2 Peter 3

2 Peter 3:1

IV. THE RISE OF SCOFFERS PREDICTED (Chap. 3) 3:1 From the subject of false teachers in chapter 2, Peter turns to the certain rise of scoffers in the last days. In this Letter as in the previous one, he first encourages his readers to cling to the Bible. 3:2 They should remember the predictions of the holy prophetsfound in the OT; and they should remember the teaching of the Lord as conveyed through the apostlesthis is preserved in the NT. The Bible is the only true safeguard in days of declension. 3:3 The united testimony of the prophets and apostles was that scoffers would come in the last days, following their own lusts. Christians should remember this. They should not be bowled over by the arrogant and blasphemous denials of these men. Rather they should see in them a definite indication that the end of the age is nearing. These mockers follow their own passions. Having rejected the knowledge of God, they fearlessly indulge their appetites. They advocate permissiveness with total disregard of any impending judgment. 3:4 Their primary scoff has to do with the coming of Christ. Their attitude is, Where is the promise of His coming? meaning, Where is the fulfillment of the promise? But what do they mean by His coming? Do they mean Christ’s coming for His saints, which we speak of as the Rapture (1Th_4:13-18)? It is doubtful that these scoffers know anything about this first phase of the Lord’s return. Do they mean Christ’s coming with His saints to set up His universal kingdom (1Th_3:13)? It is possible that this could be included in their thinking. But it seems clear from the rest of the passage that they are thinking of the final judgment of God on the earth, or what is commonly called the end of the world. They are thinking of the fiery destruction of the heavens and earth at the end of the Millennium. What they really say is this: You Christians have been threatening us with warnings about a terrible judgment upon the world. You tell us that God is going to intervene in history, punish the wicked, and destroy the earth. It’s all a pack of nonsense. We have nothing to fear. We can live as we please. There is no evidence that God ever has intervened in history; why should we believe that He ever will?Their conclusion is based on the careless hypothesis that since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. They say that nature invariably follows uniform laws, that there are no supernatural interventions, that there is a natural explanation for everything. They believe in the law of uniformitarianism. This law states that existing processes in nature have always acted in the same manner and with essentially the same intensity as at present, and that these processes are sufficient to account for all the changes that have taken place. There is a vital link between the law of uniformitarianism and the usual theories of evolution. The theory of the progressive development of living organisms from pre-existing types depends on the supposition that conditions have been fairly uniform. If this earth has been racked by cataclysms and catastrophes, then some of the presuppositions of Darwinian evolution are affected. 3:5 The scoffers deliberately ignore one factthe flood. God did intervene at one time in the affairs of men, and the specific purpose of His intervention was to punish wickedness. If it happened once, it can happen again. It is a withering indictment of these men that they are willfully ignorant. They pride themselves on being knowledgeable. They profess to be objective in their reasoning. They boast that they adhere to the principles of scientific investigation. But the fact is that they deliberately ignore a well-attested fact of historythe deluge. They should take a course in geology! For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, … perished. The heavens and the earth were formed by the word of God; He spoke and they came into being (Heb_11:3). The earth was formed, Peter says, out of the water and in the water. We confess that there are depths in this statement that we cannot fully understand. We do know from Gen_1:2 that the face of the earth was once covered with water. Then in verse 6 we read that God made a firmament or expanse to separate the water on the earth from the mist or cloud-cover over the earth.

We assume from this that the earth had been covered by a thick mist of water in which life could not have been sustained. The firmament provided the clear atmosphere in which we can breathe. In Gen_1:9, the continents were separated from the oceans; this may be what is referred to by the expression the earth standing out of water (see also Psa_24:2). Whatever the scientific implications of Peter’s statement, we do know that the earth is a watery, cloud-covered world; three quarters of the surface is ocean, and much of it is veiled by mists. As far as we know, the earth is the only watery planet, and therefore the only one that can sustain human life. 3:6 From its inception, the earth was stored with the means of its own destruction. It had water in its subterranean depths, water in the seas, and water in the clouds above. Finally God released the waters from below and above (Gen_7:11), the land was inundated, and all life outside the ark was destroyed. The critics willfully disregard this fact of history. It is interesting that the flood has emerged in recent years as the object of bitter attack. But the record of it is written in stone, in the traditions of ancient peoples and modern, and best of all, in God’s Holy word. 3:7 When God created the earth, He seeded it with sufficient water to destroy it. In the same manner, He seeded the heavens and the earth with enough fire to destroy them. In this nuclear age, we understand that matter is stored-up energy. The splitting of an atomic nucleus results in the fiery release of enormous quantities of energy. So all the matter in the world represents tremendous explosive potential. At present it is held together by the Lord (Col_1:17, in Him all things consist). If His restraining hand were removed, the elements would melt. In the meantime the heavens and the earth are being reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 3:8 Why then the long delay in God’s judgment? Well, first we should remember that God is timeless. He does not live in a sphere of time as we do. After all, time is determined by the relation of the sun to the earth, and God is not limited by this relationship. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. He can expand a day into a millennium, or compress a millennium into a day. He can either spread or concentrate His activities. 3:9 God has promised to end the history of ungodly men with judgment. If there seems to be delay, it is not because God is unfaithful to His promise. It is because He is patient. He does not want any to perish. His desire is that all should come to repentance. He purposely extends the time of grace so that men might have every opportunity to be saved. In Isa_61:2 we read of the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of His vengeance. This suggests that He delights to show mercy and that judgment is His strange work (Isa_28:21). It may also indicate that He can extend His longsuffering 1000 years and condense His judgments into one day. He waited 120 years before He sent the flood. Now He has waited several thousand years before destroying the world with fire. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come. The day of the Lord refers to any period when God acts in judgment. It was used in the OT to describe any time when God punished evildoers and triumphed over His foes (Isa_2:12; Isa_13:6, Isa_13:9; Eze_13:5; Eze_30:3; Joe_1:15; Joe_2:1, Joe_2:11, Joe_2:31; Joe_3:14; Amo_5:18, Amo_5:20; Oba_1:15; Zep_1:7, Zep_1:14; Zec_14:1; Mal_4:5). In the NT it is a period of time with various stages:

