1But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction. 2Many will follow their immoral ways, and as a result, the way of the truth will be maligned. 3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
4For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness to be reserved for judgment; 5and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly, 6and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live in an ungodly way, 7and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked 8(for that righteous man dwelling among them was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds), 9then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10but chiefly those who walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11whereas angels, though greater in might and power, don’t bring a slanderous judgment against them before the Lord. 12But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are ignorant, will in their destroying surely be destroyed, 13receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you; 14having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin, enticing unsettled souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children! 15Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing; 16but he was rebuked for his own disobedience. A speechless donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the madness of the prophet.
17These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 18For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; 19promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for a man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him.
20For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns to his own vomit again,” and “the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.”
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 2:18 (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 (2:21; 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.