II Peter 2 · The Lantern

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers who shall bring in sects of perdition and deny the Lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

And every prophet that speaketh in the Spirit ye shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. But not every one that speaketh in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their obscene ways, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

By false teachers the apostle means the like-minded followers of Nicolaus and Cerinthus, and by the name of prophecy, commonly attributed to both prophets and false teachers, he warns the faithful not to heed false prophets. What the difference is between the one and the other, Paul taught when he said that no one calls Jesus Lord "except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3).

And many shall follow their riotousness, through whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

They revile the way of truth because they have turned orthodox doctrine into heresy, or because they have rejected the rule given to them at their baptism, or because they have abandoned the way of truth.

The heresy of the Nicolaitans had already appeared at that time. Peter says that it was evil in two ways. The Nicolaitans were wrong in their doctrine, and they were also wicked in their behavior. It reminds us of what was said about the Jews: "Because of you my name is blasphemed among the Gentiles."

And many will follow their debaucheries, etc. The way of truth will be blasphemed by heretics not only in those whom they draw out to associate with their heresy, but also in those whom by their most impure deeds and sacrifices, or the execrable mysteries they perform, they provoke to hatred of the Christian name, those who are unskilled thinking all Christians to be entangled…

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not: and their perdition slumbereth not.

The destruction of these people comes from none other than the God of Israel, who is never idle or asleep.

Their judgment has not ceased long ago. When 'long ago' signifies a past time and 'has not ceased' is a word in the present tense, it seems to mean nothing else but that the judgment of the perdition of the impious, which has already long begun, continually torments them presently and will never cease with any end.

By the word "covetousness" he shows that they acquire gain in a shameful manner. For covetousness sometimes means injustice, and sometimes the baseness of acquisition in general. That is why the word "exploit" is fittingly used. To show that they are completely foreign to divine teaching, he says that they use flattering words.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved unto judgment:

And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst up to the gates of heaven.

When Christ came from heaven, he bound the leaders of the demons in hell. This is clear from the way in which he commanded the spirits, lest they be thrown into the abyss. For he bound some and ordered others to depart, as we can see from sayings like "Look, I have given you power over unclean spirits"; "Cast out demons," and so on.

Not without reason does the apostle begin with believers, who are more honorable, but he wishes to show that they are liable to greater condemnation for their sins. They have the advantage of being the first called to apostleship. Therefore, for going astray from the right path they will also be subject to greater condemnation.

And spared not the original world, but preserved Noe, the eighth person, the preacher of justice, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.

And reducing the cities of the Sodomites and of the Gomorrhites into ashes, condemned them to be overthrown, making them an example to those that should after act wickedly,

And delivered just Lot, oppressed by the injustice and lewd conversation of the wicked:

For in sight and hearing he was just, dwelling among them who from day to day vexed the just soul with unjust works.

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly from temptation, but to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be tormented:

So, then, brethren, having received no small occasion to repent, while we have opportunity, let us turn to God who called us, while yet we have One to receive us. For if we renounce these indulgences and conquer the soul by not fulfilling its wicked desires, we shall be partakers of the mercy of Jesus.

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, etc. He says the unjust are reserved for punishment on the day of judgment, not because they do not suffer torment for their merits even before the day of judgment, freed from the body, but because greater torments await them in judgment when, having received their body back, they will be punished, who are now tormente…

Piety avails for avoiding all evils. Whence blessed Peter says: "The Lord knows how to deliver the pious from temptation, but to reserve the impious for torment unto the day of judgment." The impious are those who do not acknowledge divine piety.

And especially them who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government: audacious, self willed, they fear not to bring in sects, blaspheming.

Whereas angels, who are greater in strength and power, bring not against themselves a railing judgment.

Of this same thing in the Epistle of Peter: "As strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; but having a good conversation among the Gentiles, that while they detract from you as if from evildoers, yet, beholding your good works, they may magnify God."

