3:1 THIS SECOND EPISTLE: Peter now returns to his exhortations to
the believers, addressing them as beloved or "dear friends"
as some versions translate. He uses the same affectionate title in 3:8,
14 and 17. It is a sharp contrast to the sternness which he employed concerning
the heretical teachers. It is natural to take the first epistle which he
refers to here as designating I Peter. However 1 Peter is not really a letter
of reminder as he suggests here, and it is sent to a wide range of readers
living in five different provinces of the Empire (see 1 Peter 1:1) while
this letter seems addressed to a single church (or closely situated churches)
whose people and circumstances Peter knows well. For these reasons many
take the first letter to be a letter written to the same readers but which
is now lost to us. It would be similar to the reference Paul makes in 1
Cor. 5:9 to a previous letter which is also lost. In both of Peter's letters
to this congregation he sought to awaken their pure minds, (i.e.
sincere, uncluttered minds) to the dangers they face from the phony leaders
in their midst who claim to be Christian.
3:2 WORDS. . .SPOKEN BEFORE: The only way these readers could recognize
the errors of the heretics would be by comparing their teaching with the
teaching of the holy prophets and apostles, i.e. the scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments. This is always the test of error and the ground
of confidence for believers. As Peter has already reminded them in 1:21
the holy prophets spoke words given to them by the Holy Spirit, which were,
therefore, utterly reliable. The commandment of the apostles (lit.,
"your apostles" NKJV margin) probably refers to the new commandment
which Jesus gave, that believers should love one another (John 13:34-35).
As the apostles developed that in their writings it is clear that such love
was to be pure and clean, free from sexual wrongdoing (see e.g. 1 Tim. 1:5).
3:3 SCOFFERS WILL COME: A primary motivation for clean living was
always the expectation of the return of Jesus to earth (see 1 John 3:2-3).
But the unforeseen delay in that coming would soon produce scoffers
who would mock the coming because they desired to live self-indulgent lives.
This suggests that the scoffers and the heretical teachers of chapter two
are one and the same. The apostles had predicted such scoffing would occur
(see 2 Tim. 3:1f, James 5:3, Jude 18), so that this denial of the parousia
("presence" of Christ) was itself a proof of its certainty.
The last days designates the present age (Heb. 1:2), and it has proved
true through the centuries that scoffers have denied the second coming whenever
hedonism and humanism have prevailed in the churches.
3:4 ALL THINGS CONTINUE: The philosophy of uniformitarianism has
gripped both the scientific world and the scholastic world for a long time.
The basis of denying a supernatural reappearance of Jesus is that nothing
of that nature has occurred in the past. Several Christian and even secular
documents of the first two centuries report the dismay that spread among
Christians when the promise of Jesus about coming soon seemed unfulfilled.
The fathers who fell asleep refer to the Old Testament patriarchs,
as every other use of this term in the N.T. indicates.
3:5-6 THEY WILLFULLY FORGET: Peter rebuts the uniformitarian argument
by recalling the very Old Testament event that would disprove their claims.
The Flood was a supernatural event which came suddenly and unexpectedly
upon the world, just as the parousia will come. The scoffing
teachers chose to overlook this event, just as many today choose to overlook
the evidences for the Flood which still exist today. They do not want to
recognize that it is the word of God which sustains the earth and
that it was by His word that God called the world into existence
out of a watery waste (Gen. 1:2); that the land emerged from the water by
means of that same word (Gen. 1:9); and that it was by water that
the world of Noah's day perished, at the same word of God (Gen. l7:23).
3:7 BY THE SAME WORD: Peter expands his prophetic look from the
world that then existed to the heavens and the earth which now exist.
Water was the chief element in the world before the Flood; fire is the destructive
force in the present universe. But as the water of the preflood world was
under the control of God, so the fire of the present age is kept in store
(in restraint) by that same word. The fire is just as literal as
the water was in v. 5. Since the explosion of the hydrogen bomb men have
little reason to doubt this prediction. We cannot take for granted that
our environment will continue to support human life forever. Everywhere
scripture predicts a coming day of judgment when the ungodly will be made
to submit forever to the horror they have chosen of existence without God.
3:8 ONE DAY. . .THOUSAND YEARS: Again Peter reminds his readers that
there is something they must keep in mind when thinking of the parousia
of Christ. First, vv. 1-7 have assured them that the scoffing unbelief
they hear is itself proof of the fact; now, second, vv. 8-9 recall to them
the nature of God as different from men. Time and Eternity are two quite
different entities, and since God is eternal and man finite, they look at
time in different ways. The quote is from Psalm 90:4 where man is pictured
as "numbering his days" while God is "from everlasting to
everlasting." In eternity there is no time, i.e. past or future, but
only the present. Thus "time" and "delay" are virtually
meaningless to God, and man must learn to adjust to that. This should help
us greatly in facing the centuries that have passed since New Testament
times.
3:9 LONGSUFFERING TOWARD US: Peter's opponents explained the seeming
delay in the parousia as proof that God is untrustworthy in
fulfilling his promises. Many today take the same position. But Peter's
answer is that it is not faithlessness or even slowness which delays the
coming of the end, but patience! The word is makrothumos, "that
quality by which God bears with sinners, holds back his wrath, refrains
from intervening in judgment as soon as the sinner's deeds deserve it, though
not indefinitely" (Bauckham). His mercy moves Him to prolong the day
of salvation. Behind His apparent delay is a heart that is not willing
that any should perish. Many scriptures establish that fact, notably
1 Tim. 2:4, Rom. 11:32, 2 Cor. 5:19, and Ezek. 18:23. He has made provision
for all to come to repentance, but if they exercise their God-given
free will to refuse He cannot prevent it, for it is that free will which
marks us out as men and not animals or robots.
