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2Pet.2:1. There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and, rejecting the Lord who bought them, bring upon themselves quick destruction. 2 Peter 2:2. And many will follow their depravity, and through them the path of truth will be reproached. 2 Peter 2:3. And out of covetousness they will entice you with flattering words; By false teachers the apostle means like-minded people Nicholas and Cerinthos, and in the name of prophecy, generally given to both prophets and false teachers, he warns believers not to listen to false prophets. What is the difference between the two, Paul taught this when he said that no one calls Jesus Lord “except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). Then he begins to denounce the heresy of the Nicolaitans, saying that they are doubly bad. For in doctrine they are extremely wicked, since they blaspheme the Lord Christ; in life they are very vicious, which he now expresses by mentioning their “depravity”, and a little lower he will explain even more. The word “out of covetousness” shows that they acquire in a shameful manner. For covetousness sometimes means injustice, and sometimes even vile acquisition. Why is the word “catch” used decently? To show that they are completely alien to the divine teaching, he says that they use flattering words. But, he says, they will receive what they deserve for their wickedness, namely death. Judgment has long been ready for them, and their destruction does not sleep. 2 Peter 2:4. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but, having bound them in the bonds of hellish darkness, handed them over to be judged for punishment; 2 Peter 2:5. and if he did not spare the first world, but in eight souls he preserved the family of Noah, the preacher of righteousness, when he brought the flood upon the world of the wicked; 2 Peter 2:6. and if, having condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, he turned them into ashes, setting an example for future wicked people, 2 Peter 2:7. and righteous Lot, tired of being treated among violently depraved people, delivered 2 Peter 2:8. (for this righteous man, living among them, was tormented daily in his righteous soul, seeing and hearing lawless deeds) - 2 Peter 2:9. then, of course, the Lord knows how to deliver the pious from temptation, and to preserve the wicked for the day of judgment, for punishment. The word “long ready” means the foreknowledge of God. For God, according to foreknowledge, has prepared good things both for the good and for the evil their proper place. For the judgment has long been ready. It is not without reason that the apostle begins with the more respectable believers, but wants to show that they are guilty of greater condemnation for their sins. They have the advantage of being the first to be called to the apostleship. Therefore, for seducing them from the right path they will be subject to greater condemnation. With the intention of presenting the proof in examples, he did not draw a consequence of one type, but combined the example and rewards for the righteous. And he would need to draw a conclusion about what was proposed above, that is, about sinners, because of whom the example is presented, and say: if he did not spare those, then will he really spare the real wicked ones? or affirmatively: much less will he spare these. But the apostle does not do that. Why? Because the conclusion itself opens when two examples are offered, good and evil. What only leads to evil does not yet belong to good. For good is not repaid with evil. So, since it was not enough to finish the sentence with one conclusion, he used a different expression and ended the necessary one with an exclamation. Why does he add examples of good people to examples of bad people? We will talk about this in the appropriate place. As we said above, according to the form of clear speech, the thought does not follow from the sentences, for no conclusion is added, which usually follows such a phrase, but it is simply proven by example that for sins there is punishment, and for truth there is a reward. The Apostle seems to say this: God knows how to inevitably punish without mercy those who live in sins, just as He punished the angels who sinned, the people of the pre-flood, the cities of Sodom. He knows how to reward those who do the truth, as he rewarded Noah and Lot. The flow of speech is as follows: it is said that false teachers will be punished for their blasphemies and for their depraved lives; examples are presented: God did not spare the angels who sinned, nor did he spare the first world. Then those who labored in righteousness are mentioned, and it is said that God, for their chastity, preserved the people of their day from destruction. For Noah was not carried away by the wickedness of the pre-Flood people, and Lot did not in the least imitate the debauchery of the inhabitants of Sodom, and when they demanded uncleanness from the Angels whom he had received in the form of people as strangers, he did not betray them, although he suffered a lot of insults from the crowd advancing on him. This is indicated by the word “weary” (2 Peter 2:7). This is also said about Lot: “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptation” (2 Peter 2:9) and so on. Above, the apostle did not say anything about the righteous; he spoke only about the wicked and their punishment, and mentioned the righteous in examples. This is in order, firstly, to remember the story of the destruction of the wicked and the salvation of the righteous; secondly, in order to, through comparison of them, expose the terrible malice of sinners and the bright perfections of the virtuous; finally, in order to convince his listeners to hate the wickedness of some because of the punishments for it and to love the virtue of others because of its salvific nature. 