The Book of 2^nd Peter

The Second Letter of Peter was written sometime between 64AD and 67AD and church history suggests that this letter was written not too long before Peter's Martyrdom at the hands of Emperor Nero. Elements within the letter lead many scholars to conclude that Peter wrote during a time of persecution in Rome while Peter himself was in a Roman prison awaiting his execution.

There have been historic points of contention questioning Peter's authorship of 2 Peter due to Literary Scholars stating that the Book of Jude and 2 Peter have some literary similarities in regards to the matters that are discussed.

But this is not a problem for Apostolic Authorship since peter may have included elements of Jude's letter within his own for explanation or context to points that Peter was seeking to make. What we must bare in mind is that many of the Apostles were close and it would seem to reason that many theological items were discussed and dissected in public as well as in private.

Also we must remember that many of the New Testament Epistles' authors were all alive at the same time and at some points were even together on missionary journeys and so forth.

Thus the similarities do not minimize or question authorship but rather, in my mind, further determines the theological alignments of the thoughts and beliefs of the early church leadership. And lastly, these are the last recorded words of Peter before his death in, what is suggested as, the year of 68AD.

2^nd Peter Chapter 1

1. Greeting

a. "Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: ² May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

i. The uniqueness of Peter's opening statement is very strategic and intentional; note the grammatical structure of the sentence.

ii. "To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"

iii. Equal Standing. I find this phrase very unique because of the humility presented in this opening text because Peter, as an Apostle, which is a figurehead of the Church is inclusive of the Church body itself by the notation of the equality of faith.

iv. There is a thought process that plagues the Church that says that a leader has greater faith than everyone else but in light of this text, that simply isn't true. Our faith collectively is on equal standing because we all trust the same source and His Name is Jesus!

v. Furthermore, verse 2 tells us that His Grace and Peace us multiplied to us as we grow in our knowledge of God and of Jesus. Peace increases when our view of God increases.

2. Confirm Your Calling and Election

a. "³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."

i. There are some powerful nuggets of truth in these few verses! Firstly, it is His divine power that has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

ii. Simply put, it is His power and not our own might that can generate the source that facilitates the needs of life and godliness. He is our source and upon Him we must place our dependency!

iii. At the beginning of verse 4, Peter uses the phrase, "by which". This is making reference to something; that something is His divine power! "by which" or by His divine power He has granted to us his precious and very great promises. Friends, it is His Power that makes his precious and very great promises a possibility in our lives!

iv. But what is the endgame or destination that the Lord is heading towards? So that by His precious and very great promises, we can become partakers of his divine nature and escape the corruption that comes by the impact of our sinful nature in the flesh!

v. We have been called unto Himself and it is His Divine Power that makes all of that possible!

b. "⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

i. For this very reason… what reason? Because His divine power has been made available to us and His promises to be released, we should make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue and knowledge that has an echoing effect!

ii. Note the compounding impact… "virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."

iii. These qualities are the purest expressions of the fruit of the Spirit and lead to further transformation into the image of Christ! Peter beautifully describes the outcome of this tremendous manifestation of Christ's power in Us!

iv. "⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

c. "⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ¹² Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have."

i. Peter shifts his focus from the fruitfulness of the faith to providing us an outline of what happens when we lack these qualities. "⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins."

ii. Friends, it is our diligence to adhere to the things of God that confirm our calling and or election as saints of God and ultimately, when we practice diligence in these matters, we will never fall.

iii. Peter is truly striving to drive a powerful point home in verse 12, "Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have."

iv. Church, sometimes we need to be reminded continually which is why I preach every week! Faith comes by hearing the Word of God over and over and over again!

d. "¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.¹⁵ And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things."

i. Like a father, Peter states that it is his goal to stir the church up by way of reminder and intends the hold this line until he transitions into eternity.

ii. He then states, "¹⁵ And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things."

iii. Again like a father, Peter is striving to ensure the Church is ready and able to stand on its own two feet when he goes by way of death. It seems that he is as anxious over the matter as much as he is at peace with it.

3. Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

a. "¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain."

i. To address the credibility and truth of the message of the Apostles, Peter speaks to reassure that what he has taught them is the truth. He drives home the point that he was an eye witness to the Lord.

ii. And furthermore, Peter states that he heard the voice from heaven speak over Christ Himself which is corroborated by the record of text found in all four gospel records:

1. The Gospel of Saint Matthew 3:17

2. The Gospel of Saint Mark 1:11

3. The Gospel of Saint Luke 3:22

4. The Gospel of Saint John 12:28

iii. I also find it pertinent to make note that the Apostle Peter also saw the transfiguration of Christ as well on the Mount of Transfiguration with James and John as found in the Gospel of Saint Matthew chapter 17

b. "¹⁹ And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation."

