Author

Having warned the Christians of Asia Minor against dangers which were threatening them from without, the Apostle Peter, not very long after, found it necessary to address a second letter to the same people. He not only expressly mentions his name as the author, but he also says that he was a witness of the transfiguration of Christ, 2 Peter 1:1,16,18, and states that he has already written a letter, 2 Peter 3:1-2.

Context and date

Since the first epistle had been sent, the situation in the congregations of Asia Minor had changed to some extent. The pressure from without was no longer the chief item causing apprehension, but the spiritual condition of the congregations themselves. The dangers arose partly from false teachers, partly from scoffers or mockers in their own midst. Men were branding the Gospel-truth as insufficient for the needs of the Christians, they were blaspheming some of the Christian truths, they were denying the return of Christ to Judgment, and earnest fears were entertained that the future would see the gravity of the situation increased. The letter, therefore, is a testimony and a testament of the apostle concerning the last days. It was probably written in Rome, its date, since Peter is looking forward to an early death, being about 66 or 67.

Contents

The contents of the letter may be briefly summarized as follows. After the opening salutation the apostle, in a cordial admonition, shows that the divine mercies and promises obligate the Christians to a conduct of holiness. He therefore urges them, as a witness of the transfiguration of Christ, to cling to the sure Word of Prophecy, as being a firm foundation for the believer’s faith for all times. To the true prophecy there was indeed opposed a false proclamation in the person of false teachers, whose end, however, will be a just punishment. Let the Christians, then, not be seduced by false promises of an unscriptural liberty, for to believe such messages would result in everlasting destruction. The believers should not be led astray by the denial of Christ’s coming to Judgment, for this would certainly come to pass, just as the catastrophe of the great Flood finally brought destruction to the world; it was only the patience of God that still delayed the doom. The Christians, in prayerful vigilance, should prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord with godly behavior, with holy conduct, even as also the Apostle Paul had admonished his readers. The letter closes with a short warning and admonition and a doxology ^■949 .

Overview

This Epistle is written against those who think that Christian faith can be without works. Therefore he exhorts them to test themselves by good works and become sure of their faith, — as one knows trees by their fruit.

Then he begins to praise the Gospel, as compared with doctrines of men, saying that men ought to hear only it, and no doctrines of men; for, as he says, “No prophecy ever came by the will of man.”

Therefore, in chapter 2, he warns against the false teachers who are to come, who go about with their works, and thereby deny Christ. He threatens these men severely, with three terrible illustrations, and paints them so clearly, with their avarice, pride, audacity, fornication and hypocrisy, that one must plainly see he means the clergy of today, who have swallowed the whole world in their avarice, and lead a free, fleshly, worldly life.

In chapter 3, he shows that the Last Day will come soon and though in the eyes of men it may seem a thousand years, yet in the eyes of God it is as one day. He describes what will happen at the Last Day, how everything shall be consumed with fire. He prophesies also that, at that time, people will be scornful, and think nothing of faith, like the Epicureans.

Briefly, chapter 1 shows what the Church should be like at the time of the pure Gospel; chapter 2 shows how it was to be in the time of the pope and the doctrines of men: chapter 3 shows how, afterwards, people will despise both the Gospel and all doctrine, and believe nothing, and that is now in full swing, until Christ comes.

Verses 1-2

Address and salutation

The writer here introduces himself with great solemnity: Symeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained an equally precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and of the Savior Jesus Christ. The apostle here uses the Hebrew form of his name, found elsewhere only in Acts 15:14. The name Peter was given him by Jesus at their first meeting in its Aramaic form, John 1:42, and in its Greek form after his great confession of the Lord, Matthew 16:18. He calls himself, and is proud to be, a servant of Jesus Christ; he was unceasingly active in the service of his Lord and Savior, an inspiring example not only to all pastors, but to every one that bears the name of Christ. But he was also an apostle of Jesus Christ; he belonged to the small company of disciples whom the Lord had expressly called and commissioned as His delegates and representatives in establishing the preaching of the Gospel throughout the world and in leaving this Gospel to subsequent ages in an infallible form. Peter addresses his letter to the Christians of Asia Minor, to those who have obtained, who have been allotted the same precious faith as the apostles and all other believers. Whether a Christian is an apostle or a child that has just learned the Catechism, whether his faith be strong and powerful or small and weak: faith will still in every case take hold of the same wonderful gift of the grace of God, which in every case has the same priceless worth. For the faith of the Christians rests in the righteousness of our God and of the Savior Jesus Christ. By His fulfilment of the Law, by His atonement for the sins of men, by the reconciliation which He has effected with God, a righteousness has been obtained for all men, a righteousness which is now in the hands of God, kept by Him as a priceless jewel. This righteousness of our Savior Jesus Christ has been gained for us; its purpose is to cover all our unrighteousness and sin, to enable us, that accept it by faith, to stand before God, to be accepted by Him as His dear children.

Since every one that believes is a partaker of all God’s blessings in Christ Jesus, the apostle salutes his readers: Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord. Of the grace of God, of His free favor and love, we are assured in the Gospel, and we are urged to accept His kind offering without so much as a thought of doubt. The grace is there for all, peace between God and man has been established by the perfect satisfaction gained by Christ; therefore these two gifts should be multiplied in us, should grow rich and powerful in us, should possess our hearts and minds more and more. And this is done if we become ever more intimately and personally acquainted with our heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ as they have been revealed to us in the Gospel. The apostle is not satisfied with a mere head knowledge, but he insists upon an intimate heart knowledge. The more earnestly we search the Scriptures under the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, the more will we grow in the knowledge of our salvation, the more firmly will we cling to the glorious gifts which the Gospel holds out before us: grace and peace in the Savior.

