2 Peter 3:11

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, THEN. So 'Aleph (') A, Vulgate; but B C substitute ( houtos (G3778)) 'thus' for "then:" a happy refutation of the 'thus' of the scoffers, 2 Peter 3:4, "AS they were." SHALL BE, [ luomenoon (G3089)] - 'are being (in God's appointment, soon to be fulfilled) dissolve;' implying the certainly, as though actually present. WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS - how watchful, prayerful, zealous! TO BE - not mere existence [ einai (G1511)], but ...

Heaven and earth, he says, shall pass away for our sakes; is it meet, then, for us to be engrossed with the things of earth, and not, on the contrary, to attend to a holy and godly life? The corruptions of heaven and earth will be purged by fire, while yet as the creatures of God they are pure; what then ought to be done by us who are full of so many pollutions? As to the word _godlinesses _(_pietatibus _,) the plural number is used for the singular, except you take it as meaning the duties of godliness. (180) Of the elements of the world I shall only say this one thing, that they are to be consumed, only that they may be renovated, their substance still remaining the same, as it may be easily gathered from Romans 8:21, and from other passages. (181)...

11-18 From the doctrine of Christ's second coming, we are exhorted to purity and godliness. This is the effect of real knowledge. Very exact and universal holiness is enjoined, not resting in any low measure or degree. True Christians look for new heavens and a new earth; freed from the vanity to which things present are subject, and the sin they are polluted with. Those only who are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, shall be admitted to dwell in this holy place. He is faithful, who has promised. Those, whose sins are pardoned, and their peace made with God, are the only safe and happy people; therefore follow after peace, and that with all men; follow after holiness as well as peace. Never expect to be found at that day of God in peace, if you are lazy and idle in this your day, in which we must finish the work given us to do. Only the diligent...

Verse 11. _ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE DISSOLVED_] They will all be _separated_, all _decomposed_; but none of them _destroyed_. And as they are the original matter out of which God formed the terraqueous globe, consequently they may enter again into the _composition_ of a _new system_; and therefore the apostle says, 2 Peter 3:13: _we look for new heavens and a new earth_-the others being _decomposed_, a new system is to be formed out of their materials. There is a wonderful philosophic propriety in the words of the apostle in describing this most awful event. _WHAT MANNER_ OF PERSONS _OUGHT YE TO BE_] Some put the note of interrogation at the end of this clause, and join the remaining part with the 12th verse, 2 Peter 3:12

SEEING THEN THAT ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE DISSOLVED - Since this is an undoubted truth. WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT YE TO BE IN ALL HOLY CONVERSATION AND GODLINESS - In holy conduct and piety. That is, this fact ought to be allowed to exert a deep and abiding influence on us, to induce us to lead holy lives. We should feel that there is nothing permanent on the earth that this is not our abiding home; and that our great interests are in another world. We should be serious, humble, and prayerful; and should make it our great object to be prepared for the solemn scenes through which we are soon to pass. An habitual contemplation of the truth, that all that we see is soon to pass away, would produce a most salutary effect on the mind. It would make us serious. It would repress ambition. It would lead us not to desire to accumulate what must so soon be destroyed. It would prompt us to lay...

EXPOSITION 2 PETER 3:1 THIS SECOND EPISTLE, BELOVED, I NOW WRITE UNTO YOU; literally, _this Epistle already a second one I write unto you. _The ἤδη ("already") implies that the interval between the two Epistles was not long. The expression "beloved," four times repeated in this chapter, shows the apostle's affectionate interest in his readers; and the word "second" forces us to make our choice between the Petrine authorship of the Epistle or the hypothesis of a direct forgery. IN BOTH WHICH I STIR UP YOUR PURE MINDS BY WAY OF REMEMBRANCE; literally, _in which, i.e.,_ "Epistles;" the word "second" implied an allusion to a First Epistle. St. Peter repeats the words which he had used in 2 Peter 1:13, "I think it meet … to stir

[SEEING] THEN [THAT] ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE DISSOLVED,.... By fire; the heaven with all its host, sun, moon, and stars, clouds, meteors, and fowls of the air; the earth, and all that is upon it, whether of nature, or art; and, since nothing is more certain than such a dissolution of all things, WHAT MANNER [OF PERSONS] OUGHT YE TO BE IN [ALL] HOLY CONVERSATION AND GODLINESS? not as the scoffers and profane sinners, who put away this evil day far from them, but as men, who have their loins girt, and their lights burning, waiting for their Lord's coming; being continually in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of their religious duties, watching, praying, hearing, reading; living soberly, righteously, and godly; guarding against intemperance and worldly mindedness, and every worldly and hurtful lust....

2 Peter 3:1. _This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up pour pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which. were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,_ This prophecy is most certainly being fulfilled in these days. 2 Peter 3:4. _And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the father fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation._ «Inviolable laws still govern the material creation. Men are still swift to sin. Oppressors are not overthrown; and, oftentimes, the good are left to languish in poverty an

2 PETER 3:11 tou,twn ou[twj {B} Although the reading tou,twn ou=n is supported by representatives of both the Alexandrian and the Western types of text, the Committee was inclined to prefer the reading tou,twn ou[twj because of the weight of the combination of î72 B 614 1739 syrh _al,_ and because ou=n may have been introduced to provide a smoother connection with the previous statements. The readings tou,twn de. ou[twj (C P _al_) and tou,twn ou=n ou[twj (81 _al_) are obviously secondary....

III. THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH AND THE CONCLUSION CHAPTER 3 _ 1. Mocking at the Lord's coming (2 Peter 3:1)_ 2. The future of the earth (2 Peter 3:8) 3. EXHORTATION AND CONCLUSION (2 PETER 3:11) 2 Peter 3:1 The opening statement shows conclusively that Peter is the author and that this second Epistle was sent to the same believers to whom the first Epistle was addressed. The critics claim that this chapter marks a separate Epistle in itself and that it was combined by mistake with the preceding two Chapter s. Like so much else the critics put forth this is a foolish speculation wholly unwarranted