οἱ δὲ νῦν οὐρανοί. He seems to speak of the Flood as if it had destroyed heaven and earth (in the Book of Enoch hyperbolical language of that kind is used of the Flood lxxxiii. 3, in a vision “the heaven collapsed and was borne off and fell to the earth”): and it may have been his view that the upper firmament did fall in and overwhelm the earth. But the general run of thought seems to be this. Of old the heavens were the means of destruction: in the future the heavens themselves will be destroyed (by fire).

τεθησαυρισμένοι πυρί, stored up—reserved—for fire; not stored with fire, which would mean that there was fire latent in them which would some day burst forth and consume them. That was the belief of Valentinus, a great heretical teacher of cent. ii.

τηρούμενοι κ.τ.λ. Cf. 2 Peter 2:4; 2 Peter 2:9.

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Old Testament