This commentary is a work in progress and may be revised as study continues. If you have a question, spot an error, or want to discuss a passage, please reach out.
1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
Chapter 1: Believers; Chapter 2: False Professors
It is important to note that the entirety of chapter 1 is addressed to believers. Peter consistently uses possessive language, such as “our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1, 1:2, 1:8, 1:11, 1:14, 1:16), emphasizing the shared faith and relationship of the audience with Christ.
In contrast, chapter 2 shifts focus entirely to warning the church about false teachers and false professors. Notice that Peter no longer uses “our” in reference to the Lord; for example, in 2:20 it reads “the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” This linguistic change signals that the individuals described here are not part of the body of Christ, but outsiders who appear religious.
Parallel with Jude
Jude 1 almost exactly parallels 2 Peter 2, warning of the same dangers: infiltrating teachers, destructive doctrines, and ungodly lifestyles. Studying both passages together strengthens the interpretation that Peter is describing false professors, not true believers who fall away.
False teachers were never truly saved
Some argue that these false teachers were once Christians who lost salvation. However, the context and comparison with Old Testament false prophets suggest otherwise:
Old Testament false prophets were never genuinely commissioned by God; they were never men of faith who then fell. See Deuteronomy 13:1–5, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 23:16–22, Ezekiel 13:3–9
Likewise, New Testament false teachers are wolves in sheep’s clothing from the start, masquerading as leaders while deceiving others. See Matthew 7:15–20, John 6:64–66, 1 John 2:19
Damnable heresies
The phrase “damnable heresies” refers to the destructive doctrines these teachers bring in secretly. Their teachings are so dangerous that they cause spiritual harm to the church and mislead believers, emphasizing the severity of the threat.
Denying the Lord that bought them
Some interpret this as evidence of lost salvation. A stronger reading, however, is consistent with Scripture:
The Lord’s death was a propitiation for the whole world (1 John 2:2), and He purchased the entire field to obtain the treasure (Matthew 13:44).
All humanity is bought at a high price, the death of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Believers confess the Lord, while false teachers deny Him, either in words, actions, or lifestyle (Matthew 10:33; Titus 1:16). Their denial demonstrates their true identity, not the loss of a previously genuine salvation.
Swift destruction
Finally, Peter warns that these individuals bring swift destruction upon themselves. Their deceitful practices, godless behavior, and rejection of Christ result in just judgment, consistent with the imagery of eternal darkness, empty wells, and unfruitful trees later in the chapter.
2 Peter 2:1 introduces the chapter’s central theme: false teachers are not fallen believers but unsaved infiltrators, bringing destructive doctrines and lifestyles that malign Christ and harm the church. Peter’s careful distinction between chapter 1 (believers) and chapter 2 (false teachers and professors) underscores the permanent separation of these individuals from salvation, despite any outward appearance of piety.
2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
The way of destruction is broad, and sadly, many follow it. As a result,“the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” In our time, this is seen when narcissistic pastors, grifters, sexual deviants, and false teachers misuse the name of Jesus, tarnishing it and causing many to reject the church, claiming it is full of hypocrites.
The phrase “many shall follow” reflects the warning of Matthew 7:13–14, where “broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go”, contrasting with the narrow way that leads to life which few follow.
3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
4For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Just as Lot was delivered from the unrighteous people of his day (Genesis 19:16), so believers will be delivered from the deception and influence of false teachers who invade the church. God knows how to rescue the godly while reserving the unjust for the day of judgment, demonstrating His perfect justice and care.
This is consistent with 1 Corinthians 10:13, which assures that “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
10But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
11Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
Jude speaks of these same false teachers and parallels verse 10 and 11:
Jude 1:8-9 “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”
These verses highlight the audacity of false teachers: even angels of greater power and authority do not bring slanderous accusations before the Lord, yet these men boldly malign dignities and authorities.
