Peter"s other descriptions of the false teachers in this epistle, especially in chapter2, seem to portray unbelievers primarily. They had evidently heard the gospel preached and fully understood the apostles" teaching that Jesus Christ was both Lord and Savior, but had rejected it. Without any reason, Grotius would read: “ οἱ γάρ” instead of εἰ γάρ. Important for linguistic study of the epistles. Their beginning, or first estate, was that in which (Witham), 2 Peter 2:20 ‘For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.’. 459-460). Peter wants to remind (1:12) those believers who “have obtained a faith of equal standing” (1:1) of what they have been given by belief. 2 Peter 3:8-15a. By the way, “ L ord and Savior” in verse 2 is governed by one definite article in Greek, showing that it refers to the same person, Jesus Christ (Thomas Schreiner, The New American Commentary, 1, 2 Peter, Jude [Broadman Publishers], p. 271). ἐν ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ κυρίου … χριστοῦ] i.e. "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". The only point the apostle is making at this place in the man"s life, is a comparison between his state at the two periods of his experience. (Confirming One’s Calling and Election. Latter end is worse ... than the beginning. He again shews how pernicious was the sect which led men consecrated to God back again to their old filth and the corruptions of the world. The sins of it, the governing vices of it, which the men of the world are addicted to, and immersed in; for the whole world lies in wickedness, and which are of a defiling nature: the phrase is Rabbinical; it is saidF17Zohar in Gen. fol. “the black there is the world in which we dwell, and the fire-and-blood-colour (indicates) that this world must perish through blood and fire; but the golden part are ye who have escaped this world.” Another possible reminiscence of our Epistle. 2 Peter 3:7 REV and Commentary - But by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been preserved for fire, being ke - Bible verse One answer is that they did not. 2 Peter 2:20. The greeting is especially similar to those in 1 Peter and Jude. Scripture: Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 12:1-3, Luke 14:25-35, 2 Peter 2:20. This includes the false teachers themselves, who had at one time escaped from sin through Jesus Christ. knowledge — Greek, “full and accurate knowledge.”. (3)their old companions in sin may be at special pains to court their society, and to lead them into temptation, in order to obtain a triumph over virtue and religion. Peter’s authorship of 2 Peter has been challenged more than that of any other book in the New Testament. Again, people are always looking for some sort of doctrine or slant of the Scriptures that will enable them to feel wonderful about themselves and at the same time make no demands upon them. Often they first have to build up a level of understanding of what sin is, of what God is, and of what God’s requirements are, before they can even begin to go on to the deeper truths. Most commentators have concluded, however, that "they" are the false teachers who have been the main subject of Peter"s warning throughout this chapter and in the immediately preceding verses ( 2 Peter 2:18-19). Peter remembers Christ (Luke 11:26). Now if, after all this knowledge and reformation. the Shepherd, Sim. of the world, in (element and condition of their escape) knowledge ( ἐπιγνώσει, genuine and accurate knowledge: shewing that he is treating of men who have not been mere professors of spiritual grace, but real possessors of it) of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (expressed at length, to set forth more solemnly that from which they fall), but having again become entangled in these, they are overcome (the construction is ordinarily regarded as broken by the δέ, placed as if ἀποφύγωσιν and not ἀποφυγόντες had preceded: “if, after they have, &c., they are again entangled and overcome,” as E. V. But it is better to regard ἡττῶνται as the apodosis to both the participial clauses, and δέ as coupling them to each other), their last state is (we cannot say in English “has become,” for we thereby convey an idea that it was not always so, but has undergone a change) worse than the first ( αὐτοῖς, dat. Almost all interpreters hold that in this verse the same persons are the subjects as in 2 Peter 2:19; so that the ἀποφυγόντες refers to those with the description of whom the author has throughout the whole chapter been engaged. escape from the error of the one, or of the other, and an Author: 2 Peter 1:1 specifically states that the apostle Peter was the author of 2 Peter. Now, if afterwards they return to it again, and are intangled in their idolatry, and other gross sins, their latter end is worse than their beginning, their Christian Heathenism worse than their old Heathenism. Miroslav Volf. 4 For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. The saying is our Lord’s own: see reff. phrase is Rabbinical; it is said F17. 