Their Effect

who will secretly bring in destructive heresies,
denying even the Master who bought them,
bringing on themselves swift destruction.

2:2 Many will follow their immoral ways,
{TR reads "destructive" instead of "immoral"}
and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned.
2:3 In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words:

Their Condemnation

whose sentence now from of old doesn't linger,
and their destruction will not slumber.
2:4 For

if God didn't spare angels when they sinned,
but cast them down to Tartarus {Tartarus is another name for Hell},
and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved to judgment;
2:5 and didn't spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;
2:6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly;
2:7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked

2:8 (for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds):

2:9 the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation
and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment;

Their Description

2:10 but chiefly those
who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement,and despise authority.
 

A. They Despise Authority

Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries;

2:11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power,
don't bring a railing judgment against them before the Lord.

2:12 But these, as unreasoning creatures,
born natural animals to be taken and destroyed,
speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant,
will in their destroying surely be destroyed,

2:13 receiving the wages of unrighteousness;

B. They Follow Corrupt Desires

people who count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes,
reveling in their deceit while they feast with you;
2:14 having eyes full of adultery, and who can't cease from sin;
enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;
2:15 forsaking the right way, they went astray,
having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor,
who loved the wages of wrong-doing;

2:16 but he was rebuked for his own disobedience.
A mute donkey spoke with man's voice
and stopped the madness of the prophet.

2:17 These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm;
for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.

2:18 For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness,
they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness,
those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error;
2:19 promising them liberty,
while they themselves are bondservants of corruption;
for by whom a man is overcome,
by the same is he also brought into bondage.

2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world
through the knowledge of {epignosis = "knowledge about"}
the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled therein and overcome,
the last state has become worse with them than the first.

2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known {about}
the way of righteousness, than, after knowing {about} it,
to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb,
"The dog turns to his own vomit again," (Prov 26:11)
and "the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire."

vs 1 The Christian community is a mixed of true and nominal Christians. Among the nominal Christians there are those who are in the process of developing salvific faith, and then there are those who, even in positions of leadership, who actively try to dissuade people from the faith, speaking and teaching things which are false. We see for example in the book of Acts where Paul confronted the group of the circumcision. Of them Luke writes: "Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." Acts 15:5  But Paul writes of these same people, "This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves." Gal 2:4 For Luke was writing historically, recording what people were called. But Paul was writing as to what they really were. So also in the Christian community. Among us there are such false brethren who nonetheless refer to themselves as "Christians".

"even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."

It is interesting to note that the greek word for "Lord" here is not "kurios"which in commonly used in the New Testament, but rather the word "despotes".  While "Kurios" is a more general term for Lord, "Despotes" relates only to a slave and denotes absolute ownership and uncontrolled power. It was this aspect of Christ's Lordship they denied, being lawless in doctrine and practice as if not a slave to Christ. Let us beware how, as Christians we understand and practice concepts of "freedom in Christ". For "he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."2Cor 5:15 (niv)

By "denying the Lord" they are condemned as unbelievers. Yes, they were bought. For Jesus paid the sins for the whole world, not just for the "elect".

Just to digress on a bit of theology here. I disagree with Calvinistic concept of "limited atonement" on this point. It is argued that Jesus only died for the sins of the elect and not for the sins of the whole world. The reason given is that it would be unjust for Jesus to pay for the sins of those who would inevitably go to hell since that would be double jeopardy, the same sins being paid for twice - once on the cross and again in hell. But what Calvinists may fail to understand is that under that kind of reasoning it would have also been unjust for an innocent man - Jesus - to pay for the sins of the guilty to begin with. Jesus' payment for sin was not simply a matter of justice. It was a matter of grace. Jesus graciously paid the price in suffering for the sins for the whole world. Now he can arbitrarily forgive sins as he pleases. And that would not conflict with justice. For justice was satisfied. His arbitrary requirement for the forgiveness of sins is faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. But these denying Christ as Lord are not forgiven, but end up in hell.

