2 Peter Chapter 1 – Solitary Man

2 Peter Chapter 1

20241208
Solitary Man
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Pe 1:1 Simon (Symeon) Peter (pet-ros – a piece of rock), a servant (dou-los – bondslave) and an apostle (ap-os-to-los – delegate, ambassador, commissioner, a sent one) of Jesus Christ (khris-tos – the anointed one), to them that have obtained (lang-kan-o – to determine by lot) like precious (ee-sot-ee-mos – of equal value or honor) faith (pis-tis – persuasion, moral conviction, assurance, constancy, fidelity) with us through (en – the instrumentality of (medially or constructively)) the righteousness (equity of character or act, justification) of God (theos – supreme divinity) and our Saviour (so-tare – deliverer) Jesus Christ:

First off, since this is my first New Testament commentary, please forgive me if I tend to over expand the text as I become familiar with the original Greek, as I desire to establish a certain baseline of common Greek words used, as I think it will help us to examine some alternate meanings of some of the most common words. For example, we see above that servant is also bondslave. Christ is the anointed one. Faith means a moral conviction, and consistency in belief. Saviour means deliverer, and so on.

In the introduction, we have already established that this is the second letter that Peter is writing to the same group of believers, as will be proven in 2 Pt 3:1. These believers, which were scattered over five regions (see 1 Pt 1:1), had experienced intense persecution for the faith. In the first epistle, Peter wrote a treatise on the doctrine of suffering. In our modern western church, this doctrine has all but been ignored, due to the extraordinary wealth and security we have experienced in the past several generations. However it has become abundantly evident to all but the most blind that this golden era has now been brought to an abrupt end, especially since 2020, so 1 Peter will need to be revived as an instruction manual and a guide as to how to conduct ourselves when we are faced with the rise of the wicked not only in our own lands, but in the entire planet thereof. We are being called to radically reevaluate the basic doctrines and tenets of the faith in this generation in the west, and if we do not quickly change course, then we are all in danger of suffering shipwreck, even as Paul warned us so long ago.

1Ti_1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

As genuine persecution rises and increases in our midst, the lessons of 1 Peter will need to be embraced. But perhaps even more so, given the current state of scandal in the body of Christ that has exploded onto the scene here at the end of 2024, the lessons of 2 Peter may be even more crucial in this hour. After we study the exhortations and the reminders of some fundamental truths in chapter one, the last two chapters are almost completely devoted to the extreme danger that false teachers pose to the faithful. Never before have I noticed wrong thinking, wrong beliefs, wrong doctrines, and wrong conclusions being spoken of by virtually everyone of good will and sincere motives on the internet as I do today. It seems that almost each and every one who has been given some task to standing up for some aspect of truth and righteousness, whether inside the body of Christ or outside, has some beliefs that run absolutely contrary to the truth revealed in God’s holy word. Whether it’s a hatred of all things Jewish, or various forms of the prosperity gospel heresy, or the lack of understanding of what the true fear of the Lord really means, or of God’s role in the calamities falling upon the planet, or the twisted teachings in the church that are meant to steal every last dime and dollar out of the sheep’s pockets, false doctrines and wicked teachers have overrun the church today. We need look no further than the whole Daystar debacle. It does not take any discernment by any genuine disciple of our Lord that God would condone the obscene lifestyle of these preachers of prosperity. When God exposes the truth behind apostates such as these, our spirits naturally recoil in revulsion at the obvious wickedness that is being put on display for the entire world to see, to the church’s everlasting shame. And if you are one of those unfortunates who have been caught up in these abominable doctrines (even as I was many years ago) and still do not see the utter depravity on display, then I pray that God has drawn you here to show you the truth of these things, and you will be set free by the lies of these wicked ones. However, enough said about that, as we will deal with these things comprehensively once we reach chapter two.

Let us now return to the text. The first thing we notice is that the apostle uses his given name (Simon), and the name Jesus gave him at his conversion (Peter). Simon here is actually Simeon, which was his true Hebrew name, and was used by James at the Jerusalem council, when he spoke of Peter in Act 15:14. It is the exact same word used for the tribe of Simeon in Rev 7:7. Peter, or Pet-ros (a piece of rock), was equivalent to Ce-phas (a rock) in the Syriac. Jesus wanted Peter to have a name that would express Jesus’ confidence in him. Although Peter did deny Christ three times, he was being named according to what God intended to do in his life. Rather than being one who, in his own strength, would be tossed and turned with every wind and wave of circumstance, stalwart one moment and vacillating the next, by the time Christ was finished working a work in him, he would become as constant and unmoving in his faith as a rock. We all need to take heart at the naming of Simon, because if Christ turned an impulsive denier into a rock of constancy, who would end up enduring a most humiliating and painful death, then he will also complete the good work that he has began in each and every one of us.

We see that Peter, like Paul, considered himself a bondslave of Christ. Not a brother, nor a joint heir, nor a buddy or a friend, or someone that he was equal partners with, but first and foremost, he was Christ’s slave. When we watch the behavior of mega ministers and the arrogance with which they conduct themselves, do we see any evidence that they consider themselves slaves of Christ? Or do we see the opposite – that God is being treated as their slave? Naming and proclaiming, demanding this and that in their outrageous utterances that they call prayers, there is none of the humility that Christ expects and demands of all of his disciples. Now we may be joint heirs and other wonderful things, but let us first and foremost consider ourselves to be Christ’s bondslaves, by following the example of Peter himself.

Only after he acknowledges his servitude does he then identify himself as an apostle, or sent one. An apostle is an ambassador, a delegate or an official representative of a king and his kingdom. As an apostle is uniquely singled out, called, and gifted, to take up this task in a special fashion, so we all are called as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven wherever God chooses to send us. While very few are graced (or burdened) with the responsibility of being an apostle, yet all of us are called to be ambassadors for Christ.

Let’s take a moment to deal with the nonsensical view of cessationism. While cessationists are some of the fiercest critics of aberrant charismatic behavior, they are equally guilty of falling into the ditch on the other side of the road. We are all familiar with this scripture:

Eph_4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

God gave the church the five fold ministry. Cessationists claim the first 2 of 5 ceased with the apostles. And how did they come to this conclusion? Out of thin air? Exactly! Since the first 2 were gifted with more supernatural power than the others, and since the supernatural absolutely terrifies the average cessationist, they arbitrarily decided to lop off those first 2 scary ministries. They say it all ended with the 12 apostles. Yet a cursory reading of the new testament lists several more apostles than the 12, of which I will not go into detail here. There are also prophets listed in the book of Acts by name. Miracles will be worked by the 2 witnesses in the book of Revelation, at the very end of time, so in what way did miracles cease after the original 12 apostles died? And do they then claim that they will start up once again in the tribulation? Now I know that no cessationist would be reading any of my writings so I will stop preaching to the choir here. I just find it amusing that these fundamentalists have the arrogance to tell God what he can and cannot do! Imagine! Telling God that he cannot perform any more miracles, because their seminary says that he can’t! What boldness! However, I go no further, as I do not want to do what they continually engage in. That is, they love to call out by name the false teachers of other streams in the body of Christ. I don’t believe that is wise. I do not call them out by name, as it is up those within that group to police themselves. I call out the charismatic/independent ministers by name, on occasion, if so warranted, since I identify with them more than any other. Because charismatics have failed to police ourselves, God has sent others to expose us. It is time we owned up to the lunatics and immoral in our own ranks and call them out, even as Peter called out the wicked in his own generation. Note that he is warning the flock that God had entrusted to him. He wasn’t sending this letter to Paul’s churches, or any others, though we certainly may benefit by applying what we read herein to our own selves.

I want to briefly touch on the topic of policing our own selves, and not others. Last night I happened to watch a video by a self professed cessationist, whose mission in life seems to be hurling every imprecation imaginable at every single charismatic figure of note. I soon became troubled in my spirit. Then I felt Jesus speaking to me and saying ‘watch and learn’. I would come away with several lessons to ponder.