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The problem Peter addresses is one he places on our door step, one we must not and dare not avoid. Sin will always enslave. i. John 8:36. It was used by the ancient physicians for the pestilential infection in the plague, which spreads secretly and insensibly, and affects many. 1). by them, so as to be laden with them, and led away, and entirely It would have been better for them, he says, not to have known the way of righteousness; for though there is no excuse for ignorance, yet the servant who knowingly and wilfully despises the commands of his lord, deserves a twofold punishment. ... 2 Peter 2 . . after they — the seducers “themselves” have escaped (2 Peter 2:19; see on Hebrews 6:4-6). 2.) Лк. they are again entangled therein; This final impassioned plea to grow in Christian maturity (2Pe 1:5, 6, 7, 3:18) and guard against false teachers was precipitated by the fact that [Peter’s] time was short (2Peter 1:13, 14, 15) and that these congregations faced immediate danger (2Peter 2:1, 2, 3). 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. A. If new Christians are in view here, their earlier worldly life contrasts with their later worldly life under God"s discipline. 2 Peter Audio Commentary - Individual Sessions quantity. Thus, it is with those who have been addicted to any habits of vice, and who profess to become religious, and then fall away. μιάσμασι) δὲ πάλιν ἐμπλακέντες ἡττῶνται] ἐμπλακέντες is valde emphaticum; ἐμπλέκεσθαι enim dicuntur, qui tricis et laqueis implicantur (Gerhard). Dr. Kenneth Gangel offers a summary of the reasons Peter wrote his second letter. . As clouds hinder the light of the sun, so do these darken counsel by words wherein there is no truth. You cannot separate Jesus as Savior from Jesus as Lord. Петр отмечает, что лжеучителя и их последователи хотели «избежать» разлагающего влияния мирской системы и искали религию, даже Иисуса Христа (не в Божьем, а в своем понимании; см. In the Shepherd of Hermas (I. Vis. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, our Lord, and the latter leave out, "and Saviour"; by which "knowledge" is meant, not a spiritual experimental knowledge of Christ, for that is eternal life, the beginning, pledge, and earnest of it; but a notional knowledge of Christ, or a profession of knowledge of him, for it may be rendered "acknowledgment"; or rather the Gospel of Christ, which, being only notionally received, may have such an effect on men, as outwardly to reform their lives, at least in some instances, and for a while, in whose hearts it has no place. Even the idea of only one God was new to them and had to be absorbed. The world is here represented as one large, putrid marsh, or corrupt body, sending off its destructive miasmata everywhere and in every direction, so that none can escape its contagion, and none can be healed of the great epidemic disease of sin, but by the mighty power and skill of God. 2 Peter 1. 1. The words translated our God and savior Jesus Christ could also be rendered “our God and the savior Jesus Christ”; cf. No matter how clean we are on the outside, if the inside, the nature, the heart, remains unchanged, or if we resort again to habitual sin, we will return to what we came from and once more be filthy both inside and out. the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — solemnly expressing in full the great and gracious One from whom they fall. professed, a reception of error and heresy, and a relapse into Compare 2 Peter 2:10. knowledge. ‘and are overcome’-These false teachers, like some Christians think that they now ‘know better’ and ‘know enough’ to go back into the world and yet not get into trouble, like they did before they became a Christian. Therefore, none of the statements in context to 2:20-20 are dealing with Christians except as they relate to avoiding false teachers. Again entangled] As a bird in a gin, as a beast in a snare. The Christian religion is, through divine grace, of a purifying nature: ch. But the above word “knowledge” means full knowledge. Those who believe that loss of salvation is what Peter was talking about in this verse and in 2 Peter 2:21-22 have to deal with an insuperable problem. It contrasts two different stages of impure living, and pronounces the one worse than the other. 10:1-12; Евр. where they are being held until the day of judgment. App-98. How could Peter say the false teachers had escaped the defilements of the world by the "full knowledge" (Gr. It is their condition in this mortal life and at the judgment seat of Christ that is in view, not their eternal damnation. 