2Peter 1
1. According to Peter, what is the greatest promise God has made toward humans (verse 4)? Answer
2. What does Peter reveal in verse 10? Answer
3. What is the meaning of verses 13 and 14? Answer
4. What event is Peter discussing in verses 16 to 18? Answer
5. What is the "sure word of prophecy" Peter mentions in verses 19 to 21? Answer
2Peter 2
6. How big was the problem of false teachers among God's people (verse 1)? Answer
7. What does Peter reveal in verses 4 to 8 about God's plan and his righteous judgment? Answer
8. What is striking about those who live their lives to satisfy their human nature and its lustful desires (verses 12 - 19)? Answer
9. What sobering point is being asserted by Peter in verses 20 - 22? Answer
2Peter 3
10. What does Peter in verses 3 to 4 reveal about End Time attitudes? Answer
11. What does verse 7 tell us about God's plan? Answer
12. What is the meaning of what Peter wrote in verse 8? Answer
13. What is the time frame discussed in verses 10 to 13? Answer
14. What does Peter admit about Apostle Paul's writings (verses 15 - 16)? Answer
2Peter 1 Answers
1. Peter writes that the greatest promise God has made toward humans is to make us partakers of his divine nature (2Peter 1:4)! What does this mean? It first means God, for those who repent and receive His spirit, will train their character to be more like His during a physical life of trials and testing.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:13).
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Then, for those who are faithful to the end, Peter says God will resurrect them into a new immortal spiritual body and seal their character to be righteous forever!
[Life of Apostle Peter Timeline]
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1John 5:11).
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48, see also John 17:23, Hebrews 11:40, 1Peter 5:10).
2. Peter, in verse 10 of chapter 1, says the following.
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (2Peter 1:10).
Peter's statement implies that if we are NOT diligent in ensuring our calling we will fall! To be diligent we must strive to overcome and obey God both in our words and deeds.
[What is the Unpardonable Sin?]
"He who does not by good works confirm his calling and election, will soon have neither; and although no good works ever did purchase or ever can purchase the kingdom of God, yet no soul can ever scripturally expect to see God who has them not." (Adam Clarke's Commentary).
3. Peter, in verses 13 and 14 of chapter 1, is referencing what Jesus revealed to him shortly after the Lord was resurrected from the dead. Interestingly, of all the twelve disciples, Peter is the only one to whom it was revealed he would die a martyr. Jesus also hinted at when his death would occur.
Verily, verily, I (Jesus) say unto thee (Peter), When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not (John 21:18).
Peter, when he wrote 1Peter roughly a year before recording his second epistle, considered himself old as he referenced himself as an elder (1Peter 5:1). This no doubt reminded him of Jesus' words about his death.
Peter wrote his second epistle between 65 and 66 A.D. He would experience his prophesied martyrdom two to three years later when he was killed likely in 68 A.D.
4. Peter, in verses 16 to 18, is referencing the transfiguration of Jesus he, John and James witnessed in the fall of 29 A.D. just before the annual Feast of Tabernacles. This event, seen by only these three men, likely took place on or near Mount Hermon (Matthew 17:1 - 9, Mark 9:1 - 9, Luke 9:28 - 36).
The transfiguration bore witness to Jesus' glorified form both before he came to earth and how he will appear at his Second Coming. Peter used his eyewitness account of the Lord's majesty to counteract claims that the gospel message, and even the Second Coming, were based on clever myths and legends (2Peter 1:16).
[The Transfiguration of Jesus]
Peter further confirmed the irrefutable validity of his testimony by saying he heard God from heaven call Jesus His beloved Son (2Peter 1:17). This proved, among other things, that Christ was the Messiah who would indeed come back to rule the earth.
5. The prophetic word Peter mentions in 2Peter 1 is the Old Testament.
[How Can We Understand
Bible Prophecy?]
Peter defended not only God's direct inspiration of the Scriptures (2Peter 1:16), but also asserted the Lord's involvement in its interpretation (verses 20 - 21). The Bible, in other words, was not created out of man's vivid imagination nor was it subjected to self-induced interpretations. Holy people of old, Peter asserts, were inspired by God's spirit and wrote down the words the Lord wanted them to write.
2Peter 2 Answers
6. Peter writes that false teachers, false prophets and so on are found throughout the Old Testament. God warned his people that there were grave consequences for those who presumed to speak for him.
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die (Deuteronomy 18:20).
Balaam, mentioned by Peter in verse 15, was a prophet during the time the Israelites wandered the wilderness after leaving Egypt. Unable to curse God's people, he resorted to consulting with Israel's enemies on how they could indirectly bring the Lord's judgment upon them (Numbers 22 - 24, 31:8, 16, Deuteronomy 23:4 - 5).
False prophets were also a huge problem in Judah at the time of Jeremiah.
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so . . . (Jeremiah 5:31).
Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination . . . (Jeremiah 14:14).
Peter says that what false teachers promote is destructive and leads to ruin or loss both physically and spiritually (2Peter 2:2). It is therefore not surprising that such sinful teachings and behaviors give true Christianity a bad reputation!
