_This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you_ A new section of the Epistle opens. The "false teachers" recede from view, and the thoughts of the Apostle turn to the mockers who made merry at the delay of the coming of the Lord, to which Christians had so confidently looked forward as nigh at... [ Continue Reading ]
_the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets_ The conjunction of "prophets" and "apostles" here is so entirely after the pattern of the like combination in Ephesians 2:20; Ephesians 3:5; Ephesians 4:11, that there can scarcely be a doubt that the writer meant at least to include the New... [ Continue Reading ]
_knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers_ The better MSS. give the emphatic Hebrew idiom of reduplication (comp. Genesis 22:17), SCOFFERS SHALL COME IN THEIR SCOFFING. The first noun is found only here and in the parallel passage of Judges 1:18; the latter, here only. _w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Where is the promise of his coming?_ The question indicates the comparatively late date of the Epistle. St James had spoken (probably a. d. 50) of the Judge as standing at the door; St Paul had written twice as if he expected to be living on the earth when the Judge should come (1Th 4:15; 1 Corinth... [ Continue Reading ]
_For this they willingly are ignorant of_ More accurately, FOR THIS IS HID FROM THEM BY THEIR OWN WILL. The English phrase "they ignore" exactly expresses the state of mind of which the Apostle speaks. The ignorance of the scoffers was self-chosen. They closed their eyes to the truth that the law of... [ Continue Reading ]
_whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished_ The "whereby" is not without its difficulties. Does it refer to the whole fact of creation described in the previous verse, or to the two regions in which the element of water was stored up? On the whole, the latter has most in... [ Continue Reading ]
_but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word_ Some of the better MSS. give BY HIS WORD, but the received reading rests on sufficient authority. _are kept in store, reserved unto fire_ Literally, ARE TREASURED UP. The use of the word in reference to punishment has a parallel in Rom... [ Continue Reading ]
_But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing_ Literally, the construction being the same as in 2 Peter 3:5, LET NOT THIS ONE THING BE HIDDEN FROM YOU. _that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years_ The latter clause has its origin in the words of the Psalmist, "A thousand years in thy sight... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness_ We enter here on the third answer, and it rests on the purpose which was working through what men looked on as a delay in the fulfilment of the promise. That purpose was one of love and mercy. It was not slackness or tardine... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night_ The confidence of the Apostle that this will be the end of the history of the human race is not shaken by the seeming "slackness" in its approach. Either reproducing the thought which he had heard from his Master's lips (Matthew 24:43), or... [ Continue Reading ]
_Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved_ Literally, SEEING THEREFORE THAT ALL THESE THINGS ARE BEING DISSOLVED. The Greek participle is in the present tense, and is probably used to convey the thought that even now the fabric of the earth is on its way to the final dissolution. If with... [ Continue Reading ]
_looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God_ The English versions follow the Vulgate and Luther in this rendering. It is doubtful, however, whether the Greek verb for "hasten," followed by an accusative without a preposition, can have this meaning, and its natural transitive force (as... [ Continue Reading ]
_we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth_ The promise of which the Apostle speaks is that of Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22, where we have the very words, "new heavens and a new earth," the context there connecting it with the restoration of Israel to their own land and the re... [ Continue Reading ]
_be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace_ The language, like that of 2 Peter 3:8, is that of one who still lives in the expectation that he and those to whom he writes may yet survive to witness the coming of the Lord. The hour of death has not yet taken the place in the Apostle's thoughts,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation_ The words have a pointed reference to 2 Peter 3:9. Men were impatient, and counted the "long-suffering of God" as tardiness in the fulfilment of His promises. The true way of looking at it was to see in it the working out of His plan of s... [ Continue Reading ]
_as also in all his epistles_ The English represents the Greek accurately enough, but the absence of the article in the original should be noted as shewing that there was not yet any complete collection of St Paul's Epistles. All that can be legitimately inferred from the expression is that St Peter... [ Continue Reading ]
_beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked_ Better, OF THE LAWLESS ONES, as in chap. 2 Peter 2:7. It is noticeable that while St Paul had used the word for being "led away" of Barnabas as being influenced by the Judaizing teachers at Antioch (Galatians 2:13), St Peter here app... [ Continue Reading ]
_But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ_ The final thought of the Epistle, like that with which it opened, is the growth of the Christian life. Here, as there (chap. 2 Peter 1:5), stress is laid on knowledge as an element of growth, partly as essential to comple... [ Continue Reading ]