Q: In 2 Pet, why are there similarities between the books of 2 Peter and Jude? (For example, 2 Pet 2:17 and Jude 13, 2 Pet 2:1-18 and Jde 4-16)
A: They addressed similar topics, and perhaps Jude and Peter discussed these things together. Also, the Holy Spirit burdened them both similarly. It is further possible that Jude had read 2 Peter or that Peter had read Jude.
A deeper issue is, just how was the Bible inspired? Mechanical dictation is the theory that God verbally told the human writers each letter of each word to write down. The Bible does not claim to be mechanically dictated. Rather, God chose the people who would write the Bible, and give gave them the experiences and knowledge. In some but not all cases, God gave them the exact words to use. In all cases, those who hold the Bible to be inerrant believe that no words got in the original manuscripts that God did not intend to be there. See the question on 2 Peter 1:21 for more discussion on the inspiration of the Scriptures.

Q: In 2 Pet, why is the style of 1 Peter and 2 Peter different?
A: Two reasons.
Different subjects: 1 Peter speaks primarily about persevering under pressure as God’s holy people, and 2 Peter warns against false teachers. However, though the subjects of the two letters are different the contents have subtle similarities. For example, in all the Bible only Peter (1 Peter 3:20 and 2 Peter 2:5) count exactly eight souls saved in Noah’s ark.
1 Peter written down by a scribe: 1 Peter 5:12 Peter says he dictated this to a scribe named Silvanus (Silas), who was likely to have more proper Greek grammar. Jerome (c.404 A.D.) first pointed out this issue and answered this as 1 Peter was written down by the scribe Silvanus.
See The Complete Book of Bible Answers p.30 for more info and The Bible Knowledge Commentary : New Testament p.859-861 for more extensive discussions.

Q: In 2 Pet 1:4, since we partake of the divine nature, do we become gods?
A: No. We do not become all-powerful, create angels, rightfully receive worship, or have many other attributes of God. This verse means God gives and continues to sustain in us some aspects of divine nature, such as eternal life, holiness, and being able to dwell with Him. See Hard Sayings of the Bible p.723-724 for more info.

Q: In 2 Pet 1:9, how can people forget they were cleansed from their past sins?
A: How can young children forget they just took a bath and go out and play in the dirt? -They can. Unfortunately, as God’s children, we can be just as foolish.

Q: In 2 Pet 1:10, how can we make our election sure?
A: A person’s election (or non-election) cannot be made any more certain in the eyes of a timeless God. However, it can be made more sure in our eyes.
Since obeying Jesus is a mark of a saved person, if a believer is not living a life obedient to Christ, the mark is (at least for a time) not there, and there is a legitimate question as to whether that person is really saved or not. They might not be going to Heaven, as 2 Peter 2:19-22 show. Or, they might be a disobedient Christian. There is not this ambiguity though for someone who is living obediently in Christ. See Hard Sayings of the Bible p.724-726 for more info.

Q: In 2 Pet 1:11, how is having a rich/abundant welcome compatible with a fiery, painful suffering of Christians in purgatory?
A: It is not very compatible. Purgatory is a Catholic doctrine totally absent from the Bible, and there is no need for us to believe this. See the discussion on 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 for more info.

Q: Does 2 Pet 1:19 imply that some scripture is more certain than other scripture?
A: No. Something that is completely true cannot be made more true. However, additional eyewitnesses can make something more certain in the eyes of people by providing more evidence. Hard Sayings of the Bible p.726-727 also mentions that "made more certain" is not necessarily the best translation, because this is a Greek idiom meaning "We place very firm (or firmer) reliance on…".