---

Verses 3-11

The obligations imposed upon the believers by the rich promises of God

God’s promises and the Christian virtues:

Peter assumes from the outset that his readers are, without exception, believers, that they have all become partakers of the grace and peace of God through faith. Upon this fact he bases his entire discussion: Forasmuch as His divine power has given us all things that are necessary for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His glory and divine virtue, through which He has given to us the precious and greatest promises, that by means of these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world in lust. The apostle enumerates some of the wonderful gifts of God, as the Christians are enjoying them. It is God, whose divine power, working through the Gospel, has freely given us, donated to us, everything that serves and aids us in the new spiritual life, as it shows itself in godliness. His grace and mercy is so full and complete that there is nothing missing which might serve our spiritual needs. God presented us with all these wonderful gifts by working the saving knowledge of Himself in us, when He called us through the Gospel. The knowledge of God which the natural man possesses is at best one which makes Him fear the almighty power of the great Lord of the universe. But we have learned that God is our kind, merciful, loving Father in Christ Jesus. To this knowledge of faith God has brought us through the glory and virtue that is peculiar to Him, through His majesty as well as through His unassailable perfection, through His goodness, kindness, mercy, and grace, 2 Timothy 1:9; Romans 3:25-26. At the same time, and through the same perfection of His essence, God has imparted to us another gift, namely, the precious, the immeasurably great and beautiful and incomprehensible promises. His purpose in doing this was and is that He might so strengthen our faith as thereby to make us partakers of His divine nature, to give us the spiritual power to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created us. It is in this way that we are enabled to be consecrated to Him and to flee from the corruption, from the degeneration, decay, and death which is in the world and is brought about by the evil lust, by the natural deceitfulness of the human heart in consequence of sin. Thus all the benefits of conversion and sanctification are here briefly outlined, in order to give a solid foundation to the appeal which the apostle is about to make.

For since these facts are as stated, therefore Peter has every reason to continue: But for this very reason use all your diligence and exhibit in your faith virtue; and in your virtue, knowledge; in knowledge, self-control; in self-control, steadfastness; in steadfastness, godliness; in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, universal love. The apostle delineates the growth and the expansion of the Christian’s life of sanctification as a gradual, but steady progress. Because they are enjoying such wonderful gifts of God in spiritual blessings, therefore the believers will naturally contrive in every possible way, by the application of all zeal and diligence, to give evidence of the divine nature that has been recreated in them. Faith is the root from which all virtues and good works proceed as the rich fruits of spirituality. Faith will bring virtue, manly courage, and strength, that attitude of mind which will seek to please the Lord in all things. This attitude is accompanied by knowledge, understanding of that which pleases the Lord, insight, circumspection, discernment, Christian wisdom. This, in turn, is shown in the proper self-control, not a mere product of fear and slavish submission to authority, but the willing, deliberate ruling of the body and all its members, and of the mind and all its faculties, in accordance with the will of God. This cannot be a matter of mere whim or caprice, of an occasional good thought or deed, but it must be done with patient endurance and steadfastness, in spite of all temptations from within and without. This will next result in godliness, in a life which will at all times and in all conditions be pleasing to the Lord. The chief outward evidence, moreover, of godliness is brotherly love, affection toward the brethren of the same Christian congregation or community. And this love is to extend also beyond the immediate neighborhood and interests and show itself toward all men, even toward the enemies, Cp. 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Galatians 6:10. What a high ideal for the Christians to hold before their eyes at all times!

The fruitful diligence of the Christians:

Having depicted the way of sanctification, the development of a Christian in holiness, the apostle shows how self-evident is the life of good works: For as these virtues exist and increase to you, they will not set you forth idle or unfruitful toward the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. With the very first beginning of faith the Christian will show, will give evidence of, its presence in good works and deeds. But there is no such thing as standing still in sanctification; a Christian must constantly increase and grow in good works, as the fruits and the outflow of the faith and the disposition and inclination toward all good virtues which live in his heart. Their power is so great as simply to render it impossible for a believer to be barren, like a withered tree, or unfruitful, like one that has foliage, but no fruit. Faith is a living, active power in the heart of the believer, and the more this power gives evidence of its existence in the entire life of the Christian, the more he will grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the blessing which the Lord has laid upon the faithfulness for which He is ready to supply the Christian with new strength day after day. Colossians 1:10-11.

On the other hand, it is also true: For he with whom these virtues are not present is blind, being short-sighted, having assumed forgetfulness of the former cleansing of his sins. If a person does not possess faith and love toward God in his heart, even if he is a member of a Christian congregation, he is at least partially blind, since he is so short-sighted that he cannot look beyond the temporal things nearest at hand. His mind is engaged only with earthly matters, because he has forgotten what wonderful gifts the Lord imparted to him through the forgiveness of sins applied to him at the time when he came to faith. In other words, his behavior shows that he has lost the faith which was given him at the time of his conversion, he no longer has any eyes for the glories of heavenly things.

The admonition of the apostle, therefore, is altogether timely: So be all the more eager, brethren, to make sure your calling and election; for, doing this, you will never stumble. God has issued to us the call of grace in the Gospel, thus assuring our hearts of His justifying and saving grace, Romans 8:30. And this is in accordance with His election: for to this end God has predestinated and foreordained us, that we should be called, be justified and sanctified through faith, and be given eternal salvation, 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5. This call and election of God is sure on His part, 1 Peter 1:5; John 10:27-30. But it would be the height of foolish arrogance for a Christian to argue that he can act and live as he chooses in the world; for, according to the will of God, His elect children are to walk forward to the realization and enjoyment of their hope on the paths of sanctification, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:4. The argument of the true believer, therefore, is this, that he will be happy only on the ways of righteousness, in order that he may be certain and comfort himself with the assurance that he belongs to the elect of God, Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 2:12. Those that foolishly risk their soul’s salvation by a life of sin and self-indulgence will soon find that they will stumble and fall, never to arise again. God will not be mocked.

The believers that are in every way conducting themselves as true children of God have the comforting assurance: For thus shall be richly furnished to you the entrance to the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If Christians thus follow the will of their heavenly Father in making their calling and election sure, then God will mercifully reward their faithfulness. He will offer to them, He will open up before them, the way, the entrance to the riches of His mercy, that they may enter into, and enjoy to the fullest extent, the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Note the heaping up in this verse of words suggesting splendor and richness.

