2 Peter

1Chapter

Greeting

1Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
2May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Growth in the Faith

3His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. 11For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
12Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, 14since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. 15And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word

16For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” 18We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 21because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2Chapter

The Judgment of False Teachers

1There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. 3They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
4For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; 5and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral 8(for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard )— 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; 11however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. 12But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. 13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you. 14They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse! 15They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness 16but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. 18For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them. 20For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first. 21For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them. 22It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”
3Chapter

The Day of the Lord

1Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, 2so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles. 3Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires, 4saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.” 5They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water. 6Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded. 7By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. 11Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness 12as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. 13But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Conclusion

14Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. 15Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. 16He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
17Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Study
Chapter 3
CSB

One must keep on pointing out that Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.

—C. S. Lewis

ESV

The Day of the Lord Will Surely Come. Peter turns his attention to explaining the Lord’s promised return, and specifically to an apparent debate concerning the timing of the return.

ESV

Scoffers Challenge the Truth of Scripture Concerning the Coming of the Lord. Peter offers a biblical perspective on the skeptics who attempt to create doubt concerning the Lord’s return.

ESV

Peter mentions that this is the second letter he has written to this particular audience. It is all but certain that 1 Peter was the earlier letter in view here. Peter calls his readers beloved (Gk. agapētos), demonstrating his deep concern for them as he reminds them of the Lord’s return. On the importance of reminders, see 1:12–15.

ESV

remember. Peter wants the church to remember what the holy prophets predicted, and what the apostles handed down as the commandment of the Lord. The prediction Peter especially has in mind is the second coming.

CSB

One of the earliest apologetic problems in the early church was the issue of Christ’s second coming. The apparent delay caused some to question whether he would ever return. Apparently, Peter’s opponents asserted that the world would go on as it always had, with no interventions from God. Peter effectively punctured their objections. He reminded them that the world is not eternal. God acted decisively at creation by bringing the world into existence. Moreover, the cataclysm of the flood demonstrates that God does not sit idly by while history progresses. We now await, said Peter, the future destruction of the universe by fire. Finally, the apparent delay is not a postponement from God’s perspective since he does not reckon time as we do. A thousand years are like one day to him (Ps 90:4), and in any case, the interval before Christ’s coming gives people opportunity to repent.

ESV

The last days will feature scoffers who mock according to their own sinful desires. Their desire to live in sin with impunity drives them to deride biblical truth and those who believe it. Peter understands, as do the rest of the NT authors, that the “last days” have already arrived (see note on Acts 2:17).

ESV

Scoffers (v. 3) will call into question the biblical promise of the Lord’s coming (Gk. parousia). They scoff at the promise of the Lord’s return, arguing that because everything has remained the same since creation, God will not intervene in the world (cf. 2:10b–11). Fathers (plural of Gk. patēr) is a reference to the OT patriarchs, since this term is never used in the NT to refer to first-generation Christians. But these scoffers deliberately overlook (consciously, willfully ignore) the fact that God did intervene when he created the heavens and the earth with the word of his mouth (Gen. 1:3–31; Ps. 33:6; Heb. 11:3), and also when he judged the earth with water and it perished (Genesis 6–9). God in fact intervenes in his creation whenever he desires, as is evidenced numerous times in both the OT and NT. Peter cites two obvious occasions of God’s intervention, namely, when God acted at creation to form the earth (out of water and through water, see Gen. 1:6–10), and also when he acted decisively in history, destroying the earth by means of the flood in the days of Noah (see Gen. 7:17–24).

ESV

By the same word, the powerful word of God that creates and sends judgment, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, when the ungodly will also be judged. The day of reckoning is coming for scoffers, and their place is reserved for them. History will not go on forever; the end is coming.

ESV

The Lord’s Patience Determines the Timing of His Return. The Lord’s perspective on time is different from that of humans. It is not that God is slow in fulfilling his promise, but rather that he is patient.

ESV

Beloved (cf. note on v. 1) introduces a new paragraph. Peter explains that the delay of the second coming is not a long time from God’s perspective. He then explains further that the delay is also because God is patient, and he has not quickly brought the present period of history to an end because he does not wish that any should perish (see note on 1 Tim. 2:4; cf. also Rom. 2:4). Though Christians long for Christ’s return and the defeat of all evil, as long as the present period of history lasts, an opportunity remains for people to turn to God in faith.