12But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
17These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
These teachers are described as “wells without water,” indicating that they are not saved. They do not possess the living water of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught that a believer will be filled with water, so much they overflow:
John 4:13–14 Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again… but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 7:38 “he that believeth on me… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”
Scripture consistently uses empty wells and waterless clouds to describe false professors, those who promise life but possess none (Jer. 2:13; Jude 1:12; Prov. 25:14).
“Clouds… carried with a tempest”, promise without substance
Clouds promise rain, but these deliver none. Scripture uses this imagery elsewhere:
A direct parallel to 2 Peter 2:17, confirming the same category of ungodly people.
Jude 1:12, “Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds…”
Empty promises expose false teachers.
Proverbs 25:14 “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.”
“Mist of darkness reserved forever”, final judgment, not discipline
Darkness reserved forever is judicial judgment, not corrective discipline. This language is never used of believers:
Matthew 8:12 “Cast out into outer darkness…”
Jude 1:13 “To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”
2 Thessalonians 1:9 “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction…”
18For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
Does“clean escaped from them who live in error” describe a saved person?
Yes, Scripture clearly warns Christians against wantonness and fleshly living. Believers are repeatedly exhorted to walk uprightly and not give place to the flesh. Paul specifically warns Christians about wantonness in Romans 13:13:
“Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying”.
Therefore, the presence of wantonness in this passage does not automatically exclude believers. False teachers can indeed entice true believers into sinful behavior, and Scripture acknowledges this danger.
Can this also be referring to an unsaved individual?
Yes, this language can also refer to someone who is not yet born again. Scripture teaches that associations influence conduct. Just as “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33), so “he who walks with the wise shall be wise” (Proverbs 13:20; see also Proverbs 27:17).
A person may distance themselves from sinful influences and experience moral improvement simply by associating with godly people. However, living a “clean escaped” life from those in error does not equal salvation. Peter does not specify here whether these individuals believed or were regenerated.
John also speaks of people who, for a time, appeared to be believers but later departed. If they were believers John says he knows they would have stayed:
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
Thus, Scripture allows for a category of people who are outwardly reformed and closely associated with the truth, yet not inwardly transformed.
19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
False promises of freedom expose true bondage
False teachers commonly promise liberty, freedom from suffering, lack, or restraint, yet Peter states that they themselves are “servants of corruption.” Their message advertises freedom, but their lives reveal enslavement and ultimately lack of salvation (freedom). Jesus taught the same principle:
”Everyone who sins is a slave to sin… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” John 8:34-36
Modern illustration: promised freedom, visible bondage
This pattern is often seen in modern televangelists that promise healing or financial freedom if people “sow a seed” into their ministries. Yet their lives frequently reveal bondage to covetousness, displayed through extravagant wealth, private jets, and luxurious lifestyles.
At times, sexual immorality is also exposed, confirming Peter’s earlier description:
”Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin…” 2 Peter 2:14
Thus, while promising liberty to others, they demonstrate that they themselves are slaves of corruption overcome, in bondage by greed and lust.
These false teachers are not saved.
As verse 1 tells us, they denied the Lord. Verse 17 further describes them as “wells without water,” indicating the absence of the Holy Spirit. Scripture consistently teaches that a Christian is characterized by freedom in Christ. Rather than being slaves to corruption, believers are described as slaves of God:
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:18
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” John 8:34-36
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God,” Romans 6:22
“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:2
20For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
Reform without regeneration
The phrase “the latter end is worse with them than the beginning” is used elsewhere in Scripture to describe external cleansing without inward transformation. Jesus used this exact framework when describing people who experienced deliverance but were never indwelt by the Spirit:
Matthew 12:43–45 “...when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished… and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24–26 “...they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
In both passages, there is real escape, real improvement, and real cleansing; yet the person remains empty. The absence of the Holy Spirit explains why the latter end becomes worse than the beginning. This closely parallels Peter’s description in 2 Peter 2:20.