7. Peter's examples of God's actions toward sin (2Peter 2:4 - 8) shows that He is aware of the behavior of both angels and humans. He reserves for himself, however, how and when to punish those who disobey him. Peter also points out that the Lord is fully capable of saving the righteous even while others are being punished.
[The Three Sources of Temptation]
The Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unrighteous to the day of judgment to be punished (2Peter 2:9).
8. Peter describes a group of people who mock things they do not understand (2Peter 2:12). They live their lives dedicated to pursuing various lusts (verse 13) and are willing to promote lies for their own personal gain (verse 15).
These people, Peter teaches, are additionally willing to make bombastic declarations and appeal to people's lusts to bring them under the bondage of sin (2Peter 2:18 - 19). What is revealing is that these individuals are false teachers that freely mingle and interact with true Christians (verse 13)! Paul warned about these stealth liars when he wrote the following.
[Was Vanity or Lust the First Sin?]
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness . . . (2Corinthians 11:13 - 15).
9. Peter offers a stark warning in 2Peter 2:20 - 22. His warning concerns those who "escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (verse 20). It is undeniable that those he is referencing were once converted Christians!
The Christians Peter discusses, however, become entangled again in sin and are overcome by it. This means that believers, while they are in the flesh, can indeed fall away from God's calling! What happens, therefore, to those who were once converted who go back to indulging in sin?
[Can a Person LOSE Salvation?]
. . . the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them NOT TO HAVE KNOWN the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them (2Peter 2:20 - 21).
Christians who go back to leading a life of sin and rebellion against God are likened to dogs returning to their own vomit or washed pigs returning to wallow in the mire (2Peter 2:22). Peter's warning is that yes, it is possible for those called and converted to return to the same "pollutions" and sins that they left!
2Peter 3 Answers
10. The Apostle Peter reveals in verses 3 and 4 some of the attitudes that will be extant in the End Time just before Jesus' return to earth.
In the End Time some of those who are not Christians, as Peter briefly mentions, will mock and make fun of God for things like not seeming to intervene in human affairs. They will even challenge him to show he exists! Others will simply deny he exists at all. Christians, or even those who believe the universe was created by an "unnamed" intelligent being, will be increasingly thought of as believing a fantasy.
Those before Jesus' return, as Peter teaches, will additionally scoff at the idea that he will return to earth. They will take advantage of what to them seems like a foolish delusion to destroy the faith of some. Those mocking the lack of Jesus' return will justify their beliefs by the following.
. . . for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation (2Peter 3:4).
The fallacy describe by Peter is called uniformitarianism. It is the belief that the cosmic processes of the present and future can be understood solely based on how the universe has operated in the past. This theory rules out God's intervention in his creation.
11. Peter teaches in verse 7 that God exists and that he also has a plan in place to purify both the earth and the heavens with fire!
12. Peter, in 2Peter 3:8, is quoting Moses in the only Psalm attributed to him.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night (Psalm 90:4).
[Will Heaven Come to the Earth?]
Some Biblical commentaries believe Peter's quote was meant to show God's concept of time is different than ours. Things seem long or short to us because of our finite perspective and limited lifespans. God, however, who has always existed, views time against the backdrop of eternity. Nothing is short or long to him. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day.
Others believe that what Peter says in verse 8 can be used as a prophetic equation where certain references to a "day" are literally equal to 1,000 years.
God, for example, created everything in six days and then rested on the seventh (Genesis 1 - 2). This, some believe, means that God will allow humans to rule themselves for 6,000 years. After this period, on the seventh "day" equal to 1,000 years, the Messiah will give humans rest during his Millennial reign.
13. Peter's reference to the "Day of the Lord" encompasses events that go beyond the period preceding Jesus' return to earth.
[What is the Day of the Lord?]
[What Is the Mark of the Beast?]
The prophetic Day of the Lord will be a time when God will directly intervene on earth to punish those who received the Mark of the Beast and worship the Beast power. The opening of Revelation's sixth seal (Revelation 6:12 - 17) will be God's warning that this prophetic "day" of his wrath will soon begin. Part of this warning will be the stars seeming to fall to the earth with the heavens appearing to roll up like a scroll (2Peter 3:10, Revelation 6:13 - 14).
Peter then skips ahead to a time more than 1,000 years in the future, after the Judgment Day, when only those humans who are in God's kingdom exist. It is at this time that the entire universe will be cleansed with fire (2Peter 3:10, 12) and a new heavens and earth made where only righteousness will exist (verse 13, Revelation 21:1).
[When Will All Things Be Fulfilled?]
14. Peter admits Apostle Paul's writings were considered inspired by God and part of Scripture (2Peter 3:16). He also admits that there were some things Paul wrote about that were obscure and difficult to understand. Ultimately, it was those who were spiritually unstable, according to Peter, who used such sections to twist and distort the truth they were intended to reveal.
As also in all his (Paul's) epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest . . . (2Peter 3:16).