---

Verses 12-21

The reliability of the Gospel and of the prophecy

The apostles as witnesses of Christ’s majesty:

That Peter had not forgotten the commission of the Lord given to him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee is shown in the solicitude which he here displays for the spiritual welfare of his readers: Therefore I shall be careful that you be reminded concerning these things, although you do know them and are established in the truth which is present with you. That was the conception which Peter had of his pastoral office, as it should be the idea of every true pastor, to make it his care, his business, ever and again to remind the believers of all these facts concerning their justification and sanctification. It is true, indeed, the Christians have learned these facts, they know them, but it remains true at the same time that they cannot learn them too well and that the eagerness of the true Christian to hear the fundamental truths over and over again will not diminish. They were established in the truth of the Gospel, they were firmly grounded in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity as they concerned their spiritual life, but they needed the strengthening influence of the apostolic admonition from day to day. Note: We need a better realization of these facts in our day, when so many professing Christians are showing the symptoms of spiritual satiety, which almost invariably is the forerunner of spiritual decay.

The apostle now repeats his statement and gives a reason for the urgency of his appeal: But I consider it proper, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by such reminding, knowing that swift is the folding up of my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to me. While Peter had life and breath, while the Lord continued to add to the days of his life, he considered it the right and proper thing for him to do to keep right on with his reminding and admonishing, to keep the minds of his readers awake to the wonderful glories of the Gospel and to the obligations which accompanied these privileges. He compares his body to a tent, or tabernacle, giving but a weak and temporary shelter to his soul. He knew that it would not be long before the Lord would cause him to fold up his tent; his body, which had so long housed his soul, would be claimed by death. This the Lord had revealed to him, the reference probably being to the incident on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, John 21:18-19. Here is an instance of true faithfulness, since Peter did not wait idly for the death which, he knew, was soon to come, was imminent, as he expresses it, but continued his work with unabated vigor and diligence, the care of the souls being his chief concern to the last.

But he is looking forward also beyond the immediate future: But I shall use diligence that you also after my departure may always be able to call these things to mind. Not only for the present, and while his own life lasts, is Peter solicitous for the spiritual welfare of his readers, but he also wants to make it his business to have them keep the truth after his death. That is one of his reasons for writing this letter, to have it serve as a permanent reminder of the doctrine which he taught them. Whenever they were in need of definite, authentic information as to the truth, they had but to consult this letter, have their memory refreshed, and thereafter could be all the surer in their Christian life.

That the Christians should not feel the slightest hesitation about accepting the doctrine which Peter taught them is shown in the next verses: For we did not follow cleverly constructed fables in making known to you the power and appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were made eye-witnesses of His majesty. What Peter and the other apostles had taught, also in the congregations of Asia Minor, was not a system of spiritual fables cleverly invented to bring them into subjection, after the manner of many false teachers; he was not writing down any human speculations and philosophies in giving them the proper information concerning the power and advent of Christ the Lord, of His return at the end of time, when He will be clothed with full majesty and power, in order to establish His kingdom forever. What Peter had been teaching with regard to this one fact was the truth, for which he could vouch with all the power at his command because he had been privileged to be an eye-witness of the glorification, of the majesty, of Christ.

The apostle states to which event he has reference: For He received from God the Father honor and glory when a voice was borne to Him of such a kind from the sublime Glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. That was the culminating incident in the happening on the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-8. Jesus, the poor, despised Prophet of Nazareth, who had come into His own and His own received Him not, was invested with honor and glory from His heavenly Father Himself. For while the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, were still lying upon the ground, almost stupefied by the miraculous brightness which surrounded them from heaven, they nevertheless could hear plainly the words which came down out of the cloud, the voice of God Himself, acknowledging Jesus as His true Son, His beloved Son, upon whom His good pleasure rested in full measure. Concerning this Peter testifies: And this voice, borne from heaven, we heard when we were with Him on the holy mountain. Although the mountain was not in itself holy, this wonderful manifestation of the sublime, the splendid glory of God, sanctified and hallowed it for the time being. What Peter means to emphasize in this connection is this, that they, to whom was vouchsafed such a wonderful manifestation of the glory of God, were reliable witnesses, and therefore their Gospel could and should be accepted without question as the truth of the Lord. Mark: This is one of the reasons why we also accept the Gospel as recorded by the apostles as the truth, because God would hardly have revealed Himself in such a manner to men that were hypocrites and swindlers.

The sure word of prophecy:

One reason for the acceptance of the doctrine as taught by him St. Peter has given. But in this paragraph he speaks with even greater emphasis: And we have the prophetic Word as a more sure one, to which giving heed you do well as to a lamp that shines in a dark place, until day break and the morning-star arise in your hearts. He is speaking of the Word of Prophecy as it was known to the Christians, as the Jews had for centuries used it in their public worship, the writings of the Old Testament. This Word was not truer, but it was more certain, so far as the readers were concerned, than the doctrine taught by the apostles. There was no question, neither among Jewish Christians nor among converts from the heathen, that the Old Testament prophecies, all the canonical books of the Old Testament, were God’s Word. What Peter wants to impress upon them all is this, that the Gospel as taught by him and his fellow-apostles was not only confirmed by the testimony of God from heaven, but also by all the prophecies of old. The written Word was like a burning lamp that shed its light far abroad, even in places which were dark and obscure. Therefore the Christians were doing the right and proper thing in giving heed to this light. In comparison with the time when the full glory of God will be revealed, the day at the end of time, the present days and the age in which we are living in the world are dark indeed. Until the coming of that day, until the true and everlasting Morning Star will arise in eternity, until all our hopes will be fulfilled, we must take heed to the written Word. In yonder world, of course, where we shall walk in the light of God’s countenance and see the true Morning Star, Jesus Christ, face to face, we shall no longer need the written Word of the Gospel.

The apostle writes in conclusion: Understanding this at the outset, that no prophecy of Scripture is dependent upon private interpretation; for never was a prophecy brought forth by the will of a man, but, moved by the Holy Ghost, men spoke from God. Here is another reason for calling the written Word sure or certain. We should understand and know from the very beginning, and not permit any wisdom on the part of men to change our persuasion, that not a single prophecy depends upon private interpretation; the words are neither the prophets’ own ideas or philosophies, nor can any person take the prophecy and interpret it to suit his own fancy. It is the Word as inspired by the Holy Ghost, and to meddle with it in any manner is a sacrilege, is blasphemy. Never was a real prophecy brought forth by the will of man; not one of the many hundreds of passages in the Old Testament that reveal the future is a mere man’s conjecture. The prophets whose recorded sayings are preserved for us in the canonical writings of the Old Testament were inspired by the Holy Ghost. And they did not only receive the incentive to write from the Spirit, the choice of words being left to them, but their words, what they spoke, were from God. The prophets followed the leadership, the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and thus the prophecy of the Old Testament came into being. Incidentally, this was not a mechanical inspiration, but the Holy Ghost accommodated Himself to the intelligence and knowledge, to all the intellectual accomplishments of the writers whom He employed, the result being a book which is as diversified in style as it is interesting and edifying in content. Note: The lesson of this passage, namely, that the Old Testament writings are the inspired Word of God and that Scripture may be interpreted only by Scripture in order to make any claim for absolute acceptance, must be heeded and followed by all true Christians until the end of time ^■950 .