“Knowledge” does not equal belief or salvation
The phrase“knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”does not require saving faith. Scripture repeatedly shows that a person may experience truth, witness God’s power, and associate with believers without believing.
A person can grow wiser and cleaner simply through association:
Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise”
People may exist within the church community without being saved:
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us...”
They may even be called His disciples without believing:
John 6:64–66 ”... some of you that believe not…many of his disciples went back...”
Thus, knowledge can be experiential, intellectual, or communal, but knowledge alone does not save. It never says these individuals believed. Scripture consistently teaches a person must believe in their heart:
Acts 8:37 “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”
Romans 10:9 “...and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”
Peter deliberately excludes them from saving knowledge (key point)
This is the strongest internal evidence in the passage. In 2 Peter 1, every time Peter speaks of salvation-related knowledge, he consistently uses possessive language specifically saying the word “our”:
“our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1, 1:2, 1:8, 1:11, 1:14, 1:16)
For example:
2 Peter 1:8 …ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
However, in 2 Peter 2:20, when describing those who return to corruption, Peter notably omits the possessive:
“the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”
This linguistic shift indicates distinction, not inclusion. Peter is not describing shared salvific knowledge, but exposure to truth without union to Christ.
Matthew Henry rightly observes:
“Some men are, for a time, kept from the pollutions of the world, by the knowledge of Christ, who are not savingly renewed in the spirit of their mind. A religious education has restrained many whom the grace of God has not renewed: if we receive the light of the truth, and have a notional knowledge of Christ in our heads, it may be of some present service to us; but we must receive the love of the truth, and hide God's word in our heart, or it will not sanctify and save us”
When Scripture describes true believers, it piles up definitive salvation language, as seen in 1 Corinthians 6:11. That language is entirely absent here.
No divine chastening = no sonship
Hebrews teaches that God actively disciplines His children.
Hebrews 12:6 says “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”
And the warning is explicit: “…if ye be without chastisement… then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
In 2 Peter 2:20, these individuals are not corrected, restored, or disciplined. They are overcome and left entangled. This absence of divine chastening strongly indicates that they were never sons to begin with. A loving Father does not abandon His children to the enslavement of sin; He disciplines them because He loves them until they repent. If they refuse, their lives can be shortened as the ultimate form of chastisement (Ezekiel 18:26-32, 1 Corinthians 11:28-32, Proverbs 15:10).
Theological coherence
While this passage may sound like it describes Christians at first glance, the weight of Scripture points in the opposite direction. If salvation can be finally undone by returning to sin, then salvation rests on human endurance rather than Christ’s finished work. Scripture consistently teaches that salvation is:
accomplished by Christ (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:10–14)
secured and preserved by God (John 10:28–29; 1 Peter 1:5m Jude 1:24)
Therefore, this passage cannot be describing the loss of salvation, but rather the exposure of an unregenerate heart that was never transformed. Their return to corruption does not undo salvation, it reveals the absence of it.
21For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Greater knowledge brings greater accountability
This verse is not describing someone who was saved and then lost salvation. As verse 22 will clearly show, Peter is describing individuals whose nature never changed. Rather, the principle here is that the more truth a person receives, the greater their accountability, and therefore the greater their judgment, if they reject it.
Jesus taught this principle plainly:
Luke 12:47-48 - “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
Matthew 11:21–24 “It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon… than for you.”
John 15:22 “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.”
Paul says rejecting what you know brings more judgement
Romans 2:5 “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”
2 Peter 2:21 teaches that knowledge rejected increases guilt. It is better never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it clearly and deliberately turn away from it. This principle concerns accountability before God, not the loss of salvation.
22But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Peter’s summary: unchanged nature, not lost salvation
This verse serves as Peter’s own summary of the entire passage and makes clear who he has been describing. He is not speaking of Christians who lose their salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 teaches that those who are in Christ are new creations: “...if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new..”
A regenerated person does not return to an old identity, because that identity no longer exists. They are a new creature. In Peter’s imagery, the individuals were dogs before, remain dogs after, and return to what belongs to their nature. They came in as dogs and left as dogs. This demonstrates that they were never saved.
