2^nd Peter Chapter One

I. Salutations and Blessings (1: 1-4)

Verse One

A. The letter is from “Simon Peter”. Hebrew Symeon. Otherwise known as “Cephas.” Cephas is Greek word for “Stone” or part of a stone. Peter then (feminine gender) was part of a stone.

B. He is a “Servant” and “apostle” of Jesus. (Dulos, or slave). Important word play. He was a slave who was purchased “ see 1^st Peter 1:18-19). The idea of an apostle gives him authority.

C. The letter is addressed to Christians in very general terms but:

1. The author had a relationship with the recipients (see 1:12-15).

2. The Apostle Paul also wrote these people. (See 3:15).

3. In 3:1, Peter says that this is his second letter to them.

D. The recipients are described as possessing “ a faith as precious as ours.”

1. But this is the faith of “epigonisis.” This is the faith that means they have the ability to trust God.

2. But, this faith is a gift of God.

3. Our God and Savior, one person or two?

Verse Two

A. The first seven words of this verse are the same as 1 Peter 1:2b.

1. The Theme of the Book “epignosis” literally the “full knowledge of God.”

2. This word appears 11 times in this short letter.

3. Grace and peace comes with epignosis.

Verse Three

A. God has called all believers by his Doxa (Glory) and His (arete), in bringing about conversions

1. People then are brought to the full knowledge (epignosis) of God by God.

2. God's Divine power (probably the Holy Spirit) supplies us with everything we need.

Verse Four

A. “THESE”

1. “These” are God's glory and goodness.

2. The great and precious promises are related the the New Messianic age. The idea of a covenant with Christ.

3. It is only through these “promises” that the Christian participates with the divine nature.

4. By coming to know God through Jesus the believer has escaped the corruption of the World.

II. The Essential Christian Virtues

A. Because of the new birth (Romans 6:3-4) Christians participate in the divine nature of God. But....this does not rule out human activity. Here Peter makes an urgent call for a progressive, active Christian life. Peter's chain of eight virtues starts with faith and ends with love. So, the modern definition of “faith” misses the point.

1. We then must have “faith” and to every effort, (spoude) a life full of zeal to practice these things.

2. We then have, “faith (pietis), goodness (arete) and to goodness (gnosis, or Knowledge). This knowledge is to advance the will of God.

Verse Six.

B. Virtues continued.

1. Self Control – (egkrateia), the exact opposite of excesses (2:3, 14,) also identified with greed.

2. Patience (hypomone), it means to persevere. This virtue views time through the eyes of God.

3. Godliness – (eusebeia),means piety and devotion. It is an awareness of God in every aspect of our life.

Verse Seven

A. Brotherly Kindness - Philadelphia combined with agape to complete the list.

1. Agape is the Queen of all virtues. (see 1^st Cor. 13.)

2. It denotes the love that flows from God Himself and reaches the world (1^st John 3:16; John 3:16).

3. Philadelphia love is warm “brotherly affection.

Verse Eight

A. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD,is the beginning, the continuance and the goal of the Christian life (Phil. 3:10).

1. A Christian must have all eight virtues just listed.

2. Those who do not have these qualities are ineffective.

A. Do not be nearsighted or blind

1. Blind can be a metaphor or literal.

2. In this case, the person is blind because he is near sighted.

10 Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: 11 for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

III. The Conformation of Election (1: 10-11).

A. Verse 10.

1. In view of the dangers spoken about in V.9, and the possibility of fruitful knowledge of verse 8, Peter now says to make your calling sure.

2. Poieisthia in the middle voice means “to make oneself sure.”

3. That is, by growing in knowledge (experienced knowledge) one can make their election sure.

4. If we continue in advancing in the virtues mentioned above, then we will not stumble.

See 2^nd Tim. 2:12-13.

B. Verse Eleven

1. In one sense, Christians are already in the Kingdom (Col. 1:13)

2. Abundant supply of entrance into the eternal kingdom. (1) here and now, Col. 1:13; and (2) future glorious phase in heaven, Acts

14:22; 2^nd Tim. 4:18; which we have yet to inherit. (1^st Cor. 6:10).