Summary

After the address and salutation the apostle points out some of the obligations imposed upon the believers by the rich promises of God, and then speaks at length of the reliability of the Gospel-message and of the Old Testament prophecy as the inspired Word of God.

Verses 1-22

A warning against the false teachers of all times

The false teachers and their judgment:

Having emphasized the excellence of the true prophecy, the apostle now gives a description of false teaching, whose characteristics in the various ages of the world do not change: But there appeared also false prophets among the people, as also among you there will be false teachers, such men as will introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master that redeemed them, and bringing upon themselves swift destruction. That there were true prophets, such as had actually been sent by the Lord, among the people of Israel in former days, the apostle had stated in the first chapter. But there were also such as were not sent by the Lord, in whose mouth there was a lying spirit, against whom the Lord was obliged to hurl His bitter curses. History repeats itself in this respect. Also in the New Testament, the apostle declares, there would be false teachers, men who would falsely claim a commission from the Lord, who would not hesitate to introduce corrupting, destructive heresies, doctrines that would be sure to lead the people professing them to eternal damnation. Such heights would their pretensions reach that they would even deny and disown the Master, the Lord who redeemed also their souls with His own precious blood. The result and punishment, in their case, would therefore be a sudden destruction; damnation would strike them before they would be aware of their extreme peril. The description is too general to permit an identification of the particular sect to which the apostle had reference, there being such bodies as the Ebionites, the Nicolaitans, and the Gnostics in existence before the end of the first century; but he undoubtedly had in mind also the Judaizing teachers, in whose opinion the redemption of Christ was not sufficient, but had to be supplemented by a fulfilment of the Law. Note: The redemption of Christ, as here expressly stated, was not only for those that would believe and remain faithful to the end, but it was gained and is ready even for those that reject the salvation through His blood.

The apostle now states a truth with regard to these false teachers which experience has amply demonstrated to be true: And many will follow their acts of lasciviousness, on account of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed; and in avarice, with lying words, they will make merchandise of you, to whom the sentence from long ago is not delaying, and their destruction is not sleeping. It seems strange, but history has amply confirmed the fact, that the characteristic of many false teachers is lascivious behavior, combined with a calm insolence that resents all interference. On account of their behavior the truth, the pure doctrine of the Gospel, is blasphemed by the unbelievers. For the latter judge by outward appearances, not knowing the difference between true and false believers; and since these men invariably have the audacity to appropriate and use the designation “Christian” for themselves, the outsiders judge the entire Christian religion by the example offered here, Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9,23; Acts 22:4. What is particularly strange, however, is this, that such people will always find adherents, and in no small numbers at that, and that these followers will permit themselves to be systematically exploited, to be made gain of. It is peculiar to such sects (Dowieites, Christian Scientists) that their leaders are covetous, that they set out to make money from their adherents, and that they succeed in this beyond the dreams of avarice. But, as Peter says, their sentence of condemnation, which was really passed long ago, is not delaying, it is coming slowly, but surely; and their destruction, their damnation, is wide awake upon their trail. They may believe themselves altogether secure, but the time is coming when they will find out to their sorrow that God will not permit such blasphemy to go unpunished; they are steadily moving forward to their impending doom.

Examples from history:

St. Peter here substantiates his statement concerning the punishment which is sure to strike the false teachers by a reference to history, which shows that God’s avenging hand always finds those that are guilty of wickedness. The apostle’s first example is that of the evil angels: For if God did not spare the angels that had sinned, but, committing them to pits of darkness, bound them over, reserved for judgment. God had created all angels good and holy in the beginning. But a great number of them, filled with pride, rebelled against His government, became guilty of wickedness. Their punishment was swift and terrible: He committed them to the chains and pits of the darkness of hell. This is, of course, not to be taken literally, since the angels, as spirits, cannot be held with physical chains. But the evil angels have been deprived of the blessed fellowship with God, they have been shut out forever from the hope of eternal bliss in the presence of the Lord; and though they have some liberty of movement under God’s permission, they stand convicted, they are being reserved for the time when God will pronounce the final judgment upon them.

A second example is that of the Flood at the time of Noah: And if God did not spare the ancient world, but kept Noah, the herald of righteousness, as the eighth one, when He brought on the Deluge on the world of godless men. The Lord had shown a great deal of patience in the case of the men of the ancient world. Even after repeated warnings He had granted them a further respite of one hundred and twenty years, during which time Noah made every effort, by the preaching of righteousness, to bring men to repentance, Hebrews 11:7. But finally the patience of the Lord was exhausted. He spared only Noah, as one of eight, Noah and his family. All other men were swallowed up in the terrible cataclysm which came upon the world in the Deluge. The picture is that of an unloosing of forces which had been held back only with difficulty, and which now, being released, swept everything before them.

A third example is that of the cities Sodom and Gomorrah: And reducing the cities Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, He carried out His sentence by a devastation, thus setting an example for those that are determined to lead a godless life, and delivered the righteous Lot, who was severely afflicted by the lawless people, by the lasciviousness of their conduct; for day after day, by seeing and hearing, the righteous man living among them vexed and distressed his righteous soul at their lawless deeds, Genesis 19. The judgment of God upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, rightly considered, is one of the most awful examples of His avenging justice. So great was the cry of these two cities in the ears of Jehovah, and so very grievous was their sin, that He visited them with a devastating earthquake, at the same time sending down fire from heaven. Thus the cities were completely overthrown and reduced to ashes in a most terrible catastrophe, the effect of which is plainly noticeable to this day. The Dead Sea with the country surrounding it is a warning example to all men that are determined, in spite of all warnings of the Lord, to continue in their godless life. Only one man was found in the cities who was righteous in the sight of God, Lot, the nephew of Abraham. And Lot was able to testify to the insolent lasciviousness of the conduct of Sodom’s citizens. Day after day he had been obliged to see the most revolting sins, to hear the most horrible and filthy talk. The vexation and distress which he thus incurred was magnified, at least in a measure, by the fact that Lot himself had chosen this city for his abode and continued to live there on account of the temporal gain which the rich country brought him. It was a misery and affliction for him to be in the very midst of so much lawlessness and immorality. But God again made a distinction between the just and the unjust by delivering the righteous Lot, thus affording a great measure of comfort to the believers of all times, Malachi 3:13-18.