The same is true of the sow. Though it is washed externally, it remains a sow by nature and inevitably returns to the mire. External cleansing without internal transformation is the point.
“Dog” and “swine” consistently describe the unclean and unbelieving
Throughout Scripture, dogs and swine are metaphors for those who are unclean and outside the covenant community, not for believers who fall away.
Matthew 7:6 - “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
Revelation 22:15 - ”For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
Philippians 3:2 - ”Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.”
The proverb itself identifies the dog as a fool, someone unrighteous
Peter directly draws from Proverbs 26:11:
“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.”
In Proverbs, the fool is one who rejects God (Psalm 14:1; 53:1; Proverbs 1:7; Romans 1:21–22). The fool is consistently contrasted with the wise, the wise being those who fear the Lord, ie. the saved. By equating the dog with the fool, Scripture again identifies this person as unsaved, not a believer who has lost salvation.
Temporary association does not equal salvation
Some individuals may appear to escape the pollution of the world and even participate in the church community for a time. However, without regeneration, they eventually return to their former way of life. This may take years, or even decades, but Scripture teaches that it does happen. 1 John 2:19 parallels this exactly:
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us…”
Their departure does not undo salvation; it reveals the absence of it.
The permanence of the Holy Spirit
Jesus and John taught that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent lasting forever:
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”
2 John 2 “For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.”
1 John 2:17 “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Doing the will is believing: John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
If these individuals had received the Spirit, they would not return permanently to corruption. Their return confirms that they were never indwelt to begin with.
2 Peter 2:22 decisively shows that Peter is describing people whose nature never changed. Like the dog and the sow, they returned to what they always were. This passage does not teach the loss of salvation, but the exposure of false professors who experienced reform without regeneration and, when tested by cunning false teachers, could no longer maintain the appearance of faith and therefore went out.
2
2 Peter 2 — Forever Word commentary
King James VersionThis commentary is a work in progress and may be revised as study continues. If you have a question, spot an error, or want to discuss a passage, please reach out.
1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
Chapter 1: Believers; Chapter 2: False Professors
It is important to note that the entirety of chapter 1 is addressed to believers. Peter consistently uses possessive language, such as “our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1, 1:2, 1:8, 1:11, 1:14, 1:16), emphasizing the shared faith and relationship of the audience with Christ.
In contrast, chapter 2 shifts focus entirely to warning the church about false teachers and false professors. Notice that Peter no longer uses “our” in reference to the Lord; for example, in 2:20 it reads “the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” This linguistic change signals that the individuals described here are not part of the body of Christ, but outsiders who appear religious.
Parallel with Jude
Jude 1 almost exactly parallels 2 Peter 2, warning of the same dangers: infiltrating teachers, destructive doctrines, and ungodly lifestyles. Studying both passages together strengthens the interpretation that Peter is describing false professors, not true believers who fall away.
False teachers were never truly saved
Some argue that these false teachers were once Christians who lost salvation. However, the context and comparison with Old Testament false prophets suggest otherwise:
Old Testament false prophets were never genuinely commissioned by God; they were never men of faith who then fell. See Deuteronomy 13:1–5, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 23:16–22, Ezekiel 13:3–9
Likewise, New Testament false teachers are wolves in sheep’s clothing from the start, masquerading as leaders while deceiving others. See Matthew 7:15–20, John 6:64–66, 1 John 2:19
Damnable heresies
The phrase “damnable heresies” refers to the destructive doctrines these teachers bring in secretly. Their teachings are so dangerous that they cause spiritual harm to the church and mislead believers, emphasizing the severity of the threat.
Denying the Lord that bought them
Some interpret this as evidence of lost salvation. A stronger reading, however, is consistent with Scripture:
The Lord’s death was a propitiation for the whole world (1 John 2:2), and He purchased the entire field to obtain the treasure (Matthew 13:44).