First, this man was clearly over the top in his rebukes and condemnations. He exhibited no humility, no grace, and no wisdom whatsoever. If ever one wanted to witness the spirit of Pharisee-ism in action, well, this was it. The man even mocked anyone who claimed they heard the ‘still small voice’ of God speaking to them! Obviously he believed no such thing, and never experienced the precious voice of the Holy Spirit in his life. That kind of said it all right there. Instead of getting angry, I started to feel sorry for him. To be brought up in a tradition where you are taught that God never speaks to anyone anymore – how sad is that! What Jesus impressed on my heart was that, while the prophetic word should always contain the full convicting power of the Holy Spirit, keep watch over your own spirit, and do not let righteous indignation consume you and spill over into a purely emotional appeal. Search your own soul, and ensure that it does not contain any prejudice that this poor soul obviously had towards charismatics, as satan is looking for the tiniest chink on our armor. We are not to be ignorant of his devices.

Second, he was not fishing in his own waters. There are just as many scandals occurring in fundamentalist circles as in any other, yet he exclusively spoke against the charismatic stream, of which he knows and understands nothing. This can be a dangerous thing to do, as do you really know enough of this group to not end up making a false witness?

Third, he went out of his way to find the most damning clips, taken out of context, to make each and every individual seem deranged and unstable. Not that exposing wickedness is wrong, but are you sure that what you are showing is the truth, something that is part of a consistent pattern, or are you finding some exception to the rule, something that was spoken on a bad day, and was completely out of character? God extends much grace to us. Let us ensure that there is a pattern of behavior before we speak.

Now that does not mean that one who is being accused of abusing a minor, for instance, should be covered up until we find multiple complaints! To those closest to the person, it is up to them to undertake a full investigation. I am simply speaking about being too quick to condemn a particular brother before all the facts are in.

Third, he condemned some because they were once seen at a meeting with a known false teacher. Guilt by association. While that may be a telling sign, in and of itself it is not enough to condemn. Perhaps he didn’t know who else was going to be there. Perhaps he never knew the other teacher like we supposedly know them. This, by itself, is never enough to call someone out.

Fourth, showing the methodology of a false prophet, and then implying the person in question must be prophesying with the same deceptive tactics, without providing specific proof. You show the evil, and by putting that picture in your audience’s mind, you then imply the object of your attack is doing the same thing, without specific proof. This is the lowest kind of journalism. This is what the mainstream media does all the time. Do not copy the ways of Babylon.

I know that this is all off topic, but I felt this needed to be said. Especially since we seem to be in a season of exposure of the tares within the church. I remember when the church went through a similar period back in the scandals of the 80’s. It seemed that one followed on the heels of another. That is when the term televangelist got the rotten reputation that it enjoys today. How shameful that a Christian ministerial label is now synonymous with greed, fraud, and hucksterism. Something about a television ministry that seems to bring out the worst in these people. Perhaps it’s the easy reach of the multitudes, offering up such a large potential donor base! When you have a local church, your donors are the members. A television ministry expands that reach. Put the network on world wide satellite, and the potential donors go through the roof! Now that all ministers are able to reach a world wide audience via the internet, the same temptation exists. Don’t worry about expanding your subscriber base, urging people to comment and to hit the ‘like’ button. Self promotion is the surest way to falling off the narrow path.

‘To them that have obtained (lang-kan-o – to determine by lot)’. We see that even though Peter is writing to the same group of believers as in the first letter, here he wants it to be made known that what is written here can be read profitably by all believers.

The Greek word used here is strange. It is found in only 3 other places:

Lk 1:9 – Zechariah’s lot came up to burn incense in the temple

Jn 19:24 – where the soldiers cast lots for Jesus garment

Ac 1:17 – the disciples speaking of Judas who had obtained (as if by lot) part of this ministry.

Now I don’t think that Peter is saying that God was in heaven rolling a pair of dice to determine who would receive this like precious faith and who would not! Perhaps it is to communicate the idea that from an earthly point of view, God’s ways are so mysterious that it looks almost like a game of chance as to who obtains real faith and who does not. Two people may grow up in the same house, and one becomes a strong believer, and one goes rogue. Two people hear the same gospel message, and one is convicted and repents, and the other laughs it off and goes his way. Why is this so? Is God playing dice with our souls? To the ignorant, perhaps it seems that way. To us, the true remnant, we can offer no real answer, except to fall on our faces and be truly grateful that Yahweh has chosen us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).

The notion that God uses the casting of lots in his word has troubled some saints. We see this used most often in the Old Testament. This was explained by the fact that since the Holy Spirit was not yet given to all men, God chose this method to clearly communicate his will. However, we also saw it in the book of Acts:

Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Perhaps this was a transitional custom that was used this one final time before the day of Pentecost. It seems similar to the putting out of a fleece by Gideon. Charismatics today like to open their bibles at random, and whatever scripture their eyes fall upon, that is what they believe is the word for their current prayer request!

I have never been comfortable with that practice. While one may point to scriptures such as the one in Acts, we do not see this practice anywhere after Pentecost. I would suggest learning to hear the voice of God for yourself. Certainly he will most often speak through the scripture. But the random opening of the bible is somewhat equivalent to rolling dice, and I believe God has opened up for us a better way.

The same thing goes for those who place too much of an emphasis on some form of numerology. Where the chapter or verse number takes on mystical meaning. You do realize that those were added much later by a single man, and they are there solely to provide ease of common access to specific sentences? There is nothing particularly infallible about the verse numbering.

We all need to hesitate to engage in practices that smack of superstition, or have anything in common with the psychics and diviners of the non Christian world.

It is often said that since Peter wrote this letter himself, and did not use a scribe like he did in the first letter, that the Greek is of an inferior nature. Yet here he uses a word that is found nowhere else in the New Testament (like precious (ee-sot-ee-mos – of equal value or honor)). If he is so ignorant, then where did he pick up such a vocabulary? Surprisingly, we will discover several such unique words in this letter. Perhaps this is a lesson for us not to judge a book by its cover, or believe something just because everyone else believes it.

The point being made here is that Peter is telling his audience that if you truly have received Christ into your heart, then your faith is just like the faith that we have, even though we are the original apostles of the Lord himself! How precious is that faith, that is available to all!

Faith. What a word that has become laden with such misunderstanding and misapplication in our apostate age. In fact, one of the worst heresies of our time is aptly named ‘the word of faith’ movement. Faith has been so abused, that the real meaning of this most precious gift has been all but lost.

Pis-tis – persuasion, moral conviction, assurance, constancy, fidelity. Faith in our minds has been twisted into some sort of substance, like carbon or copper or gold. The more you have of it, the greater the probability that you will be able to conjure the miracle that you want. Faith is spoken of as a commodity, as a resource. If you just had enough of it, you can make cancer disappear. You can grow an arm or a leg back. You can make money appear out of thin air. You can make your promotion at work happen. Any and every sort of thing your heart lusts after can be yours, if only you had enough of this thing called faith!

Now maybe I have exaggerated a little, but haven’t we all heard far too many sermons that presented faith along this line? That it was something to be obtained, in order to get what you really wanted? But what does the Greek imply? The idea of immovability, of constancy. True biblical faith is becoming immovable. You have chosen to cling to the rock, and that rock is Christ, and nothing and no one can make you depart even one inch in any direction! How many of us are really like that? How many others have we witnessed who were truly like that? Or aren’t most of us more the opposite? We will lift up our hands, dance and sing in church, then five minutes after service, yell at our spouse! We amen the promise of God that says that he will never leave or forsake us, right up until we are betrayed by a friend. We ask God to purify us from all sin, but give into our lusts time and time again.

Faith is not a currency that we obtain to get the goods of Babylon that we crave, but a conviction that we now, always, and forever, belong to God, and nothing can ever make us change our mind about that.

How does this faith came? Through the righteousness of God. Not our own, but his. There are various nuances to this phrase, which some commentators of old go to great pains to elaborate, but I will not burden you here. Suffice it to say that it is God’s character, in sending Jesus to be our savior, that has enabled us to acquire this like precious faith, a faith that the apostles also partook of.

By now, you are wondering if you really want to continue reading. If this fellow is going to be so long winded on each and every verse, then dear God, who can abide such interminable scribblings? Do not despair! Since this is my first foray into New Testament commentary, I felt it was pertinent and profitable to delve somewhat into some of the most common terms that we so casually bandy about. Things such as servant, apostle, faith and righteousness. Suffice it to say that now that I have laid a foundation of certain truths that are only spoken of in the New Testament, I will take it upon myself to attempt to conduct myself with greater brevity as we proceed!

2Pe 1:2 Grace (charis – the divine influence upon the heart, gift, favor) and peace (i-rah-nay – quietness, rest, prosperity) be multiplied (increased) unto you through (en – instrumentality (medially or constructively)) the knowledge (ip-ig-no-sis – full discernment, recognition) of God (theos), and of Jesus our Lord (kurios – supreme in authority),

I can see it is going to be a great challenge not to keep delving into every Greek word, as each verse presents us with the opportunity to do so! Grace and peace – such powerful words! We all have been taught that grace means unmerited favor. And that may be so. Strong’s does not say that, but does speak of God’s influence upon the heart of man. Any time that God deigns to touch us in some way, shape, or form, it can be said that the grace of God has been bestowed upon us once again. We all know the verse that states that by grace are ye saved (Eph 2:8). That implies a one time act. Peter here is desiring that all believers receive grace (and peace) over and over again in their lives. Yet if this grace is only via unmerited favor, that would imply something that God bestows in and of itself, without any other factor involved. However here Peter wishes that this grace is increased in your lives through (via the instrumentality of) knowledge. And what knowledge? The knowledge of Yehovah, and of Jesus, who is supreme in authority.

Peter is particularly fixated on the concept of knowledge. The word appears in 1:2. 1:3, 1:5, 1:6, 1:8, 2:20, and 3:18. The word is either ipignosis or gnosis. The Greek implies full discernment, or knowing. Not just an accumulation of facts, but a deep understanding of the purpose and meaning of a thing, so as to be able to use it profitably in one’s life. An early cult called Gnosticism was dedicated to the pursuit of so called hidden knowledge, that would make the adherent privy to the secrets of the universe. Cults always promise the true follower access to hidden knowledge, luring them in with false promises of true enlightenment. Peter does not reject the concept of the pursuit of knowledge, but rather emphasizes it in this first chapter, as one of the essential elements for true spiritual maturity. As we shall see, knowledge must be obtained from the proper source, and that source is the word of God, not some esoteric text or hidden document. Groups such as the Masons today lure the unsuspecting into their trap by appealing to man’s pride in promising them access to the wisdom of the ages. Be very careful of any group that claims to have exclusive access to the true gospel, while denigrating every other group as heretical and false. Yes, we need to expose error, but if we ever get to the place where we think we’re the only ones with all the truth, then we need to run from ourselves!

I like the expanded meanings of peace. Quietness and rest, much more so than prosperity. Prosperity in the Laodicean church age of today in the west has become a tainted word. True biblical prosperity, especially New Testament prosperity, is one of the soul, not the body. America is guilty of many sins. One of the worst is the normalization of the pursuit of excessive material wealth.

I must digress once again over this topic of money. I am utterly sick and tired of even good preachers, who should know better, continually sticking in caveats when they speak of money. Yes, they speak of the dangers of the love of money, and the importance of being generous. But then they always stick in the false idea that God wants to bless each and every one of us with great material wealth, as long as we are generous with it. This is garbage. This is one of the main ideas that will send many western Christians straight to hell when they die.

Those are strong words. But let us take a close look at this. First, we all know this verse:

1Ti_6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

We are told again and again that it’s the love of money, not money itself, that is the root of all evil. That is fine, as far as it goes. If that is all the scripture had to say on the matter, then so be it. But what about this?

Mat_6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Jesus did not say you can’t serve God and the love of money. No, you can’t serve God and money at the same time. That gets a little more uncomfortable, doesn’t it?

Mat_5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Mat_5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Mat_18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Mat_18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

This principle was so important, that not only did Jesus speak of it on more than one occasion, but Matthew felt it important enough to mention it twice. Remember Matthew was a tax collector, so he was intimately familiar with the allure and danger of money. He chose to be one of the most loathed members of Jewish society by becoming a tax collector for the Romans. The only reason you would do this is if money meant more to you than anything else in life. You knew you would be hated by all. You would be despised more than almost any other citizen. But the thought of becoming one of the richer members of your nation was more than enough compensation for you to give up everything else.

Does this not sound like what millions did when they gave into the evil demands that authorities placed on so many during covid? Whether closing your churches, taking government money to not work, enforcing masking and social distancing, implementing deadly hospital protocols, coercing others into taking the jab, all these things were done mainly for money. All you need to look at is the bonuses the bureaucrats received for enforcing these demonic rules upon society. People who you wouldn’t trust with a mop and broom in your house suddenly were receiving 6 figure bonuses for destroying people’s lives. And they loved it so! For the first and only time in their lives, they had power and there was no way they were going to let any of it go!

The first thing we need to do is become completely honest with ourselves. What is the most important thing is most people’s lives? Well, for the young, it is their cell phones! Kidding aside, I don’t think it is a stretch to argue that money is the most important thing. And I am speaking about those in the church. What do all the heretical movements have in common? An obsession with money. They preach and preach and preach about your obligation to tithe and give offerings, about how you are robbing God if you don’t. If the stick doesn’t work, then they pull out the carrot. They tell you how much you will get in return if you give. You can get a 100 fold return, if you give enough. They continually beg for cash, making you feel guilty if you don’t keep their ministry alive, as if it’s your responsibility to pay for whatever the man of God says you need to pay for, and don’t you dare ask any questions about how the money is being spent! Jesus is ending this practice in his church. No more will the sheep give without accountability by the shepherds. If your shepherd refuses to account for how your offerings are being spent, then simply stop giving there! God will not strike you down for choosing to not allow yourself to be robbed by thieves in the pulpit.

Tit 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre (greedy, sordid gain);

2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

1Ti 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

1Ti 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

1Ti 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

1Ti 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1Ti 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

We need to preach on the entire passage above, not just on verse 10. Verse 5 says that these men, who know nothing, suppose that the gaining of material wealth is proof of their godliness. Paul says to cut yourself off from them. Therefore anyone who preaches that their material wealth is a sign of their holiness is a true heretic. Run away. Don’t ruin yourself. If you want to obtain true righteousness, biblical faith, as well as godliness, love, and humility, stay as far away from the temptation of money as you can.

We do not need to go over the story of the rich man, who could not obey Jesus when he told him to sell all that he had and to follow him. That man went away unsaved. He could not make Jesus number one in his life.

In our obscenely wealthy nation, money has the power like nothing else (with the exception of illicit sex, which is also much idolized). Because the ability to obtain wealth has never been more available in any other culture, North Americans are especially vulnerable to its allure. Have we not seen countless ministers and ministries fall because of money? Why do we tolerate ministers making hundred of thousands of dollars in salaries and benefits, much less millions as some do? What justification is there for someone to live in a 20,000 square foot house, much less 4 of them? How can one justify a private jet, much less several of them? Are we insane? Do we actually speak of these cretins, these tares, these disciples of the devil, as if they were our brothers and sisters?

It is one kind of evil when a believer runs a business and becomes a multimillionaire. Unless they are extremely generous, their soul is in great peril, as they will have to give an accounting as stewards as to what they have done with their great wealth. But in their defense, at least they have earned it.

