2 Peter 2:2

Contextual Overview

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ¹ But there also arose false prophets among the people, as among you also there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. ¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, as there shall likewise be false teachers among you, who will privily bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be teachers of falsehood among you also, who will cunningly introduce fatal divisions, disowning even the Sovereign Lord who has redeemed them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction. ¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, euen as there shall bee false teachers among you, who priuily shall bring in damnable heresies, euen denying the Lord that bought them, and bring vpon themselues swift destruction. ¹ But false prophets were also among the people, as also false teachers will be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, and denying the Master who has bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. ¹ Bvt there were false prophetes also amonge the people, euen as there shalbe false teachers amonge you likewyse, which preuely shal brynge in damnable sectes, euen denyenge the LORDE that hath boughte them, and shal brynge vpon them selues swift damnacion: ¹ As there were false prophets among the people of Israel, there will likewise be false doctors among you, who by introducing pernicious sects, and by renouncing the Lord, who bought them, will bring upon themselves swift destruction. ¹But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They'll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They've put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can't tell right from wrong. They give the way of truth a bad name. They're only out for themselves. They'll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you. They won't, of course, get by with it. They'll come to a bad end, for God has never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on. God didn't let the rebel angels off the hook, but jailed them in hell till Judgment Day. Neither did he let the ancient ungodly world off. He wiped it out with a flood, rescuing only eight people—Noah, the sole voice of righteousness, was one of them. God decreed destruction for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A mound of ashes was all that was left—grim warning to anyone bent on an ungodly life. But that good man Lot, driven nearly out of his mind by the sexual filth and perversity, was rescued. Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment. So God knows how to rescue the godly from evil trials. And he knows how to hold the feet of the wicked to the fire until Judgment Day. God is especially incensed against these "teachers" who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don't hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn't think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God. These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end. Their evil will boomerang on them. They're so despicable and addicted to pleasure that they indulge in wild parties, carousing in broad daylight. They're obsessed with adultery, compulsive in sin, seducing every vulnerable soul they come upon. Their specialty is greed, and they're experts at it. Dead souls! They've left the main road and are directionless, having taken the way of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophet who turned profiteer, a connoisseur of evil. But Balaam was stopped in his wayward tracks: A dumb animal spoke in a human voice and prevented the prophet's craziness. There's nothing to these people—they're dried-up fountains, storm-scattered clouds, headed for a black hole in hell. They are loudmouths, full of hot air, but still they're dangerous. Men and women who have recently escaped from a deviant life are most susceptible to their brand of seduction. They promise these newcomers freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, for if they're addicted to corruption—and they are—they're enslaved. If they've escaped from the slum of sin by experiencing our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ, and then slid back into that same old life again, they're worse than if they had never left. Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back, repudiating the experience and the holy command. They prove the point of the proverbs, "A dog goes back to its own vomit" and "A scrubbed-up pig heads for the mud."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

many: Matthew 24:10-13, Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22, 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:19, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 13:14

pernicious ways: or, lascivious ways, as some copies read, by reason. Romans 2:24, 1 Timothy 5:14, Titus 2:5, Titus 2:8

ways: 2 Peter 2:15, 2 Peter 2:21, Psalms 18:21, Isaiah 35:8, Jeremiah 6:16, Matthew 7:14, Matthew 22:16, Mark 12:14, John 14:6, Acts 13:10, Acts 16:17, Acts 18:26, Acts 19:9, Acts 24:14

evil: 2 Peter 2:12, Acts 14:2, 1 Peter 2:12, Jude 1:10, Jude 1:15

Reciprocal: Leviticus 13:44 - utterly unclean Deuteronomy 31:29 - corrupt yourselves Ezra 4:2 - Let us Proverbs 19:27 - General Jeremiah 5:31 - prophets Jeremiah 23:14 - in the Jeremiah 29:8 - your dreams Jeremiah 44:15 - all the Ezekiel 12:24 - General Ezekiel 13:19 - for handfuls Matthew 13:41 - and they Matthew 18:7 - unto Mark 9:42 - offend Acts 5:36 - to whom Acts 8:10 - they Romans 16:17 - cause 1 Corinthians 11:19 - there 1 Corinthians 15:33 - evil Galatians 2:4 - unawares 1 Timothy 5:15 - General 2 Timothy 2:16 - for Titus 1:10 - there Hebrews 12:15 - and thereby James 3:6 - a world 1 Peter 4:14 - on 1 John 4:5 - and

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Genesis 1:31
And God seiy alle thingis whiche he made, and tho weren ful goode. And the euentid and morwetid was maad, the sixte day.

