2 Peter 2

2 Peter 2 is the middle of the three chapters of 2 Peter. 2 Peter 1 closes by saying that prophecy came not by the will of man but as men were moved by the Holy Spirit. Chapter 2 picks up from there with "But," warning that, unlike the true prophets, false teachers will arise.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Just as there were false prophets among the people of old, so false teachers will arise in the church. They secretly bring in destructive heresies, deny the Lord who bought them, and out of covetousness exploit people with fabricated words.
• Verses 4–10a Examples of God's past judgments are given. He cast the angels who sinned into pits of darkness, preserved only Noah and the seven others of his household in the Flood, and reduced Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes while rescuing righteous Lot. The conclusion is that the Lord delivers the godly out of temptation and reserves the unjust under punishment until the day of judgment.
• Verses 10b–16 The character of the false teachers is portrayed. They speak evil of dignities, are like brute beasts without reason, and are full of lust and greed. They follow the way of Balaam the son of Bosor (Beor), who loved the wages of unrighteousness and was rebuked by a donkey.
• Verses 17–22 They are wells without water and clouds carried by a tempest. They promise others liberty while they themselves are the servants of corruption. The chapter states that those who, after knowing Christ, are again entangled in pollution end up worse off than at the beginning, and it closes with a proverb about a dog and a sow.

Key Verses

• 2 Peter 2:1 "There shall be false teachers among you": This verse states the theme of the entire chapter.
• 2 Peter 2:9 "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations": A word of comfort drawn from the examples of judgment.
• 2 Peter 2:22 "The dog is turned to his own vomit again": A proverb depicting apostasy; its first part overlaps with Proverbs 26:11.

People and Places

• Noah: Preserved with his family during the Flood. In this chapter he is called "a preacher of righteousness."
• Lot: Abraham's nephew, who was vexed by the lawlessness of Sodom and was delivered.
• Sodom and Gomorrah: Cities that were destroyed and made an example to later generations.
• Balaam: A prophet, the son of Beor, whose rebuke by a donkey is recounted in Numbers 22.
• Angels: The chapter mentions angels who sinned and are held in confinement until the judgment.

Points for Reflection

• The content and wording of this chapter overlap considerably with Jude. Scholars differ on which of the two writings came first.
• The word rendered "hell" in verse 4 is a Greek term meaning "to cast into Tartarus." Some interpreters connect the sinning angels with the events of Genesis 6, but the text does not specify what their sin was.
• Genesis contains no record that Noah "preached righteousness"; this is the epistle's own description of Noah.
• The phrase "the Lord that bought them" in verse 1 is cited in discussions of whom Christ's atonement was for. Arminian and Wesleyan traditions read it as evidence that the atonement is for all people. Calvinist interpreters read it differently, for example as reflecting the profession the false teachers themselves made.
• Views also diverge on verses 20–22. The Reformed tradition regards these people as never having been truly regenerate and reads the passage in light of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. The Wesleyan tradition reads it as a warning that one can actually fall from grace.

In the Korean Church

The Korean Revised Version uses the word "heresy" (idan) in verse 1. For this reason the chapter is frequently cited in preaching and teaching that warn against heretical sects.