Q: In 2 Pet 1:20-21, since scripture is not of private interpretation, why do people seem so eager to privately interpret it?
A: Three points to consider in the answer.
1. Private interpretation should not be confused with individual study. All believers are to individually study God’s word. We need to test what we hear with Scripture as the noble Bereans did in Acts 17:11-12.
2. However, each of us needs the other believers in the church, to learn from and correct each other. As Proverbs 27:17 says, as iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.
3. Those who consciously isolate themselves from other believers sometimes fall prey to rejecting the plain meaning of scripture in favor of exquisitely obtuse meanings that were completely foreign to all the native New Testament Greek-speaking Christians. If your theology requires you to postulate that God apparently failed to succeed in communicating the key meaning to any Christian prior to 400 A.D., perhaps that key interpretation was not so key after all.

Q: Does 2 Pet 1:20-21 show that the church should do all the interpreting?
A: No. Given the past track record of the Catholic Church, here were some of their teachings.
They justified torture, even of genuine Christians.
All intimate relations, even within marriage, is sinful.
Kill those who do not submit to the church.
Pay the church money when you sin (indulgences).
In the Eucharist, the laity should not have the cup, only the clergy.
People should be killed if they are not clergy and own a Bible.
Clergy who get married should be killed.
Clergy who have girlfriends and children should pay a tax, and then it is OK.
2 Peter 1:20-21 speaks about two subjects: prophets and the Holy Spirit. It addressed prophesying, not reading or interpreting the Bible.

Q: In 2 Pet 1:21, exactly how were the writers of the Bible carried along by the Holy Spirit?
A: The word for carried along is used in Acts 27:15,17 of a ship carried by the wind. Here are four points concerning the inspiration of the Bible.
1. Gods Words Through Men
1a. Most revelation is through the ideas and thoughts of men the Lord especially chose. Revelation 1:19 gives one example. None of it was just man’s word, though (2 Peter 1:19-21).
1b. Some revelation was the direct words, such as in John 12:28, Isaiah 6; Exodus 3:4,5, and so forth.
1c. God used the individual style of the human authors in writing. Nothing was written as God’s Word that God did not want written or was not true.
1d. The Bible is not a secret code book. The meanings of words are not whatever modern definitions we feel like giving them, but are the normative meanings understood by the native speakers of the languages at that time.
2. God’s Ability to Communicate to Us
2a. We cannot understand everything about an infinite God who is transcendent and "other" than us. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility to learn and understand what God has revealed to us.
2b. God communicates in ways we understand. He is free to move us with poetry, explain things to us with analogies, and simplify things with anthropomorphic expressions. God can use idioms, like "sunset", and God can use our categories of things, like calling a rabbit by the Hebrew classification of animals that chew the cud.
2c. God’s Word contains both propositional truth and a presentation of Himself. It contains both positive language about what things are true, and negative language about what things are false.
2d. The human writers could refer to non-Biblical sources, such as Jewish history books (Book of Jasher in Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18, etc.), and even Greek poets where they spoke what is true (Acts 17:23,28; Titus 1:12).
See Philosophy of Religion by Norman L. Geisler p.211-291 for more info on God and human language.
3. God’s Word is All True
3a. All scripture is from God, and God’s Word in the original manuscripts. It is all true on which all it speaks. Truth is not contradictory. Scripture does not merely contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God. (Romans 3:1-2; John 10:35; Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 33:4; Psalm 119:151)
3b. Scripture is not only accurate, it has the precision required for us to know God’s meaning. The precision extends even down to tenses and number of words, as in Psalm 82:6 and Matthew 22:32. However, scripture often uses approximations, especially of time and quantity.
3c. God does not lie. However, not telling us everything on a subject is not lying. For example, if at least three women were at Jesus’ tomb in Mark 16:1, Matthew 28:1 is still true in only mentioning two of the women. The New Testament has the exact substance of Jesus' teaching, but not always the exact words. (Matthew 22:37; Matthew 13:22; Mark 12:30; Mark 4:19.)
3d. Scripture is complete, in telling us all we need to know for salvation and for growing in faith. Scripture is not an encyclopedia, nor does it claim to tell us everything about everything.
3e. God allowed some transmittal errors, but His Word stands forever. Isaiah 59:21; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:89. His Word is preserved infallibly (without significant error) up through today. (Isaiah 55:11; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Psalm 119:89,91,144,160)
4. Our Response
4a. We should cherish and love Scripture as precious to us (Psalm 56:10; Psalm 119:72,97,105,120). We are not to worship scripture, but praise God who gave us Scripture. (Psalm 119:12). We should delight in God’s law (Psalm 119:16,35,47) and "tremble" at God’s word (Isaiah 66:5). Our hope is in God’s word (Psalm 119:74,81).
4b. We realize that we are saved by Jesus, not by studying Scripture. John 5:39-40; James 1:22-25; 1 Corinthians 13:2
4c. Value Scripture (Acts 13:48; Colossians 3:16) for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and for help in temptation (Psalm 119:10).
4d. We should diligently read and study Scripture (Acts 17:11; Revelation 1:3). We should interpret it. Not twist or misinterpret it (2 Peter 3:16). We must not add to or go beyond God’s Word (Proverbs 30:5-6; 1 Corinthians 4:6-7; Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19; Ecclesiastes 12:12; Mark 7:13)
4e. Some Old Testament commands have been fulfilled and are not to be done, such as eating pork, sacrifices, etc.. (Acts 10:9-16; 15:1,5-29; Mark 7:19; Galatians 5:2-4; Hebrews 9:9-10; 10:18)
4f. Scripture is not just suggestions for life, but it is authoritative in our lives (Psalm 119:33-34; John 8:37; John 12:48-50; John 14:23). We should believe all God teaches and obey all of God’s commands. (John 14:23-24)
For Mormon readers, this differs from Mormon teaching on the inspiration of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith allegedly supernaturally translated the Book of Mormon word and word and letter by letter, by looking at a seerstone in a black hat.
For Muslim readers, a Christian’s view of the inspiration of the Bible differs from a Muslim’s view of the inspiration of the Qur’an. Most Muslims believe the Qur’an on earth is an exact, "mechanical dictation" copy of a Qur’an on tablets in Heaven.
See the discussion on the Bible for the difference between inerrancy and hyper-literalness. See The Complete Book of Bible Answers p.16 for more info and seven incorrect views and why they are wrong. For a very extensive discussion, see Christian Theology by Millard Erickson p.175-259.
;Ps119:74,81,89, 92,105

