their final judgment. Note the emphasis on punishing those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. We often think of lust concerning sex, but think for a moment about the explosion of drug abuse in our society during the last 40 or 50 years. Also, note how often we hear from those who despise not only God, but all human authority, elected officials, the police, their supervisors at work and even their own parents. Of course, all humans in positions of authority are imperfect, but Paul wrote Romans 13, telling us to be subject to government and human authority, during the height of the Roman empire, when Rome was ruled by some of the most ruthless and evil men on earth.

2 PETER 2:10B "Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

2:11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord."

Since we don't use the word blasphemy often in daily conversation, the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary below may be helpful:

1. 
A. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity.
B. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.
2. An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.

When I was a senior in high school, I had a Greek history teacher, and there were also two girls from Greece who were foreign exchange students in the class. The teacher had been in the United States most of his life, but the foreign students had only bee in the U.S. during that school year. Near the end of the year, our Greek teacher asked these Greek students what they were the most surprised by about the United States. They both gave the same answer. "Everyone in the United States says exactly what they think to everyone, regardless of the position of the person they're speaking to." Certainly, there are some positive aspects about the American notion that all men are created equal. I'm glad we don't have a royal family. As a taxpayer, I don't want to pay for one. However, what these Greek girls were saying is that we Americans generally lack the natural respect which is due to people in positions of authority.

When we're stopped by the police, too many of us have an attitude such as, "You're not so hot. I could have made it through the police academy." Too many of us go to work and think, "I could be the boss here. I should be the boss. He just got here first." One of the reasons we have a high divorce rate is probably because we eventually look at our spouses and say, "You're not so hot."

Simple disrespect is probably at the root of many divorces, and disrespect, rooted in pride, is the underlying reason why many of us do not regard anyone as better than ourselves, why our culture is so irreverent and why we fail to acknowledge anything as holy.

Though he was a prophet, note how Isaiah's attitude was straightened out in Isaiah 6:1-5:

Isaiah 6:1 "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

6:2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

6:3 And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

6:4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

6:5 And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

When confronted with both God's power and his holiness, Isaiah came face to face with the sins in his own life and the sins of the culture around him, and he was never the same afterwords. Whether we see visions or not, we should all have some Isaiah moments from time to time, so we can humbly respect both God and the men he has placed in positions of authority.

Unfortunately, some people would not even be affected by a vision like Isaiah's. During his ministry, as he was performing miracles and speaking the word of God, Christ's opponents asked him this:

John 8:48: "The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

8:49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me."

Note that Christ's answer is actually much more gentle than their accusation. They clearly had no regard for who they were speaking to. From the perspective of my Greek classmates, their attitude was very American.

2:12 "But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,

2:13suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.

2:14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!

2:15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

2:16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness."

The above verses continue to speak about those who reject authority and are motivated by lust and greed. , things we as Christians should ask the Lord to cleanse from our lives.

2 Peter 2:17 "These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.

2:18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.

2:19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

2:21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

2:22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."

I have lived much of my life in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona. Storms which bring a lot of wind and very little rain are quite common in the desert, and the storms which do bring rain typically don't last long. Though the desert has its own natural beauty, it can't produce the quantity and variety of crops and vegetation which are common elsewhere. Hoping for a good soaking rain in the desert is often as disappointing as the parable of the barren fig tree:

Luke 13:6 "And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

13:7 And he said to the vinedresser, "Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?"

13:8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.

13:9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

In other words, Jesus does not want us to be like waterless springs or desert storms. Instead, we should supplement our faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection and love, as Peter exhorts us to do in the previous chapter. This is not a difficult request, particularly if the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Being mindful of God's will is the first step toward doing it.

Many leaders of liberal churches today are urging their congregations to cast off the moral restraints of scripture. The world defines freedom as freedom to sin, but Christ defines freedom as freedom from sin. I would hate to be a landlord these days, because I would not want to rent property to homosexuals or unmarried heterosexual couples, and I would probably be sued into poverty. But I would rather be sued into poverty than to pretend that righteousness doesn't matter.

Much of this chapter sounds as if it were written exclusively about non-Christians, and in a way, it is. But the last three verses make it clear that some will depart from the faith. Though they have an accurate knowledge of Christian doctrine, they reject it in favor of personal immorality, the desire to control and use others, and the desire for money, possessions and physical pleasure. But God's purpose here cannot be to cause us to doubt our own salvation, but rather to cause us to be more determined than ever to abide in Christ and to do what we know is right. This chapter is a warning about the fate of some, but it is better to be warned about the consequences of sin than to have to live eternally with the consequences.