All humanity is bought at a high price, the death of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Believers confess the Lord, while false teachers deny Him, either in words, actions, or lifestyle (Matthew 10:33; Titus 1:16). Their denial demonstrates their true identity, not the loss of a previously genuine salvation.
Swift destruction
Finally, Peter warns that these individuals bring swift destruction upon themselves. Their deceitful practices, godless behavior, and rejection of Christ result in just judgment, consistent with the imagery of eternal darkness, empty wells, and unfruitful trees later in the chapter.
2 Peter 2:1 introduces the chapter’s central theme: false teachers are not fallen believers but unsaved infiltrators, bringing destructive doctrines and lifestyles that malign Christ and harm the church. Peter’s careful distinction between chapter 1 (believers) and chapter 2 (false teachers and professors) underscores the permanent separation of these individuals from salvation, despite any outward appearance of piety.
2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
The way of destruction is broad, and sadly, many follow it. As a result, “the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” In our time, this is seen when narcissistic pastors, grifters, sexual deviants, and false teachers misuse the name of Jesus, tarnishing it and causing many to reject the church, claiming it is full of hypocrites.
The phrase “many shall follow” reflects the warning of Matthew 7:13–14, where “broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go”, contrasting with the narrow way that leads to life which few follow.
3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
4For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
Just as Lot was delivered from the unrighteous people of his day (Genesis 19:16), so believers will be delivered from the deception and influence of false teachers who invade the church. God knows how to rescue the godly while reserving the unjust for the day of judgment, demonstrating His perfect justice and care.
This is consistent with 1 Corinthians 10:13, which assures that “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
10But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
11Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
Jude speaks of these same false teachers and parallels verse 10 and 11:
Jude 1:8-9 “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”
These verses highlight the audacity of false teachers: even angels of greater power and authority do not bring slanderous accusations before the Lord, yet these men boldly malign dignities and authorities.
12But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
17These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
These teachers are described as “wells without water,” indicating that they are not saved. They do not possess the living water of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught that a believer will be filled with water, so much they overflow:
John 4:13–14 Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again… but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 7:38 “he that believeth on me… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”
Scripture consistently uses empty wells and waterless clouds to describe false professors, those who promise life but possess none (Jer. 2:13; Jude 1:12; Prov. 25:14).
“Clouds… carried with a tempest”, promise without substance
Clouds promise rain, but these deliver none. Scripture uses this imagery elsewhere:
A direct parallel to 2 Peter 2:17, confirming the same category of ungodly people.
Jude 1:12, “Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds…”
Empty promises expose false teachers.
Proverbs 25:14 “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.”
“Mist of darkness reserved forever”, final judgment, not discipline
Darkness reserved forever is judicial judgment, not corrective discipline. This language is never used of believers:
Matthew 8:12 “Cast out into outer darkness…”
Jude 1:13 “To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”
2 Thessalonians 1:9 “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction…”
18For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
Does “clean escaped from them who live in error” describe a saved person?
Yes, Scripture clearly warns Christians against wantonness and fleshly living. Believers are repeatedly exhorted to walk uprightly and not give place to the flesh. Paul specifically warns Christians about wantonness in Romans 13:13:
“Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying”.
Therefore, the presence of wantonness in this passage does not automatically exclude believers. False teachers can indeed entice true believers into sinful behavior, and Scripture acknowledges this danger.
Can this also be referring to an unsaved individual?
Yes, this language can also refer to someone who is not yet born again. Scripture teaches that associations influence conduct. Just as “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33), so “he who walks with the wise shall be wise” (Proverbs 13:20; see also Proverbs 27:17).
A person may distance themselves from sinful influences and experience moral improvement simply by associating with godly people. However, living a “clean escaped” life from those in error does not equal salvation. Peter does not specify here whether these individuals believed or were regenerated.
