2 Peter 2:1-3 is part of the apostolic testimony and false teachers
section of the letter. This section can be further subdivided as follows:1
- Body middle: the apostolic testimony and the false teachers (2 Peter 1:12 – 2:22)
A call to remember (2 Peter 1:12–21)
The coming and the judgment of the false teachers (2 Peter 2:1–22)
- The rise and judgment of the false teachers (2 Peter 2:1–3)
When introducing the false teachers, it appears that Peter has arranged the material in a rather interesting manner, making use of a chiasm. A chiasm is a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order. The term chiasm
comes from the Greek letter chi, which looks like our letter X. The chiasm which Peter uses is shown below:2
A. New Testament apostles (2 Peter 1:16–18)
B. Old Testament prophets (2 Peter 1:19–21)
B. Old Testament false prophets (2 Peter 2:1a)
A. New Testament false teachers/apostles (2 Peter 2:1b-2 Peter 2:2–3)
1 Il y a eu parmi le peuple de faux prophètes, et il y aura de même parmi vous de faux docteurs, qui introduiront sournoisement des sectes pernicieuses, et qui, reniant le maître qui les a rachetés, attireront sur eux une ruine soudaine.