But what about ministers? They obtain their finances not by the sweat of their brow, but because others gave them their money, as gifts to be used to further God’s work! And if they turn around and give themselves exorbitant salaries, buying multi million dollar homes, jets, and even spending over 100,000 on a honeymoon that is a result of an adulterous affair on top of it all, do those people honestly think that they will somehow escape the judgment of God? How have we become so blind?

To all of us in America (and Canada), now is the time to run in abject terror from even the slightest whiff of any sort of prosperity gospel. God is destroying this false church. Do we not recall that twice Jesus drove out the money changers from the temple with a whip? No other time in recorded history did Jesus ever exhibit any form of violence. Think about that. Do you think any of those thieves made heaven? Not without genuine repentance. Even so, none of these obscenely wealthy thieves in the pulpits will enter the kingdom of heaven, unless they too repent.

Grace and peace may be ours, if we can obtain true knowledge of the Father and the Son.

2Pe 1:3 According as his divine (thi-os – godlike) power (doo-nam-is – force, miraculous power, ability, strength) hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life (zoe or dzo-ay) and godliness (yoo-seb-i-ah – piety, holiness), through (en) the knowledge (ip-ig-no-sis) of him that hath called us to glory (dox-ah – dignity, honor, worship) and virtue (ar-et-ay – valor, excellence):

Always it comes back to God. We have no power in ourselves, it is God’s miracle working power in us. We lust after and pursue the physically miraculous, and are missing the miracles that are available if we humbly submit to the molding of our character, as we shall shortly study. God says that he has already given us everything that pertains to the life (zoe) of God, and personal holiness. Instead, we are obsessed with physical healing and trying to get more money to pay our bills and increase our standard of living. That is not God’s priority for us.

For the second time, we see that these true riches of heaven are obtained through knowledge. But knowledge of God, not knowledge about God. We need to come to know him, and know him personally. We need to know why he has ‘rolled the dice’, so to speak, when he chose us. He is calling us to glory and virtue. He calls us not only to honor, but to valor and excellence. Are there any valorous, or brave saints out there, willing to stand up for Jesus, in an increasingly hostile and pagan world?

2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious (costly, esteemed, honorable) promises: that by these ye might be partakers (koinonos, koy-no-nos – sharer, associate, companion, fellowship) of the divine (thi-os) nature (foo-sis – growth by germination, natural production, a genus or sort), having escaped the corruption (fthor-ah – decay, ruin) that is in (en) the world (kos-mos) through (en) lust (ep-ee-thoo-me-ah – forbidden longing).

Cultists and practitioners of false religions have a field day with this verse. The idea of being partakers of the divine nature in no way renders plausibility to the idea of pantheism, the belief that all things are now god, or a part of god. Nor does it mean that we are to be absorbed into God, so that we lose our own individuality, like some sort of hive mind. Buddhists hold to some form of that belief. They strive to lose their individuality through some sort of merger into the divine consciousness. If you come to the scripture with preconceived notions, you will most likely find a way to twist one scripture or another to legitimize your error.

Being a partaker of the divine nature, becoming one with God does not mean that you lose your identity. There will always be a separateness between the creator and the created.

The promises of God are given to us so that we may become like the divine in character, not that we will become gods ourselves. The ‘little god’ heresy is somethings that also crept into the church via word of faith heretics and others. Any time a doctrine exalts man out of his proper place, forgetting the fundamental truth of our innate depravity, that helps to anchor us to reality, we are simply opening ourselves up to pride taking us out of the grace of God and into perdition.

We we shall now discover that the development of godly character should be the all consuming goal of every believer.

2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence (spoo-day – speed, eagerness, earnestness), add (furnish, fully supply, minister) to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

I want to take these three verses together, because they all belong together. We will build a ladder of spiritual maturity by examining each and every rung on this scaffold of moral progression.

First of all, beside the fact(s) above, ie, that the promises are meant for you to become god like in character (partake of the divine nature), there is something required of you to make that a reality in your life. And the first thing is diligence, or eagerness. You must be eager to add to your faith. So one cannot presume to obey these next three verses if one has not obtained a saving faith in Christ that allows you to begin your journey. For a man who has not been truly born again cannot hope in his natural strength to ever be able to transform his inner man, no matter how hard he tries. Oh sure, outwardly you may make remarkable progress, as did many of the Pharisees. But inwardly, without the true working of the Holy Spirit, no true spiritual transformation is possible.

I will now define all these words one after another, to make for easier readability:

faith – pis-tis – persuasion, moral conviction, constancy, assurance, fidelity

virtue – ar-et-ay – manliness, valor, excellence

knowledge – gnosis – knowing, science (facts thereof), the act of obtaining true knowledge

temperance – eng-krat-i-ah – self control (in appetite), masterful, continence

patience – hoop-on-on-ay – hopeful endurance, continuance, waiting

godliness – yoo-seb-i-ah – piety, holiness

brotherly kindness – fil-ad-el-fee-ah – fraternal affection, love of the brethren

charity – ag-ah-pay – love

So, our task is thus: With all zeal, fully supply your faith with virtue. Take your moral conviction and add manliness to it. Obviously you must have conviction of something to begin with. For example, are you convinced that all sexual practice outside marriage is wrong? Even pornography and masturbation? Or do you make allowances for your own weaknesses? Maybe you’ve fought with these things for decades, and cannot seem to find permanent victory. Oh sure, you’ve stayed clean for days, weeks, even months at a time. But somehow the devil finds you at your weakest moment and off you go again! So eventually, in order to live with yourself, you rationalize it by saying that you are not hurting anyone else, no one else is involved, so how bad can it be? You kind of give up and give in, until the next convicting sermon comes your way, then you repent and start the cycle all over again.

These are things almost all Christian men have struggled with, especially in our sex soaked culture. I wish there was a magic wand that one could wave and make it all go permanently away. Here Peter is saying that you must start with a real faith – a genuine moral conviction. Most commentators think that this refers solely to your faith in Christ’s atoning work on the cross for your salvation, and that is certainly the starting point. But you need faith in more than that in order to begin to travel this road laid out by the apostle. You need a moral conviction in the moral law of God. That God’s word on what is right and what is wrong is the final word. No exceptions, no allowances for personal weaknesses, or the particular culture we find ourselves in. No rejecting certain moral laws because society has rejected them. Any breach in this wall will cause us to fall sooner or later.

We also see this faith has constancy and fidelity. That is, it does not change. When you have finally and permanently decided that following Jesus with all your heart is how you want to live your life from now on, then you may go to step one. You are now ready to add virtue.

Virtue is manliness, or manliness as it was once universally understood, before feminism and wokeness destroyed the meaning of the term. Manliness implied courage, bravery, valor. We saw it in the classic representation of the noble knight, who would go and fight to defend a maiden’s honor. To the one who would perform some heroic deed to win his lady, or the kingdom. Our fairy tales and legends are full of stories of valor and virtue of this kind.

When covid hit, 99% of the churches immediately complied to nonsensical, wicked, culture destroying, illegal mandates. And not only that, they took the government’s bribe money to shut their doors, thus becoming accomplices with the cabal and the new world order. Romans chapter 13 was the only scripture in their bibles in that day. 1 Peter 1:5 was nowhere to be found.

Assuming you have now chosen to act like a true man of God, your courage will do you no good if you do not acquire true knowledge, or facts. And not only facts, but a true discernment as to what they really mean. For example, an atheist may be able to explain that Jesus died on a cross to pay for the sins of the world, but unless he accepts Christ in his heart, he has no idea what that really means. So in the same way, you can define the various Greek words for love, but if you have never shown love in your actions to others, then you have no experiential knowledge of those so called facts, rendering them meaningless.

