Sunday
Evening Bible Study
March 25, 2001
Introduction
2Peter was written shortly after his first letter, just prior to his death
in Rome at the hands of Emperor Nero.
Peter knows that his time on earth is short (1:14).
I think there are two main ideas (with two main Greek words) that keep
coming through this letter
He wants to strengthen the people (sterizo)
(2 Pet 1:12 KJV) Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you
always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be
established in the present truth.
(2 Pet 3:17 KJV) Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these
things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the
wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
He wants to encourage them to be diligent. (spoude)
(2 Pet 1:5 KJV) And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
(2 Pet 1:10 KJV) Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall:
(2 Pet 1:15 KJV) Moreover I will endeavour that ye may
be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
(2 Pet 3:12 KJV) Looking for and hasting unto the
coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
(2 Pet 3:14 KJV) Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for
such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without
spot, and blameless.
2Peter 1
:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us
through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
like precious – isotimos
(“equal” + “honor”) – equally precious; equally honoured, to be esteemed
equal to
Peter doesn’t put himself above his readers. His faith is precious to him.
And they have the same kind of precious faith.
that have obtained – lagchano –
to obtain by lot; to receive by divine allotment, obtain; to cast lots,
determine by lot
:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and
of Jesus our Lord,
be multiplied – plethuno –
to increase, to multiply; to be increased, (be multiplied) multiply
knowledge – epignosis –
precise and correct knowledge
Grace and peace are increased in our life as we grow to know God more.
:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue:
divine – theios – a
general name of deities or divinities as used by the Greeks; spoken of the only
and true God, trinity
power – dunamis –
strength, power, ability
hath given – doreomai – to
present, bestow. Perfect tense.
knowledge – epignosis –
precise and correct knowledge
that hath called – kaleo –
to call; to invite; to call i.e. to name, by name
virtue – arete – a
virtuous course of thought, feeling and action; virtue, moral goodness; any
particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity
As we come to know this One who has called us to glory and virtue, we will
find that He has already given us everything we need for living a successful
Christian life.
How can you come to know God?
There’s only one place, there’s only one resource book, the Bible, where
God has revealed Himself to us. I can’t
accept what others say about God, I must learn to accept what God says about
Himself.
:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust.
exceeding great – megistos –
greatest, very great. A superlative –
not just “great” or “greater”, but the “greatest”.
precious – timios – as of
great price, precious; held in honour, esteemed, especially dear
promises – epaggelma – a
promise
divine – theios – a
general name of deities or divinities as used by the Greeks; spoken of the only
and true God, trinity
partakers – koinonos – a
partner, associate, comrade, companion; a partner, sharer, in anything
nature – phusis – nature;
the nature of things, the force, laws, order of nature; the sum of innate
properties and powers by which one person differs from others, distinctive
native peculiarities, natural characteristics: the natural strength, ferocity,
and intractability of beasts
We have become partakers of God’s nature because we have been “born
again”. It started when God planted His
seed in us, the seed is God’s Word.
It’s in God’s Word that we find His promises. It’s through His Word that we become sharers in His nature.
having escaped – apopheugo –
to flee from, escape
corruption – phthora –
corruption, destruction, perishing; in the NT, in an ethical sense, corruption
i.e. moral decay
lust – epithumia – desire,
craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust
:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith …
beside this – better, “for this very cause”
diligence – spoude –
earnestness, diligence; earnestness in accomplishing. Keep going.
giving – pareisphero
– to bring in besides; to contribute besides to something
add to – epichoregeo – to
supply, furnish, to lavish upon. One of the things that the Greeks added to
human culture was their plays and dramas.
The choregeo was the play’s producer, the wealthy patron who paid
for all the expenses to keep the production going. It was a thing of pride for
these patrons to lavishly supply these choruses with whatever they needed. Peter is telling his readers that they need
to act as the choregeo and lavishly supply these things to their
life. I guess it’s kind of like the “corporate sponsors” of today. The corporate sponsor loves to see his car
in the winners circle and pays big money so his team is taken care of.
Lesson
You play a part in your own growth.
Peter tells us we should be diligent.
He tells us that we ought to supply this list of ingredients to our
life.
Lesson
Faith
It all starts with faith. Your
relationship with God starts the moment you choose to believe that Jesus died
on the cross for you.
But it can’t stop there.
:5 add to your faith virtue;
Lesson
Courage
virtue – arete – a
virtuous course of thought, feeling and action; moral goodness; the supreme
Greek word for virtue in every sense of the term. Courage. One who stands in
the face of opposition. One who doesn’t
run from the battle.
Peter has just said,
(2 Pet 1:3 KJV) According as his divine power hath given
unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge
of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
God has called us to have “virtue”, “courage”.
God doesn’t want us to have a faith in Him that runs or cowers at every
challenge.
David had faith in God. And his
faith gave him courage.
(1 Sam 17:45-49 KJV) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou
comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to
thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
thou hast defied. {46} This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and
I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases
of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the
wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel. {47} And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword
and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.
{48} And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to
meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
{49} And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it,
and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his
forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
While the other Israelites might say that they believed in God, it was
David who was willing to go out to battle Goliath.
God wants your faith to be nourished with courage.
:5 and to virtue knowledge;
Lesson
Knowledge
knowledge – gnosis –
knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding; the general
knowledge of Christian religion; the deeper more perfect and enlarged knowledge
of this religion, such as belongs to the more advanced
It’s one thing to be “courageous”, but we need to be courageous about the
right things. That’s how our “virtue”
is to be affected by “knowledge”.
We grow in our knowledge of God as we are staying in God’s Word.
Josiah
Toward the end of the nation of Judah, a young boy named Josiah became
king. He was raised by Hilkiah the high
priest and taught to love the Lord. As
the boy grew, he began to take interest in the things of the Lord and one day
as Josiah was having some work done on the temple, the people found an amazing
thing, God’s Word! For years it had not
been used. After Josiah read it and
began to realize what was in it, he had it read to the people:
(2 Ki 23:1-7 KJV) And the king sent, and they gathered unto
him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. {2} And the king went up into the
house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both
small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the
covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. {3} And the king stood by a
pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to
keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart
and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in
this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. {4} And the king commanded
Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers
of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that
were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned
them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them
unto Bethel. {5} And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of
Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah,
and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto
Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of
heaven. {6} And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without
Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and
stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the
children of the people. {7} And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that
were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
There were a lot of things wrong with the nation. They had allowed a lot of junk into their lives that didn’t
belong there. But when they turned on
the light of God’s Word, they were able to see what needed to be cleaned up.
