God’s Judgment

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 2:4-9

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

In this passage, Peter proceeds to explain the judgment of God “from long ago.” He gives us three examples of His judgment, and in the last two, He also tells how He spared the righteous from His judgment.

1. God casted sinful angels into hell (Gen. 6:1, 2; 1 Pet. 3:18, 19). This place of judgment, apparently, is a temporary holding place (of torment) until they will be cast forever into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

2. The ancient world refers to those who lived before the flood. They all, except for Noah and his family, were thoroughly wicked— “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). God’s judgment on them was a world-wide flood that blotted out all life except for Noah and seven others (his family), and the animals (two of every kind, 6:19), which were saved in the ark.

3. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They all, except Lot and his two daughters, were destroyed by fire because of their extreme sensual ungodliness. Lot was also saved from being constantly oppressed by his unrighteous neighbors.

These examples of God’s judgment were given in order to show how God judged some of the worst sinners and how He saved the innocent. And He is still in the business of bringing the guilty to judgment and rescuing the innocent, godly ones out of judgment. Thus, as Peter wrote, He knows how to rescue the godly and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.

The Evil Character of False Teachers

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 2:2-3

2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Here we see the evil character of the false teachers. They are full of sensuality and greed. And they will use it to entice people to follow them and listen to their lies, in order to get hold of their money. But Peter again affirms their swift judgment (v. 1), just as God has brought to evil men long ago (in Old Testament times).

Beware of False Teachers

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 2:1

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

In this first verse Peter mentions that there were both false prophets and false teachers. The emphasis in this book is on false teachers, but there were both. And I think the main distinction is that prophets are those who preach the word with supposed inspiration from God, and teachers are those who teach the bible as a teacher (or instructor). Nonetheless, Peter wants us to know mainly about false teachers. And they aren’t just those who are careless or ignorant in their teaching; they actually will teach wrong doctrine purposely and secretly for some selfish reason—reasons that are Satanic, and are destructive heresies. These heresies deny the Master’s true teachings, and in the end will bring swift destruction upon themselves. This destruction may come as a result of some sin in the body that will inflict the body with disease (1Cor. 6:12, 18); or Peter may be referring to death or judgement at the return of Christ.

The Authority of Scripture

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 1:20-21

20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

After Peter spoke so highly of the authority of the Scriptures (in v. 19), he wanted here to emphasis the source of that authority. It did not come to us by human intellect, but by God. As men (all the authors of Scripture) were moved by the Holy Spirit they spoke and wrote the words of God (2 Tim. 3:15).

The Morning Star Arises

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 1:19

19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Here it seems that Peter is going beyond being with Jesus and hearing His words and even experiencing His glory. He is bringing the Scripture into view as being our authority, and that we should pay close attention to them. They are to be as a lamp shining in this dark world, and they will point to the coming of Jesus Christ. He is the morning star (Rev. 2:28), and when He comes and we see Him, He will fill and transform our heart (1Jn. 3:2).

The Majestic Glory

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 1:17-18

17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” — 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

Here Peter gives validity to Jesus and what He taught them about His coming (v. 16), as he recalls when he (and James and John) saw Jesus transformed before them into a glorious state on a mountain (Matt. 17:5), and when God spoke to Him out of a cloud and said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”

We Were Eyewitnesses

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 1:16

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

Peter here is straight forward about some of the “things” he (and the other Apostles) had been teaching them (v. 12)—mainly about Jesus’ second coming. He wants them to know for sure that he and the other Apostles were not telling them made-up stories or myths (as some false teachers probably were accusing them of doing). So, Peter was confirming to them that they were physically with Jesus when He was telling them of how He would one day come to earth in great power to set up His kingdom.

To Grow Strong in Christ

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 1:12-15

12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Peter was always ready and willing to remind his people of their salvation and how they can be assured of it—and also, of any other Scriptural truth that he had been teaching them. And since God had made it clear to him that he would die soon, he also wanted them to remind themselves of what Christ has done for them, how they came to salvation, and how they were able to continue to grow strong in Christ.

Having An Assurance of Salvation

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Peter 1:10-11

10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Some would say that in order for the new believer to have assurance of his salvation, all he needs to do is to repeat over and over certain key verses like 1 John 5:11-12 and John 3:16. Well yes, that would be helpful. But that will gain you only a head knowledge of your salvation. The seven qualities (in verses 5-7) will do much more. By practicing them you will see your life change. You will see yourself bearing fruit for His kingdom. Hence, you will become aware that you have actually entered His kingdom; and that will give you the best assurance of salvation. For when a new believer (or even an old believer) sees that he is living the Christian life—that he is growing in moral excellence, in knowledge, in self-control, in perseverance, in godliness, in brotherly kindness, and in love—he will no longer stumble into doubt and fear regarding his salvation, but will instead have joy in the Lord for all that He does for him.

Bearing Much Fruit

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Stephen Nielsen

2 Pt. 1:8-9

8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

Peter, in verse eight, implies that the seven qualities (in verses 5-7) should be continually increasing (of better and better quality); and each of them should increase in order to produce the growth of the following one, so that they all increase and grow together. For they are all connected to each other just as the parts of a tree are connected and grow together. But if one part, for some reason, is not growing, that will prevent the next part from growing. For example, if the young believer stops growing in knowledge (#2), that will affect his self-control (#3), and his perseverance, and his godliness, and the rest. Hence, each of the seven qualities need to increase and grow all together. The result will be that you will be useful to God in His kingdom and will bear much fruit.

But if one lacks these qualities (if he has not been diligent to produce them through his personal bible study and prayer and obedience to God) he is blind to his spiritual condition; that is, he will forget what Christ has done for him, and thus will lose his assurance of salvation. This is a sad situation—seeing a Christian become like a non-Christian, not even knowing for sure that he is saved.