IV. The Need For Reminders (1:12-15).

A. Verse 12

1. Truth needs to be repeated. The future hope is indeed well known to Christians.

2. Peter states that he knows they are established in the truth.

3. He now predicts his near death, Jesus made it clear to him.

4. The implications are that the body of truth is fixed. That is, a fixed body of apostolic truth.

B. Verse 13-14

1. Peter knows that death is around the corner.

2. To die then “according to Paul, is to “be with Christ.

C. Verse 15 -

1. “And I will make every effort”

2. Peter now asks the readers to “over-learn.”

3. He wants those to know the basic truths so after his death they will not forget them.

V. Christ's Divine Majesty and Apostolic Witness (1:16-21).

A. Verse 16

1. We did not follow or invent a myth (cleverly invented stories, sesophismenois mythois).

2. Mythos is always used in the negative sense. There must be someone making accusations that Peter is telling myths.

3. The specific point that Peter is being questioned in is the “Second Coming of Christ.” That is the reference to the power and coming above.

B. Verses 17-18 -----explain how and when Peter was an eyewitness to Jesus.

1. God gave Jesus the glory and honor and acknowledged His son-ship. (Lk. 3:22; Matt. 3:17).

2. This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.

3. Or on the Mount of Transfiguration. The face of Jesus shone like the sun. His clothes became as white as light. Then the voice sounded from the bright cloud, “This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased.”(Matt. 17-19; Mark 9:2-10; and Luke 9:28-36).

4.. Peter now says, “We (ourselves) were there and we heard the entire thing.

6. Attested by Divinely Originated Prophecy (1:19-21)

A. Verse 19 -

1. Peter says that the OT Prophets said the say the same thing he is saying. Thus, now Peter makes the argument that they not only have the apostles writings but also the OT Scriptures.

2. Thus, we need to pay attention to the prophetic message.

3. The “light shinning in a dark place.” The OT Scriptures.

4. Christians are to ponder and keep the word of God until the day dawns.

5. The “morning star” (see Numbers 17, and other related expressions, is the hope of Jesus Christ rising in your hearts.)

B. Verse 20 - “above all” (touto proton), (ginoskontes) The first thing we ought to realize is that the prophetic Word did not come through the Prophets “own interpretation.” God is the only person in the Bible allowed to interpret a prophecy from God.

C. Verse 21 -

All prophecy comes from apo theou, and none comes from man.

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me, his word was on my tongue. (2^nd Sam. 23:2) Or see Jemimah 1:7, 9. “And now I have put my words in your mouth.”

Finally, there were no volunteer prophets. “They were men moved by the Holy Spirit,” almost always against their will.

I. CHAPTER TWO, FALSE TEACHERS ABOUND

Warning against those false teachers 1-3

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

2Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3and in their greed they will you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

A. Verse 1 -

1. These False teachers came from members of the congregation.

2. The Calvinistic nightmare. It looks like this says a person can fall from grace (certainly).

3. How is that possible in light of John 10:28-29 and Romans 8:28-29? Easy, those passages do not say you can't fall from grace.

4. Israel had always had false prophets (Deut. 13:1-5; 18:20).The church now has false teachers and they come from among the members, even the leaders (Acts 20:29).

5. These teachers are even denying Jesus. They were bought by Christ and now are lost.

6. The swift destruction here is an everlasting state of torment

   and death.

B. Verse 2 -

1. The false teachers will be popular.

2. Same problem in 1^st John 4:5.

3. These people have shameful ways

   a) vices, sexual debaucheries, see 1^st Peter 4:3; 2^nd Peter 2:7)

4. Un-Godly conduct will be brought into the church.

C. Verse 3-

1. Teachers and preachers have a right to be supported by the congregation (see 1^st Cor. 9: 1-14; Gal. 6:6 and 1^st Tim. 5:17-18). But, the motivation ought not be for money. False teachers buy and sell religion or Christianity. This is the commercialism of Christianity.

