It has been supposed by some that the opening words of this third chapter indicate the beginning of a new Epistle. What we have, however, is only the beginning of a new division of the same Epistle. The great subject now is that ‘power and Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,' of which the writer has sp... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:1. THIS IS NOW, BELOVED, A SECOND EPISTLE THAT I WRITE UNTO YOU. The sentence might be rendered literally thus: ‘This already second epistle, beloved, I write unto you.' The expression seems to imply that a comparatively short time had elapsed since he wrote them before. This is referred t... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:2. in order THAT YE MAY REMEMBER THE WORDS SPOKEN BEFORE BY THE HOLY PROPHETS. The importance of the testimony of prophecy (obviously here O. T. prophecy, and specially those sections of it which spoke of the Advent of Messiah) is again pressed, as was already the case in chap. 2 Peter 1:1... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:3. KNOWING THIS FIRST; the same formula, with the same force, as in chap. 2 Peter 1:20. THAT IN THE LAST OF THE DAYS; so it should be rendered, in accordance with a reading which is preferred by the best critical editors. That followed by the A. V., though it is translated ‘in the last da... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:4. AND SAYING, WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING? The ‘coming' is again expressed here by the word _parousia,_ ‘presence;' as to which see on chap. 2 Peter 1:16. The question, put with triumphant scorn by these mockers, repeats the cherished terms used by believers the ‘promise ‘in which... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:5. FOR THIS ESCAPES THEM OF THEIR OWN WILL. So may the sentence be translated literally. The rendering of the A. V., ‘for this they willingly are ignorant of,' is somewhat weak. Better is that of the R. V., ‘for this they wilfully forget.' The ‘this' then refers to the fact which is to be... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:6. WHEREBY THE THEN WORLD BEING FLOODED WITH WATER PERISHED. The term used for ‘world' here is the one (_cosmos_) which describes it as a system of order and beauty, and presents it (in distinction from another term _aeon,_ which deals with it under the aspect of time) under the aspect of... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:7. BUT THE HEAVENS WHICH NOW ARE AND THE EARTH BY THE SAME WORD HAVE BEEN STORED UP FOR FIRE, BEING RESERVED UNTO THE DAY OF JUDGMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF THE UNGODLY MEN. The ‘which now are' is in direct antithesis to ‘the then world.' The form of the phrase also indicates that the world of... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:8. BUT LET NOT THIS ONE THING ESCAPE YOU, BELOVED; the mode of expression which has been already used in reference to the mockers in 2 Peter 3:5. The writer passes now from the idea of the supposed constancy of the order of things to that of the apparent delay in the realization of the pro... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:9. THE LORD IS NOT SLACK CONCERNING HIS PROMISE, AS SOME COUNT SLACKNESS. The apparent delay in the performance of the Divine engagement is capable of a still more assuring explanation. It has a gracious purpose. Some construe the sentence thus ‘the Lord of the promise is not slack,' etc.... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:10. BUT THE DAY OF THE LORD; the day which in 2 Peter 3:12 is called ‘the day of God,' and elsewhere ‘the day of Christ' (2 Thessalonians 2:2), ‘the day of the Lord Jesus' (2 Corinthians 1:14). The expression carries us back to the Old Testament prophecies of _Jehovah's day,_ or _the day o... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:11. SEEING THAT THESE THINGS ARE THUS ALL DISSOLVING. The rendering which is sustained by the best authorities differs from the Received Text in omitting the ‘these' of the A. V. and inserting ‘thus.' The verb is given in the present tense, not ‘shall be dissolved' as the A. V. puts it, or... [ Continue Reading ]
The closing verses are devoted to the pressing of certain practical injunctions, which are closely connected with the Christian view of the end. These are given in a strain as tender as it is solemn and pointed. They are based in part upon the consideration of the catastrophe which comes in the trai... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:12. LOOKING FOR AND HASTENING THE COMING OF THE DAY OF GOD. This is the only instance of the ‘day' being designated ‘the day of _God.'_ The ‘looking for' is expressed by the term which is rendered ‘wait for' in Luke 1:21; Luke 8:40; Acts 10:24, ‘expect' in Acts 3:5, ‘be in expectation' in... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:13. BUT, ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE, WE LOOK FOR NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH. The rendering of the R. V. is decidedly superior here to that of the A. V. The latter throws an emphasis upon the ‘we,' where the original throws it upon the ‘new.' The ‘look for' is expressed by the same term as i... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:14. WHEREFORE, BELOVED, LOOKING FOR THESE THINGS, GIVE DILIGENCE TO BE FOUND IN PEACE, SPOTLESS AND UNBLAMEABLE IN HIS SIGHT. The ‘looking for' (again the same term as in 2 Peter 3:12-13) may give the reason for the duty which is enjoined, as it is understood by both the A. V. and the R. V... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:15. AND ACCOUNT THE LONG-SUFFERING OF OUR LORD SALVATION. If _Christ_ is referred to here, the passage becomes one of great importance in relation to the doctrine of His Person, as it speaks of Him in the same terms as have been already applied to God, and indirectly claims for Him Divine... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:16. AS ALSO IN ALL (HIS) EPISTLES, SPEAKING IN THEM OF THESE THINGS; a statement from which we are not entitled to infer that the Pauline Epistles already formed a collection which could be spoken of as one whole. IN WHICH ARE SOME THINGS HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD. The ‘in which' refers, acco... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:17. YE THEREFORE, BELOVED, KNOWING THESE THINGS BEFORE, BEWARE LEST, CARRIED AWAY WITH THE ERROR OF THE LAWLESS, YE FALL FROM YOUR OWN STEDFASTNESS. The epithet ‘lawless' (not merely ‘wicked,' as both the A. V. and R. V. put it) is that which was formerly applied to the men of Sodom in cha... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Peter 3:18. BUT GROW IN GRACE AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. The R. V. prefers the rendering ‘grow in the grace and knowledge,' etc. a rendering which may mean either ‘in the grace and in the knowledge which Christ gives,' or ‘in the grace which Christ gives and in the... [ Continue Reading ]