So how do we obtain this knowledge? Verses 2 and 3 have already spoken about this knowledge. We need a true knowledge of the Father and the Son. If we want grace, peace, life and godliness, it only comes through the knowledge of God. And how do we obtain such knowledge? Seminarians and cessational fundamentalists claim its by reading, reading, and memorizing the scriptures. That is okay as far as it goes, but we have all seen believers full of head knowledge and nothing else. They make some of the most lifeless, revelation-less, heartless Christians that one can ever encounter. No, I think this knowledge is something more.

Perhaps Paul gives us a hint:

Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge (gno-sis) of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Php 3:10 That I may know (ghin-oce-ko – to know in an absolute sense, with many applications, to perceive, be sure of) him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Php 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Paul seems to indicate that one needs to leave everything behind, and pursue a relationship with Jesus at all costs. Then, and only then, do you qualify for even the opportunity (not the guarantee) of obtaining this knowledge that Peter is speaking of here.

Php 3:10 speaks of knowing Christ in an absolute sense, one where you truly perceive him in a sure way. Perhaps this has something to do with what every believer has experienced from time to time, where something is made real to our inner man, and we tell our friends that ‘we know that we know that we know’. It is an utter assurance of some thing found in the scripture that only the Spirit of God can make perfectly real to us. Kind of hard to explain, isn’t it?

We also know that many, many Christians have claimed with absolute certainty that God has revealed such and such to them. And many times it is obvious to all but themselves that what they are saying is a fantasy and a nonsense.

I believe that most of the time, this occurs because of one of two things: The person is not totally sold out to doing the will of God. Or they have a poor grasp of the scriptures, especially the Old Testament. Anyone that tells you the Old Testament is not applicable or important to the Christian should never be listened to, as they have no idea what they are talking about.

Hey, no one said this Christian stuff was supposed to be easy!

So what do we have so far? Faith-virtue-knowledge. Now we are supposed to add self control to our revelation knowledge. This is a crucial step that many skip. How many think they have received a word from the Lord and go off half cocked, out of control, not listening to anyone or anything, thinking they now know it all, and no one can tell them otherwise? A self controlled man is one who has mastered his appetites. That is not just the appetite for food and sex, but one who is temperate in all things. That includes not acting rashly or presumptuously. How many of us have been burned by getting ahead of God? He gives us a prophecy, and we immediately presume that it’s going to happen right now! So we take that ‘leap of faith’, and like Wily E. Coyote, find ourself falling off a cliff of our own making!

Closely related to temperance, we find the next rung to be patience. The Greek says this is not simply endurance, but a hopeful endurance. We can be hopeful as we are waiting, if we have truly begun to know our Master and have learned how to hear his voice.

Joh_10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

You will not be able to add patience if you have not first added temperance, or self control.

Now we start getting in sight of the final goal of all Christians, as the next rung to be ascended is godliness, or holiness.

Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers (mim-ay-tace – imitators) of God, as dear children;

Paul, here in this verse, commands his disciples to imitate, or mimic, God. That especially pertains to the character of God, as that is one of the main thrusts of the Ephesian letter. Peter is outlining the intermediate steps in one’s character development that one needs to take in order to be able to obey a verse such as this one found in Eph 5:1. This is why we must do whatever it takes to find the time in our lives to study all of the word of God. Otherwise you may see a verse such as this and assume God is requiring immediate holiness, without any further help as to how to achieve this. Whereas if you were familiar with 2 Peter, you would realize that there is a logical process to climbing the ladder to true spiritual maturity.

So what is true godliness? Is it one who never misses a church service? One who never swears, or never loses his temper? One who scrupulously tithes his mint, dill and cummin seeds? As we examine the last 2 rungs of this ladder, we shall see that it is something of far greater value.

We now get to the final 2 rungs. Two types of love are found here – fil-ad-el-fee-ah (or philadelphia, or phileo) and ag-ah-pay, or agape. I think I remember that the New Testament refers to 4 types of love in the Greek used. Eros, or physical love, is one. I believe the second was stor-ge, or familial love. The second highest form of love is phileo, which is true friendship. If we have progressed on the spiritual ladder thus far, we know that this is a most precious fruit to discover. True friendship is hard to find. I am sure all of us have experienced the betrayal of someone whom we took into our confidence as a true friend, only to have them betray that confidence and embarrass us severely! What a challenge it was to overcome that and truly forgive! The one who never betrays friendship, and walks in true phileo love, must have passed through all the preceding steps first, or eventually circumstance will cause them to fail.

At the top of the ladder is agape. This is no surprise. Perhaps the most unfortunate translation of any word in the entire King James bible is the translation of love as charity, since charity has undergone such a radical transformation in meaning from the time of translation back in the early 1600’s.

Originally, charity meant a Christian love for one’s fellow believers. It always contained an element of action to it. As time elapsed, the actionable part began to dominate and eventually became the entire meaning of the word. Therefore in today’s vernacular, charity stirs up the image of a philanthropic group or organization that one donates to, and they in turn apply those funds to some worthwhile endeavour (at least that is the way it’s supposed to go in theory anyway).

The key here to take away is that the highest form of love always translates to tangible action. It never stops at words alone.

Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

In this familiar passage in James, we see the condemnation of superficial faith. We could also apply this equally to love. If you say you love someone, but refuse to meet their obvious need when you are able, then what use is your profession of love?

Hollywood has corrupted our understanding of love, as they have turned it into a feeling. During a wonderful worship service, or after a particularly convicting sermon, we may blurt out how we love the person next to us in our pew. But five minutes after we leave the church, we curse out the same person who has blocked our car in the parking lot!

I am not one who puts much stock in people who go around telling everyone how much they love them, each and every time they happen to see them. Show me something in your deeds, and that will not only impress me, but God as well.

Let us leave this topic with the words of John, the apostle of love:

1Jn_3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound (and are increasing), they make (designate, signify) you that ye shall neither be barren (inactive, unemployed, useless, idle) nor unfruitful (barren) in the knowledge (ip-og-no-sis – full discernment, recognition, acknowledgement)) of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you make it your life’s priority to pursue climbing this ladder of character development, and ensure that you are always going forward, this signifies that you will not be useless in God’s eyes. God will find work for you to do – you will not be idle. In addition, you are guaranteed to be given opportunities to bear fruit, the result of which means that you will be recognized and acknowledged by the Lord Jesus.

I like the nuance found in this word ip-og-no-sis. Not only is that revelation knowledge, or discerning the truth of things, but that you will recognize Jesus, and Jesus will recognize you. I would like to think the word connotes the idea that this recognition and acknowledgement goes both ways. As you deny yourself, take up your cross, and go to town on climbing that ladder of holiness, where the top rung is agape, then you will truly discover Jesus like never before, and Jesus will notice you and acknowledge you before the Father and all his angels in heaven.

2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh (not near) these things is blind, and cannot see afar off (moo-ope-ad-zo – has shut the eyes), and hath forgotten (lam-ban-o lay-thay – forgotten to get a hold of) that he was purged (kath-ar-is-mos – washed, cleansed, expiated) from his old sins (ham-ar-tee-ah – offences).

I am just 9 verses into this book and already I seriously doubt the fact that Peter was an ignorant fisherman when he wrote this work, or that he did not use another scribe, perhaps a different fellow from his first letter. The reason I say this is that here in this verse we find another 2 words that are only found here in the entire New Testament. Moo-ope-ad-zo (to shut the eyes), and lay-thay (forgetfulness) are only found here. How could a simple fisherman be so proficient in the Greek that no other New Testament writer would resort to vocabulary such as this? Perhaps there is a simple explanation for this, but since I am no classical scholar, I cannot think of one. Instead of wasting time to try and track down an explanation, let us marvel that God can put any word that he desires into any man’s mind, in order to get across to us whatever idea that he desires to communicate. Did he not give the 120 the ability to speak in many known tongues on the day of Pentecost, in order to quickly spread the gospel? It is a foolish thing when any man tries to limit God, and claims that God does not do such and such anymore, because that’s what my denomination taught me.