   The popularity and teachings of these people will end. Their destruction and judgment was announced long ago (cf. Ps. 1:5-6).

2. “Not sleeping” perdition waits for these people with open eyes.

II. Three examples of Previous judgment (2: 4-10).

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

5and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes,

having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority Daring,self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

Verse 4 – The Fallen Angels

1. If Angels will be judged then certainly men will also be judged.

2. See Luke 10:18, Jesus saw Satan fall from the sky. John in Revelation 12: 7-9; describes a war in heaven in which Satan and his angels were were cast down.

3. Peter's use of the word “TARTAROO (to hold captive in Tartarus). A gloomy prison with different levels or floors.

Verse 5 – Noah and the Flood

1. A reference back to the first letter (3: 18-21).

2. Noah was saved and the rest of the world lost.

Verse 6 – Sodom and Gomorrah

1. Genesis 19: 24-28. The Lord rained sulfur on those cities

2. But like the flood and Noah, God saved the righteous man.

Verse 7-8 -

1. Once again, God delivered lot.

2. Lot seems worldly and weak and almost has to be dragged out of town.

3. But I think that the real emphasis is the Lot and well as Abraham were tormented by what they saw around them. (See Gen. 18:20).

Verse 9 -

1. Here is the point, God knows how to rescue Godly men from trials.

2. The un-Godly will experience the Lake of fire and the second death. (Rev. 20:14).

Verse 10 -

1. God's wrath will fall on the false teachers.

2. Those who follow the lust of the flesh

3. This is a particular reference to sexual lust.

III. The Insolence of the False Teachers (10b-16)

self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, 13suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime They are stains and blemishes,reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, 14having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; 15forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, from a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.

A. Verse 10-

1. The False Teachers are bold and arrogant.

2. They are presumptuous and self willed.

3. They are not afraid to slander Celestial beings

4. See Jude 9 and Michael (fighting with other angles).

B. Verse 11 -

1. These people have gone far beyond what even the powerful angels will do. The powerful angles do not dare to make these kinds of accusations.

C. Verse 12 -

1. These people claim to have a special gnosis. Therefore, we know we are dealing with Gnostics.

2. They are like creatures, speaking about things of which they have no knowledge.

3. Like the creatures who are born to be killed, so will these people be destroyed.

D. Verse 13 -

1. They claim that God was treating them wrong (suffering injustice) and that is their excuse for doing wrong.

2. Carousing is usually thought of as a night time activity. But these people are doing it in the day. The take great pride in their deceptions.

E. Verse 14 -

1. Every Woman (or man) they look on is a potential victim. They see nothing but lustful adultery. They never cease from sin.

2. These people are accursed children.

F. Verses 15-16 -

1. These false teachers resemble Balaam, the son of Boer (see Numbers 31:16ff.

2. Balaam loved money and sought money rather than God (Numbers 22:5- 24:25).

3. Balaam taught immorality (Numbers 31:16; Revelation 2:14).

4. Balaam was rebuked by a donkey (Numbers 22:27-35).

IV. The Impotence of Their Teachings (2:17-22)

17These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and

then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

Verse 17 - The Powerful ending.

1. They are the opposite of Jesus, in "Springs without water." See John 4:13-14).

2. Jesus was the "spring of living water" (Jn. 7:37-38), they are dead water.

Verse 18 - These heretics, use excessive words. (Swollen). Bombastic words .

Verse 19 - The promise freedom (no restraints on sexual behavior).

but in reality they bring slavery and death.

Verse 20 - The last state is worst than the first for those who have fallen away.

Verse 21 - They would have been better of to have never heard about Jesus.

Verse 22- Some people will always go back to their old ways.

NEXT LESSON

The Coming Day of the Lord

3Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

Verse One - "My Beloved" - is repeated in vv. 8, 14, and 17 in this chapter alone. "This is my second letter to you." Probably. There are many possibilities as to the above question. "As reminders to stimulate you." (The need to think wholesome, as in a pure mind.)

