2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:1 The Day of the Lord Will Surely Come.
Peter turns his attention to explaining the Lord’s promised return.
Apparently he is responding to a disagreement in the church concerning
the timing of the return.
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2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:2 REMEMBER. Peter especially has in mind
the second coming.
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2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:3 LAST DAYS. Peter and the rest of the NT
authors teach that the “last days” have already arrived (see note
on Acts 2:17).
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2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:4 Scoffers (v. 2 Peter 3:3) will question
the biblical PROMISE of the Lord’s COMING. FATHERS refers to the OT
patriarchs. But these scoffers DELIBERATELY OVERLOOK (consciously,
willfully ignore) the FACT that God intervenes in his creation
whenever he desires. For example,... [ Continue Reading ]
2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:7 STORED UP FOR FIRE. The day of judgment
is coming for scoffers.
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2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:8 ANY SHOULD PERISH. See note on 1 Tim.
2:4. Christians long for Christ’s return and the defeat of all evil.
Yet while the present period of history lasts, people may still turn
to God in faith.
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2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:10 THE DAY OF THE LORD. God’s judgment
will not be delayed forever. When Christ returns it will be sudden and
without warning, like a THIEF. THE HEAVENS (the sky) will PASS AWAY
(compare Psalms 102:25; Revelation 6:14) and THE HEAVENLY BODIES
(stars, etc.) will be BURNED UP... [ Continue Reading ]
2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:12 HASTENING THE COMING OF THE DAY OF GOD
suggests that, by living holy lives, Christians can actually affect
the time of the Lord’s return. That does not mean, of course, that
the Lord has not determined already when Jesus will return (see
Matthew 24:36; Acts 17:31). But w... [ Continue Reading ]
2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:13 The hope of Christians ultimately
depends on God’s PROMISE that God will bring about a NEW HEAVENS AND
A NEW EARTH (see Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1). This will be the
eternal home of the righteous. “New” could mean “newly
created,” but it probably means “renewed, made... [ Continue Reading ]
2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:14 Concluding Encouragements. To obtain
their final reward, believers must live a godly life and resist the
immorality promoted by the false teachers (see 2 Peter 1:5).
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2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:15 The delay of Christ’s return should
be understood as his PATIENCE leading people to SALVATION (see v. 2
Peter 3:9; Romans 2:4). The apostle Paul ALSO WROTE TO these same
readers earlier. Apparently the false teachers used a twisted version
of Paul’s gospel of freedom (se... [ Continue Reading ]
2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:16 IN ALL HIS LETTERS shows awareness of
some kind of collection of Paul’s letters. SOME THINGS... HARD TO
UNDERSTAND. Correctly understanding some hard passages of Scripture
requires much effort and God-given wisdom. THE IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE
TWIST Paul’s teachings AS THEY... [ Continue Reading ]
2 PETER—NOTE ON 2 PETER 3:17 KNOWING THIS BEFOREHAND. The readers
have now been informed that the false teachers were distorting
Paul’s teaching. Paul advocates neither sin nor lawlessness, so they
should not be carried away by the false teaching, even if it appeals
to Paul as the authority. Instead... [ Continue Reading ]