2 Peter 2

2 Peter 2:1

Jesus will return An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Peter’s second letter www.easyenglish.info Hilda Bright and Helen Pocock This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 2 False Teachers Much of this chapter is similar to the letter of Jude. Some of the words are almost the same. Peter may have copied what Jude wrote. Or Jude may have copied what Peter wrote. Or both Peter and Jude may have copied from another record. But this does not affect the truth of what each writer says.

Peter was a good leader. He wanted to look after Christians. He wanted them to learn the truth about Jesus. He wanted them to become strong and mature. Peter was very angry with the false teachers. He wrote very severe words against them. Several times, he said that God would punish them severely. Peter wanted to warn the Christians about them. The danger of false teachers v1 There used to be false *prophets in the past among God’s people. And there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly teach wrong things about God that will ruin people. The false teachers will refuse to accept their master who bought them. And so, they will quickly destroy themselves. v2 Many of them will follow their own evil ways. Because of this, other people will say evil things about the true Christian way. v3 These false teachers only want your money. They will make a profit from you when they tell you untrue stories. A long time ago, God *judged them. And he will destroy them at some time in the future.

Verse 1

These verses are a link with chapter 1 verses 20-21. ‘The people’ refers to the *Jews. There were false *prophets in the time of the *Old Testament. These false *prophets were *Jews too. They were not foreigners. Peter warned that there will be false teachers in the *church. Even some Christians will become false teachers. Jesus warned about this in Mark 13:22-23. So Christians should check carefully everything that people teach (Acts 17:11). The *Scriptures are true because they come from God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). True teachers will help people to become mature Christians. But a false teacher does not do that.

False teachers had accused Peter and the other *apostles. They said that Peter told stories ‘that a clever person made up’ (1:16). Peter had told the truth. It was the false teachers who had made up stories (verse 3). The false teachers cleverly mixed their stories with the truth. They said that they were Christians.

But they did not believe the truth about Jesus. Jesus died on a cross to rescue people from their *sins. And he rescued them from their wicked lives. 1 Peter 1:18-19 describes how Jesus ‘bought’ people when he died for them. In those days, a master owned the slaves that he bought. He expected them to obey him. Jesus has authority over Christians.

He expects them to behave in the right way. The false teachers did not accept Jesus as their master. One day, Jesus will punish the people who do not obey him. Therefore, the false teachers will ruin themselves. Their punishment will be their own fault.

There were false teachers in the *church when Peter wrote this letter. There are still false teachers in the *church today. So, every Christian should pay attention to Peter’s warning.

Verse 2

Some *prophets in the *Old Testament were false. They told people what the people wanted to hear. The false *prophets did not tell people the truth. They told people to enjoy themselves in wicked ways. Therefore, these *prophets gained many *disciples. The false teachers were doing this too.

Peter used the word for ‘evil ways’ again in 2:7 and 2:18. It means that the people just did whatever they wanted to do. They satisfied their wicked sex desires. First, people accepted what the false teachers said. Then it was easy for people to copy the false teachers’ actions. But Jesus said ‘I am the way’ (John 14:6). ‘The Way’ was the name for the people who followed Jesus (Acts 9:2; 24:22).

Therefore, Christians should copy Jesus. They should behave in the same way that he behaved. If Christians behave in evil ways, their actions will lie about the character of God himself. Then people will be insulting God.

Verse 3

Christian leaders must be honest about money (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7). Paul was honest about the money that he collected for the Christians in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:20-21). He was very careful. But the greedy false teachers told lies. Then they tried to get money from the Christians.

In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, God told the *Jews to kill false *prophets. This was God’s judgement. The false teachers denied that God would *judge them. But God had already declared that they were guilty. And he has not forgotten. In 1 Kings 18:27, Elijah, the true *prophet, laughed at the false *prophets. He suggested that Baal, their false god, was asleep. The false teachers thought that God would not *judge them because he is asleep. They forgot that ‘God who watches over *Israel stays awake. He never sleeps’ (Psalms 121:4). One day God will destroy them. Three examples of God’s judgement v4 When some *angels *sinned God did not let them stay free. He threw them down into *hell. Now they are in the dark prison. They are waiting for the final judgement. v5 And God punished the ancient world and the wicked people in it. He sent a flood over all the earth. But God protected Noah and seven other people who were with him.