:6 And to knowledge temperance
Lesson
Self-control
temperance – egkrateia (“in”
+ “strength”) – self-control (the virtue of one who masters his desires and
passions, esp. his sensual appetites).
Holding your passions and desires in your hand. To get a “grip” on yourself.
Solomon said that this was a quality that made a man great:
(Prov 16:32 KJV) He that is slow to anger is better than the
mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Paul says this is a result of the Holy Spirit working in your life –
(Gal 5:22-23 KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, {23} Meekness, temperance:
against such there is no law.
To have self-control we need the power of the Holy Spirit.
But the hard part of self-control is that it is a working together between
the Holy Spirit and me. The Spirit
empowers me, but I must be the one to stretch out my hand and take control of
what I need to be doing.
Paul uses this word in relation to athletics:
(1 Cor 9:24-27 NLT) Remember that in a race everyone runs, but
only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will
win. {25} All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a
prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. {26} So I run
straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who
misses his punches. {27} I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to
do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself
might be disqualified.
We enrich our knowledge with self-control.
There are times when a person has a lot of knowledge, but their life is a
mess. Part of growing in the Lord
involves taking that knowledge and putting it to practical use.
:6 and to temperance patience;
Lesson
Endurance
patience – hupomone –
steadfastness, constancy, endurance; the characteristic of a man who is not
swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even
the greatest trials and sufferings
We’ve talked a lot about this word over the last few months. Endurance comes when we keep our eyes on
Jesus.
(Heb 12:1-3 KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is
set before us, {2} Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. {3} For consider him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds.
I need to nurture my self-control with endurance and hang in there, keeping
my eyes on Jesus. Sometimes I can get
into a difficult time and tell myself that I deserve a break, I deserve to
“indulge” myself. Not so. Endure.
:6 and to patience godliness;
Lesson
Godliness
godliness – eusebeia (“well”
+ “worship”) – reverence, respect; piety towards God. The word means literally “worship well”, it means to
worship God correctly. But a person who
has “godliness” not only acts correctly towards God, but also treats people
correctly as well. Because you have a relationship with God, because you know
how much He is worth, you do the things that are right, the things that God
wants you to be doing.
Warren Wiersbe writes,
“We must never get the idea that godliness is an impractical thing, because
it is intensely practical. The godly person makes the kinds of decisions that
are right and noble. He does not take an easy path simply to avoid either pain
or trial. He does what is right because it is right and because it is the will
of God.”
Summary: An awareness of God that
affects my actions.
We see a picture of this in the life of Zacchaeus:
(Luke 19:1-10 KJV) And Jesus entered and passed through
Jericho. {2} And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief
among the publicans, and he was rich. {3} And he sought to see Jesus who he
was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. {4} And he
ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass
that way. {5} And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and
said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at
thy house. {6} And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
{7} And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be
guest with a man that is a sinner. {8} And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the
Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I
have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him
fourfold. {9} And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this
house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. {10} For the Son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Zacchaeus was anxious to see Jesus.
When he found that Jesus wanted to spend time with Him, he
responded by “receiving Him joyfully”
(v.6). But Zacchaeus went beyond just
having lunch with Jesus. His life was
different now. He wanted to treat
people differently as well. His time
with Jesus made him a different person.
I need to nourish my endurance with godliness. I can get to thinking that endurance is just sitting in a corner
gritting my teeth. But I need to have a
deeper endurance that turns around and serves the Lord and serves others.
:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Lesson
Loving Christians
brotherly kindness – philadelphia
– love of brothers or sisters, brotherly love; in the NT the love which
Christians cherish for each other as brethren
Sometimes we can get caught up in what we might call “godliness” in doing
things like reading our Bible, praying, going to church, singing songs, etc.
But our relationship with God needs to extend to those around us in church
as well. It has to involve other
people. And it starts with our brothers
and sisters in Christ.
Lesson
Agape
charity – agape –
brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence
God doesn’t want us to stop at loving just other Christians, but the world
around us.
This is God’s kind of unconditional love, a love characterized by giving
(John 3:16), a love characterized by sacrifice.
:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
be in – huparcho – to
begin below, to make a beginning; to come forth, hence to be there, be ready,
be at hand; to be
abound – pleonazo – to superabound;
to exist in abundance; to increase; to make to increase: one in a thing
barren – argos (“not” +
“work”) – free from labour, at leisure; lazy, shunning the labour which one
ought to perform
unfruitful – akarpos –
metaph. without fruit, barren, not yielding what it ought to yield
knowledge – epignosis –
precise and correct knowledge
:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and
hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
lacketh – “not” + pareimi –
to be by, be at hand, to have arrived, to be present; to be ready, in store, at
command
cannot see afar off – muopazo (“hidden”
+ “face”) – to see dimly, see only what is near; shortsighted
hath forgotten – “receive” + lethe
– forgetfulness
purged – katharismos – a
cleansing, purification, a ritual purgation or washing
:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and
election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
give diligence – spoudazo –
to hasten, make haste; to exert one’s self, endeavour, give diligence
sure – bebaios – stable,
fast, firm; metaph. sure, trusty
calling – klesis – a
calling, calling to; a call, invitation; of the divine invitation to embrace
salvation of God
election – ekloge – the
act of picking out, choosing; of the act of God’s free will by which before the
foundation of the world he decreed his blessings to certain persons
fall – ptaio – to cause
one to stumble or fall; to stumble; to err, make a mistake, to sin; to fall
into misery, become wretched
:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
abundantly – plousios –
abundantly, richly
shall be ministered – epichoregeo
– to supply, furnish, present; to be supplied, ministered to, assisted;
from choregeo – to be a chorus
leader, lead a chorus; to furnish the chorus at one’s own expense; to procure
and supply all things necessary to fit out a chorus; to supply, furnish
abundantly. Same word was translated “add
to” in verse 5.
an entrance – eisodos (“into”
+ “way”) – an entrance; the place or way leading into a place (as a gate); the
act of entering
everlasting – aionios –
without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of
these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
negligent – ameleo (“not”
+ “care”) – to be careless of, to neglect
always – aei –
perpetually, incessantly; invariably, at any and every time: when according to
the circumstances something is or ought to be done again
put you … in remembrance – hupomimnesko
– to cause one to remember, bring to remembrance, recall to mind: to
another; to put one in remembrance, admonish, of something; to be reminded, to
remember
ye know – eido – to see;
to perceive with the eyes; to know; to know of anything
be established – sterizo
– to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix; to strengthen, make firm; to
render constant, confirm, one’s mind
Lesson
We need to be strengthened
Two times in this letter, Peter will use the word meaning the opposite of
“strenghthened”, translated “unstable”.