Q: In 2 Pet 2:1, who is the "Lord" who bought them?
A: The Greek word despotes is only found ten times in the Bible. Five times is to the Master of a house, three times to God the Father (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24 (despota); Revelation 6:10) and one to Jesus Christ in Jude 4, where it says "only Master [God] and Lord of us, Jesus Christ denying."
Hyper-Calvinists (such as John Gill), and some other Calvinists stress that "Lord" here is not just Christ, but either the Father or the Triune God. This does not refer to any atoning work, but God’s "buying" the Israelites in the Exodus through the drowning of the Egyptian army. Clark is one commentator who has this view.
Non-Calvinists, and some other Calvinists (such as the New Geneva Study Bible), says that "Lord" here, refers to Christ, as it does in Jude 4. The commentator Blum says this is Christ because of the identity of the "them", and the noun "the people" is too distant compared to the preceding noun "the false teachers. The commentator Edmond Hiebert in Second Peter and Jude says it is Christ. The commentator Alford in The Greek New Testament, declares "no assertion of universal redemption can be plainer than this."
The Calvinist New Geneva Study Bible p.1981, has an interesting view that is the exact opposite of Alford’s. It accepts that this refers to Christ, but says that "Peter’s concern here is to highlight the responsibility of the false teachers rather than to advance a theory of the Atonement. With their claim to be redeemed by Christ, their ‘destructive ways’ (v.2) bring particular dishonor on Christ and His sacrifice for sin."
Regardless, all have to admit, that at least in some respect, God "purchased" some of the reprobate for Himself. So the question is not if God in any way purchases the reprobate, but rather how.