i. Verses 19-21 point us to one strong fact of the Scripture: the Truth about Jesus Christ is anchored in the Prophetic Word of Scripture. Jesus did not just claim to be the Messiah, He is the prophetic manifestation of the Prophets of Old in regards to the life and times of Jesus the Messiah.

ii. In verse 19, it notates the words, "more fully confirmed". Some have understood that Peter's experience of the Transfiguration provides confirmation of the Old Testament prophesies, make the already-sure prophecy of the Old Testament to be even more sure as confirmed by the experience of the transfiguration.

iii. Others have understood "more fully confirmed" as an affirmation that the prophetic writings of the Old Testament are even more sure than peter's spectacular personal experience at the transfiguration, thereby underscoring the complete reliability of Scripture. IN either case, believers are admonished to pay attention to the certainty of the prophetic word.

iv. Furthermore, pure prophesy will always manifest as it was foretold and not by the twisting of men's minds to make a narrative fit the mold of a prophetic word. It either fits and is true or it is not.

c. "²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

i. First off, true and pure prophetic words are never produced by the will of man but by the will of God.

ii. Secondly, a true prophet speaks from God and not from himself or herself.

iii. Thirdly, Prophesy comes by way of the Holy Spirit; any other source is demonic in nature.

iv. Prophets are not psychics nor mediums; prophets not only hear but speak from God by way of His Spirit.

2^nd Peter Chapter 2

1. False Prophets and Teachers

a. "¹But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³ And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."

i. At the closing of Chapter one, Peter makes reference to Prophecy and those who are Prophets; he then states some basic perimeters for prophetic ministry and the function thereof. Hence the reason why Peter picks up with dealing with false prophets who arose among the people and then makes inference to false teachers rising among the Church who will teach destructive heresies and even denying the Lord Jesus.

ii. The allure of the prophetic can be detrimental when there is far too much stock placed in a prophetic voice at the minimization of the Word of God being priority. As Peter outlines, these people, whether they are teachers or prophets, will exploit the church and this exploitation is manifested when the Church is ignorant to truth. Again, as I shared last week, the prophetic will never undermine nor contradict the Scriptures. This is furthermore the point of why the Apostle John instructed the Church to 1 John 4:1 to test the spirit of those to see if they are of Christ before receiving from them.

b. "⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;"

i. Verse 4 - Genesis 6 - The Conspiracy Of The Nephilim

ii. Verse 5 - Genesis 7 - Noah's Flood and the Earth's Destruction

iii. Verse 6 - Genesis 19 - Sexual perversion of Mankind which lead to their Destruction

c. "⁷ and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, ¹¹ whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord."

i. In verse 7, the text annotates the faithfulness of God and His eternal ability to rescue the Godly from trials and tribulations. Peter uses plight of Lot and the subsequent te Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example to believers that the Lord knows what we face and that He will see us through it all!

ii. Notice with verses 9-10, "⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,"

iii. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and still deal with the unrighteous at the same time! I am reminded of the words of Abraham as he interceded for the cities before the Lord, "Shall you suffer the righteous to parish with the wicked?"

iv. The uniqueness of the ending verse of this section, verse 11 records, "¹¹ whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord."

v. Ultimately the Angels know their place and do not step outside their authority when it comes to judgment or blasphemy.

d. "¹² But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, ¹³ suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!" "¹⁵ Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. ¹⁷ These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved."

i. There are those who have made statement such as, "A loving God would never send someone to Hell" but the issue is that He doesn't send them there. They made that decision themselves and chose their destination by their deeds.

ii. With the reference to Balaam, allow me to share a thought here. The scripture records the story of Balaam who couldn't see the angel of the Lord holding a sword in the road but the donkey could. Ultimately the donkey is empowered to speak with a human voice and reveal that the road he was on would led to destruction.

e. "¹⁸ For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first."

i. Verses 18-20 give us a perfect scriptural outline of what happens when someone backslides and is ultimately destroyed. I have regrettably seen this too many times in ministry and even in the lives of ministers I have known personally who fell into sin and were destroyed.

ii. The Lord Jesus gives us an interesting correlation to this text that I believe work in tandem with one another found in the Gospel of Saint Matthew 12:43-45, "⁴³ "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."

iii. Church family, we must hold fast to our faith and refuse to allow the things that Jesus saved us from to return home to our lives.

f. "²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."

i. This closing portion of text is very hard and it is heavy; and perhaps some would consider this portion cruel but allow me to share a thought with you.

ii. Perhaps for the person in hell right now that once knew the way and walked away from God is at a greater level of torment because they knew the way out but found their way into the bowels of hell! But they backslid from the truth and returned unto the vomit of their dead lives before Christ!

iii. If you have compromised in any way, its time to repent…