John also speaks of people who, for a time, appeared to be believers but later departed. If they were believers John says he knows they would have stayed:
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
Thus, Scripture allows for a category of people who are outwardly reformed and closely associated with the truth, yet not inwardly transformed.
19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
False promises of freedom expose true bondage
False teachers commonly promise liberty, freedom from suffering, lack, or restraint, yet Peter states that they themselves are “servants of corruption.” Their message advertises freedom, but their lives reveal enslavement and ultimately lack of salvation (freedom). Jesus taught the same principle:
”Everyone who sins is a slave to sin… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” John 8:34-36
Modern illustration: promised freedom, visible bondage
This pattern is often seen in modern televangelists that promise healing or financial freedom if people “sow a seed” into their ministries. Yet their lives frequently reveal bondage to covetousness, displayed through extravagant wealth, private jets, and luxurious lifestyles.
At times, sexual immorality is also exposed, confirming Peter’s earlier description:
”Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin…” 2 Peter 2:14
Thus, while promising liberty to others, they demonstrate that they themselves are slaves of corruption overcome, in bondage by greed and lust.
These false teachers are not saved.
As verse 1 tells us, they denied the Lord. Verse 17 further describes them as “wells without water,” indicating the absence of the Holy Spirit. Scripture consistently teaches that a Christian is characterized by freedom in Christ. Rather than being slaves to corruption, believers are described as slaves of God:
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:18
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” John 8:34-36
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God,” Romans 6:22
“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:2
20For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
Reform without regeneration
The phrase “the latter end is worse with them than the beginning” is used elsewhere in Scripture to describe external cleansing without inward transformation. Jesus used this exact framework when describing people who experienced deliverance but were never indwelt by the Spirit:
Matthew 12:43–45 “...when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished… and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24–26 “...they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
In both passages, there is real escape, real improvement, and real cleansing; yet the person remains empty. The absence of the Holy Spirit explains why the latter end becomes worse than the beginning. This closely parallels Peter’s description in 2 Peter 2:20.
“Knowledge” does not equal belief or salvation
The phrase “knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” does not require saving faith. Scripture repeatedly shows that a person may experience truth, witness God’s power, and associate with believers without believing.
A person can grow wiser and cleaner simply through association:
Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise”
People may exist within the church community without being saved:
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us...”
They may even be called His disciples without believing:
John 6:64–66 ”... some of you that believe not…many of his disciples went back...”
Thus, knowledge can be experiential, intellectual, or communal, but knowledge alone does not save. It never says these individuals believed. Scripture consistently teaches a person must believe in their heart:
Acts 8:37 “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”
Romans 10:9 “...and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”
Peter deliberately excludes them from saving knowledge (key point)
This is the strongest internal evidence in the passage. In 2 Peter 1, every time Peter speaks of salvation-related knowledge, he consistently uses possessive language specifically saying the word “our”:
“our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1, 1:2, 1:8, 1:11, 1:14, 1:16)
For example:
2 Peter 1:8 …ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
However, in 2 Peter 2:20, when describing those who return to corruption, Peter notably omits the possessive:
“the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”
This linguistic shift indicates distinction, not inclusion. Peter is not describing shared salvific knowledge, but exposure to truth without union to Christ.
Matthew Henry rightly observes:
“Some men are, for a time, kept from the pollutions of the world, by the knowledge of Christ, who are not savingly renewed in the spirit of their mind. A religious education has restrained many whom the grace of God has not renewed: if we receive the light of the truth, and have a notional knowledge of Christ in our heads, it may be of some present service to us; but we must receive the love of the truth, and hide God's word in our heart, or it will not sanctify and save us”
When Scripture describes true believers, it piles up definitive salvation language, as seen in 1 Corinthians 6:11. That language is entirely absent here.
No divine chastening = no sonship
Hebrews teaches that God actively disciplines His children.