Q: In 2 Pet 2:2, since some people are trying to find the truth, why would God allow the way of truth to be blasphemed?
A: God gives us enough freedom to be able to abuse it and hurt ourselves. God even gives us enough freedom to hurt others, too.
1. At least some of God’s truth can always be found (Romans 1:19-20; Psalm 19:1-3)
2. God is eager to reveal more truth to those who seek Him (Matthew 7:11; Romans 2:7)
3. God is just, and He judges people based on what they know. (Romans 4:15; 5:13, Deuteronomy 1:39)
4. However, for those who do not seek God, God is not reluctant to permit them to believe a lie and be confused in utter foolishness (Romans 11:8-10)

Q: In 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 6, are fallen angels bound, or are they free as Rev 16:14 and other verses say?
A: Three points to consider in the answer.
1. Some demons are bound.
2. Others are free, as Matthew 12:22; 17:14-18; and Acts 16:16-18 show.
3. Some demons were free, but were afraid of being bound by Jesus’ words in Luke 8:28-32.
See When Critics Ask p.538 and Milliard J. Erickson’s Christian Theology p.447 for more info.

Q: In 2 Pet 2:5, since God only saved eight "souls" in the ark, what about sea-animals that have "souls" in Rev 16:3?
A: While the Greek word is the same, the context is different. In 2 Peter 2:5, the context is human souls. The Greek word can also mean life, as in Revelation 16:3. So only humans have human souls that need saving as in 2 Peter 2:5, but animals have life too, as in Revelation 16:3.

Q: In 2 Pet 2:8, how could Lot be a righteous man, given what he did in Gen 19:30-38?
A: Three points to consider in the answer.
1. Lot was tricked into committing incest by too much drink after just losing his wife.
2. The continued suggestion and temptation of the unrighteous can drag down even a righteous man.
3. Lot’s sin was after the events 2 Peter 2:7-8 was referring to.

Q: In 2 Pet 2:9, since Lot committed incest, how was Lot an example of how God delivered the godly from temptation?
A: Lot is a useful example of both what God does do and what God does not do. Lot lived a godly life. God delivered every individual in his family, except that Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. However, Lot’s daughters, after Lot had too much to drink, committed incest with him. God delivered Lot, but God never took away Lot’s responsibility to watch his life and strive for godliness.
Another unfortunate example of a godly man, God’s great deliverance, and the man’s later falling away was Gideon in Judges 8:24-28.

Q: In 2 Pet 2:16, how could a true prophet of God like Balaam son of Beor, be mad?
A: Balaam was not mad in the sense of insane, but Balaam was mad in the sense of doing foolish things and trying to push the limits of what God allowed in order to make some money. It is madness to try to push the outer limits of God’s will for the sake of money, pleasure, or security, but people still do it today.

Q: Does 2 Pet 2:19-22 teach people can lose their salvation?
A: The Greek word for knowing here means "recognition" or "acknowledgement". Some Christians use this to show that believers can lose their salvation. Other Christians disagree, because sows and dogs represent unclean animals. Notice that the sow was only washed on the outside, and both the sow and the dog were never changed from being a sow and a dog.
All Christians can agree that there are those in the church who appear to others, at least for a time, to be Christian, but they will go to Hell when they die. 1001 Bible Questions Answered p.87 points out this is a warning for those who know the way of salvation and still reject it. See also the discussion on Hebrews 6:4-8.
Hard Sayings of the Bible p.729-730 discusses how people can become apostate and be worse off and go to Hell, and those people were "converted", though it does not say they were born again.

Q: In 2 Pet 2:19-22, playing devil’s advocate here, if a pig is promiscuous, or a dog kills other dogs, and that does not offend God, then why does it offend God when humans do the same?"
A: Even a pig or dog does not forget what he is, but some humans apparently forget they were made for something better than to just live like an animal.