Peter first tells us that if you are increasing in these moral graces, then you will neither be useless nor unfruitful. However, if you lack these virtues, if you are nowhere near practising them, then you are blind. And what caused this blindness? Your forgetfulness. And what did you forget? That you were saved! That you were once and for all cleansed from your sin. If you really understood what happened to you when Jesus came into your heart, how can you now simply walk away from following him, and dedicating your life to the pursuit of holiness and love? If you have somehow decided that these things are not a priority in your life, then you are blind.

2Pe 1:10 Wherefore (therefore) the rather (to a greater degree), brethren (ad-el-fos), give diligence (spoo-dad-zo – use speed, be earnest) to make your calling (klay-sis – invitation) and election (ek-log-ay – divine selection) sure (beb-ah-yos – stable, in force, stedfast): for if ye do these things, ye shall never (double negative, never never ever) fall (ptah-yo – trip, err, fail of salvation, offend):

Nowhere else does Peter address his audience as brethren, thus making this exhortation all the more personal and emphatic. Instead of forgetting to practise these things, use speed and urgency to climb this ladder. In this way (if you are striving after the character of Christ), you will make your calling and election sure. God may call you, and when he does, it is said that he has elected you to be a part of his kingdom. The evidence of this is that he has revealed his Son unto you, and given you the grace to receive him into your heart. Having been enlightened with the truth and the eternal life of God, you must now exercise your free will in the pursuit of knowing him, even as Paul so eloquently spoke of in Philippians. This ensures your calling, and guarantees that you never have to have the slightest doubt or worry that you will ever, ever, ever fall away. The Greek at the end of the verse is almost like a triple negative, as 2 words are used to convey the idea that it is impossible to lose one’s salvation to the one who commits to ‘climbing this ladder’ of godly character development.

I believe that this is the true doctrine of eternal security. Not that you can never lose your salvation, but that if you continually commit to follow Jesus with your whole heart, then nothing and no one can ever separate you from the Father. You have free will. You never lose it when you accept Christ. Use it to follow him, and you are eternally secure. Choose to listen to the devil, and then choose to walk away from Jesus, and eventually God will respect your awful choice, should you not respond to the continual attempts of your loving Father to woo you back into the fold. You never know when the wooing and the pleading will stop.

If we stop to think about it, how appalling it is to imagine how almost all of us have chosen to gamble our eternal destiny on the hope that there will be enough time for us to choose a different path, when we refused to immediately repent, once we heard the truth.

2Pe 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto (furnished, fully supplied) you abundantly (copiously, richly) into the everlasting kingdom (realm) of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Note exactly what Peter is saying here. He is certainly not preaching the doctrine of eternal security, as proclaimed by the Calvinists. In fact, he is speaking the exact opposite! We see that our eternal security is conditional. How Calvin overlooked passages such as these is a mystery to me. Peter is saying only if you have diligently practised adding virtue upon virtue in your life shall an entrance into the eternal realm be made abundantly available unto you. He did not promise this unconditionally. You have to throw out most of this chapter, if you are a Calvinist.

What is the matter with the church? Why do we refuse to accept and believe the plain meaning of the text? Just because we wish something to be true does not make it so. Who wouldn’t want unconditional eternal security? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we only had to pray one prayer, and heaven was guaranteed? Who wouldn’t choose that reality?

That reality does not exist. Get over it. Please get over it. How many are in the fires of hell today, who assumed that ‘once saved, always saved’, was an infallible fact? Does not even common sense tell you that this doctrine is completely absurd? It makes a mockery of the judgment seat, as one’s decisions in life are of little to no consequence, as long as you once said the sinner’s prayer. Don’t be naive. Don’t be one of the deceived, gambling your eternity away. You will not be able to appeal to Calvin, or your church, or your denomination, to save you in that awful day. Just read the word, and the word alone, and simply embrace what you find there. If you seek him with all your heart, he will lead you to the truth. And if in anything you do happen to err, as long as you continue to seek him in all humility and honesty, he will correct you as you walk with him.

2Pe 1:12 Wherefore (therefore) I will not be negligent (be careless, make light of) to put you always in remembrance (to remind you quietly and regularly) of these things, though ye know (are aware of) them, and be established (are set fast and stedfast) in the present truth (al-ay-thi-a – verity).

Sometimes the congregation gets tired of hearing certain themes being spoken of again and again by their pastor. And indeed, I have found on more than one occasion that I have stopped listening to a certain teacher/pastor after a certain time period, as they have seemed to have exhausted their store of knowledge and continually harp upon a very narrow range of topics. A conscientious pastor and teacher will always strive to feed their flock in a comprehensive fashion. That is, they won’t always serve them the same meal. How can your congregation grow if you are feeding them the same thing over and over and over again?

But on the flip side, we should not chafe against the true man of God that regularly reminds his flock of the most important truths in life. Things such as the pursuit of godly character as our main goal and purpose in life, as Peter reminds us in this chapter. Peter states that he will not be negligent in reminding his audience of this all important doctrine, even though he knows that they have heard it all before. He also knows that they have truly grasped and understood these things, as he states they are established in this topic.

Do you not find that if we have not heard a certain topic preached for some time, that it eventually goes away from our consciousness? I know I have. When I hear a sermon on the importance of evangelization, I realize that I have let that duty slip from my mind. I usually get convicted of my lack of witnessing, regardless of whether I have had genuine opportunities or not. Similarly, I love to hear regular sermons on the judgment of God and the fear of the Lord, as I can never seem to get enough of that truth hammered into my heart in these godless days. I make a conscious effort to listen to testimonies about those whose lives were ruined by the poison death jabs, so my heart can remain tender towards those whose lives were turned upside down over one bad decision. Or how about explicit descriptions of children being continually raped within our own borders, facilitated and paid for by our own governments? Do we not need to keep stirring up our compassion for those so much less fortunate than ourselves?

Let us not be negligent to stir each other up, often in the basic, foundational truths, that so easily flee from our minds as the cares of the world intrude.

2Pe 1:13 Yea, I think (consider) it meet (dik-ah-yos – just, right), as long as I am in (en) this tabernacle (skay-no-mah – temple, as God’s dwelling place), to stir you up (to awake you fully) by putting you in remembrance (en hoop-om-nay-sis – to be the instrument of you recollecting);

Peter reiterates the importance of reminding them of the centrality of pursuing the character of Christ in one’s life. He is starting to take on the pattern of speech as someone older, who tends to repeat themselves a little bit! But Peter knows what is truly important in the Christian’s life, and nothing is more important than character development. He spoke of the precious promises that are ours. He has spoken of partaking of the divine nature. Yet that is not as important as the pursuit of the inner transformation, whose goal is holiness and love.

2Pe 1:14 Knowing (i-do – to see, be aware, perceive) that shortly (impending) I must put off (lay aside) this my tabernacle(skay-no-mah), even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed (made plain) me.

This verse must have been a shock to his flock. Just like Paul, Peter was given a personal revelation by the Lord Jesus that the time for his departure had almost arrived. And what a departure it would be! Imprisoned by Nero, he would be brought out to be crucified. In a show of unsurpassed courage and humility, Peter told his executioner that he was not worthy to die the same humiliating death as his Lord, the one whom he had denied three times. He asked to be crucified upside down, and his wish was granted. The Lord Jesus, who had prophesied that he would deny him 3 times, and who had forgiven him, now gave him the strength to endure this most terrible of deaths.

With God, all things are possible.

Now, I bet that no one has ever preached that truth in this context, have they? When we hear some Laodicean beta male speak those words, it is almost always in relation to getting your personal need met. Some sort of healing, or financial miracle. How about using these great and precious promises not to try and obtain your own desires, but use them for the glory of God instead? Would you be willing to die like Peter died?

