2 Peter
Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ: the sure word against false teachers and scoffers.
Second Peter is the apostle’s farewell. He knows that he must shortly put off his tabernacle, as the Lord had shown him (1:14; John 21:18–19), and he writes to stir up the pure minds of his readers by way of remembrance. Where 1 Peter prepared believers for persecution from outside, 2 Peter warns of a greater danger from inside: false teachers.
Chapter 1 urges growth. God has given all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him, and believers must add to their faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. Peter grounds this in the reliability of Scripture: he was an eyewitness of Christ’s majesty on the holy mount, yet “we have also a more sure word of prophecy,” for prophecy came not by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (1:16–21).
Chapter 2 describes false teachers who bring in damnable heresies, deny the Lord that bought them, and make merchandise of believers with feigned words. Chapter 3 answers scoffers who say, “Where is the promise of his coming?” God is not slack but longsuffering; the day of the Lord will come as a thief, the elements will melt with fervent heat, and we look for new heavens and a new earth. Peter closes by commending Paul’s epistles as Scripture.
Writer: Simon Peter
Written: Shortly before Peter’s martyrdom, about AD 66–68.
Name: Peter means a stone or rock.
Title and authorship
The second epistle general of Peter, his last letter.
Simon Peter wrote the letter (1:1). He refers to his coming death (1:14), his presence at the transfiguration (1:16–18), and his previous letter (3:1).
Historical background
Written shortly before Peter’s martyrdom in Rome under Nero, about AD 64–68.
The same readers as 1 Peter (3:1), now threatened by false teachers and scoffers.
Peter’s death
Christ had told Peter that when he was old another would gird him and carry him where he would not go, “signifying by what death he should glorify God” (John 21:18–19). Early tradition says Peter was crucified at Rome under Nero, and that he asked to be crucified head downward, not counting himself worthy to die as his Lord had.
Paul’s epistles as Scripture
Peter mentions “all his epistles” of Paul and places them alongside “the other scriptures” (3:15–16). Within the apostolic generation Paul’s letters were being collected and recognized as the word of God—not by a later church council.
Jude and 2 Peter
Much of 2 Peter 2 closely parallels Jude 4–18: the fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, Balaam, clouds without water, and scoffers in the last days. The two letters confront the same kind of false teachers.
Key passages
2 Peter 1:19–21
A more sure word of prophecy; holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but longsuffering, not willing that any should perish.
2 Peter 3:18
Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Outline
1 · Cultivate Christian character
Divine provision calls for diligence, remembrance, and confidence in the prophetic word.
2 · Recognize false teachers
Their greed, corruption, and deceptive promises are exposed alongside certain judgment.
3 · Live in hope of Christ’s return
Scoffing is answered by God’s past acts, present longsuffering, and future promise.
Original language
ἐπίγνωσις (epignosis, G1922) — “knowledge”
Full, personal, experiential knowledge. Grace and peace are multiplied through the knowledge of God (1:2), and all things for life and godliness come through it (1:3).
φέρω (phero, G5342) — “moved”
To carry or bear along. Holy men spake “as they were moved (borne along) by the Holy Ghost” (1:21), as a ship is carried by the wind (Acts 27:15, 17).
αἵρεσις (hairesis, G139) — “heresies”
A choosing, then a faction or sect built around a chosen opinion. False teachers “privily shall bring in damnable heresies” (2:1).
ταρταρόω (tartaroo, G5020) — “cast down to hell”
To consign to Tartarus, the deepest abyss. Used only here, of the angels that sinned, delivered into chains of darkness reserved unto judgment (2:4; Jude 6).
ἐμπαίκτης (empaiktes, G1703) — “scoffers”
Mockers. In the last days scoffers will deny the Lord’s coming and claim all things continue as they were from creation—willingly ignorant of the Flood.
Doctrinal study
Inspiration and the sure word
Peter heard the Father’s voice on the holy mount, yet he says “we have also a more sure word of prophecy” (1:19). The written Scripture is more reliable than a personal experience. No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation or origin, for it came not by the will of man but by the Holy Ghost.
The longsuffering of God
One day is with the Lord as a thousand years. The delay of the Lord’s coming is not slackness but longsuffering, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (3:8–9). His patience is salvation (3:15).
The day of the Lord and the new creation
The day of the Lord comes as a thief, and at its end the heavens pass away with a great noise, the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth and its works are burned up. According to His promise we look for new heavens and a new earth (3:10–13; Revelation 21:1). The day of the Lord includes the whole period from the Tribulation through the Millennium to the dissolution of the old creation.
Commentary notes
Peter and Paul’s last letters
Second Peter and 2 Timothy are both swan songs. Paul warns of heresy in the people (2 Timothy 3:1–7; 4:1–3); Peter warns of heresy in the pulpit (2 Peter 2). Both say it matters how you finish the race, and both give key passages on the inspiration and authority of Scripture.
Marks of false teachers
They are among us (2:1), their ways bring reproach (2:2), covetousness is their lure (2:3, 14–15), their words are feigned (2:3), they make merchandise of people (2:3), they walk after the flesh, despise government, speak evil of dignities, beguile the unstable, knew the truth (2:21), use great swelling words (2:18), and promise liberty while being servants of corruption (2:19).
Be diligent
Be diligent to grow (1:5), diligent to make your calling and election sure (1:10), and diligent to be found of Him in peace, without spot (3:14).
Christ in the book
- Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ (1:1)
- The beloved Son seen in majesty on the holy mount (1:16–17)
- The day star arising in your hearts (1:19)
- The Lord who bought even the false teachers (2:1)
Applications
Historical
- Peter’s second letter to believers scattered by Roman persecution and now subjected to false teachers.
- Peter writes with the awareness that his earthly ministry is nearing its end. The letter is intended to keep the truth before believers after his departure.
Doctrinal
- The Lord’s fourth letter to suffering saints of the last days, warning them to continue in the word and not be seduced by false teachers. Peter speaks of the Lord’s coming in judgment and of the day of the Lord, and leaves room for those who will fall away (1:10; 2:20–22; 3:17).
- Scripture comes through the movement of the Holy Ghost, giving the Church an authority greater than imaginative religious claims.
- God’s longsuffering must not be mistaken for the cancellation of judgment. His promised new creation gives direction to holiness.
- Peter’s reference to Paul’s letters as Scripture shows their recognized authority within the apostolic period.
Devotional
- The sufficiency of God’s word for every need of the believer, so that he may grow and avoid the pitfalls of false teachers.
- Add diligence to knowledge: faith should develop virtue, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.
- Evaluate teachers by truth and character, paying attention to greed, manipulation, and promises that cater to lust.
- The expectation of Christ’s coming and the promised new creation call for holiness, diligence, and continued spiritual growth.
Answering the critics
Critics have long disputed Peter’s authorship, sometimes to the point of hostility, arguing that 2 Peter differs in style from 1 Peter and borrows from Jude.
Styles change with subject, secretary, and circumstance, and God used the personality of each writer. Peter wrote 1 Peter “by Silvanus” and may have written 2 Peter in his own hand. The letter claims Peter’s name, his eyewitness experience, and his previous letter. Only critics looking for discrepancies find contradictions between the two letters; read them side by side and see.