Genesis 1:31
And God saw euery thing that hee had made: and behold, it was very good. And the euening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31
And God behelde all yt he had made, and lo, they were exceadinge good. Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the sixte daye.

Genesis 1:31
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.

Genesis 1:31
And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And many shall follow their pernicious ways,.... Their principles and their practices, which lead to destruction, The Complutensian edition, the Alexandrian copy, and six copies of Beza's, and others, read "their lasciviousnesses"; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "their luxuries"; and all the Oriental versions seem to have read in like manner. The Syriac version renders it, "their impurity"; and the Arabic version, "their unchastities"; and the Ethiopic version, "their lust"; and which seems to have respect to the impure conversation of the followers of Simon Magus, the Nicolaitans, the Gnostics, Carpocratians, and others, who indulged themselves in all unnatural lusts and uncleanness; and generally, when men make shipwreck of faith, they also do of a good conscience, and become immoral in their conversations; and yet, as destructive as their principles, and as dishonourable and scandalous as their practices be, many were, and are their followers; so it was foretold by Christ, Matthew 24:11, and so it has been, Revelation 13:3. The road both of error and wickedness is a broad one, in which many walk; and a multitude is no proof of the truth of a church or of the principles of men, nor to be followed:

by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of; that is, either Christ, who is truth itself, and the true way to eternal life and happiness; or the Gospel, the word of truth, which holds forth Christ the truth, and points to him, and every other truth, and nothing but truth; or the Christian religion, which is the true way, in opposition to all sects and heresies; and is what should be blasphemed and spoken against, either by these men or their followers; for the phrase may be rendered, "by whom", as it is in the Vulgate Latin version, and the meaning be, that they should, in a blasphemous way, speak and write against Christ and his truths, reproach and revile them, and in a virulent manner oppose them, and trample them under foot: "or for the sake of them", as other versions read; and as we do; "by reason of them"; they should be the occasion, by their impure lives, of the name of Christ, and his doctrines, being blasphemed by profane and irreligious men; see Romans 2:24. The Alexandrian copy, and one of Stephens's, read "the glory of truth"; and so the Ethiopic version, "the glory of his truth".

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And many shall follow their pernicious ways - Margin: “lascivious.” A large number of manuscripts and versions read “lascivious” here - ἀσελγείαις aselgeiais - instead of “pernicious” - ἀπωλείαις apōleiais (see Wetstein), and this reading is adopted in the editions of the Greek Testament by Tittman, Griesbach, and Hahn, and it seems probable that this is the correct reading. This will agree well with the account elsewhere given of these teachers, that their doctrines tended to licentiousness, 2 Peter 2:10, 2 Peter 2:14, 2 Peter 2:18-19. It is a very remarkable circumstance, that those who have denied the essential doctrines of the gospel have been so frequently licentious in their own conduct, and have inculcated opinions which tended to licentiousness. Many of the forms of religious error have somehow had a connection with this vice. People who are corrupt at heart often seek to obtain the sanction of religion for their corruptions.

By reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of -

(1)Because they were professors of religion, and religion would seem to be held responsible for their conduct; and,

(2)Because they were professed teachers of religion, and, by many, would be understood as expounding the true doctrines of the gospel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Peter 2:2. Many shall follow — WILL follow, because determined to gratify their sinful propensities.

Pernicious ways — ταις απωλειαις. Their destructions; i.e. the heresies of destruction, or destructive opinions, mentioned above. But instead of απωλειαις, destructions, ασελγειαις, lasciviousnesses or uncleannesses, is the reading of ABC, and upwards of sixty others, most of which are among the most ancient, correct, and authentic. This is the reading also of both the Syriac, all the Arabic, the Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, Chrysostom, Theophylact, OEcumenius, and Jerome. A very few, and those of little repute, have the word in the text.

The word lasciviousnesses is undoubtedly the true reading, and this points out what the nature of the heresies was: it was a sort of Antinomianism; they pampered and indulged the lusts of the flesh; and, if the Nicolaitans are meant, it is very applicable to them, for they taught the community of wives, c. Griesbach has received this reading into the text.

By reason of whom — These were persons who professed Christianity and because they were called Christians, and followed such abominable practices, the way of truth-the Christian religion, βλασφημηθησεται, was blasphemed. Had they called themselves by any name but that of Christ, his religion would not have suffered.