The apostle now draws his conclusion from the examples offered: The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, but to keep the unjust for the Day of Judgment under punishment, but especially those walking according to the flesh in the lust of pollution and despising authority. From the discussion presented in the chapter up to this point this double conclusion stands out very plainly. In either case the Lord knows how to deal with the situation. He has ways and means to deliver the godly, those that fear Him and walk righteously before Him, out of the temptations which are due to their surroundings, to the unbelievers in whose midst they are living. But, on the other hand, the fact that He will not be mocked, but that He knows how to avenge any offense to His honor is seen in His keeping the unjust, the unrighteous, in punishment and pain until the great Day of Judgment, Psalm 16:4; Hebrews 2:15. Just as the evil angels are even now condemned to the darkness of hell, so the unrighteous will enter the same damnation, according to their souls, just as soon as they die. And they will be kept in this suffering until the Day of Judgment, when the sentence upon them will be confirmed and their sufferings will continue according to both soul and body throughout eternity. This punishment will be especially severe in the case of such unbelievers as live in open sins of the flesh, in the various forms of immorality, in unnatural lusts as practised in Sodom, whereby both soul and body are polluted, Romans 1:26-32, and at the same time openly despise all authority, divine as well as human, particularly the Lordship of Christ.

A further characterization of the false teachers:

This is a harsh, but true description of the false teachers, showing just how the Lord regards people that do not hesitate to steal His honor: Insolent, arrogant creatures, not shrinking in their blasphemy of glories. The expressions are heaped up to indicate the overweening pride which actuates these men. They are foolhardy, haughty, insolent, presumptuous creatures, without the slightest feeling of reverence for either God’s or man’s authority. All glories, all dignities, everything that is heavenly, divine, is to them only the butt of a coarse jest; they delight in blasphemous speeches, which are all the more dangerous since they are veiled by specious talk. “Their tendency seems to have been to make light of the Unseen, to foster a sense of the unreality both of sin and of goodness, and to reduce the motives of conduct to a vulgar hedonism.” ^■951 .

What the Lord thinks of such presumption is shown in the next words: Whereas even angels, being greater in power and strength, do not bring a defaming accusation against them before the Lord. The false teachers arrogate to themselves the privilege to do what even angels, who most certainly exceed them in greatness and power, would never have dreamed of doing. For the good angels did not bring a defaming accusation against their former brethren, the evil angels, before the Lord. Not even the greatest of them all, the Angel of the Lord, Genesis 16:7-12, Jehovah, the Son of God Himself, spoke the sentence upon Satan in the vision of Zechariah, saying merely, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, Zechariah 3:2. Now if this is true, how may one adequately portray the insolence of those that despise the divine Majesty and blasphemously assume to themselves the honor which belongs to the Lord alone!

The apostle uses another strong comparison to characterize their arrogance: But these, like irrational brutes, born creatures of instinct, made to be caught and slaughtered, speaking evil in things which they do not understand, will also be destroyed in their corruption, receiving the reward of unrighteousness. The men whom the apostle has in mind are past all use of reason and common sense, like animals that have only their instinct to follow and cannot apply any intellect, whose only worth is in the flesh gotten from their slaughter. Their own corrupt and foolish conduct will prove their undoing, their destruction; they will be given that just reward which their unrighteousness merits to the full extent.

One phase of their conduct is now described at length: Deeming reveling in the daytime their highest pleasure, spots and blemishes, dissipating in their deceits while they feast with you. The thoughts of such people are centered in the sensual delights which they aim to enjoy. They do not shrink back from reveling and carousing even in broad daylight, living in every form of dissipation, a disgrace to the entire community. And the money for such delicate living, for such rioting and reveling, these men obtained from their dupes, some of the readers of this letter, by deceit. That is the first form in which their unrighteousness appears.

Closely associated with this sin is another: Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot give up sin, seducing infirm souls. The evil desire of the heart is shown in the lustful glances of their eyes, which even so commit adultery. Sin has taken such a strong hold of them that they are fully in its power, they cannot shake it off, they are its slaves: they must yield to every form of uncleanness and harlotry. So they make it a practise to seduce the souls of women that are easily beguiled, their hearts being as yet not established in the faith. Under false pretenses and with glittering promises their victims are led astray, to serve the men who profess an interest in their spiritual welfare. That is the second form which their unrighteousness takes.

And, finally, the apostle characterizes them: Having a heart exercised in covetousness, children of the curse. This point is usually very prominent in the false teachers, their lust for money, their insatiable greed; it is not the hearts and souls of their followers that they are concerned about, but about their money, namely, how they may get as much of it as possible into their own possession. They are thus truly an accursed generation, people upon whom the curse rests, who will finally feel the weight of God’s curse. These three points, then, stand out most strongly: a life of luxury, unchastity, and covetousness; the one or the other is found with all false teachers, and some sectarian heads combine all three in themselves.

Balaam’s example:

The character and the motive of the false teachers is brought out strongly by the comparison with the behavior of Balaam: Having left the right way, they have gone astray, by exactly following the way of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but received a rebuke for his transgression; the dumb ass, speaking with the voice of a man, hindered the prophet’s senseless behavior. The manner in which most false teachers go wrong is exemplified by Balaam, Numbers 22:5-24:25. Although the Lord had expressly told him that he must not curse the children of Israel, yet the bribe money which was offered by Balak, king of the Moabites, induced him to make an attempt at cursing Israel. His greed for money was stronger than his obedience to God. He was conscious that he was tempting God in setting out on his mission, and an evil conscience made him irritable. When his ass tried to crowd out of the way at the appearance of the angel, he beat her unmercifully, until the Lord Himself opened her mouth and rebuked Balaam for his transgression, for his foolish, senseless behavior, for his madness. Thus it is madness that has taken hold of the false teachers when they put aside all virtue and become adepts in every form of unrighteousness, at the same time drawing with them the souls of men.