Hebrews 12:6 says “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”
And the warning is explicit: “…if ye be without chastisement… then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
In 2 Peter 2:20, these individuals are not corrected, restored, or disciplined. They are overcome and left entangled. This absence of divine chastening strongly indicates that they were never sons to begin with. A loving Father does not abandon His children to the enslavement of sin; He disciplines them because He loves them until they repent. If they refuse, their lives can be shortened as the ultimate form of chastisement (Ezekiel 18:26-32, 1 Corinthians 11:28-32, Proverbs 15:10).
Theological coherence
While this passage may sound like it describes Christians at first glance, the weight of Scripture points in the opposite direction. If salvation can be finally undone by returning to sin, then salvation rests on human endurance rather than Christ’s finished work. Scripture consistently teaches that salvation is:
accomplished by Christ (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:10–14)
secured and preserved by God (John 10:28–29; 1 Peter 1:5m Jude 1:24)
Therefore, this passage cannot be describing the loss of salvation, but rather the exposure of an unregenerate heart that was never transformed. Their return to corruption does not undo salvation, it reveals the absence of it.
21For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Greater knowledge brings greater accountability
This verse is not describing someone who was saved and then lost salvation. As verse 22 will clearly show, Peter is describing individuals whose nature never changed. Rather, the principle here is that the more truth a person receives, the greater their accountability, and therefore the greater their judgment, if they reject it.
Jesus taught this principle plainly:
Luke 12:47-48 - “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
Matthew 11:21–24 “It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon… than for you.”
John 15:22 “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.”
Paul says rejecting what you know brings more judgement
Romans 2:5 “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”
2 Peter 2:21 teaches that knowledge rejected increases guilt. It is better never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it clearly and deliberately turn away from it. This principle concerns accountability before God, not the loss of salvation.
22But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Peter’s summary: unchanged nature, not lost salvation
This verse serves as Peter’s own summary of the entire passage and makes clear who he has been describing. He is not speaking of Christians who lose their salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 teaches that those who are in Christ are new creations: “...if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new..”
A regenerated person does not return to an old identity, because that identity no longer exists. They are a new creature. In Peter’s imagery, the individuals were dogs before, remain dogs after, and return to what belongs to their nature. They came in as dogs and left as dogs. This demonstrates that they were never saved.
The same is true of the sow. Though it is washed externally, it remains a sow by nature and inevitably returns to the mire. External cleansing without internal transformation is the point.
“Dog” and “swine” consistently describe the unclean and unbelieving
Throughout Scripture, dogs and swine are metaphors for those who are unclean and outside the covenant community, not for believers who fall away.
Matthew 7:6 - “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
Revelation 22:15 - ”For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
Philippians 3:2 - ”Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.”
The proverb itself identifies the dog as a fool, someone unrighteous
Peter directly draws from Proverbs 26:11:
“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.”
In Proverbs, the fool is one who rejects God (Psalm 14:1; 53:1; Proverbs 1:7; Romans 1:21–22). The fool is consistently contrasted with the wise, the wise being those who fear the Lord, ie. the saved. By equating the dog with the fool, Scripture again identifies this person as unsaved, not a believer who has lost salvation.
Temporary association does not equal salvation
Some individuals may appear to escape the pollution of the world and even participate in the church community for a time. However, without regeneration, they eventually return to their former way of life. This may take years, or even decades, but Scripture teaches that it does happen. 1 John 2:19 parallels this exactly:
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us…”
Their departure does not undo salvation; it reveals the absence of it.
The permanence of the Holy Spirit
Jesus and John taught that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent lasting forever:
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”
2 John 2 “For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.”
1 John 2:17 “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
Doing the will is believing: John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
If these individuals had received the Spirit, they would not return permanently to corruption. Their return confirms that they were never indwelt to begin with.
2 Peter 2:22 decisively shows that Peter is describing people whose nature never changed. Like the dog and the sow, they returned to what they always were. This passage does not teach the loss of salvation, but the exposure of false professors who experienced reform without regeneration and, when tested by cunning false teachers, could no longer maintain the appearance of faith and therefore went out.