From this, we can see two reasons why we need to not be “unstable” but
be “strengthened”
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that
cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have
exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Peter is talking about the false teachers and how they are
able to lead people astray. Who will
they lead astray? Those that aren’t
strong. Those that are “unstable”.
2Pe 3:16 As also in all [his] epistles, speaking in
them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as [they do] also the other
scriptures, unto their own destruction.
The unstable people will also be those who will twist the
Scriptures, something that will only hurt them.
Once we’ve been strenghthened, we need to be careful that we don’t fall
from that place of strength –
(2 Pet 3:17 KJV) Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these
things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the
wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
present – pareimi – to be
by, be at hand, to have arrived, to be present; to be ready, in store, at
command
Even though these people already know this stuff, Peter feels it’s
necessary to remind them of them again.
Lesson
Don’t get bored with hearing the
same old thing.
There is a sense in which we need to keep hearing it.
When you start shutting off the teacher because you think you know what
he’s talking about, you are in danger of missing what God may be wanting to
say.
As a new Christian, we are constantly learning new things. But there will be a point where you will
start realizing that you know a lot of things.
At that point, it’s not important that you keep learning “new” things,
but that you learn old things “better”.
:13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you
up by putting you in remembrance;
meet – dikaios –
righteous, observing divine laws
tabernacle – tent, referring to Peter’s physical body
to stir you up – diegeiro –
to wake up, awaken, arouse (from sleep); of the sea, which begins to be
agitated, to rise; metaph. to arouse the mind; stir up, render active
:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our
Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me.
shortly – tachinos –
swift, quick
hath showed – deloo – to
make manifest; to make known by relating, to declare; to give one to
understand, to indicate, signify
Peter has been shown by the Lord that he’s going to die soon.
:15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have
these things always in remembrance.
I will endeavor – spoudazo –
to hasten, make haste; to exert one’s self, endeavour, give diligence
decease – exodos – exit
i.e. departure; the close of one’s career, one’s final fate; departure from
life, decease
:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his
majesty.
cunningly devised – sophizo –
to make wise, teach; to become wise, to have understanding; to invent, play the
sophist; to devise cleverly or cunningly
fables – muthos (“myth”) –
a speech, word, saying; a narrative, story; a true narrative; a fiction, a
fable; an invention, a falsehood
followed – exakoloutheo –
to follow out or up, tread in one’s steps; metaph., to imitate one’s ways of
acting; to follow one’s authority; to comply with, yield to
made known – gnorizo – to
make known
eyewitnesses – epoptes –
an overseer, inspector; spectator, eye witness of anything
This was the name given to those who had attained to the third, i.e the
highest grade of the Eleusinian mysteries; these were celebrated annually at
Eleusis and Athens in ancient times, in memory of the abduction and return of
Persephone and in honour of Demeter and Bacchus.
majesty – megaleiotes –
greatness, magnificence; of the majesty of God; of the visible splendour of the
divine majesty as it appeared in the transfiguration of Christ
:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came
such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased.
excellent – megaloprepes –
befitting a great man, magnificent, splendid; full of majesty, majestic
well pleased – eudokeo –
it seems good to one, is one’s good pleasure; to be well pleased with, take
pleasure in, to be favourably inclined towards one
:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him
in the holy mount.
Peter is talking about the experience that he had along with James and John
when Jesus was transfigured before them on the mountain.
(Mat 17:1-9 KJV) And after six days Jesus taketh Peter,
James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
{2} And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and
his raiment was white as the light. {3} And, behold, there appeared unto them
Moses and Elias talking with him. {4} Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus,
Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three
tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. {5} While he
yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of
the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear
ye him. {6} And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were
sore afraid. {7} And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not
afraid. {8} And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus
only. {9} And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying,
Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn,
and the day star arise in your hearts:
more sure – bebaios –
stable, fast, firm; metaph. sure, trusty.
This is the comparative form, “more stable”.
Peter’s own experience with Jesus on the mountain was amazing enough. They actually heard God speak!
Yet Peter is saying that the prophecies concerning Jesus are “more sure”
than even Peter’s own testimony.
There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of
Jesus. The odds are staggering that
somebody just happened to come along and fulfill them. It’s impossible that they would speak of any
other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
dark – auchmeros –
squalid, dirty; since dirty things are destitute of brightness: dark
dawn – diaugazo – to shine
through, to dawn; of daylight breaking through the darkness of night
day star – phosphoros –
light bringing, giving light; the planet Venus, the morning star, day star;
metaph. Christ
The planet Venus is sometimes called the daystar because it will be the
last star shining before sunrise. When
you see the daystar, you know that the dawn in coming quickly.
The Scriptures are like the daystar, reminding us that the Lord’s coming,
the dawn, is right around the corner.
So pay attention to them.
:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
private – idios –
pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self
interpretation – epilusis –
a loosening, unloosing; metaph. interpretation
It’s not up to you to decide what a Scripture means.
Be careful when you start hearing people talk as if they have learned the
secret to unlock the Scriptures and you’ll only get this special knowledge from
them. Peter is laying a foundation
about truth before he starts talking about the false teachers.
:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
the will – thelema – what
one wishes or has determined shall be done; of the purpose of God to bless
mankind through Christ; of what God wishes to be done by us; commands,
precepts; will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure
moved – phero – to carry;
to bear, i.e. endure, to endure the rigour of a thing, to bear patiently one’s
conduct, or spare one (abstain from punishing or destroying); to bring, bring
to, bring forward
The Holy Spirit is the author of the Scriptures. He says what He means.