The spiritual slavery of the false teachers and its consequences:

The apostle opens this paragraph by picturing the deceitful manner of alluring men which the false teachers use: These are springs without water and fogs driven by a storm-wind, for whom the gloom of darkness is reserved. In the teaching and preaching of the false prophets there is much sound, sputtering and bubbling, but there is no substance which will quench the thirst of the soul, a characteristic which is demanded of the true teachers, Isaiah 58:11; John 7:38. The false teachers are like banks and billows of fog as it rolls in from the ocean, driven by a strong gale, but all their promises do not result in such a rain as is needed to cause spiritual fruits to grow, Isaiah 55:10-11. Their end, therefore, will be everlasting destruction in the darkness of hell.

The manner of teaching affected by the false teachers is now described: For, uttering ponderous things of vain speaking, they deceive by the lascivious lusts of the flesh those that had but recently escaped (from) those that live in error. Here the heartless heinousness of the offense is brought out with great force. The false teachers use great, swelling, but empty words and phrases; their sophistry is clothed in language whose grandeur is designed to impress the unlearned. But the bait which they use is, after all, filthy lust, the sensuous desires of the flesh. Thus they caught people, managed to win them for their views, who had but recently been impressed with the truth of the Christian religion, but who had not yet found strength to separate themselves from their old surroundings and customs. The glittering compromises offered by the false teachers were just the thing to impress such as had but recently escaped their old heathen companionships and were loath to give up all their former delights.

For the insidiousness of the danger lay in this: While they promise to them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for to that by which a man is vanquished, to this he is a slave. The false teachers themselves confused liberty and license, and in this sense made alluring promises to those whom they could persuade to listen to them. They held out to possible converts freedom from all legal restraint, intimating that the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free consists in this, that everybody acts as he likes. But herein lies the service of sin; in this respect these men were themselves slaves of corruption, of destruction. For since they willingly performed the lusts of the flesh, deeming this the proper expression of their Christian liberty, therefore they were in subjection to the flesh, they were slaves of sin and on the way to damnation.

The consequences of such behavior are brought out in a striking manner by St. Peter: For if, after having escaped the pollutions of the world in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again taken captive and vanquished by these, their latter state is worse than the first. The men whom the apostle had in mind had probably been converted to Christ in all good faith. They had fled from the pollutions, the profanations, the sins of the world, and taken refuge in the redemption of Christ. Having learned to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they had truly abhorred their former sinful life. It is for this reason that the apostle speaks such solemn words of warning. For if a person has had the sound, saving knowledge of Jesus the Savior, if he has chosen Jesus as his Lord, and then deliberately turns back to his former lusts, permits himself to be governed by the sinful desires which he knows to be wrong, then, indeed, his spiritual state after such defection is worse than it was before his conversion, Matthew 12:45. Note that the false teachers are described as belonging to the truly converted Christians, to the Christian congregation. It is the false teachers that have fallen away from the truth which they formerly confessed that are the most dangerous, the most hostile to the truth.

Therefore St. Peter rightly says of them: For better it would have been for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and yet to turn from the holy commandment committed to them. The people that never hear anything of the way of salvation, that have never heeded the voice which bids them search for the true God, Acts 14:17; Acts 17:27, will indeed receive stripes, Luke 12:48. But he that has become acquainted with the way of righteousness, that knows the way of salvation, and then deliberately spurns the will of God and refuses to be obedient to the Gospel-message, will be in greater condemnation and will be subject to a worse fate, Luke 12:47. In the case of such people, as St. Peter writes with some show of irony: It happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit; and the sow, having been washed, to her wallowing in the mire. Cp. Proverbs 26:11. As a dog will eat what he himself has just vomited, as swine delight in wallowing in the deepest filth, even though they have just been washed, so people such as have just been described will leave the purity and the glory and the salvation of the Gospel-message and of a life of sanctification and return to the filth of a life of sin and shame. What a stern warning to all Christians not to sell their immortal souls for a few bits of dross, not to abandon themselves to the sins which they have so freely renounced!

Summary

In warning against the false teachers of all times, the apostle depicts them and their punishment, substantiating his statements by examples taken from Old Testament history; he characterizes them as followers of Balaam and describes the curse of their spiritual slavery.

Verses 1-18

The certain coming of Christ and its lessons

A warning against scoffers:

The apostle here, in his usual manner, opens a new section of his letter, and the tone employed by him shows that he desires to impress the truths now following with special solemnity: This letter, beloved, I now write you as the second, in which I rouse your pure mind by way of remembrance. Both letters of Peter had had the same aim, in a way, his purpose being to teach his readers, to remind them of the fundamental truths of Christianity once more, to give them practical hints as to the performance of Christian obligations, to arouse and encourage them in their Christian duties. He says that he wants to stir up their pure, their sincere Christian mind, that mind which is always open to instruction and admonition from the Word of God.

Of this aim Peter writes: That you may be reminded of the words spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of your apostles, of the Lord and Savior. That is the chief function of the teacher in the Christian Church, to put the souls entrusted to him in remembrance of all the truths which were revealed to us by both the prophets and the apostles. There is no discrepancy between the Word of God in the Old and that in the New Testament, no contradiction. The chief content of both is Jesus Christ the Savior, the Hope of the believers in the time before His incarnation and the Trust of the believers ever since. The commandment of the apostles briefly characterizes the entire content of the Christian doctrine, for it is given to us for obedience in faith and in holiness, 1 John 3:23-24; 1 Timothy 6:14. What the apostles taught was, at the same time, the commandment of our Lord and Savior; for it was He that called them as the teachers of mankind to the end of time; it was He whose Spirit inspired them to write the great truths that are to make us wise unto salvation.