Noah had taught people how to live in the right way. v6 God punished the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. He burnt them until they were just ashes. The fate of those cities showed what will happen to wicked people. v7 But God rescued Lot from that place. Lot was a man who lived in the right way. Lot was unhappy because the wicked people behaved in an evil way. v8 (Lot was a good man. He lived among evil people.

Every day he saw and heard their wicked deeds. This made him suffer in his spirit.) v9 So the *Lord knows how to rescue good people from their troubles. And the *Lord knows how to keep the evil people until the final judgement. He will continue to punish them.

Peter showed that God punished wicked people in the past. Therefore, God would punish the wicked false teachers. Peter gave three examples from the beginning of the *Old Testament in Genesis. He refers to them in the same order as in Genesis: - 1) wicked *angels, 2) the flood, 3) the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Wicked *angels Verse 4

Peter did not say how these *angels were wicked. Jude says that they ‘left their proper place’ (Jude verse 6). Revelation 12:7-9 says that they were proud. They opposed God. Genesis 6:1-3 shows that they also desired human women. God threw these wicked *angels into *hell. The *Greek word for ‘*hell’ is ‘Tartarus’. This word comes from old *Greek stories. It was a terrible place of punishment. *Greek gods who were wicked had to go there. God has sent the wicked *angels to a dark place of punishment. They cannot escape. They used to live with God in his *glory and light. Now they are far away from God. The final judgement will happen after Jesus has returned to this world. This may refer to Revelation 20:10. The flood Verse 5

God punished wicked people too. He flooded the ancient world (Genesis, chapters 6-8). God rescued Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives. But everyone else died. God had warned Noah that he would send a flood. Noah built the ark (a big boat) because he believed God’s warning.

The wicked people had probably laughed at Noah while he built such a large boat. But Noah believed that God would *judge the world. Noah was a good man. He lived in the right way (Genesis 6:9). The people at that time could see the good way that he lived. Josephus was a man who wrote about *Jewish history.

He called Noah a ‘*prophet’. This meant that Noah warned people about their wicked ways. He probably also warned people that God would *judge them. Peter referred to Noah and the flood in his first letter (1 Peter 3:20). The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah Verse 6

God completely destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, they showed what will happen to wicked people. You can read about these cities in Genesis 18:16-19:29.

Verses 7-8

Peter said that Lot was a ‘good man’. Lot was not perfect. He chose to live in a wicked city. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah lived without any principles. They did what they wanted. They satisfied their wicked sex desires. However, Lot did not behave like the wicked people. Christians often live among wicked people. Sometimes the Christians do not notice the evil deeds any more. They just accept them. They do not feel sad about them. But Lot saw and heard the evil deeds. He was very unhappy about them. That is why God rescued him.

Verse 9

God knows how to rescue good people. The stories about Noah and Lot show this. God does not prevent difficulties in the Christian life. But he makes Christians strong so that they can overcome the difficulties (1 Corinthians 10:13). God will punish all the evil people. They will not escape from God when he finally *judges them. The character of the false teachers v10 God will especially punish the people who do wicked deeds. They do what their body desires. They do not care about authority. These false teachers are bold. They do anything that they want. They are not afraid to insult the magnificent ones. v11 The *angels are much stronger and they are more powerful than these men. But even the *angels do not insult and accuse these magnificent ones to the *Lord.

v12 These false teachers insult things that they do not understand. They behave like wild animals that do not think. The animals are born. Then someone catches and destroys them. This will happen to the false *prophets too. v13 They will suffer because they caused other people to suffer. They enjoy their evil desires even in the daylight.

They are like stains and dirty marks. They are not honest with you even when they eat meals with you. v14 They want to have sex with any women that they see. They are always *sinning. They tempt weak people to *sin. They train themselves to be greedy. God will curse (speak bad things about) them. v15 These false teachers do not behave in the right way any more.