I think most of us would like to have some warning (not too much!) of our impending departure, if for no other reason than that we can ensure that we have truly settled up our accounts, and are ready to go meet the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.

Think about what Peter has just told us. He has just revealed that this will be his last message to his beloved flock. And what does he want to talk about? Offerings? Ensure that the building project has enough funds to be completed on time and on budget? Ensuring that his son is named as successor pastor? Or how about asking them to pray for a miracle? Did not God rescue him from jail supernaturally once already? Why not again?

No, he was resigned to the will of God. Can you not see that our lives are entirely in God’s hands? These heathen false prophets, who blither about how God always wants to deliver us, are so bereft of the truth as to be truly laughable, if the topic were not so serious and deadly. In the book of Acts, Peter’s ministry had hardly begun. Therefore God sent an angel to open the prison door. Now, Peter’s road has come to an end. It was time for him to go home. And did God say that all faith filled believers will be taken home without sickness, without sorrow, without violence, without pain? Obviously not! Peter’s path would end in one of the most painful deaths imaginable. And not only him, but think of the literally thousands of believers who would be thrown to the lions in the Roman coliseum over the following first two plus centuries of church history! Would any presumptuous fool dare to claim that if they had just had enough faith, then they would’nt of had to have been eaten alive? That they wouldn’t of had to watch their children being eaten alive, while thousands of spectators laughed and cheered the lions? Can we even imagine what sort of horrible death that must have been? And yet we hear this abominable ‘kingdom now’ and dominionist theology, that states that Christians should be the head and not the tail, and that we should dominate the so called 7 mountains of influence in pagan society. If there ever was a heresy crafted and tailor made for the justification of the obscene wealth and power of the American church, this would have to be it.

How we so casually reject the true word of God for a god of our own choosing, as Jeroboam crafted the 2 golden calves, to represent his own version of Yahweh, in order to cement his own political power, and to give the people what they wanted!

When Peter and Paul knew that their time was up, they did not try to declare it away, or confessed that by Jesus’ stripes they were delivered. Rather, they concerned themselves with their flocks, right to the very end, in order that they would make a good confession before the throne of Christ.

How the western church of this generation needs to somehow recover this selfless spirit that clothed the original apostles of the Lord!

2Pe 1:15 Moreover I will endeavour (make an effort) that ye may be able after my decease (exit, death) to have these things always in remembrance (memory).

Peter is in prison. Jesus has told him he is about to die. And he probably knows that it will not be a very pleasant death, as I am sure Nero was going to make a special example of such a prominent Christian. Remember that Nero burnt down Rome, and blamed Christians, stating that they set the fire in order to bring about the apocalypse, and the return of their king. Many would believe him. He had hundreds of believers crucified, even in his gardens. He would then cover them in pitch, and then light them on fire, their screams providing entertainment for himself and his entourage. Remember these things next time you are tempted to blame God for some ‘unfair’ circumstance that may have fallen your way.

Yet Peter was not asking for prayer for himself. In fact, he asks for nothing for himself. Instead, he states that not only was he doubly determined to remind them of what he considered the most essential aspect of the faith, but that he was preoccupied with making sure that these vital truths would always be at the forefront of their minds.

Perhaps he was thinking of these letters that he wrote. As he would later in this tome identify the known writings of Paul to be treated as scripture, perhaps he hoped his letters would also have a permanently prominent place in his church’s minds (and hearts). Also, he had helped Mark write his gospel, so maybe he was thinking of getting a copy of that document off to them as well. It sounds like Peter had a plan to ensure that the essentials of the faith would be preserved, if he had any say about it.

2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed (imitated, yielded to) cunningly devised (sof-id-zo – sinister sophisms, plausible errors) fables (moo-thos – tales, fictions, myths), when we made known unto you the power (doo-na-mis – miraculous power) and coming (par-oo-see-ah – advent, return of Christ to judge) of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses (ep-op-tace – a looker on) of his majesty (superbness, glory, splendor).

Once again we find another word used only here – ep-op-tace, once again indicating that someone may have been helping Peter write this epistle.

Much tradition and fantastical stories were part and parcel of typical rabbinical teaching that had led the average Jew astray and far from the truth of God’s word for several centuries now. Pagan mystery religions had captivated the minds of the common Roman culture. One could find tales of all sorts of heroes and mystical figures. Each story built upon others.

However, the gospel did no such thing. In contrast to every myth and legend in circulation, the story of Jesus was a bedrock of truth in a world filled with lies and fabrications. The proof of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection could not be gainsaid, nor repudiated. One could either believe or not. Given the fact that there were still many eyewitnesses to the life of Christ, the story of Jesus commended itself in a most compelling fashion.

Peter first refers to the numerous miracles that Jesus performed and that he was an eyewitness to. Next, the theme of Christ’s imminent return was a constant staple of the apostle’s doctrine. He now begins to speak of one particular singular experience that he was privileged to partake in. An experience so unique, so unprecedented, that one would be hard pressed to find its equal in all of history.

2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour (esteem of the highest degree) and glory (dox-ah – dignity, praise, worship), when there came (was brought forth) such a voice to him from the excellent (meg-al-op-rep-ace – befitting greatness or magnificence) glory (dox-ah), This is my beloved (ag-ap-ay-tos – dear) Son (hwee-os), in whom I am well pleased (yoo-dok-eh-o – approve, take pleasure in).

Meg-al-op-rep-ace – another unique word in all of the New Testament.

We now clearly see that Peter is referring to the mount of Transfiguration. What greater personal experience can one claim, if one is wanting to provide proof that Christ was who he says he was? As far as personal experiences go, one would be hard pressed to find a more powerful or compelling testimony. Peter saw Jesus clothed in the glory of God. And not only that, he actually heard the voice of the Father himself, signifying that this indeed was God’s son, confirming the ‘two divine person’ theory that Daniel so clearly described in the ancient of days passage in Dan 7:9-14, where the ancient of days and the son of man are clearly spoken of as 2 distinct personages.

Peter is reminding his flock of this additional proof that, what he taught about Jesus Christ was something that was confirmed in the flesh in such a way as very few men have ever had the privilege of experiencing.

Peter seems to be really anxious that his flock does not forget the gospel message, and the fundamental doctrines of Christ. Yet even with such a singularly spectacular experience to back up his teachings, we will shortly find out that Peter had something even more sure and infallible to rely on.

2Pe 1:18 And this voice (address) which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy (hag-ee-os – the awful thing, consecrated, sacred) mount.

The location of the mount of transfiguration is a seldom known story in and of itself. Rather than dealing with it here, we will delve into that aspect in great detail when we come across the passage that speaks of ‘the angels that sinned’, as there is a can of worms there that deserves special treatment in its own right. Suffice it to say that Peter wants his congregation to know that he heard the literal voice of God. The mountain that they stood on was not holy in and of itself, but at the time, because of the presence of the literal shekinah glory of God that came down from heaven, it was made holy.

2Pe 1:19 We have (possess) also a more sure (beb-ay-os – stable, firm, secure) word (log-os – something said, communication, speech, the divine expression in Christ) of prophecy (prof-ay-tik-os – foreteller, inspired speaker); whereunto (which) ye do well (well morally) that ye take heed (hold it in your mind, apply oneself to, have regard), as unto a light (illuminator) that shineth (lightens) in a dark (obscure) place (location), until the day (a new day) dawn (breaks), and the day star (foce-for-os – light bearing) arise (springs up) in your hearts (kar-dee-ah – can be the thoughts, feelings, or mind):

Foce-for-os – only time in New Testament.

Think about what is being said here. Peter saw Jesus glorified. He even saw Elijah and Moses, after they had passed many centuries ago, something almost no man has ever seen in the flesh. The only other biblical account of a dead man appearing to the living was when God allowed the witch of Endor to bring up Samuel to speak judgment upon Saul.