Q: Does 2 Pet 3:4-7 refer to uniformitarianism?
A: Perhaps so. Uniformitarianism is the popular secular geological viewpoint that current processes plus time are all that is needed to explain all past events in the earth’s history.
However, the Uniformitarianism is losing ground today. More and more geologists are adopting a different view, advocated by Stephen Jay Gould, called punctuated equilibrium, because geologic evidence provides better supports. While Gould was a confirmed atheist, some of the evidence that supports punctuated equilibrium over uniformitarianism also supports Creationism (either Old earth or Young earth).
As an aside, people have been known to say everything is the same and miss big events. For example, in the diary of England’s King George III he wrote for July 4, 1776: "Nothing of importance happened today."

Q: In 2 Pet 3:7, does "destruction" or "perdition" mean that unbelievers are annihilated?
A: No. See the discussion on 2 Thessalonians 1:9 for the answer.

Q: In 2 Pet 3:8, what does the 1,000 years mean?
A: Genuine Christians disagree on this.
1. Some think it of it almost as an equation: 1 day in Genesis = 1,000 or our years. The Epistle of Barnabas (100 A.D.) chapter 15 p.146 says, "Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, ‘He finished in six days.’ This implies that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifies, saying, "Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years." Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. And He rested on the seventh day."
2. Others see the word "like" and the fact that both 1 is like 1,000 and 1,000 is like one to merely mean that what God calls one of His days can be very long or very short compared to our time. One example where the Hebrew word yom means more than 24 hours is when they were predicted to cross the Jordan River in Deuteronomy 7:1. Also, in both the Old and New Testaments, the "Day of the Lord" is more than a 24 hour period.

Q: In 2 Pet 3:11-12, how can believers appear to "speed up" the coming of Christ?
A: Christians have been told to pray for God’s Kingdom to come since Jesus gave the Lord’s prayer, (also called the "Our Father" by some). Jesus did not tell us to pray this "just for fun", but our prayers do work.
It is awesome to think that the Almighty God has chosen our prayer as one type of instrument that He uses to accomplish His will.
Also, since 2 Peter 3:9 says that God deliberately delays so that none will perish that would otherwise be saved, our telling the whole world about the good news of Jesus Christ is also a way to speed the coming of Christ.
See Hard Sayings of the Bible p.731-732 for more info.

Q: In 2 Pet 3:16-17 (RSV), is the warning against "losing their own stability" or is it against "ignorant and unstable people … to their own destruction" as other translations say?
A: The Greek word is 684 apuleian. The NRSV, KJV, NKJV, NIV, Wuest, Jay P. Green’s literal translation, Revised Standard Version - Catholic edition, and NASB all say the latter. Among paraphrases, the Good New for Modern Man says destruction, and the International Children’s Bible says "destroying themselves." Williams Translation has "ignorant and unsteady." The RSV is apparently unique in giving this translation to these words.

Q: In 2 Pet 3:16, what are some examples of twisting Scripture?
A: Here are a few examples of obvious scripture twisting.
Rev. Moon, who denies Christ literally appearing in the clouds, interprets all such references as clouds being groups of people, since Hebrews 12:1 saying we [not Jesus] are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses [not just cloud].
Jehovah’s Witnesses, who deny consciousness after death, interpret in Luke 16:19-31, the suffering of rich man who ignored Lazarus, merely as "the Pharisee class feeling shamed by the faithful servant class".
Mormons, who believe that God is a glorified man, sometimes interpret Numbers 23:19: "God is not a man that He should lie" (KJV) as "God is not the kind of man that He should lie.
These three interpretations, strange as they are, are very "logical". The logic is thus: Since the plain meaning of God’s word goes against their theology, they must substitute another meaning for the plain meaning.
Some symptoms of scripture twisting are
1) If you require the verse to have a "deeper meaning" that goes contrary to the plain meaning everyone would understand that the author intended. If this was tolerated, then every verse that commands or says something a person does not like, just might have an alleged "real meaning" contrary to what God plainly is saying.
2) You are required to say that the Greek or Hebrew has a particular meaning that no native speaker of Greek or Hebrew would recognize.
3) If the meaning you want to give a scripture goes against other scriptures and the general tone of the rest of the Bible.
4) if you are more concerned with explaining away a scripture than explaining a scripture. In contrast, it is better if your theology not only explains [away] a scripture, but requires the truth of that scripture.
5) In the extreme, your interpretation means that God kept hidden from every believer for almost 2,000 years a special, secret meaning that he has now revealed to you.
Even genuine Christians unknowingly can twist Scripture on occasion.
James Sire has an excellent book on this subject called simply, Scripture Twisting (IVP).