Instead, they behave like Balaam, the son of Beor. He loved to behave in a wicked way. v16 But a *donkey told Balaam that he was doing the wrong thing. A *donkey cannot speak. But that *donkey spoke with a man’s voice. He stopped Balaam’s mad action.

Verse 10

God will especially *judge the false teachers. They satisfied all the wicked desires of their bodies. This refers to wrong acts of sex. They would not obey anyone’s authority. They certainly did not care about God’s authority. They did only what they wanted to do. The ‘magnificent ones’ probably refers to types of *angels. But the false teachers did not respect them.

Verse 11

*Angels are greater than people are (Psalms 8:5). *Angels have more power and they are stronger than the false teachers. But the *angels would not *judge the false teachers. Also, the *angels would not accuse other *angels who did not obey God. *Angels understand more about God’s authority than the false teachers did. God alone has the right to *judge.

Jude verses 8-11 give some extra details to Peter’s verses.

Verse 12

The false teachers pretended that they knew a lot about God. But really, they knew very little about him. They were not humble like the *angels. Instead, the false teachers were like animals. Animals have natural desires. But they do not have moral standards. They do what they feel like doing. In the end, animals just die. God will destroy the false teachers. They will not live for ever with him.

Verse 13

Peter showed that bad moral behaviour is not worthwhile. Galatians 6:7-8 also says the same thing. People may enjoy *sin at the time, but the results are bad. Many people do evil things when it is dark (1 Thessalonians 5:7). But it is worse when people do evil things in the daytime. The false teachers did not even try to hide their *sin. This shows that they had no conscience.

In his first letter, Peter said that Jesus was like ‘a lamb (young sheep) without any fault or mark’ (1 Peter 1:19). In the *Old Testament, the *Jews could give only a perfect lamb to God. Christians must copy Jesus. In 3:14, Peter said that they should live pure lives. Nobody should be able to blame them for *sin.

The false teachers ate the special meals with the Christians. Jude 12 calls these meals ‘love feasts’. The false teachers did not behave as true members of the *church should behave. They enjoyed their wicked pleasures. Therefore, they did not give honour Christ. They ate and drank with Christians at these meals. But the false teachers were greedy. Paul also said that some Christians were selfish. Some of them even drank too much wine at these meetings (1 Corinthians 11:20-21).

Verse 14

The false teachers looked at every woman. They wanted to have wrong sex with the women. These men could never stop doing wrong things. The more that they *sinned, the more they wanted to *sin. Some Christians did not firmly trust the true *gospel message. So, they easily believed what the false teachers said. The *Greek word for ‘tempt’ describes how men caught fish. The false teachers taught attractive things to the weak Christians. These Christians were like interested fish. They were careless too. They ‘swallowed’ (believed) the false teaching that attracted them. In contrast, Peter said in 1:12 that his readers firmly trusted the true *gospel message.

Some men train their bodies so that they become strong. But the false teachers had ‘trained’ their desires. They wanted more and more money, goods or women. God was not pleased with them.

Verse 15

The account of Balaam is in the *Old Testament (Numbers, chapters 22-24). Balak, the king of Moab, wanted Balaam to speak bad things against the *Jews. Balak even offered to pay Balaam. At first Balaam refused. Later he agreed to do it. But when he opened his mouth God forced him to bless the *Jews instead. So Balaam led them to *worship the false god at Baal-Peor. They did wicked acts there. Like Balaam, the false teachers were greedy to get money. They led many Christians away from God. They copied the bad way that the false teachers behaved (2:2).

Verse 16

Balaam rode on a *donkey. He went to speak against the *Jews. But an *angel stood on the path in front of him. Balaam’s *donkey stopped but Balaam could not see the *angel. So Balaam hit his *donkey. He tried to force his donkey to move. *Donkeys are dumb animals. But this donkey spoke to Balaam with a human voice. Afterwards, Balaam saw the *angel. The *angel spoke to Balaam. The *donkey stopped the *prophet Balaam from what he had intended to do. And God will stop the wicked behaviour of the false teachers.

v17 These false teachers are like wells that have no water in them. The false teachers are like the mist. But the strong wind blows the mists away. The false teachers will go to the place of black darkness. v18 They speak proudly but their words have no value. Some people were just beginning to escape from their past wicked behaviour. But the false teachers tempted these people to enjoy their evil desires. v19 They promised that the people would be free.