2 Peter 2:10. and especially those who follow the evil lusts of the flesh, despise authorities, are bold, self-willed and are not afraid to speak evil of those above, Now from the above examples the apostle skillfully came to the main subject. He speaks of the accursed Nicolaitans, Naasans and Cerdonians; for their malice has many names and is considered together, as similar in bad deeds and names. They represented the firstfruits of the existence of the world as the Abyss and Silence and strangely called some of these firstfruits mothers and centuries (αἰώνας); This is also where Marcion took the bad seeds. Then, rejecting the Lord’s participation in the creation of the world and providence, they fearlessly plunged into all carnal uncleanness. Whoever wishes to learn more fully about this, let him pick up the book of Irenaeus of Celtic, compiled about them and inscribed “Against false knowledge”; it describes their sins, especially the most depraved Mark and the women he corrupted, and other abominations committed by others, which, due to their evilness, no one can put in writing or remember. It is not surprising that those who despise and are not afraid of domination will behave fearlessly in the face of all glory. The holy Apostle Jude Thaddeus will speak about this more clearly when he mentions the body of Moses. But Peter only hinted at this, touched on it and finished his speech. But having received a reason from him, we also talk about what is present. 2 Peter 2:11. whereas the Angels, surpassing them in strength and power, do not pronounce a reproachful judgment on them before the Lord. Wanting to keep them from such insolence, he says: whereas the angels, surpassing them in strength and power, do not pronounce a reproachful judgment on them before the Lord. The Apostle, as we noticed, says the same thing with the Apostle Jude; for he, too, holding back the bold tongue, convinces them with the same example. However, he speaks more broadly: “Michael the Archangel, did not dare to pronounce a reproachful judgment” (Jude 1:9). Peter now wants to say something similar, that these evil ones have no mercy in blaspheming the glory, while the angels, superior to these evil ones in strength and strength, do not pronounce against them, that is, the authorities, a reproachful judgment before the Lord. And since the devil is involved in some glory, because he is “the firstfruits of the Lord’s creation” (Job 40:14), the Archangel did not utter a reproachful word against him. If the one more worthy of blasphemy, that is, the devil, as a participant in glory, did not receive blasphemy from Michael before the Lord; then those who hastily blaspheme the authorities are very foolish, while they themselves are far below the dignity of angels. By “principalities” he means the divine powers, or the ecclesiastical authorities, against which they rebel and which they constantly slander. 2 Peter 2:12. They, like dumb animals, led by nature, born to be caught and destroyed, slandering what they do not understand, will be destroyed in their corruption. 2 Peter 2:13. They will receive retribution for their iniquity, for they delight in daily luxury; Some explained it this way: they will be destroyed in their corruption, like dumb animals born naturally, that is, not differing at all from cattle, which are born for one destruction. “Like dumb animals led by nature,” that is, living only by sensuality, and not by mind and rational life. Therefore, they are susceptible to leading a corrupt life, driven and carried away by anger and lust, slandering what they do not know, that is, with their characteristic ignorance, which is why they will be destroyed in the corruption they deserve, receiving retribution for the iniquity that they themselves have prepared for themselves voluntarily. “They place pleasure in everyday luxury,” that is, in the everyday pleasure of the throat they place the true goal, true and beloved prudence and pleasure. However, one should know that the Holy Scripture, when it condemns what is in people by nature, that is, what is inherent in animals, likens them to dumb people. It says, for example: “a man who is honorable and foolish is like animals that perish” (Ps. 48, 13); and also: “Do not be like a horse and a mule” (Ps. 31:9); also: “These are fattened horses” (Jer. 5:8); and also: “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Scripture says this without changing nature, but only admonishing us to refrain from natural inclinations. When it proclaims something saving, it borrows a similarity from the highest, for example: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). And here he does not transform nature, but only commands to do this to the best of his ability. shamers and defilers, they enjoy their deceptions, feasting with you. 2 Peter 2:14. Their eyes are filled with lust and incessant sin; they seduce unsteady souls; their hearts are accustomed to covetousness: they are the sons of the curse. 