Q: In 2 Pet 3:17, how can genuine believers be carried away by the error of lawless men?
A: It is sad to say, but it can happen. I personally know a Christian who converted to Mormonism. He later left and returned to Christianity. I read the story of a woman who left Christianity and converted to Islam. After 15 years in Islam, she said "Yesterday I came to the realization that I've been trying to ignore, mostly out of pride. I've always been a Christian, even though I converted to Islam. There’s always been a part of me that just couldn't believe as other Muslims did. A little voice that said: "would God want people stoned to
death?", "would God want women singled out to wear a head covering?", "if Islam is better, why do they treat each other so badly?". Yesterday, I felt
a longing for the redemption and real compassion of Christianity.
So 2 Peter is giving genuine believers a strict warning to be on our guard; it can happen to us. Falling from their secure position can refer not only to loss of reward, but also loss of assurance of salvation. However, if we have an enduring faith, we will return back to God.
 

Q: In 2 Pet 3:18, since grace was already given to us in Jesus at the cross, how can we grow in grace?
A: We can grow in grace in multiple ways, and here are a few of them.
1. God’s grace can reach more and more people in our area (2 Corinthians 4:15)
2. Each can grow in our knowledge and trusting of God’s grace. In 2 Timothy 2:1, Timothy is to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
3. Each can grow in showing forth God’s grace in our lives. Our monetary gifts are acts of grace (2 Corinthians 8:6), and we are to work out the salvation within us in Philippians 2:12-13.
4. We will receive the incomparable riches of God’s grace according to Ephesians 2:6-7.

Q: When was 2 Pet written?
A: Since 2 Peter 1:13-15 says that God showed Peter that his death was near, the simplest explanation is that it was written shortly before his death in 67-68 A.D. The Bible Knowledge Commentary : New Testament gives the following support:
Methodius of Olympus 3rd century quotes 2 Peter 3:8 as from Peter in On the Resurrection.
Firmilian refers to Peter’s warning against false teachers.
For a non-Christian view, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (p.1165) says "it is possible that 2 Peter, like 1 Peter and James, may date to the Domitianic persecution" (started 90 A.D.) Various commentators say this because,
a. It mentions Paul’s epistles as though they were already collected, or at least written.
b. It has a focus indicating Christians were under persecution.
c. 2 Peter is similar to Jude, so perhaps the two were written close in time to each other.
However, since Paul’s letters were written before Peter’s death, very heavy persecution started three to four years before Peter’s death, and Jude could easily have been written before Peter’s death, there is no problem here saying 2 Peter was written before 67-68 A.D. See also the discussion on when 1 Peter was written.

Q: In 2 Pet, how do we know the book of 2 Peter was written by Peter, especially since the style and Greek of 1 Peter and 2 Peter are different?
A: There are at least three reasons.
1. 2 Peter 1:1 says so, and the early church never questioned this.
2. The style (but not Greek grammar) of the two is different because they topics are different. As Gleason Archer (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties p.425-426) points out, comparing word lists no more proves they are of different authors than word lists would "prove" John Milton’s poems were by a different person than Paradise Lost, and everyone acknowledges that Milton wrote all of them.
3. The Greek grammar of 2 Peter is rougher, because, as 1 Peter 5:12 says, Silas helped Peter write down 1 Peter.