Second Epistle of St. Peter, chapter 2
interpretation, meaning, commentary, explanation
(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 teachers appeared very quickly in Christianity. Already during the lifetime of the apostles they created splits in local churches, introduced false teachings, deceiving followers. The author of the letter, probably Peter, warns us against them. How to know them? We are talking about pernicious teachings, that is, teachings that, instead of converting the sinner, will actually cause him to depart from the teachings of the Bible. We will know some of them by the fact that they will deny the Lord Jesus and all those religious creeds that belittle the role of Jesus in our salvation.
Wrong doctrine is not only the rejection of the Lord as God, but any other theses, views or beliefs inconsistent with Scripture, such as putting human tradition above the Word of God. The result of these decisions will be perdition, or eternal death.
(2) And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Unfortunately, but many believers will believe the erroneous teaching and adopt this pernicious creed. How many preachers who claim to be Christians undercut biblical standards? In how many churches, for example, do you hear that male-female relationships are the result of disease, not sin? With their behavior, they will bring doom upon themselves, while dishonoring the teachings contained in the pages of Scripture.
(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.
Many false teachers, will exploit followers for material and emotional gain. Greed is not only money, but also recognition, the desire to be someone more important. One characteristic that unmasks such teachers is their wealth and pride. This is not what we are to be guided by in our lives.
The sentence of condemnation heaped upon them can be interpreted to mean that God has long since warned us what will befall the deceivers, their fate is predetermined. They know what awaits them for this, and yet because of greed they go on in hypocrisy and drag others along with them.
Demons cast down into darkness
(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;
We know that during the revolt of the angels, 1/3 of them ended up on earth, not in the abyss. Reading the subsequent verses of the chapter, we can conclude that this happened before the Flood and may have a strong connection to it. Chapter two strongly condemns all sexual perversions. Note also in Genesis 6.4 and First Peter 3.19-20 we read about spirits/angels imprisoned and in each case this event is related to the Flood.
The sin of these angels, must have crossed some barrier that they could not cross. It could not have been to persuade a person to sin, because today demons do that and to the abyss they do not go. One interpretation is that the sin of the said angels was sexual intercourse with a woman, which resulted in the birth of children/infants who grew into giants. Looking at the fact that this sin is placed with sexual promiscuity every time, the thesis put forward seems to be correct.
(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;
Mankind fell so deeply into sin that only 8 people in the entire world, were fit to continue to populate the earth. If God had not made the Flood, it is possible that they would have been killed by the remaining inhabitants of the globe.
(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;
The main sin of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah was adultery, sexual perversion, and therefore any sinful variety of sex.
(7) And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (8) (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
Reading the Old Testament, one gets the impression that Lot was not as pious as Peter portrays him. Let's not judge others without knowing their middle, only God knows what each of us is like.
God can save anyone if that person desires it
(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: (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.
God is with us constantly, although we can't see it and we may not feel it, we are assured that whenever we ask Him, He will help us at any time, although not always as we expect. Faith in God, helps to fend off carnal temptations that destroy a person to the point that the life of such a person ends in eternal death.
Attention has again been drawn to carnal lusts. How large a percentage of people succumb to these temptations? How many young children, young girls and abducted women are sold to perverts who, instead of love, are driven by lust for sick brutal sex in their lives. How many people in the world engage in group sex? The society we live in is sick of eroticism, it has become their curse. A person living in his world of sex is not interested in God, for him his sick carnal desires are more important. He despises God's laws to such an extent that he becomes audacious and is not afraid to blaspheme against his Creator.
(11) Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
Angels are physically and emotionally stronger than us. They see our fallen lives, yet they do not condemn us. They know that we will be condemned for it at the final judgment, but they hope that such a person will turn from his sinful life and ask God to save him before he dies. Since angels do not condemn people, all the more so let us not condemn others.
(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; (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; (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:
The life of animals is sad. They were created for life, not death, they beautified the beautiful world that God gave us. Man brought sin and he was at fault, but the first to die was an innocent animal. Animals do not have the same intelligence as man, they are guided by instinct. Debauched man, blaspheming against the Creator, passes a death sentence on himself. Unwilling to follow the path of salvation, he chooses the path of death.
You can read about why animals suffer in the article: Why animals suffer
(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; (16) But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
False teachers like Balaam follow the money. Balaam received an answer from God not to curse Israel. When the messengers from Moab arrived again, this time with more gifts, Balaam became inflamed with greed. Knowing the Lord's earlier answer, he again went to ask what he should do. This time, too, God spoke to him. Who among us, had he received such a clear sign from God, would have continued in his thoughts to plot as if to enrich himself? Probably many, human greed knows no bounds. God knew that Balaam had insincere intentions, and this time he had to speak to him in a human voice through a donkey. God's intervention knows no bounds, He will use any means possible just to save us from falling. Balaam, after this admonition, did God's will and blessed Israel.
(17) These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. (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. (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.
Our lusts lead us, we become their slaves. All those who act falsely, with their mouths worshipping God, and with their hearts being on the other side, face one and the same fate. Eternal death, or the darkest darkness, the absence of life, the light of God's love.
(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. (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. (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.
A person who believed in God and lost his faith becomes worse than he was before. What is the reason for this? Take, for example, a typical statistical so-called Christian, who claims to be a "non-practicing believer," yet somehow does not exceed certain norms in his behavior. Let's say he doesn't kill, doesn't torture, sometimes even helps charity, but cheats on his wife, however, he doesn't rape other women, because he fears that if he does, he will answer to God for it after death. When such a man, frees himself from a sinful life his moral values will grow. However, when he turns away from God, abandons his faith, decides that God is not worthy of interest, he will lose the barriers that kept him from more serious acts. Because of this, he may begin to engage in group sex, kidnap and rape women, or steal or murder. Getting rid of the positive values we cherish always leads to perdition and degradation.
Verses 21 and 22 may also refer to the fact that God requires more from those who have more biblical knowledge. In other words, if you have heard and believed that Jesus is the savior and have abandoned that belief, then you are guilty. Thus, in a better situation will be the one who has not heard about Jesus, and therefore has not rejected him and is guided by positive values in his life.
The second chapter of St. Paul's second letter describes false teachers, who may be a pastor we know, a priest or other closer who teaches about God. Not everyone who preaches the word of God is a servant of God. The aforementioned verse of the letter quite easily reveals the misdeeds of false teachers. There are many more cautions and instructions in the Bible, in the above words Peter focused mainly on debauchery, and in the opening verses greed.