2 Peter 2:15. Leaving the straight path, they got lost, following in the footsteps of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 2 Peter 2:16. but he was convicted of his lawlessness: the dumb donkey, speaking in a human voice, stopped the prophet’s madness. The order is as follows: shamers and defilers; “their heart is accustomed to covetousness,” that is, skilled in covetousness; sons of curse; feasting with you; having eyes filled with lust and incessant sin; they deceive unsteady souls, which Paul called “women drowning in sins” (2 Tim. 3:6); they, leaving the straight path, followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, and so on; their voices are waterless springs, clouds driven by a storm, and so on. And why will darkness befall them in the next century? Because of their excessive vanity, due to which they deceive with impurities and carnal lusts those who were previously in error and who sincerely left him to return, like a dog, to his vomit. What is inserted explains and confirms their vanity. The meaning is this: they, he says, have nothing characteristic of cleanliness, but stick to a clean society, like stains on clean clothes. When they seduce someone and manage to make the husbands and wives caught in their net unclean, they consider this deed a pleasure, complementing their corruption. Even when they feast with you, they do so not out of love and communication with others, but because they find this time convenient for seducing women. For they, having eyes, look at nothing other than lust, and constantly having this in mind and sinning, like sons of the curse, they deceive unsteady souls. For their hearts were not accustomed to anything other than covetousness, that is, to debauchery or to self-interest, and through both, abandoning the path that could lead them to salvation, they went astray from it and were subjected to the same thing as Balaam, the son of Bozor, because he, out of love for gifts, also loved unrighteous rewards. But he was convicted of his iniquity. “The dumb donkey, speaking with a human voice, stopped the madness of the prophet” (2 Peter 2:16). From here we learn that Balaam, having once received a prohibition from God to go to Balak, was again prompted to do so by his arrogant passion, which he fed with his frantic sorcery, but, curbed by the fear of God and the terrible signs that happened along the way, he did not change the word of blessing, which was not the work of sorcery. For prophets pronounce their messages with consciousness. That is why the apostle called him a “prophet”, as he was aware of what he was saying. For if he had not been conscious of his words, he could not have chosen what was best. So, his blessing was not a matter of sorcery, but of the power of God. 2 Peter 2:17. These are waterless springs, clouds and mist, driven by a storm: the darkness of eternal darkness is prepared for them. 2 Peter 2:18. For, uttering inflated idle talk, they ensnare those who are barely behind those in error into carnal lusts and depravity. 2 Peter 2:19. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whoever is conquered by someone is his slave. Having inserted many things into the middle of his speech, among other things the example of Balaam, the apostle again begins to talk about unclean Gnostics. Likens them to waterless springs, because they have lost the purity of preaching and the sweet water of life. He compares them to clouds driven by the wind, meaning an opposing wind, which is why he called it a storm, since the storm brings what it drives into complete disorder. They, he says, are not light clouds, like the saints, but dark, full of darkness. He also gives the reason for this, namely that, out of vanity, they utter inflated speeches, attracting through carnal lust into depravity those who completely avoided it, or, if they were once in error, then subsequently submitted themselves to the Lord. They themselves, he says, being slaves of the mentioned uncleanness, which they rightly called corruption, promise freedom to those who are seduced. And why they promise others freedom, while they themselves are slaves of sin, provides an excellent proof of this: whoever is overcome by any passion is its slave. But this will become clearer later. 2 Peter 2:20. For if, having escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome by them, then the latter is worse for them than the first. 2 Peter 2:21. It would be better for them not to know the path of righteousness than, having learned it, to turn back from the holy commandment handed down to them. 2 Peter 2:22. But what happens to them is according to the true proverb: the dog returns to his vomit, and the washed pig goes to wallow in the mud. These words confirm two things: firstly, that the conquered necessarily works for his conqueror, and, secondly, that those who know the truth, but again adhere to the former wickedness, fall into evil, worse than the previous one. He also adds a parable confirming the same thing (Proverbs 26:11). The meaning of the speech is this: if those who, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, have escaped the defilements of the world, are again entangled in them and overcome by them, then they, without a doubt, are enslaved by them, and their situation becomes worse than it was before the knowledge of slavery, for Satan is trying to make them fall into greater evil. That is why the apostle says that in such a future, for those who voluntarily return to evil, it would be better for them not to know the truth, rather than, having known it, to fall into greater evil. Because a dog that returns to its vomit is even more disgusting, just as a pig that seeks to wash itself from dirt, if it does it in the dirt, turns out to be even dirtier than before. You might be interested in: