“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.”
For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world
The “they” of verse nineteen [false teachers] is the “they” of this verse. These are also the false teachers of verse one.
The word “escaped” occurs three times in the New Testament and all three times in this little book (1:4; 2:18). Those who “escaped” here are people who were at one time positive to Christianity but never embraced it. They had significant exposure to the gospel but were never true converts.
We get our English word “miasma” from this Greek word. The Greeks used the word “pollutions” for the odors that came off a swamp. The Greeks used “pollutions” especially for cultic pollution of pagan practices. What is the nature of this sin? Some think that Christians can lose their salvation by reverting into their lifestyle before they became Christians. However, both the context and explicit statements (2:22) portray these people as those who completely reject Christ.
through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
For a time, these people were exposed to the truth. The word “knowledge” implies that they had full exposure to the “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” This unique word for “knowledge” means full and intimate knowledge. Ancient Greek uses “knowledge” in legal contexts referring to careful investigation and interrogation. It is amazing that these false teachers could gain a full dose of Jesus and His work and still reject Him as their Savior.
they are again entangled in them
The word “entangled” means to weave in. These false teachers relapsed back into religion. They went back to the pollutions of paganism. They forsook religion for a while when they came to an exposure of Christ and then became entangled again in it. They left religion for a time only to return to it again.
and overcome
“Overcome” carries the ideas of subjection and enslavement. Therefore, false teaching controls them. They were enslaved to religion. Religion defeated them and they were led away into a prison of false teaching.
the latter end is worse for them than the beginning
To hear the truth and revert to religion it is worse than never hearing it at all (Mt 12:45).
Mt 12: 45 “Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Peter’s point is that to receive a “full” exposure to Jesus and His work and to finally reject it, is a worse condition than having never heard of Jesus in the first place. They repudiate the Lord Jesus in the face of knowing fully who He is and what He did.
The “beginning” here is the point of exposure to salvation in Christ. The “latter end” is their condition in the corruption of reversion to paganism. To receive a full exposure to Jesus and to reject Him in the end is worse because they fly in the face of truth. The more light that we sin against, the more responsibility we carry. It is amazing how much of the Bible you can know and still go to hell.
PRINCIPLE: Negative volition finds security in false teaching.
APPLICATION: False teachers prey on unstable people. They cannot get away with their deceptive with anyone but the naïve who where previously described as “unstable” earlier in the chapter.
Not everyone who hears the gospels believes the gospel. You must believe after you hear. If you hear it and do not believe it, it did not do you any good to hear it. In fact, it may do you harm.
Ac 18: 8 “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.”
knowledge……2 Pi. 1,3 and knowledge 2 Pi.2,20…… first it applies to christians…..then to false prophets……don’t understand……..these verses that could show a loss of salvation are tough.. heb 6 heb 10 etc……and others…..are we re -interpreting because of a pre-. conveived view……of course …..the loss of salvation people would be doing the sqme thing in reverse……why hasn’t God made it more simple for us….every time I come to a verse like these I have to stop and convince myself…..it isn’t really what the text is saying…..it looks like you lose your salvation…….but we must interpret in light of other texts that we have decided are stronger…..could it be like the predestination and free will arguments….a bit of both are true…. I don’t like the loss of salvation doctrine….but why are these verses confusing the issue…..
Brian, Interpretation of any book of the Bible begins with the argument of the book as a whole (See Introduction by going to “Read Introduction to 2 Peter” at the top of each page).
Note the argument from the outline:
I. EXHORTATION TO GROW BASED ON TRUE KNOWLEDGE (1:3-11)
A. God’s provision (1:3-4)
B. Our responsibility (1:5-11)
II. BASIS FOR GROWTH — CERTAINTY OF KNOWLEDGE (1:12-21)
A. Experience of the apostles (1:12-18)
B. Ground for certainty (1:19-21)
III. WARNING AGAINST FALSE KNOWLEDGE (2:1-22)
A. Incursion of false teachers (2:1-3)
B. Judgment of false teachers (2:4-19)
C. Danger of false teachers (2:20-22)
It appears that ????????? has been misunderstood as applying ONLY to believers, and that is the point of confusion, is it not? Even the warning passages in Hebrews 6 & 10 have often been interpreted by well-known seminary professors as referring ONLY to immature believers. This was the pivot point of the battle, NOT the careful interpretive scrutiny of these Scriptures.
After many years of having to “overcome” these erroneous conclusions of some of our teachers, and in light of John 6:66, I have fully convinced the fault was not in whether a believer could lose his salvation and relapse (subject to God’s discipline–sometimes to the point of death), but in underestimating the length to which unregenerated inquirers can progress in their knowledge and understanding of the person and work of Christ, and STILL reject it all by turning their backs on Him when challenged by persecution, hardship or conflicting ideologies.
The confusion, therefore, is not with the Biblical text, BUT WITH OUR PRECONDITIONED ATTITUDES TOWARD IT WITHOUT ADEQUATE EXPOSURE TO WHAT IT ACTUALLY SAYS, knowing that all Scripture is self-consistent and self-authenticating.
The word in question marks is in English transliteration, epiginosko.
Don, what a privilege to have you blog on this site (a wonderful Bible teacher and friend of decades).
Your interpretation is at the heart of this passage.
Don, you may want to go to the last commenatary that I have done–Romans 1:18-21 to this point.
Don, did you get my email (I received a bounce when I replied)?
How about a commentary on the significance of “worse than” in vs. 20? It is found in Hebrews 10:29, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” This was one of the cross references in Bagster’s Analytical Greek Lexicon, p. 436. Isn’t it amazing how many times the Scriptures dovetails in explaining itself with clarity and potency?
Yes, I got your email. They are passed on to me. Earthlink has a glitch which has been repeated for a number of people I’ve written to. I do not know how to eliminate it. Do you?
I don’t know about this Don.