Yet the written word of prophecy is far superior to even the most amazing personal experience imaginable. You would have to think really hard to find a more profound and convincing personal experience than the mount of transfiguration. After that, who would ever doubt that Jesus was who he said he was? But even after that, Peter is stating that there is something even more sure. And that is the written, infallible word of God.

And why is that? Because thy word, O Lord, is settled forever in heaven (Ps 119:89). We may not always have the proper interpretation, but the word is the word, it is written out for us, exactly as God meant it to be written out. Whereas any and every personal experience is the sole experience of one man. Who knows if he will understand and interpret it correctly, and who knows how, in the passage of time, will that personal experience be altered and twisted out of all proportion, eventually rendering it meaningless. God does not guarantee that our personal experience will be afforded the same level of divine protection as holy writ.

Let us always treat the word of God as absolutely preeminent in our lives, and subject all our experience unto it.

I wish to briefly speak of a certain group that I am somewhat familiar with today. Rather than name names, I wish to describe certain characteristics of this group, in order to communicate a word of caution.

There is a certain stream in the body of Christ that seems to contain several prophets of a particular style and persuasion that have flowed in the same narrow circle over the last few decades. I have listened to several of them and indeed, find a lot of what they say to be edifying, and not heretical. Having said that, I have noticed that they love to refer to their personal spiritual experiences far more than the scriptures themselves. Some claim to see angels or even dead saints on an almost daily basis. Now I don’t know about you, but I find this hard to swallow, as no biblical character saw into the spirit realm with their physical eyes on a daily basis! Now no one is trying to limit God, but I always ask myself to what purpose is God doing something?

I have found that most of these stories of angels and dead saints have very little eternal purpose, as far as furthering the kingdom of God. No one is getting saved. No one is drawing closer to the Lord, or putting away sin, or growing in holiness. No, the main purpose of these stories seems to be the showing off of that prophet as some sort of super special saint, in that God is continually letting them see angels, or taking them to heaven, or showing them that dead saints are on earth and laying hands on their bible students as a sign of blessing and approval, etc, etc. Yet how does this benefit or further the kingdom of God? Does it not primarily further the reputation of the prophet himself, as being someone unique, and therefore, more likely to be listened to and obeyed? Does it not draw attention to the man rather than to God? Yet often these ones do speak much sound doctrine. But does it not also make sense that some of the most sophisticated operations of the devil would be for him to allow certain special ones to speak much truth, in order to put the sheep at ease, then slowly and methodically, gradually introduce and increase the level of error until the trap is full sprung? That is what I have found with one of my favorite people in this group. Years ago, his doctrine seemed pure. His experiences were unusual, but not provably heretical.

As time went on, his spiritual encounters became more and more fantastical. But along with that, more and more of his doctrines became suspect. In addition, he seemed to have had no idea that covid was not a real thing. He praised his own government for saving lives by introducing mandatory lockdowns, which any fool knows was an evil tactic by the cabal to help bring about the total enslavement of mankind. It saved no lives, but ended up killing many, through fear, terror, and the subsequent taking up of the poison death shots, and the resulting drug overdoes and suicides that those evil mandates caused in so many traumatized souls. He also claimed that hundreds of pastors died of covid in his home country.

Now we all know that the only way ‘covid’ killed anyone (who wasn’t already on death’s door) was through murderous hospital protocols, and the blaming of covid as the cause of death on anyone who died (no matter the real reason) who tested positive for covid with a fraudulent pcr test. And this man, who was being taken to heaven on a regular occasion to sit on the divine council of God along with Moses, Abraham, John Wesley, and others, had no idea of any of these obvious truths! Zero discernment, even up to today, as he still preaches as if covid was a real thing. And this was not the only area where his discernment was lacking. He tried to claim that God was hearing a muslim man’s prayers and answering them, without revealing Jesus or anything of the truth of the gospel to him, just because he loved him. If we started to believe that, then what is the point of the gospel, if God answers the prayers of those who worship demons, and does not lead them to the truth of the cross?

I wish to share one more example. Kenneth Hagin is famously known as the father of the word of faith movement. For over 50 years, he mainly preached his interpretation of faith and physical healing. He used a very narrow set of passages, his favorite being Mk 11:23. He based his own private interpretation of these texts on his personal spiritual experiences (and because he claimed Jesus appeared to him and told him the correct interpretation directly). Because he claimed that God healed him as a teenager of 5 incurable diseases, and because he stood on the word with an unwavering confession as he continually taught, by calling things which are not as though they were, a whole new movement was born in the body of Christ. One that appealed as an antidote to our worst fears, that of deadly disease, and shameful poverty. As a result of being seduced by one man’s personal spiritual experiences, one of the worst heretical movements in the history of Christianity was born, one that has probably caused millions to be deposited in hell, due to this all encompassing gospel of selfishness and greed.

Strong words? Undoubtedly. Offensive words? Possibly. Yet even the great Peter himself would not leave his flock with the impression that our primary source of confidence in what we believe should be based on anything that even the most eminent apostles had experienced.

My friends, be very careful with those who start preaching half truths. Especially those who base everything on their personal spiritual experience. Take heed to what Peter says. If anyone had a right to appeal to personal experience, it was him. Yet he points us to the more sure word of prophecy.

Although Christ calls himself the bright morning star (Rev 22:16), the day star arising is simply an amplification of the day dawning, noted by a certain star at certain times of the year that heralds the dawning of a new day. Nowhere else in the New Testament is the term day star found. Perhaps it is an allusion to Christ, the bright morning star, arising in our hearts. The sense seems to be that we need to read and meditate on the word of God, especially in this context on the prophetic passages pertaining to Christ, until the revelation breaks forth upon our souls, like the dawning of a new day.

2Pe 1:20 Knowing (ghin-oce-ko – to know in an absolute sense, be sure) this first, that no prophecy (prof-ay-it-ah – prediction) of the scripture (graf-ay) is of any private (id-ee-os – one’s own) interpretation (ep-il-oo-sis – explanation, application.

Ep-il-oo-sis – only time in New Testament.

This verse is almost a backhanded way of saying that you should not even trust me, the esteemed apostle, when I speak of my spiritual experience, as I may have interpreted it wrong, even as no man can claim a sole right to interpret scripture apart from anyone else. Cults are famous for ‘private interpretations of scripture’. That is why the Jehovah Witnesses bible is full of mistranslations, as the creator of that cult simply wrote the bible the way that he desired it to be written, to back up his heresies. Watch out for anyone who claims to have a unique interpretation of the bible.

Now that does not mean that any one specific passage cannot have a nuance revealed to someone for the first time, otherwise how would revelation ever be communicated to the body of Christ? You just have to be very careful of someone who continually interprets scripture in odd ways.

Sometimes it just means that their brains are broken. Christianity does seem to draw an inordinate amount of strange characters into its sphere of influence, does it not?

A good safeguard is to interpret scripture with other scripture. If someone refers to other texts to back up their theory, then they are most likely on a good track.

2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy (prof-ay-it-ah) came not in old time by the will (determination, choice, inclination) of man (an-thro-pos): but holy (hag-ee-os) men (an-thro-pos) of God spake as they were moved by the Holy (hag-ee-os) Ghost (pneuma).

Peter is saying that no man thought up the words of the bible. The Holy Spirit put the words in their minds, and they wrote them out faithfully and unerringly.

Isn’t that what our faith is based on? That God was able to accurately convey his very words through the writings of men? If we should ever abandon this foundational belief, then what do we have left? Personal experience? Every belief system out there has some form of personal experience to draw upon. Only the pure word of God can give us that rock solid assurance that what we believe can be infallibly relied upon until the end of time, and beyond.

If you have made it thus far, then I sincerely congratulate you. I pray that the Holy Spirit has taught you at least one new thing that you may have not been aware of. Let us now get ready to dive into the main course of this letter, and let’s see where the Spirit takes us next!

Solitary Man

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