Where angels, though greater in strength and power, do not bring a blasphemous judgment against themselves. When he says: Where, it signifies in that they despise dominion, that they are daring, that they are self-pleasing, that they create heresies, that is, sects, that they blaspheme.

Wishing to restrain them from such audacity, he says: whereas even angels, who surpass them in might and power, do not pronounce against them a reviling judgment before the Lord. The Apostle, as we have noted, says one and the same thing as the Apostle Jude; for he too, restraining those who are bold of tongue, persuades them by this very same example.

But these men, as irrational beasts, naturally tending to the snare and to destruction, blaspheming those things which they know not, shall perish in their corruption:

The inspired psalmist said this when he sang: "Man, when honored, had no understanding. He is like the beasts that perish." Although human beings had laws, their morals were irrational, and they soon degenerated into animals whose only end was destruction.

But these, like irrational animals naturally, etc. Just as it is natural for irrational animals to often ignorantly fall into traps and destruction out of the need for food, so heretics, compared to foolish beasts, out of a desire to fulfill their own corruption, blaspheming the incorrupt and sound doctrine of the Catholic Church and life, bind themselves with the snares of ete…

Some explained this thus: they will perish in their own corruption, like irrational animals born naturally, that is, differing in no way from cattle that are born for destruction alone. "Like irrational animals, led by nature," that is, living by sensuality alone, and not by mind and rational life.

Receiving the reward of their injustice, counting for a pleasure the delights of a day: stains and spots, sporting themselves to excess, rioting in their feasts with you:

Having eyes full of adultery and of sin that ceaseth not: alluring unstable souls: having their heart exercised with covetousness: children of malediction.

Leaving the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam of Bosor who loved the wages of iniquity,

But had a check of his madness, the dumb beast used to the yoke, which, speaking with man's voice, forbade the folly of the prophet.

These are fountains without water and clouds tossed with whirlwinds, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved.

Peter calls these people dry springs—springs, because they have received knowledge of the Lord Christ, but dry, because they do not live in accordance with that knowledge.

They did not have the living word of the Spirit, the channel of delights which overflows to the glory of the nations. They were not clear-sighted like the saints. They were in some sense like clouds but more like "mists" covered in darkness and ignorance, for they were governed by an evil spirit.

Having inserted much into the middle of his discourse, including among other things the example of Balaam, the apostle again begins to speak about the impure Gnostics. He likens them to waterless springs, because they have lost the purity of preaching and the sweet water of life.

For, speaking proud words of vanity, they allure by the desires of fleshly riotousness those who for a little while escape, such as converse in error:

Promising them liberty, whereas they themselves are the slaves of corruption. For by whom a man is overcome, of the same also he is the slave.

For as the serpent beguiled Eve, by promising her what he had not himself, so also do these men, by pretending [to possess] superior knowledge, and [to be acquainted with] ineffable mysteries; and, by promising that admittance which they speak of as taking place within the Pleroma, plunge those that believe them into death, rendering them apostates from Him who made them.

These men promised people freedom from deception when in fact they were encouraging others to lapse back into it.

They themselves, he says, being slaves of the aforementioned impurity, which he rightly also called corruption, promise freedom to those they deceive. And as to why they promise freedom to others while themselves being slaves of sin, he brings forth a fine proof of this: whoever is overcome by any passion is also a slave to it. But this will be explained more fully further on.

For if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they be again entangled in them and overcome: their latter state is become unto them worse than the former.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them.

For, that of the true proverb has happened to them: The dog is returned to his vomit; and: The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

There has appeared one, Noetus by name, and by birth a native of Smyrna. This person introduced a heresy from the tenets of Heraclitus. Now a certain man called Epigonus becomes his minister and pupil, and this person during his sojourn at Rome disseminated his godless opinion.

But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and a pig, having washed, to her rolling in the mud. For since a dog returns to its own vomit is more abominable.

He also adds a proverb confirming the same thing (Prov. 26:11). For even a dog returning to its own vomit becomes still more disgusting, just as a pig seeking to wash itself of filth, if it does so in filth itself, turns out even filthier than before.

II Peter2