1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 2And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. 3This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 4One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. 5But God’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him: 6he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
7Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines. 9He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. 10He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. 11But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
13I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.
14I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
18Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 19They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 20You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 25This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
26These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 27As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
2 Peter 2 is an extended defense and polemic against false teachers and their teaching. At first, the false teachers of Peter’s day presented themselves as genuine followers of Jesus Christ and seemed to give credible evidence of genuine faith. In reality, however, they were secretly posing as believers in order to deceive the flock of God (2:1, cf. 1 John 2:18, 19, Jude 4). So Peter wrote 2 Peter in part to expose their deception and to warn true believers in the church. Unfortunately, their destructive influence had already enticed some recent converts away from the way of righteousness, promising them freedom from moral restraints and future judgment (2:18, 19).
In verse 20 Peter pronounces that the final state of those who get entangled with this false teaching is worse than their first state (a probable quote from Jesus, cf. Matthew 12:45, Luke 11:26). Although this could be a reference to the recent converts mentioned in 2 Pet 2:18 (the closest antecedent), Peter is most likely referring to the false teachers who predominate the context. Either way, Peter’s point is clear: individuals who embrace Christianity and then reject it for the world will face a more severe judgment than if they never knew the way of righteousness in the first place (2 Pet 2:21; cf. Luke 10:10-14).
Controversy surrounds this verse. Is Peter asserting that genuine believers can lose their salvation? Three possible interpretations exist. First, some advocate that the false teachers and their followers were genuine believers who apostatized and will face eternal damnation (i.e., loss of salvation view). This understanding seems straightforward enough but contradicts other clear teachings in Scripture concerning eternal security (e.g., Romans 8:28-39, John 10:28, 29). Second, a few suggest that Peter referred to genuine believers who will not suffer eternal damnation but loss of eternal rewards. While this view harmonizes Peter’s statement with more clear passages on eternal security, it fails to deal adequately with the severe judgment language in 2 Peter (e.g., 2:1, 9, 12, 17, 3:6-12, 16) and to explain how their final state is worse than being unsaved. Third, others understand that Peter wrote of individuals who merely appeared to be saved but actually never genuinely believed. They had a superficial knowledge of Christ and only temporarily escaped the shameful defilements of the world through their association with Christians. Therefore, the ultimate end of these unbelievers is eternal damnation (cf. 2:17). This final opinion, also known as the “phenomenological view,” is the preferred view. This understanding works best with Peter’s concluding proverbs about the true nature of dogs and pigs (2:22). Just as these animals naturally engage in defiling activities, the false teachers revealed their true spiritual condition when they returned to their depraved lifestyle.