Promising (1861) (epaggello from epi = an intensifier of the verb + aggello = to tell, declare) means to proclaim, promise, declare, announce, claim (profess). NASB Usage: made(1), made the promise(1), making a claim(1), professed(1), promise had been made(1), promised(9), promising(1). Vine - "to announce, proclaim," has in the NT the two meanings "to profess" and "to promise," each used in the Middle Voice; "to promise" (a) of "promises" of God, Acts 7:5 ; Romans 4:21 ; in Galatians 3:19 , Passive Voice; Titus 1:2 ; Hebrews 6:13 ; 10:23 ; 11:11 ; 12:26 ; James 1:12 ; 2:5 ; 1 John 2:25 ; (b) made by men, Mark 14:11 ; 2 Peter 2:19. Zodhiates - To proclaim as public announcements or decrees; hence to announce a message, summons, or a promise. In the Class. Gr., used more in the sense of announcing a summons, issuing a command. In the NT, used only in the mid. voice, epaggéllomai, as a deponent verb meaning basically to announce oneself, offer oneself for a responsibility or service. Friberg - (1) as a divine or human declaration, offering to do something (make a) promise, offer (James 1.12); (2) as what one is asserting about himself profess, lay claim to (1Ti 2.10) BDAG (summarized) 1. to declare to do something with implication of obligation to carry out what is stated, promise, offer 2. to claim to be well-accomplished in something - profess, lay claim to, give oneself out as an expert in something (1Ti 2:10) God to give a promise (1Jn 2:25) Thayer (summarized) 1. to announce that one is about to do or to furnish something, i. e. to promise (of one's own accord), to engage (voluntarily); to give a promise to one (Heb 10:23, Ro 4:21) 2. to profess; ti,, e. g. an art, to profess oneself skilled in it TDNT (Classic Greek use) - a. The first sense is “to indicate,” “declare,” “declaration,” “report.” b. When the state declares something, it becomes an “order.” c. In law we find the senses “accusation” and “delivery of a judgment.” d. We then find the senses “to declare an achievement,” “to show one's mastery,” “to profess a subject.” e. Another sense is “to offer,” “to promise,” “to vow.” As regards promises, tension between word and deed is felt, so that promises are often seen as worthless. f. A special type of promise is the “promise of money,” and in this sense the idea of a “subscription” or “donation” arises (state liturgies, gifts to rulers at their accession, priests promising gifts in support of their candidature). g. In the Hellenistic period we also find a sacral use for the “proclamation” of a festival. Among all the instances, only one example has been found for the promise of a deity. Epaggello - 15x in 15v - Mark 14:11; Acts 7:5; Rom 4:21; Gal 3:19; 1 Tim 2:10; 6:21; Titus 1:2; Heb 6:13; 10:23; 11:11; 12:26; Jas 1:12; 2:5; 2 Pet 2:19; 1 John 2:25. The only uses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint are Esther 4:7, Pr 13:12 Peter pictures these deceivers as announcing proclamations with a sense of certainty that the promise will be fulfilled. The false teachers never cease proclaiming (present tense indicates continuous action -- lie, lie, lie - that was their modus operandi!) their deceitful promise of "freedom" but as shown below their walk does not match their talk. Peter uses a bit of sarcasm here emphasizing the ridiculousness of the possibility that people who are slaves of sin themselves could ever set anybody else free! Be careful when someone promises you freedom with "no strings attached" (e.g., freedom to live as you please), because true spiritual freedom in Christ is not the right to do as you please, but is the liberty (and the power) to do as you should. No man is right to do as he pleases unless he pleases to do right! In other words, true Christian liberty is the liberty from sin and not to sin. The glory of the Gospel brings spiritual freedom, while the disgrace of this "brand" of false teaching brings bondage to sin, self and Satan. In his first letter Peter wrote that believers are to... Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. (See note 1Pe 2:16) Jonathan Edwards said it this way... True liberty consists only in the power of doing what we ought to will, and in not being constrained to do what we ought not to will. Oswald Chambers phrased it this way... Liberty means ability not to violate the law of God. License means personal insistence on doing what I like. A W Tozer put it in pithy terms writing that... The important thing about a man is not where he goes when he is compelled to go, but where he goes when he is free to go where he will...Where we go when we are free to go where we will is a near-infallible index of character. William Barclay - Christian liberty always carries danger. Paul tells his people that they have indeed been called to liberty but that they must not use it for an occasion to the flesh (Galatians 5:13). Peter tells his people that indeed they are free but they must not use their freedom as a cloak of maliciousness (1Pe 2:16). These false teachers offered freedom, but it was freedom to sin as much as a man liked. They appealed not to the best but to the worst in a man. Peter is quite clear that they did this because they were slaves to their own lusts. Seneca said, "To be enslaved to oneself is the heaviest of all servitudes." Persius spoke to the lustful debauchees of his day of "the masters that grow up within that sickly breast of yours." These teachers were offering liberty when they themselves were slaves, and the liberty they were offering was the liberty to become slaves of lust. Their message was arrogant because it was the contradiction of the message of Christ; it was futile because he who followed it would find himself a slave. Here again in the background is the fundamental heresy which makes grace a justification for sin instead of a power and a summons to nobility. (2 Peter 2- William Barclay's Daily Study Bible) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/2_peter_219.htm#p