Verse Two - The Words Spoken in the past are prophetic oracles with a special reference to the Day of the Lord. Some claim the "your apostles" means that this letter was written in early Roman Catholicism but that is wacky. The commandment no doubt is the commandment to love each other.

Verse 3 - So what about those mockers (scoffers)? That in the Last Days (see Isaiah 2:2-5 to find the last days or Heb. 1:1), these people will appear who deny God and live in an ungodly way (see 1st Tim. 4:1ff; 2nd Tim. 3:1-7; Jude 17-18 and many more). These scoffers are the false teachers of chapter two.

Verse 4 - The early church understood the when Jesus returned the final steps in the plan of salvation were complete. That is to reward the good and punish the bad. (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Rom. 13:11; 1st Cor. 15:23). Now, the false teachers are asking, where is the coming of the promise?" Nothing has changed since the world was founded. Who are the "fathers". Most as likely the OT Fathers. See John 6:31; Acts 3:13, Romans 9:5.

(Argument one)

Verse 5-6 - These false teachers are 'DELIBERATELY' (thelontas) These people are intentionally not mentioning "Noah and the Flood" and all of God's prior activity by His Word. (Gen. 1:2-10). Peter does not seem to try and tell us that the basic stuff the world is made out of is water, in fact, he does not use the word create at all. What he does say is that the heavens and earth (esan) existed and the earth was formed [synestosa] out of water by water. In Genesis the sky (firmament) separates from the waters by the Word of God and dry land appears. In the beginning of v.6, the world was destroyed "through the Word of God, by water.

Verse 7 - The coming fire will destroy the cosmos. See Ps. 97:3; Isa. 66:15-16; Dan. 7:9-10; Mic. 1:4 and many more. Even Matthew 3: 11-12 speaks of a fire. It will be the KOSMOS that will be destroyed.

(Argument Two)

Verse 8 - Peters other argument comes from Psalms 90:4. "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in night." This is God's perspective on time and not mans.

(Argument three)

Verse 9 - The third argument is that God's delay is gracious. That is God's plan has to do with God's patience. See Romans 9:22 and "God bore with great patience the objects of wrath." Here, God's patience is directed "to you."

Of coarse, Calvinist have a problem with this one. "God does not wish anyone to perish." According to John Calvin, some people are predestined to perish before they are born.

(Argument Four)

Verse 10 - The Day of the Lord will come suddenly (not when you

expect it). See Luke 12:39; 1st Thess. 5:2.

a. The heavens will disappear with a "roar." rhoizos is a noise made by something passing swiftly through the air.

b. "The elements (stoicheia) could be stars or basic materials the world is made of. It is history.

The Ethical Implications of the Day of the Lord.

3: 11-16

Verse 11 - The present tense lyomenon (NIV destroyed) I think implies a process of disintegration. In view of this, Peter exhorts his readers.

Verse 12 - the "Day of God" here is the same as the Day of the Lord. Christians ought to expect it with speed. Once again, Peter says that all will be "burned up."

Verse 13 - This is Hebrews 12: 22-28.

 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made

perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

The Unshaken Kingdom25See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 26And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." 27This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29for our God is a consuming fire.

Verse 14 - Since there will be perfect "righteousness in the New Heavens and New Earth, We (Christians) must live righteous now. We are to "Make Every Effort." We are to be without spot or blemish.

Verse 15-16 - Once again, we are back to God's patience. Some are confusing the divine patience with "slackness." The Apostle Paul has already written you about this. Some of his letters are hard to understand but what we know for sure is that false teachers will be destroyed.

The Need to Guard Against Error and to Grow in Grace.

(3: 17-18)

17You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,

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. Amen.

Verse 17-18

This is a display of love.

First, they are to watch for false teachers.

Second - They are to grow in Christ.

Third - They are to grow in knowledge (Gnosis) of Christ.