3:10 THE DAY OF THE LORD: But despite the merciful patience of God,
the Day of the Lord will come! Having just been reminded that with
the Lord "one day is as a thousand years" (v. 8), it is clearly
possible to think of that Day as covering a lengthy period of time, and
not a few brief days. Here Peter telescopes together events that other scriptures
indicate cover perhaps as long as 1000 years, as he does also in Acts. 2:14-21.
The coming as a thief in the night is used by both Jesus and Paul
to refer to the initial appearance of the Lord to take the church to be
with himself (see Matt. 24:36-43, 1 Thess. 4:13-5:5, Rev. 3:3). As a thief
removes treasure from a house without the knowledge of its inhabitants,
so the Lord will remove his church from the world. His presence (parousia)
then continues on earth behind the scenes of judgment until his
unveiling (apokalupsis) in power and great glory, when every
eye will see him (Matt. 24:29-30, Rev. 1:7). During that time the terrible
predictions of the prophets concerning the darkening of the sun and moon,
and the falling of the stars, will be fulfilled. This is followed, according
to many, by a thousand years of the righteous rule of Christ over the earth
(judging evil with a rod of iron), and then occurs the event which Peter
now describes---the destruction of the present heavens and earth. It would
be as previously stated, by fire. The structure (Gk. stoichea)
of the universe would melt and the present civilization of men would disappear.
This would complete the predictions of the prophets concerning the Day of
the Lord.
3:11 WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS: With striking incisiveness Peter returns
to his exhortation to godly living, set against the fearful background of
the Day of the Lord. Personal character is all that will be left after the
destruction of the heavens and the earth. His appeal is to the desire in
each of us to live worthwhile, meaningful lives. Holy behavior toward others
and genuine worship toward God are the two qualities that will survive and
be honored beyond the conflicts of time.
3:12 -13 THE DAY OF GOD: This is not the same as the Day of the Lord
of v. 10. It is what believers wait for and even, by godly living, hasten
in its coming; and it is the reason why the present heavens and earth must
be destroyed (Gk. di hen "because of which"), but
it is described as the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness
dwells. It is, therefore, the eternal state, pictured in vivid imagery
in the New Jerusalem of Rev. 21 and 22. In the present age, righteousness
is under constant attack; in the millennium righteousness will be the dominant
lifestyle, though evil is present; in the new heavens and earth, righteousness
will dwell, i.e. be at home, in its natural environment, without
having to struggle with sin or weakness.
3:14 BE DILIGENT: Peter now returns to his word of 1:5 and 1:10 "be
diligent," to urge a practical result of their forward-looking hope.
Jesus is coming again, it could occur at any moment, what will you be like
when He returns? That is his question. Jesus himself had raised the question:
"When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?
(Luke 18:8). He left the question hanging in the air, waiting for each hearer
to answer in his own heart. Peter suggests a diligent response that seeks
to avoid the shame of the false teachers ("spots" and "blemishes"),
has dealt biblically and honestly with any personal failure and therefore
has found peace that passes understanding. Peace is the heritage
of Christians and its presence indicates one whose expectation of the return
of Christ has given a sense of balance and proportion despite whatever chaos
the world may present.
3:15 OUR BELOVED BROTHER PAUL: Peter here returns to the theme of
v. 9, the reason for the delay of the parousia. It is to permit
greater opportunity for salvation among men, as the gospel spreads
throughout the earth (see Rom. 2:4). Paul, too, had written of this salvation
and its effect upon the behavior of those who find it. That Peter speaks
of Paul with great affection confirms the dating of this letter in the late
sixties of the first century when tradition places them together in Rome.
Probably several of Paul's letters had reached Peter's readers and they
were well aware of both his wisdom, and as v. 15 indicates, something of
the difficulty experienced in understanding his penetrating insights.
3:16 THINGS HARD TO UNDERSTAND: How many of Paul's epistles Peter
had read it is impossible to know. Certainly there was nothing unusual in
the apostle's reading of one another's letters, for after the meeting of
Paul with James, Peter, and John, described in Gal. 2:9, there was full
acceptance of Paul's apostleship among the Twelve. What he here calls things
hard to understand probably describes Paul's discussion of justification
by faith (See Rom. 3:5-8, 6:1 and Gal. 3:10) for Paul himself admits that
his teaching of freedom from the law was often twisted to condone license
to sin. This was exactly what the heretical teachers of 2 Peter were doing.
He has already said that their abuse of Christian teaching was leading to
their own destruction (2:12). Not only did they twist Paul's teaching,
but also the rest of the Scriptures. This phrase puts Paul's epistles
on a par with the writings of the prophets, calling them equally Scripture.
All the apostles were aware that what they taught was inspired by God (see
1 Thess. 2:13).
3:17 BEWARE: The knowledge of the truth which Peter has shared with
his readers puts the responsibility on them to watch themselves carefully
so they do not fall away from Christ. He speaks with great affection (beloved)
and yet once again reminds them that it is possible for even stable Christians
to be led astray if they listen to the teaching of those whose lives do
not measure up.
3:18 GROW IN THE GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE: On the other hand, the purpose
of salvation, of scripture, and of Christian teaching is to bring one into
deeper and more intimate experience of Christ. Knowledge of Christ and knowledge
about Christ are not the same thing, though the latter is necessary to achieve
the former. It is fitting that Peter should end his letter with an acknowledgment
that glory belongs to Jesus, for he had seen Him in shining glory
on the Mt. of Transfiguration. To worship, praise and obey Him is to give
Him the glory due to His name in this present life. It should continue to
the day of the age, translated here forever. What Peter means
is till the parousia of Christ, when believers will see His
face and be with Him forever. That was Peter's great expectation and desire,
and one he seeks to bring his readers to share. Let us say Amen with him!