Paul wrote,
(2 Tim 3:16-17 KJV) All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: {17} That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
2Peter 2
:1 But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who
privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
false prophets – pseudoprophetes
– one who, acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters
falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies; a false prophet
false teachers – pseudodidaskalos
– a false teacher
privily shall bring in – pareisago
(“alongside” + “into” + “lead”) – to introduce or bring in secretly or
craftily
heresies – hairesis – act
of taking, capture: e.g. storming a city; choosing, choice; that which is
chosen; a body of men following their own tenets (sect or party); dissensions
arising from diversity of opinions and aims
damnable – apoleia –
destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction
that bought – agorazo – to
be in the market place, to attend it; to do business there, buy or sell; of
idle people: to haunt the market place, lounge there
Jesus bought us with His own blood.
denying – arneomai – to
deny; to deny, abnegate, abjure; not to accept, to reject, to refuse something
offered
swift – tachinos – swift,
quick
destruction – apoleia –
destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction
Lesson
A false teacher denies the true
Jesus
This will be at the root of what how we might classify heresy from “bad
ministry”. There are going to be groups
that do things wrong, but still hold to the same true Jesus that Peter taught
of. But the most dangerous of
“churches” are the ones that get you to trust in “another Jesus”.
Paul warned the Corinthians about being too “open minded” –
(2 Cor 11:4 KJV) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,
whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not
received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear
with him.
He warned the Galatians about the danger of destructive heresy –
(Gal 1:8-9 KJV) But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed. {9} As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Some heretical groups (teaching a different Jesus): Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Scientology,
Christian Science, Local Church, Church of Christ International (LA Church of
Christ) – not to be confused with Disciples of Christ (which is fine).
:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way
of truth shall be evil spoken of.
shall follow – exakoloutheo –
to follow out or up, tread in one’s steps; metaph., to imitate one’s ways of
acting; to follow one’s authority; to comply with, yield to
pernicious – apoleia –
destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction. The NAS text has “sensuality” – aselgeia – unbridled lust, excess,
licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence
evil spoken of – blasphemeo –
to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme; to be evil
spoken of, reviled, railed at
Lesson
False prophets hurt us all
Even if you aren’t following a false prophet, the people in the world will
still lump them together with true believers and make us all look bad.
To the unbeliever, a person in a cult looks just like you do, they are
“religious”. And you will get some of
the flack for what they will do.
:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise
of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation
slumbereth not.
covetousness – pleonexia
– greedy desire to have more, covetousness, avarice
feigned – plastos –
moulded, formed, as from clay, wax, or stone; feigned
make merchandise – emporeuomai
(“emporium”) – to go a trading, to travel for business, to traffic, trade;
of a thing, to import for sale; to deal in; to use a person or a thing for gain
of a long time – ekpalai –
from of old; of a long time
lingereth – argeo – to be
idle, inactive, to linger, delay
damnation – apoleia –
destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction
slumbereth – nustazo – to
nod in sleep, to sleep; to be overcome or oppressed with sleep; to be negligent,
careless
Lesson
Be careful when money is the thing
One of the characteristics of a false prophet can be their outlook on
money. It seems to be the driving
thing.
I think we ought to be careful when all a ministry talks about it money,
especially about how much you need to be giving. It’s not wrong to talk about money, but when money becomes one of
the main motivations in a ministry, I think something is wrong.
:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to
hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
spared – pheidomai – to
spare; to abstain
chains – seira – a line, a
rope; a chain
darkness – zophos –
darkness, blackness; used of the darkness of the nether world
cast them down to hell – tartaroo
– the name of the subterranean region, doleful and dark, regarded by the
ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, where they suffer punishment
for their evil deeds; it answers to Gehenna of the Jews; to thrust down to
Tartarus, to hold captive in Tartarus
What’s this place?
It’s not real clear what Peter is talking about here.
This is the only place that the word for Tartarus is used in the New
Testament.
There is another place of imprisonment for demons, called the abyss
(Greek: abussos)
When Legion’s demons met Jesus, they asked not to be sent to the abyss:
(Luke 8:31
KJV) And they besought him that he
would not command them to go out into the deep.
The abyss is where the demonic hoards of Revelation 9 are released from.
It is possible that Peter is not referring to the abyss, but to Gehenna,
hell, that half of Sheol where the ungodly dead were sent.
Who are these angels?
Some have suggested that at least some of these angels are some of Satan’s
cohorts when he fell. The only problem
is that it is not all of them because many of them, as well as Satan, still
roam the earth today.
Some have suggested that these might have been the “sons of God” from the
days before the flood –
(Gen 6:1-4 KJV) And it came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, {2} That
the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took
them wives of all which they chose. {3} And the LORD said, My spirit shall not
always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an
hundred and twenty years. {4} There were giants in the earth in those days; and
also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and
they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men
of renown.
This is a pretty controversial passage as it is. But some have suggested that the “sons of
God” were angelic beings that cohabited with human women, creating some kind of
monster race, bringing wickedness to it’s peak before the flood.
delivered – paradidomi –
to give into the hands (of another); to give over into (one’s) power or use
to be reserved – tereo –
to attend to carefully, take care of; to guard; metaph. to keep, one in the
state in which he is
:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a
preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
old – archaios – that has
been from the beginning, original, primal, old ancient
spared – pheidomai – to
spare; to abstain
saved – phulasso – to
guard; lest he suffer violence, be despoiled, etc. to protect; to guard from
being lost or perishing
the flood – kataklusmos
(“cataclysm”) – inundation, deluge; of Noah’s deluge
ungodly – asebes –
destitute of reverential awe towards God, condemning God, impious
:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them
with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live
ungodly;
turning … into ashes – tephroo
(“ashes”) – reduce to ashes
an overthrow – katastrophe
(“catastrophe”) – overthrow, destruction
an ensample – hupodeigma –
a sign suggestive of anything, delineation of a thing, representation, figure,
copy; an example: for imitation; for a warning, of a thing to be shunned
Has the world learned from Sodom and Gomorrha? I don’t think so.
:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the
wicked:
vexed – kataponeo –
to tire down with toil, exhaust with labour; to afflict or oppress with evils;
to make trouble for; to treat roughly
wicked – athesmos –
one who breaks through the restraint of law and gratifies his lusts
filthy – aselgeia –
unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness,
outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence
conversation – anastrophe
– manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment
delivered – rhoumai – to
draw to one’s self, to rescue, to deliver
:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing,
vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
seeing – blemma – a look,
a glance
righteous – dikaios –
righteous, observing divine laws
dwelling among – egkatoikeo –
to dwell among
vexed – basanizo –
to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to
test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by
rubbing it with either metal; to question by applying torture; to torture; to
vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment; to be harassed,
distressed; of those who at sea are struggling with a head wind
Note: We usually give Lot a
hard time when we look at Genesis 19.
He is usually to us the epitome of the compromised Christian. But keep in mind, God still cared for
Lot. God still considered Lot to be
“righteous”. God rescued Lot.
:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to
reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
godly – eusebes – pious,
dutiful
temptations – peirasmos –
an experiment, attempt, trial, proving
deliver – rhoumai – to
draw to one’s self, to rescue, to deliver
to be punished – kolazo –
to lop or prune, as trees and wings; to curb, check, restrain; to chastise,
correct, punishment; to cause to be punished
reserve – tereo – to
attend to carefully, take care of; to guard; metaph. to keep, one in the state
in which he is; to observe; to reserve: to undergo something
There are two principles here:
1.
Wickedness will not go unpunished.
God knows what He’s doing. People
who think they’re going to get away with evil are only fooling themselves.
2.
God will rescue the righteous from eternal judgment.
We need to be careful in thinking that the righteous will always get a fair
deal.
Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up in prison, all unjustly.
Christians around the world are constantly being persecuted and some killed
for their faith.
But in the end, God knows how to rescue us.
I think this is a major principle involving the “pretrib” rapture.
Just as Lot was pulled out of the city before God judged
Sodom, God will make sure that we get pulled off of the planet before the
Tribulation.
:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness,
and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid
to speak evil of dignities.
chiefly – malista –
especially, chiefly, most of all, above all
after – opiso –
back, behind, after, afterwards; of place: things that are behind
The fleshly sin nature wants to go a certain direction, and these people
are following right behind.
uncleanness – miasmos –
the act of defiling, defilement, pollution
government – kuriotes –
dominion, power, lordship; in the NT: one who possesses dominion
despise – kataphroneo – to
contemn, despise, disdain, think little or nothing of
presumptuous – tolmetes
– a daring man; from tolmao – not
to dread or shun through fear
This sounds as if it is a nice quality, to be “fearless”, to be “bold” or
“daring”. But the idea of not being
afraid of God is foolishness.
selfwilled – authades (“self”
+ “pleasure, hedonism”) – self-pleasing, self-willed, arrogant
dignities – doxa – glory;
in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour,
and glory; splendour, brightness; of the angels
I wonder why this isn’t translated “glory” as in “God’s glory”. Perhaps because of verse 11?
afraid – tremo – tremble;
to fear, be afraid
speak evil – blasphemeo –
to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme; to be evil
spoken of, reviled, railed at
:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing
accusation against them before the Lord.
railing – blasphemos –
speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive
accusation – krisis – a
separating, sundering, separation; judgment
:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed,
speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in
their own corruption;
brute – alogos – destitute
of reason; contrary to reason, absurd
beasts – zoon – a living
being; an animal, brute, beast
natural – phusikos –
produced by nature, inborn; agreeable to nature; governed by (the instincts of)
nature
to be taken – halosis – a
catching, capture, to be taken
destroyed – phthora –
corruption, destruction, perishing
It’s the natural “brute” beasts that are made to be taken and destroyed.
understand not – agnoeo –
to be ignorant, not to know; not to understand, unknown; to err or sin through
mistake, to be wrong
corruption – phthora –
corruption, destruction, perishing
utterly perish – katphtheiro –
to corrupt, deprave; corrupted in mind; to destroy; to be destroyed, to
perish. A related word to “corruption”
(phthora)
The sad thing about false teachers who start cults – they don’t even know
what they’re talking about.
I certainly get that idea when I read about the life of Joseph Smith. He
was a charlatan that knew how to talk people into things. When he began to dabble in religious things,
he found himself in a world he knew nothing of. As you follow the progress of their doctrine, it almost looks as
if it’s okay to start with. Yet as time
progresses, and they drift farther and farther from the Scriptures and farther
into Joseph’s mad world, you get some pretty kooky ideas.
:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it
pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting
themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
shall receive – komizo –
to care for, take care of, provide for; to take up or carry away in order to
care for and preserve; to carry, bear, bring to, to carry away for one’s self,
to carry off what is one’s own, to bring back; to receive, obtain: the promised
blessing
reward – misthos – dues
paid for work; reward: used of the fruit naturally resulting from toils and
endeavours
pleasure – hedone –
pleasure; desires for pleasure
riot – truphe – softness,
effeminate, luxurious living
spots – spilos – a spot; a
fault, moral blemish; of base and gluttonous men
blemishes – momos –
blemish, blot, disgrace
sporting themselves – entruphao
– to live in luxury, live delicately or luxuriously, to revel in; to take
delight in
deceivings – apate –
deceit, deceitfulness
feast with you – suneuocheo –
to entertain together; to feast sumptuously with
:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling
unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed
children:
full – mestos – full; in
reference to persons, whose minds are as it were filled with thoughts and
emotions, either good or bad
cannot cease – akatapaustos –
unable to stop, unceasing; not quieted, that cannot be quieted
beguiling – deleazo –
to bait, catch by a bait; metaph. to beguile by blanishments, allure, entice,
deceive
unstable – asteriktos –
unstable, unsteadfast
A word based on the opposite of sterizo
– to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix; to strengthen, make firm; to
render constant, confirm, one’s mind
2Pe 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you
always in remembrance of these things, though ye know [them], and be
established in the present truth.
Lesson
Be strong in the Lord
It’s important if you don’t want to be one who is tricked by false
teachers.
exercised – gumnazo –
to exercise naked (in a palaestra or school of athletics); to exercise
vigorously, in any way, either the body or the mind
covetous practices – pleonexia
– greedy desire to have more, covetousness, avarice
NAS - having a heart trained
in greed
I get this picture of a guy in the gym working out, training to be
greedy. “One-Two-Three-Ch-Ching!”
:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the
way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
forsaken – kataleipo – to
leave behind; to depart from, leave; to forsake, leave to one’s self a person
or thing by ceasing to care for it, to abandon, leave in the lurch
right – euthus – straight,
level; straight forward, upright, true, sincere; straightway, immediately,
forthwith
are gone astray – planao –
to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way; to go astray,
wander, roam about; metaph. to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to
deceive
The way of Balaam –
Numbers 22-24 - Balaam was the prophet that the Moabites hired to
put a curse on the Israelites as they were camping in their backyard. The king, Balak, knew he couldn’t fact the
Israelites with an army so he thought perhaps he could be some kind of a curse
to be put on them.
There seems to have been something unusual about Balaam. He warned Balak that he couldn’t speak
things that God didn’t want him to say.
And he seemed to have a clue as to what God wanted to say. Every time that he got prepared to pronounce
a curse on Israel, a blessing came out instead. The story appears to end with Balaam leaving without having
cursed Israel, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
After Balaam supposedly leaves, you see the young Moabite women coming into
the camp of Israel and leading the men astray through sex and idolatry (Num.
25). And God puts a plague on the
people because of it. We later find out
that this was all part of Balaam’s plan (Num. 31:16). It seems that Balaam knew that as long as Israel was following
the things that God had for them, that God couldn’t curse them. But if Israel fell away from the Lord, they
would be in big trouble.
How could Balaam do such a thing, when it appeared that he had some kind of
connection with God?
Because he liked the size of the paycheck that Balaak was willing to give
him. He couldn’t resist the money. He was willing to do anything for the money.
These false teachers are following after Balaam because they are willing to
do anything for the “money”, for what they’re going to get out of it.
:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's
voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
rebuked – elegxis –
refutation, rebuke
iniquity – paranomia –
breach of law, transgression, wickedness
dumb – aphonos –
voiceless, dumb; without faculty of speech
speaking – phtheggomai –
to give out a sound, noise or cry; of any sort of sound or voice, whether of
man or of animal or inanimate object as thunder, musical instruments, etc.
forbad – koluo – to
hinder, prevent forbid; to withhold a thing from anyone; to deny or refuse one
a thing
madness – paraphronia –
madness, insanity
When Balak first sent for Balaam, Balaam left on his donkey, but when the
donkey saw the angel of death about to slaughter Balaam for going with a wrong
heart, the donkey stopped in his tracks.
At one point Balaam yells at the donkey, and God opens the donkey’s
mouth and it speaks to rebuke Balaam.
Illustration
Two Horses
Two horses were walking back to the paddock after a days training. One says
to the other “I can’t understand why we are so slow, we come from good stock, we have the best of food, great
trainers, and yet we come last in every race.”
There was a dog running along side them who overheard and said “I know what your problem is. I have seen you
race and it looks to me as if you race off at the start really fast and use up
all your energy and then you have nothing left. What you should do is pace
yourselves and when all the other horses are knackered, put in a spurt and
you’re sure to win. What do you think of that?”. The horses looked at one another and said “WOW, a talking dog!”
I still think the hilarious thing about Balaam is that he didn’t seem to be
bothered by his donkey talking to him!
In fact, he talked back to the donkey!
Lesson
God even uses donkeys
Next time you think that God could never use someone as lowly and as stupid
and as unimportant as you, think of Balaam’s donkey. If God can use a donkey, surely He can use you!
:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest;
to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
wells without water – When you’re thirsty and need water, you
are pretty excited to come across a well.
But how disappointing to find that it contains no water!
False teachers will have the appearance of a helpful ministry, but in the
end, you will find that you gained nothing.
There was no water.
tempest – lailaps – a
whirlwind, a tempestuous wind; a violent attack of wind, a squall; never a
single gust nor a steady blowing wind, however violent, but a storm breaking
forth from black thunder clouds in furious gusts, with floods of rain, and
throwing everything topsy-turvy
clouds … tempest – false teachers bring a dark gloom.
mist – zophos – darkness,
blackness; used of the darkness of the nether world
darkness – skotos –
darkness
reserved – tereo – to attend
to carefully, take care of; to guard; to reserve: to undergo something
:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through
the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped
from them who live in error.
great swelling – huperogkos
– overswollen; metaph. immoderate, extravagant
words of vanity – mataiotes
– what is devoid of truth and appropriateness; perverseness, depravity;
frailty, want of vigour
they speak – phtheggomai
– to give out a sound, noise or cry; of any sort of sound or voice, whether
of man or of animal or inanimate object as thunder, musical instruments, etc.
This is such an odd word for “speak”, used only three times in the New
Testament, twice here in 2Peter 2. It
was last used to describe Balaam’s donkey speaking. I wonder if Peter is trying to get you thinking of donkeys when
you think of the false teachers.
allure – deleazo –
to bait, catch by a bait; metaph. to beguile by blanishments, allure, entice,
deceive
wantonness – aselgeia –
unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness,
outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence
clean – ontos – truly, in
reality, in point of fact, as opp. to what is pretended, fictitious, false,
conjectural; that which is truly etc., that which is indeed
escaped from – apopheugo –
to flee from, escape
error – plane – a
wandering, a straying about; one led astray from the right way, roams hither
and thither
who live – anastrepho – to
turn upside down, overturn; to turn hither and thither, to turn one’s self
about, sojourn dwell in a place; metaph. to conduct one’s self, behave one’s
self, live
(2 Pet 2:18 NLT) They brag about themselves with empty,
foolish boasting. With lustful desire as their bait, they lure back into sin
those who have just escaped from such wicked living.
:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of
corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in
bondage.
corruption – phthora –
corruption, destruction, perishing; in the NT, in an ethical sense, corruption
i.e. moral decay
is overcome – hettao – to
make less, inferior, to overcome; to be made inferior; to overcome, worsted, to
be conquered by one, forced to yield to one; to hold a thing inferior, set
below
brought in bondage – douloo
– to make a slave of, reduce to bondage; metaph. give myself wholly to
one’s needs and service, make myself a bondman to him
Lesson
You are a slave to what overcomes
you.
Paul said,
(Rom 6:16-17 NLT) Don't you realize that whatever you choose
to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you
can choose to obey God and receive his approval. {17} Thank God! Once you were
slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God
has given you.
Let Jesus be the one who overcomes you.
:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the
knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled
therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
escaped – apopheugo – to
flee from, escape
pollutions – miasma – that
which defiles, defilement; metaph., vices the foulness of which contaminates
one in his intercourse with the ungodly mass of mankind
knowledge – epignosis –
precise and correct knowledge
entangled – empleko (“in”
+ “weave” or “braid”) – to inweave; of a thing: to entangle, involve in
overcome – hettao – to
make less, inferior, to overcome; to be made inferior; to overcome, worsted, to
be conquered by one, forced to yield to one; to hold a thing inferior, set
below
is worse – cheiron –
worse. Comparative of kakos,
“bad”.
:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them.
have known – epiginosko –
to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly; to know accurately,
know well; to know; to recognise
to turn – epistrepho – to
cause to return, to bring back; to turn to one’s self; to turn one’s self
about, turn back; to return, turn back, come back
:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is
turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in
the mire.
it is happened – sumbaino –
to walk with the feet near together; to come together, meet with one; of things
which fall out at the same time, to happen, turn out, come to pass
proverb – paroimia – a
saying out of the usual course or deviating from the usual manner of speaking;
a current or trite saying, a proverb; any dark saying which shadows forth some
didactic truth; an allegory
is turned to – epistrepho
– to cause to return, to bring back; to turn to one’s self; to turn one’s
self about, turn back; to return, turn back, come back. Same word used in verse 21.
vomit – exerama – vomit;
what is cast out by vomiting
Pretty gross picture. Doesn’t need
explaining.
sow – hus – swine
washed – louo – to bathe,
wash
wallowing – kulisma –
thing rolled, rolled (wallowed) mud or mire
mire – borboros – dung,
mire
Lesson
Don’t go back.
I’m not sure that Peter is saying that if you go back to the world that
you’ll never come back to Jesus.
I think that may be the case sometimes.
But he is saying that if you go back to the world, you will find your life
worse than it ever was before you knew Jesus.
Why? Because you now know what it’s
like to be clean. And you’re miserable.
2Peter 3
:1 This second epistle, beloved, I
now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of
remembrance:
stir up – diegeiro – to
wake up, awaken, arouse (from sleep); of the sea, which begins to be agitated,
to rise; metaph. to arouse the mind; stir up, render active
remembrance – hupomnesis –
a reminding; remembrance
pure – heilikrines (“sun”
+ “judge”) – pure, sincere, unsullied; found pure when unfolded and examined by
the sun’s light
:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy
prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
mindful – mnaomai – to
remind; to be recalled or to return to one’s mind, to remind one’s self of, to
remember; to be recalled to mind, to be remembered, had in remembrance; to
remember a thing; be mindful of
spoken before – proereo –
to say before; to say beforehand i.e. before the event: prophecies
Lesson
Stay in the Word
Peter started the last section by reminding his readers how God’s Word came
as God moved upon the writers. God’s
Word isn’t up to private interpretation.
Then he warned the readers about the false teachers who are going to make
up their own crazy ideas about what is right and what is wrong.
Your safest place is to stay in the Word of God.
:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts,
knowing – ginosko – to
learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; to know,
understand, perceive, have knowledge of
scoffers – empaiktes – a
mocker, a scoffer; from empaizo – to
play with, trifle with; to mock; to delude, deceive
:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the
creation.
continue – diameno – to
stay permanently, remain permanently, continue
This will be one of the things that people will be saying in the last days.
We are in the last days.
Evolution is based on the idea that things have “continued” just as they
always have. Changes come slowly, and
that’s why the evolutionist needs to say that the earth is old, very, very old.
There is no room in the mindset of the evolutionist of a great “cataclysm”,
a great “catastrophe” that would have brought great sudden change to the earth.
People will question the Lord’s coming because it would seem like it’s
never going to happen.
:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the
heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
ignorant – lanthano – to
be hidden, to be hidden from one, secretly, unawares, without knowing
willingly – thelo – to
will, have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined, to purpose; to
desire, to wish; to love; to like to do a thing, be fond of doing; to take
delight in, have pleasure
(2 Pet 3:5 NIV) But they deliberately forget that long ago
by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by
water.
:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
being overflowed – katakluzo
(“cataclysm”) – to overwhelm with water, to submerge, deluge
perished – apollumi – to
destroy; to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin
There is much in geology that can be explained more clearly by a world wide
flood than through millions of years of time.
The great explosion and consequent flood at Mount St. Helens gave the
scientific world a small picture of what could happen with a great
cataclysm. The resulting lake that was
formed developed a petrified forest in a matter of years, something thought to
take millions of years. A canyon
similar but smaller to the Grand Canyon was formed.
:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept
in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men.
kept in store – thesaurizo –
to gather and lay up, to heap up, store up; to accumulate riches; to keep in
store, store up, reserve
reserved – tereo – to
attend to carefully, take care of; to reserve: to undergo something
perdition – apoleia –
destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction; the destruction
which consists of eternal misery in hell
ungodly – asebes –
destitute of reverential awe towards God, condemning God, impious
Lesson
It will happen again
People want to think that God’s judgment can’t ever come because things
have just always kind of gone along.
But the truth is there was a time when God brought great judgment on the
earth, the time of Noah’s flood.
And there will again be a time when God brings judgment again on the
earth. But this time with fire instead
of flood.
:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
ignorant – lanthano – to
be hidden, to be hidden from one, secretly, unawares, without knowing
Peter is quoting the Old Testament again:
(Psa 90:4 KJV) For a thousand years in thy sight are but as
yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Some have used this as a type of formula to look at things prophetically,
and there certainly might be some value in that.
We look at the week with six days to work and one day to rest being a
picture of what might happen with the earth.
If we can take the chronologies of the Bible literally, the earth might
have been created something like six thousand years ago. We might be getting close to the “day of
rest”, which would be the thousand year reign of Christ on earth.
Another place this is applied is to the Jews and –
(Hosea 6:1-2 KJV) Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for
he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. {2}
After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we
shall live in his sight.
It’s been close to two thousand years since the destruction of the Jewish
nation by Rome. God is reviving
us. The third day might also be a
reference to the thousand year reign of Christ on earth.
Even though I think these things may be true, and I will even mention them
in my teaching, keep in mind, Peter’s point in quoting this passage. His point is that you need to be careful
about thinking that Jesus isn’t going to keep the promise of coming back.
Lesson
God’s timing isn’t ours
We might be in a hurry, and God may be in a hurry, but God’s idea of
“hurry” can be way different than your idea of “hurry”.
:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.
slack – braduno –
to delay, be slow; to render slowly, retard; to be long, to tarry, loiter
slackness – bradutes –
slowness, delay
longsuffering – makrothumeo
(“long” + “burning”) – to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart; to
persevere patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles; to be
patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others; to be mild and slow in
avenging; to be longsuffering, slow to anger, slow to punish
willing – boulomai –
to will deliberately, have a purpose, be minded; of willing as an affection, to
desire
This is God’s will!
repentance – metanoia – a
change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or
of something he has done
should come to – choreo
– to leave space (which may be filled or occupied by another), to make
room, give place, yield; to have space or room for receiving or holding
something
Lesson
God waits for a reason
We may at times wonder why in the world Jesus doesn’t come back. But He has a reason. There’s a sense in which God is a little
reluctant for the Second Coming. He
wants more people to come to Him. So He
waits.
Lesson
God’s love
Some people want to talk about God’s judgment as being the reason why they
can’t believe in Him. They say they
can’t believe in a God who would send people to hell.
Yet the reason why God delays the Second Coming is so that He’ll have less
people to send to hell.
God WANTS people to come to Him.
:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be
burned up.
with a great noise – rhoizedon
– with a loud noise; from a derivative of rhoizos (a whir)
shall pass away – parerchomai –
to go past, pass by; to pass away, perish
elements – stoicheion –
any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite
whole take their rise, an element, first principal
fervent heat – kausoo – to
burn up, set fire to; to suffer with feverish burning, be parched with fever
shall melt – luo – to
loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened; to loosen, undo, dissolve,
anything bound, tied, or compacted together; to loose what is compacted or
built together, to break up, demolish, destroy; to dissolve something coherent
into parts, to destroy
shall be burned up – katakaio –
to burn up, consume by fire
Sounds like a nuclear meltdown.
:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
what manner – potapos –
from what country, nation or tribe; of what sort or quality (what manner of)
ought – dei – it is
necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper
holy – hagios – most holy
thing, a saint
conversation – anastrophe –
manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment
godliness – eusebeia –
reverence, respect; piety towards God, godliness
:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat?
looking for – prosdokao
(“toward” + “to watch”) – to expect (whether in thought, in hope, or in
fear); to look for, wait for
hasting – speudo –
to haste, make haste; to desire earnestly
coming – parousia –
presence; the coming, arrival, advent; the future visible return from heaven of
Jesus, to raise the dead, hold the last judgment, and set up formally and
gloriously the kingdom of God
being on fire – puroo – to
burn with fire, to set on fire, kindle
dissolved – luo – to loose
any person (or thing) tied or fastened; to loosen, undo, dissolve, anything
bound, tied, or compacted together; to loose what is compacted or built
together, to break up, demolish, destroy; to dissolve something coherent into
parts, to destroy
elements – stoicheion –
any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite
whole take their rise, an element, first principal
shall melt – teko – to
make liquid; to become liquid, to melt; to perish or become destroyed by
melting
fervent heat – kausoo – to
burn up, set fire to; to suffer with feverish burning, be parched with fever
Lesson
Things to do until Jesus comes
There are two things here:
1)
We need to be “looking for” Jesus’ return.
Some people want to play down what the Scriptures say
about Jesus’ return. Some say that we
are only “hyping” people up when we talk about the return of Christ.
God says we ought to be looking for it.
It may not ever happen in our lifetime, but we still ought
to be looking for it.
Jesus said,
(Mat 24:42
KJV) Watch therefore: for ye know not
what hour your Lord doth come.
2)
Speed things up.
(2 Pet
3:12 NLT) You should look forward to
that day and hurry it along …
How can we “speed things up”? Ask yourself, “Why is the Lord delaying His coming?” The answer is because He wants more people
saved. So how do you think we could
“speek things up”? By leading more
people to the Lord.
:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
look for – prosdokao – to
expect (whether in thought, in hope, or in fear); to look for, wait for
:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent
that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
ye look for – prosdokao –
to expect (whether in thought, in hope, or in fear); to look for, wait for
diligent – spoudazo –
to hasten, make haste; to exert one’s self, endeavour, give diligence
without spot – aspilos –
spotless; metaph. free from censure, irreproachable; free from vice, unsullied
blameless – amometos –
that cannot be censured, blameless
:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as
our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath
written unto you;
account – hegeomai – to
lead; to consider, deem, account, think
longsuffering – makrothumia –
patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance; patience,
forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs
salvation – soteria –
deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation
God’s patience is a good thing.
People get saved.
:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which
are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction.
hard to be understood – dusnoetos
– hard to be understood
unlearned – amathes –
unlearned, ignorant
unstable – asteriktos –
unstable, unsteadfast
wrest – strebloo –
to twist, turn awry; to torture, put to the rack; metaph. to pervert, of one
who wrests or tortures language in a false sense
destruction – apoleia –
destroying, utter destruction; a perishing, ruin, destruction
Note: Peter is aware of
Paul’s writings. Peter puts them at the
same level as Scripture. Even the early
church recognized what we know today, that Paul wrote Scripture.
Lesson
Don’t twist the Word
You will only hurt yourself if you do.
There is plenty of truth in the Word, you don’t need to go up making new
truth.
If you’re starting to get a particular idea about a Scripture, check with
some commentaries, get a tape, do some research. See if you’re on track or not.
I believe that we can receive a fresh understanding of Scripture from the
Holy Spirit. I believe that we might
even receive an understanding that no one has ever seen before. But I think we need to be careful that we
don’t end up twisting the Scriptures to our own hurt.
:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest
ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
know these things before – proginosko
– to have knowledge before hand; to foreknow
beware – phulasso – to
guard; to watch, keep watch; to observe for one’s self something to escape
wicked – athesmos – one
who breaks through the restraint of law and gratifies his lusts
led away with – sunapago –
to lead away with or together; metaph. to be carried away with
In other words, the wicked are leading themselves away, don’t get led away
with them.
fall from – ekpipto – to
fall out of, to fall down from, to fall off; metaph.; to fall from a thing, to
lose it
steadfastness – sterigmos
– firm condition, steadfastness: of mind; from sterizo – to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix; to
strengthen, make firm
:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
grow – auxano – to cause
to grow, augment; to increase, become greater; to grow, increase; of plants