Jude also writes of these men who by their licentious (lawless) behavior deny Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:4 "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." (niv)

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21 (niv)

"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1John 3:9,10 (niv)

These who mislead will be damned to hell. Jesus says also of those who mislead, "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin." Luke 17:2  (niv)

vs 4 Hell is described in a number of ways. Here he mentions the restriction of chains and restriction to darkness. In a number of parables Jesus speaks of it as a place of outer darkness and a place where one is tied up and thrown out. In other places as in Matthew 5 and Luke 16 he describes it as a place of fire and torment. Angels who sinned are also referred to as demons. There are those in hell presently awaiting the judgment. But there are also those wandering the earth. But in any case, they are terrified at Jesus because of the torment he represents to them. Here's a case in point of a demon speaking: He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" Mark 5:7 (niv) If people only knew Jesus as demons do, they would have the hell scared out of them!

vs 5 Eight people were saved on the ark (which Peter also notes in 1Peter 3:20). In fact perhaps in commemoration of this the chinese character for "boat" is literally "8" (ba) mouths in a vessel. After his death, Jesus went and preached to the imprisoned spirits who disobeyed in Noah's time (1Peter 3:19) The contrast also here is between Noah being a preacher of righteous and the ungodly behavior of those lost. Such a contrast should also be evident in the lives of Christians - else they will suffer the same fate as the rest of the ungodly.

vs 6-9 Those who live in an ungody manner - no matter what they say they believe and no matter what they call themselves - will be condemned. However this is not to say that the righteous will have a perfect behavior. Of course before the establishment of the New Covenant at Pentecost no one had been born of God in the sense that Christians after that are. And thus one should expect even less of the Old Testament saints compared to the regenerate today. However Lot was a righteous man. And it is not just saying this just about his status or position. It is speaking also of his overall behavior and the application of his faith. Yes, he chose to live in the city of Sodom, which was a foolish decision. But it was not because he accepted the values of the society around him. For he was vexed - tormented - in his soul at the filthy lifestyle of the wicked who lived around him.

Are you vexed at seeing and hearing the lawless deeds of those around you? Or do you feel comfortable with people around you living a lifestyle of sin? These are one measure of your righteousness.

Jesus teaches us to pray for God to deliver us from temptations. But we may fail to realize how God may choose to do it. For God delivered Lot from temptations by removing him from the city and destroying it completely. Such deliverance is ultimately the fate of those born of God. For we will be delivered from this world of sin and God will destroy it with the ungodly. The unjust will be condemned.

vs 10-13 The chief characteristics which make false teachers particularly subject to condemnation is not simply the false teachings themselves. But rather the promotion and practice of a licentious lifestyle and one which despises legitimate authority, essentially rejecting the Lordship of Christ.

There are those even in leadership in the Christian community that despise legitimate God-given authority. They will put their own dogma above the apostles teachings. They may even claim to have authority which they don't actually have, in order to establish their own system of righteousness - even their own theology - apart from the teachings of the apostles and prophets.

These days, for example, the false gospel of easy-believism is quite common in the Christian community. The gospel is preached without reference to the person's actual behavior. And the quality of "faith" that is often preached is a vain non-application oriented trivial type of faith. So people put such "faith" in Christ and then go on feeling quite comfortable living a lifestyle of sin. Such "faith" is not the kind the Bible speaks of as that which has saving value (James 2:14)

Jude 1:4  "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."

Their rejection of legitimate human authority is a rejection of what God has established in order to maintain order. But it is simply a reflection of their rejection of Christ as Lord. They simply don't want anyone to tell them how they should live. They do not have an attitude of submission and obedience, and as Jude alludes to they turn freedom in Christ into freedom to live a lifestyle of sin.

When one teaches living the Christian life in accordance with the Bible under the Lordship of Christ in obedience to the commands of Christ and his apostles, they cry out "legalism".  They speak evil of things they do not understand. They assume that they are saved, but Paul even warns the Corinthians to "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2Cor 13:5  But these that Peter writes of fail the test. They are unsaved and on the road to utterly perishing in their own corruption.

vs 13b-14 As I mentioned there is a correlation between their rejection of authority and their licentious behavior. For in justifying their behavior, they reject the God-given authority of, for example, the apostles who define and command proper Christian behavior.