The apostle now singles out one great truth with the purpose of warning his readers: Knowing this first of all, that there will come in the last days mockers with their scoffing, going on according to their own desires and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the time that the fathers fell asleep all things remain just as they have been from the beginning of creation. His readers, the Christians of all times, should know this, in order not to be surprised at its coming. There would be mockers, or scoffers, at the end of the days, just before the Day of Judgment. These men, many of them highly intelligent, learned men, are noted for their scoffing denial of the coming of Judgment. In books, articles, and lectures such men calmly and with a great show of wisdom, demonstrate that it is against science, against reason, to believe in the coming of the Judgment Day; they treat the very idea of a possible truth of the Bible-account with scorn and derision. The nearer the last day comes, the more rapidly the number of these scoffers increases, and the bolder they grow in their assertions. There is a real source of danger here, especially for inexperienced young people that are overawed by the show of learning displayed by the mockers. But the Christian should note the reason for this attitude, namely, the fact that such people go on, walk, conduct themselves, according to their own desires and lusts. Of God and of His holy will they want to know nothing; their one object in life is to enjoy to the full the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And it is because of the fact that the thought of the Lord’s return to Judgment disturbs them in their life of sin and shame that they attempt to ridicule the idea of the last day. Their conscience tells them that, no matter what form their selfishness assumes, they will have to render an account to the Lord. Hence their mockery, the outflow of a bad conscience: “Where is that promised coming of the Lord in whom you Christians profess to believe? The laws of nature are unchangeable; matter is eternal; and this world will remain forever. The believers of the Old Testament that hoped in the coming of the Lord died without having seen the fulfilment of their hopes, and thus it will be always.”

The answer of St. Peter, showing the certainty of the Lord’s return:

St. Peter’s rejoinder charges the scoffers with malicious ignorance: For this escapes their notice of their own purpose, that the heavens were originally and the earth out of water and through water was formed by the word of the Lord. Peter maintains that there are certain facts connected with the creation of the world which are evident even to the casual observer, the denial of which, therefore, reveals the tendency which governs the mind of the scoffers. It escapes them, it is hidden from them, because they wilfully shut their eyes to the evidence presented. From the beginning the heavens were there; they were made by the Lord at the very beginning of His creative labors, Genesis 1:1. And the earth, the dry land, was set up, being formed by the separation of the earth and the water, just as it is to this day kept fruitful through water, Genesis 2:6. Thus the earth did not come into existence by itself, it was not developed in the course of eons, or millions of years, out of some original atoms, but it was created by the word of God, called into being by the word of His almighty power.

Upon this world descended the destroying wrath of God: Through which the world then existing, being submerged by water, was destroyed. By the word of the Lord the world was created, through the agency of water it maintained its existence. But again by the word of God and through water as a destroying agency, the world, as then existing, perished. The waters that had receded at the almighty word of God arose again at His command, and the dry land was submerged, and all creatures that had the breath of life in them perished with the exception of the few that were placed into the ark at God’s command. Here is an answer to the scoffers that things did not always remain as they were in the beginning.

The apostle now, in contrast to this vain jangling, sets forth the truth: But the present heavens and earth are treasured up by the same word, set apart for fire for the Day of Judgment and destruction of the godless men. The sky, or heaven, as it now appears over our heads, and this earth, as its various forms blossomed forth to new life after the Deluge, are now being kept like a treasure, held together, not through eternal and blind forces of nature, but through the word of the Lord. But the purpose of this careful watch of the Lord is not to have the world last forever. It is being kept, rather, for destruction by fire. The world, as the men from Adam to Noah knew it, was destroyed by water; the world, as it was peopled by the descendants of Noah, is being saved for the fire which will attend the last Judgment. The scoffers may now jeer and ridicule, but the day will come when the patience of God will have an end. Then He will hold judgment; then every sinful thought, word, and deed will have to be accounted for; then the godless, the scoffers, the unbelievers, will be condemned to everlasting destruction.

To his first argument concerning the coming of the Day of Judgment the apostle now adds another to explain the apparent delay: But this one thing should not be hidden from you, beloved, that one day before the Lord is as thousand years and thousand years as one day. There is always danger that the ridicule of the unbelievers may leave just a little doubt in the heart of the Christians, especially since so many of the signs which were to precede the Lord’s coming have been fulfilled. But Christians should not permit themselves to be led astray. They should not forget, should not lose sight of the fact, that their Lord is the eternal God, before whom a thousand years of human reckoning are as a day and a single day like a thousand years. Time does not exist for the eternal God, Psalm 90:4. What seems long to us is to the Lord only as the day that has just passed. If to our finite minds the return of the Lord seems to be unduly delayed, we still know that His Word and promise stand safe and sure.

Moreover, it is not a mere caprice on the Lord’s part to delay His coming: The Lord does not delay with the promise, as some consider it a delay, but He is long-suffering on your account, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. To speak of the Lord’s delaying, of His being slack in the fulfilment of His promise, is not right, does not square with the facts. He is the true and faithful God, who keeps His promises and fulfils them at the time when He believes the fulfilment should come. The reason why He has not yet permitted the Day of Judgment to dawn is rather one which again opens to our view the wonderful love toward sinners which fills His heart. He is patient, He is long-suffering; He is still sending out His servants into every part of the world because He does not desire the death of a single sinner. He wants all men to turn to Him in true repentance and faith; He wants them all to accept His grace and mercy in Jesus Christ the Savior. His loving-kindness and tender mercy is adding one year after another to the time of grace, as it were, in order that as many men as possible will hear the message of salvation and come to the Lord.

All these considerations, however, do not change one fact: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a crackling noise, and the elements, being burned, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned. Every word of this verse emphasizes the inevitable certainty of the Lord’s coming. The day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment, is coming beyond the shadow of a doubt. Moreover, the believers should keep in mind that this day is coming like a thief, Matthew 24:43; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 3:3; Revelation 16:15, that is, its coming will be sudden, unexpected, its actual coming a surprise to all. The coming of the Lord on that day will inaugurate the end of the world. The firmament of the heavens will quake and break and vanish, with a crackling noise and roar as of a devouring flame. The elements of which the earth is composed will be dissolved in their present form by burning, and the earth itself and all the works in the world, all the mighty and magnificent structures of man’s hands, the immense cities with their proud sky-scrapers, the great ships and all conveyances which the ingenuity of man has devised for use in the sea, on land, in the air, all the wonderful works of art which are exhibited with such self-satisfaction: they all will perish by fire in the destruction of the last day. Of this fact the Christians must never lose sight; it must, in a way, be a norm controlling all their actions in this world.