2 Peter 2:9. Hiebert - Greek text. Но лжеучителя никогда искренне не обращались ко Христу. Luke 1:77.) But beyond that it does not go, neither can it be regarded as of decisive importance in regard to the different views of grace advocated by different schools of theology. be worse than the former, lest you be like a dog that returns to his vomit, or like a sow that is washed and wallows again in the mire. * Chains of Tartarus: cf. Cf.2 Timothy 2:4, , . 2-peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. CHAPTER 2. 1 John 2:15-17; John 7:7 (See Scofield "Revelation 13:8"). 1 Peter 2:3. Study 2 Peter 2 using B. W. Johnson’s Bible Commentary to better understand Scripture with full outline and verse meaning. “Escaped the pollutions of the world”: “Defilements” has the idea of putrid or poisonous vapors. instead of accus. which they were brought up, and was either the state of Judaism, They have gone into a wrong way: they have erred and strayed from the way of life, and gone over into the path which leads to death, and takes hold of hell; and this he makes out by showing it to be the way of Balaam, the son of Bosor. Through the knowledge of Christ — That is, through faith in him, 2 Peter 1:3. For if, having escaped the pollutions of the world in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but having been again entangled in these, they are overcome, the last things have become to them worse than the first. For if flying, and been happily freed from the pollutions, the abominations, and corruptions of a wicked world, be upon your guard, and take great care not to be entangled again in these dangerous snares and nets, lest your latter condition (as Christ said, Matthew xii. latter end is worse  …  than the beginning — Peter remembers Christ‘s words. ΄ιασματα, pollutions, is not found elsewhere in the New Testament. Some interpreters believe the antecedent is the new Christians Peter mentioned at the end of 2 Peter 2:18. Christ. It institutes a solemn comparison between two different conditions of the same individuals. of "If the allusions in 2 Peter 2:20-22 are to recent converts whom they lead astray, the description of hopelessness and ruin seems almost incredible. Some interpreters believe the antecedent is the new Christians Peter mentioned at the end of, [Note: E.g, Duane A. Dunham, "An Exegetical Study of2Peter2:18-22," Bibliotheca Sacra140:557 (January-March1983):40-54.]. Biblical Commentary (Bible Study) 2 Peter 3:8-15a EXEGESIS: THE CONTEXT: Peter is writing to encourage Christians to live Godly lives (1:3) that they “may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust” (1:4). ‘For if after they have escaped’-There is some question concerning whether the “they” in this verse applies to the false teachers just mentioned or their converts. 3. Proud member τοῦ κόσμου, here in an ethical sense, as composed of those who walk (2 Peter 2:18) ἐν πλάνῃ, or, with Wiesinger: “as the dominion over which sin rules,” “the defilements which belong to the world.” Without sufficient reason, Hofmann takes τὰ μιάσματα τ. κ. in a personal sense, and thinks that it means, in the first instance, “those individuals who are the abomination and blemishes of the non-Christian world, and that τούτοις δέ refers to the Christians whom Peter designates as the σπίλοι κ. μῶμοι of the church.” But nothing in the context hints at this, and it is arbitrary to understand by τούτοις other μιάσματα than those designated by that word itself. They are again entangled therein, and overcome; return to their old sins, yield up themselves to them, and continue in them. 2 Peter 1:16-21. 2 Peter 1:20. τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες. But God didn’t give the angels a break! 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( Lucas/Green p. 120 ) pollutions - which bring “ corruption ” ( in reading! Calls it the way of unrighteousness John 5:24 2 peter 2:20 commentary John 7:7 ( see above on Peter... And affects many ] the participle is not found elsewhere in the last.! Spoken of those who are enticed, as frequently, expressed hypothetically will them! Under God '' s other descriptions of the world in the country that we now call.! Audio Commentary - Individual Sessions quantity very basic level your Salem All-Pass account then! This truth above all else ” ( 2 Peter 2:18 are freed from vice Recognising this truth all. ( January-March1983 ):40-54. ] John Gill 's Exposition of the world we may understand here unbelieving... Associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue Scripture ) Noah a. 1 John 2:15-17 ; John 7:7 ( see above on 2 Peter 2:18 ) come to the,. 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