But the false teachers themselves are not free. They are like slaves to the things that will destroy them. People are slaves to anything that controls them. v20 People escape from the wicked ways of the world when they learn about our *Lord and *Saviour Jesus Christ. But those wicked ways may again catch and overcome them. This makes it worse for such people than it was before. v21 It would have been better for them if they had not known the right way. The false teachers had learned about God’s holy law.

They knew it but they refused it. v22 What happened to the false teachers shows that these popular statements are true. ‘A dog (an animal like a fox) returns to its own *vomit.’ And, ‘After you have washed a pig it will return to the mud.’

Verse 17

Peter used picture language to describe the false teachers. People go to a well to get water. The water keeps them alive. Some wells contain no water. They may look good but a dry well is not useful. The false teachers did not give anything valuable to Christians. But Jesus promised that he would make people alive for ever. Jesus also described how the Holy Spirit would live inside people. The Holy Spirit would be like the water that always flows (John 4:13-14; 7:37-38).

A mist is not wet enough to make the land wet. And a strong wind can quickly blow the mist away. This is picture language. It shows that the false teachers are not useful. They have no power to help other people. The place of ‘black darkness’ probably refers to the darkest place in *hell. The false teachers will have the same punishment as the wicked *angels (2:4).

Verse 18

The false teachers sounded very confident. They wanted to impress other people. They tried to attract the people who had just become Christians. These people had not learned very much about God. They did not yet completely understand how to live in the right way. They may have found that the Christian life is difficult. The false teachers told them lies. They said that Christians do not need to change their behaviour. They could still enjoy their former evil desires.

Verse 19

Jesus promised to make people free (John 8:32). But the false teachers were teaching this in a wrong way. They said that people could live just as they wanted to. They were free from the fear of judgement. In his first letter Peter said, ‘Live as free people. But do not use your freedom as an excuse for wicked behaviour’ (1 Peter 2:16). Jesus said, ‘Everyone who *sins is a slave to that *sin’ (John 8:34). A person is a slave to whatever has become his master. The false teachers were slaves to their own wicked desires. However, Christians are slaves of Jesus Christ. So they must behave in the right way because they are his slaves (Romans 6:15-18).

Verses 20-21

‘The wicked ways of the world’ refers to all the people, societies and governments in the world who oppose God. The false teachers had once escaped from these wicked ways. They had learned about the *Lord Jesus Christ. They had learned about God’s laws. The false teachers claimed to have special ‘knowledge’. But this only affected their minds. Their actions showed that they did not really know Jesus. When people become true Christians, it affects their spirits. And it affects their desires too. The false teachers had returned to the wrong way of life. They allowed their evil desires to control them again. The word ‘catch’ describes how a trap catches an animal. Then it cannot escape.

Many wicked people had not known about God. They did not know how to live in the right way. The false teachers had once known the right way to live (see verse 2). But they left it. God frees people from their *sins by Jesus. A wicked person could learn about God. He could ask God to forgive his *sins. But the false teachers had known about God. However, they refused to obey God’s holy laws. This was far worse because God could not free them. Peter may have been thinking about a story that Jesus told. A man removed one evil spirit that was in him. But he left the place empty. Then seven more evil spirits came into him (Matthew 12:43-45).

Verse 22

Peter described the false teachers in two ways. The statement about the dog comes from Proverbs 26:11. The statement about the pig does not come from the Bible. But it must have been a familiar statement at that time. The *Jews considered that both these animals were not ‘clean’ (morally good). In Matthew 7:6, some people would not accept the news about Jesus.

He referred to them as ‘dogs’ and ‘pigs’. Peter had already described the false teachers as ‘animals’ (2:12). Now he shows that they were like dogs and pigs. These two animals may look clean on the outside but their desires are not good. They return to what is dirty. In a similar way, the false teachers had not really changed.

They said that they were Christians. But they returned to their own desires and ‘dirty ‘ (morally bad) ways. They did not believe that God would *judge them.

© 1997-2004, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2004

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