The attitude of the Christians:

The apostle here applies the lesson of the facts adduced by him to the situation of the believers: Since, then, all these things are to be dissolved, what kind of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, waiting for, and hastening toward, the coming of God’s day, in which the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements in burning will melt. The thoughts and minds of the Christians are under no circumstances to cling to the things of this world, to the riches of this earth, for they know that this world with all it contains will not remain forever, but will certainly be destroyed. In view of this certainty the minds of the Christians are, on the other hand, ever busy with the question as to what effect their knowledge of the coming catastrophe should have on their whole moral and religious life. The apostle gives the answer, telling us that our conduct should be holy and unblamable, that our behavior at all times should express true godliness and reverence of His holy will. In this state of mind we should eagerly await the coming of God’s great day, be concerned about being acceptable to the Lord in His Judgment, bend every effort to keep the simple faith and trust in Jesus in our hearts and to show the fruits of this faith in a life of love toward Him and our neighbor. Ever and again we Christians repeat to ourselves the fact that this world is not our home, that all the things in which men trust at the present time will be dissolved in fire and reduced to a condition where the elements themselves will be in a fluid state, having not the slightest resemblance to their present form. The present heavens and the present earth will pass away, not in utter destruction, but to be changed into a new form of existence.

That is what the apostle now proceeds to show for our consolation: But new heavens and a new earth we expect according to His promises, in which righteousness will have its abode. After this old earth has passed away according to the apostle’s description, there will be new heavens and a new earth. That is not a vain hope, a mere day-dream on the part of the Christians, but our faith is based upon God’s promises, Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22. Since our expectation is founded on the Word of God, therefore we shall not be ashamed. This old earth is filled with sin and unrighteousness, the very creatures, the dumb animals groaning with the pain of the curse of sin, Romans 8:22. But after the last day there will be no more sin; in the new earth there will live only righteousness and joy and peace. That is our hope, our comfort and consolation. We know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us and to us, Romans 8:18.

An admonition to steadfastness:

In the fact that the new earth will be the abode of righteousness there is included a solemn warning to all believers: Therefore, beloved, because you are expecting these things, use all diligence to be found spotless and blameless in His sight. We Christians know that a life of sanctification, in which we avoid sin and earnestly strive to fulfil the will of God in every respect, will not merit salvation. But as children of God our one desire is to please our heavenly Father by leading such lives as conform to His will. Having been made partakers of the redemption of Christ, we have also received His complete fulfilment of the Law of God, His righteousness has been imputed to us. For this reason it is possible for Christians at least to make a beginning in a life of sanctification ^■952 .

Of one thing the Christians must never lose sight: And consider the long-suffering of our Lord as salvation. The fact that the Lord has so much patience with the people of the world, also with us, that He does not send punishment as often as we deserve it and in the measure that we deserve it, means salvation for us. The present time is still a time of grace for us, and we should be earnestly concerned about making the best of this time, knowing that God’s reward of grace will come upon us, be given us, in the end.

St. Peter now refers to the letters of Paul to substantiate his words: Just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, has written you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some difficult passages, which the unlearned and unsteady distort, as also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Two points are here evident, the inspiration of the letters of Paul and the agreement between the doctrine as taught by the various apostles. Peter says of Paul that he is a beloved brother, a teacher of the Church with himself, that Paul did not write his own philosophy, but wrote what the Wisdom from on high prompted him to say. Peter may have in mind especially the letters of Paul to the Galatians and to the Ephesians. In these letters, as well as in others which Paul sent to various congregations, he treated of the same doctrines, the same fundamental truths of Christianity, which Peter had here discussed, and taught the same facts. But with a note of sadness the apostle continues, stating that some people who were uneducated, that lacked both mental training and balanced judgment, and some that were unsteady, that were not yet fully and soundly established in Christian doctrine, had distorted or twisted his words and sayings. They had done the same thing also with the other Scriptures, with the writings of the prophets, apostles, and evangelists, and that to their own damnation. It seems strange that the Holy Scriptures, containing, as they do, the fundamental truths of salvation in such simple, unmistakable passages, should yet give a great many people, usually such as lack the training for intensive explanation of the Bible, occasion to teach the greatest heresies. It is but necessary to glance over a few pages in the books published by the most modern sectarians in order to be convinced of the truth of this statement. What Paul and Peter and all the apostles taught of Christian liberty, of sin and grace, of the corruption of man’s nature, of salvation by grace only, all these doctrines are garbled and twisted and modified until it is impossible for the readers to get any satisfaction out of the presentation. And the authors, unless the belief of their heart differs from the belief of their pen, will receive to themselves damnation. We simply follow Luther’s rule and explain the difficult passages in the light of those that are absolutely clear. And where a solution is not possible, we cheerfully teach our hearts patience, knowing that everything shall be made plain to us when we reach our home above.

Incidentally, we heed the warning of the apostle: You, then, beloved, knowing this before, be careful, lest, carried away by the error of lawless men, (you) fall away from your own foundation. It is by means of warnings such as these that Christians are enabled to be on the lookout for sectarians that pervert the gracious Gospel of Jesus Christ. They know what they may expect, and they conduct themselves accordingly. They will not permit the false interpretations of godless and impious men to swamp them, to carry them off their feet, to lose their foundation. They have the trustworthy, the solid basis of the Gospel, and they will not risk the shifting sands of man’s interpretation of the Word. The Word interprets itself, and we should be satisfied with the explanation thus offered, and not seek interpretations which are intended to satisfy human reason.

With this thought in mind the apostle concludes: But grow in the grace and in the understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the Christian’s happiness: to increase in grace, in the conviction founded on the Gospel that we possess the grace of God in Christ Jesus, that His merits have been imputed to us, and that our inheritance is awaiting us above. By becoming more firmly established in this conviction day after day, we also grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; for those facts are the essential facts for this life and for the world to come. Therefore we join the apostle in his fervent doxology in praise of Christ the Savior: To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Summary

In speaking of the certain coming of the day of the Lord, the apostle warns against the scoffers that ridicule the idea, emphasizes the certainty of the Lord’s return, shows what attitude the Christians should assume, and admonishes them to show all steadfastness in faith.