ESV

the day of the Lord. God’s judgment will not be delayed forever (see note on vv. 8–9). When Christ returns it will be sudden, without warning, like the strike of a thief. The heavens (the sky) will pass away (cf. Ps. 102:25–26; Heb. 1:10–12; Rev. 6:14) and the heavenly bodies (stars, etc.) will be burned up and dissolved. There will be no place to hide (cf. Rev. 6:15–16), for the earth and every person’s works on the earth will be exposed (Gk. heurethēsetai, lit., “will be found,” a divine passive meaning “found by God”) to God’s judgment. Some translations read “will be burned up” (Gk. katakaēsetai) because some Greek manuscripts have this wording (instead of Gk. heurethēsetai). But the earliest and most reliable manuscripts have “will be found” (Gk. heurethēsetai), indicating with this reading that the annihilation of the earth is not taught in this passage. Scholars have debated whether the NT speaks of an annihilation of the present cosmos and the creation of a new universe, or whether it indicates the transformation of the present cosmos, including the earth. The latter seems more likely in light of: (1) the preferred reading of this passage (see above); (2) Rom. 8:18–25; (3) many OT prophecies about the renewal of the earth; (4) Christ’s resurrection body being in continuity with his earthly body; and (5) the fact that Christ’s resurrection body is a pattern for the resurrection bodies of Christians (1 Cor. 15:12–58). God seems always to renew, not destroy and recreate, parts of his creation that are marred by sin. See note on Rev. 21:1–8.

ESV

Living Effectively in View of the Lord’s Return. Peter concludes his treatment of the Lord’s return by turning the discussion once again to Christian lifestyle. The second coming should be a motivation to live a holy life.

ESV

The people of God ought to live in holiness and godliness, to avoid the punishment coming to the ungodly and to devote themselves to things that will last beyond the judgment.

ESV

Hastening (Gk. speudō, “hurry [by extra effort]”) the coming of the day of God suggests that, by living holy lives, Christians can actually affect the time of the Lord’s return. That does not mean, of course, that the Lord has not foreknown and foreordained when Jesus will return (cf. Matt. 24:36; Acts 17:31). But when God set that day, he also ordained that it would happen after all of his purposes for saving believers and building his kingdom in this present age had been accomplished, and those purposes are accomplished when he works through his human agents to bring them about. Therefore, from a human perspective, when Christians share the gospel with others, and pray (cf. Matt. 6:10), and advance the kingdom of God in other ways, they do “hasten” the fulfillment of God’s purposes, including Christ’s return.

ESV

The hope of Christians ultimately depends, though, not on their works (cf. note on v. 12) but on God’s promise. Their hope is not in the destruction of the wicked and their works, even though that is a necessary part of God’s final judgment. Their hope is in the promise that God will bring about a new heavens and a new earth (see Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev. 21:1–22:5), which will be the eternal abode of the righteous. “New” could mean “newly created” but probably means “renewed, made new” (see notes on Rom. 8:20–21; 2 Pet. 3:10).

ESV

Concluding Exhortations. To obtain the final reward, believers must live a godly life and resist the sexual permissiveness of false teachers (cf. 1:5–11).

ESV

Concerning Diligence. Peter calls his readers beloved for the third of four times in this chapter (cf. vv. 1, 8, 17). In light of the Lord’s return, Christians are to be diligent to be found without spot or blemish (doctrinally and morally pure), thereby receiving the full reward of eternal life. This is in stark contrast to the spiritual condition of the wicked (2:10b–22, esp. v. 22).

ESV

Concerning the Distortion of Paul’s Teaching. The delay of Christ’s return should be reckoned as his patience leading people to salvation (cf. v. 9; Rom. 2:4). The apostle Paul also wrote to these same readers at some point prior to the composition of 2 Peter, and apparently the false teachers of ch. 2 used a twisted version of Paul’s gospel of freedom (see 2:19; also Rom. 8:1–5; 2 Cor. 3:1–18; Gal. 5:1–6) to entice some of them into sin.

ESV

In all his letters shows awareness of some kind of collection of Paul’s letters, with the number unspecified here. Some things … hard to understand does not say that everything in Paul’s letters is hard to understand, nor does it say that anything is “impossible to understand,” but it does imply that correctly interpreting some hard passages of Scripture requires much effort and God-given wisdom. The ignorant and unstable twist Paul’s teachings as they do the other Scriptures, implying that Paul’s writings were also considered Scripture in NT times, on the same level of divine authority as the OT Scripture. Greek graphē, here translated “Scriptures,” occurs 51 times in the NT, and every time it refers to the canonical OT Scripture, and not to any other writings, except that twice (here and 1 Tim. 5:18) some NT writings are also included. This indicates that NT books written or authorized by Christ’s apostles were recognized, at a very early date, to be God’s Word.

ESV

Concerning the Proper Response to Paul’s Teaching. The fourth use of beloved in ch. 3 (cf. vv. 1, 8, 14). knowing this beforehand. The readers now know, if they did not know previously, that the false teachers are distorting Paul’s teaching. Paul advocates neither sin nor lawlessness, so they should take care not to be carried away by the false teaching, even if it appeals to Paul as the authority. They should not lose their own stability by following after a false interpretation of Paul; rather, they should cultivate stability through Christian growth, especially growing in Christ’s grace (Gk. charis, “favor, esp. unmerited favor”) and knowledge (Gk. gnōsis).