Even those born of God are not perfect, but will sin from time to time. But the licentious are shameless in their sin, doing so publically in accordance with their chosen lifestyle which best suits their flesh. Though in the Christian community they are not of it. Being adulterous and covetous in heart and in practice, they cannot cease from sin, contrary to those born of God whose behavior is characterized by 1John 3:9,10 "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." (niv) These kind of people can lead astray the gullible.

vs 15-16 Balaam was a false prophet who accepted payment to curse Israel. He is also written of in Revelation. Revelation 2:14 "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." For failing to curse Israel, he opted to corrupt them by introducing licentious practices of foreign religions. Such people are hardly worthy even of someone like the stature of Peter to rebuke them. For any old dumb ass can rebuke them, their waywardness being so obvious.

vs 17-19 They're like salesmen or telemarketers who call you up claiming you've won something or they're going to give you something for free, but they lie. For they promise freedom, but deliver slavery to one's lusts. They speak confidently their vain teachings condoning sinful behavior and luring Christians to fall into sin. "those that were clean" (kjv) is an unlikely translation. For the greek word translated "clean" is "ontos" which 9 out of 10 times even the kjv translates "indeed" or "certainly" or "of a truth" or "verily". More likely this should be translated "those who indeed had escaped from them who live in error." However the picture is one of a corrupt man attempting to seduce a repentant sinner into sin, like a drug dealer trying to get a recovered drug user back into the habit.

It speaks also of being overcome. Overcoming is predominently mentioned in 1st John and Revelation and is always spoken of with respect to behavior. For example, right after saying, "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome", John writes "For everyone born of God overcomes the world." 1John 5:3,4 (niv) Thus again this indicates that such people as Peter is describing have not been born of God.

vs 20-21 "Knowledge" here is "epignosis" in the greek. While the more general and more commonly used term for knowledge is "gnosis", "epignosis" is a more specific type of gnosis. (gnosis is used 6 times more than epignosis in the New Testament and the LXX) "epi" is a greek preposition which means "around". And thus the "epidermis" is the skin which goes around the body. This kind of knowledge is a factual or informational kind of knowledge. In this case while verse 20 speaks of the knowledge of our Lord and Savior in particular it is speaking about knowing about the way of righteousness and the holy commandment as verse 21 reveals. This in contrast to having an intimate relational knowledge of our Lord which goes below the surface. Though it is true to have a relationship one must know facts about the person. But the converse is not true. One doesn't have to have a relationship with a person to know the person factually. Epignosis is often used also to mean to acknowledge or recognize someone, but this again is focused on external information. "By their fruit you will recognize <epignoskw> them." Mt 7:16 I can recognize many people from watching TV, for example, whom I don't know personally. In fact Paul uses epignoskw in a celebrity sense in 2Cor 6:9. There are those who know Christ as a celebrity. But those born of God know him personally. But gnosis is used instead of epignosis for more intimate knowledge which goes below the surface as in the following:

1 John 2:3  Now by this we know <gnosis> that we know <gnosis> Him, if we keep His commandments.
1 John 2:4  He who says, "I know <gnosis> Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
2 Timothy 2:19  Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows <gnosis> those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
Hebrews 8:11  "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know <gnosis> the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

Furthermore  in view of what else 2Peter says of these people, it is clear to me that while these people know about Christ, that is know the gospel - the way of righteousness, yet they don't know him personally. And thus this is referring to nominal Christians. In the process of coming to know about Christ and developing saving faith by following Christ, nominal "Christians" will repent from sin and experience a degree of "escaping the pollutions of the world" entering the Christian community. But as Paul in 1Corinthians 10 also alludes to the people of Israel dying in the desert, so in th middle of following Christ, nominal Christians may turn away, get entangled in sin and are overcome. We recognize that they are not born of God because "everyone born of God overcomes the world" 1John 5:4

It would have been better for them not to have known because while before it is true they were going to hell, now they are going to suffer worse punishment. The more you know, the more you will be held responsible for. As Jesus said to those who saw his miracles, but didn't believe "I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." Matt 11:24 (niv) and "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:47,48 (niv)

Thus if your knowledge does not correlate with your behavior, do not presume that you will be saved from the wrath of God.

vs 22 This again affirms that these people have never been regenerate. For "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" 2Cor 5:17. A dog or a pig can pretend to be a sheep for a period of time, but eventually they conform to their nature if they do not become regenerate.