1. It refers to the Tribulation, a seven-year period when God will judge unbelieving Israel (1Th_5:2; 2Th_2:2, NU Text).
2. It includes His return to earth when He will inflict vengeance on those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus (2Th_1:7-10).
3. It is used of the Millennium when Christ will rule the earth with a rod of iron (Act_2:20).
4. It refers to the final destruction of the heavens and the earth with fire. That is the meaning here in chapter 3. It will come as a thiefthat is, unexpectedly and destructively. The heavens will pass away. This certainly means the atmospheric heavens, and may mean the stellar heavens, but it cannot mean the third heaventhe dwelling place of God. As they pass away with a deafening explosion, the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat. The elements here refer to the constituent parts of matter. All matter will be destroyed in what resembles a universal nuclear holocaust. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Not only the works of the natural creation, but all civilization will be consumed. The great capitals of the world, the imposing buildings, the phenomenal scientific productions are all marked for utter destruction. 3:11 Now Peter turns from the scoffers to the saints and presses home the obligations that devolve on them. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness. Everything material has the stamp of oblivion upon it. The things of which men boast, the things for which they live are passing things at best. To live for material things is to live for the temporary. Common sense tells us to turn from the tinsel and toys of this world and live in holiness and godliness. It is a simple matter of living for eternity rather than time, of emphasizing the spiritual rather than the material, of choosing the permanent over the passing. 3:12 Believers should also be expectant. They should wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. Some use the words hastening the coming of the day of God to teach that we can hurry up the coming of the Lord by lives of devoted, unflagging service. But there are two difficulties in this teaching. First of all, the Day of God is not the coming of the Lord. Secondly, even if it were, there is real reason to question whether the time of Christ’s coming can be altered by the zeal of His people. The day of God refers to the eternal state. It follows the final phase of the Day of the Lord when the heavens and earth will be destroyed. The day of God is the Day of His complete and final triumph. For this reason it is a day we should wait for and earnestly desire. In speaking of the day of God, Peter does not say in which, but because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. The day of God is not the time in which the final destruction takes place. Instead, this ultimate judgment must occur before the Day of God can be ushered in. 3:13 In verse 12, believers were urged to wait for the Day of God. Here they are described as waiting for the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. This supports the view that the Day of God refers to the eternal state when there will be new heavens and a new earth. In Isa_65:17; Isa_66:22, the new heavens and new earth are used to describe the Millennium as well as the eternal state. We know those passages include the Millennium because sin will be present (Isa_65:20) and children will be born (Isa_65:23). Peter applies the words exclusively to the eternal state; the existing heavens and earth will have already passed away. Peter speaks of righteousness dwelling in the new heavens and new earth. At the present time grace reigns through righteousness (Rom_5:21). In the Millennium righteousness will reign (Isa_32:1); in eternity, righteousness will dwell. In the earthly kingdom, Christ will rule with a rod of iron and righteousness will be enforced by Him. In that sense righteousness will reign. But in eternity, there will be no need for an iron rod. Righteousness will be at home. No sin will enter to mar the peace or beauty of that scene. 3:14 The truth concerning the new heavens and the new earth should deepen our desire to live holy as to the Lord. It is not only a truth that we should hold but one that should hold us. Knowing that we shall soon stand before God should create within us a desire to be without spot and blameless, that is, to be morally clean. It should make us zealous to be found in a state of peace, not strife. 3:15 And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. His delay in judgment is to give men full opportunity to be saved. As we consider the multiplying wickedness of men, we often wonder how the Lord can put up with it any longer. His forbearance is astonishing. But there is a reason for it. He does not desire the death of the wicked. He longs to see people turn from their wicked ways and be saved. As also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you. Several interesting points emerge in this allusion to Paul:
5. First, Peter speaks of Paul as our beloved brother, and this in spite of the fact that Paul had publicly rebuked Peter in Antioch for acting insincerely (Gal_2:11-21). Obviously Peter had accepted the rebuke humbly. We should all be able to accept correction without harboring animosities.
6. Peter acknowledged that Paul was given divine wisdom in writing his Epistles. This is surely an intimation that Peter considered Paul’s writings to be divinely inspired.
7. Peter’s readers had apparently read one or more of Paul’s Epistles. This may mean that the Epistles were addressed directly to them or that they were circulated in that area. Which of Paul’s Letters says that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation? Rom_2:4 reads: Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 3:16 In all his epistles Paul spoke of the great truths with which Peter has been dealing in his two Letters; truths such as the new birth, the deity of Christ, His life of sinless suffering, His substitutionary death, His resurrection, His ascension, His coming again, the Day of the Lord and the eternal state. Some Bible truths are hard to understand, such as the Trinity, God’s election and man’s free will, the mystery of suffering, etc. It should not disturb us if we find matters in the Bible which are above our understanding. The word of God is infinite and inexhaustible. In studying it we must always be willing to give God credit for knowing things which we can never fully fathom. Peter is not criticizing Paul’s writings when he speaks of things hard to understand. It is not Paul’s style of writing which is difficult to understand but the subjects which he treats. Barnes writes: Peter refers not to the difficulties of understanding what Paul meant, but to the difficulty of comprehending the great truths which he taught.Instead of accepting them simply by faith, untaught and unstable people twist some of these difficult truths to their own destruction. Some false cults, for instance, twist the law into a way of salvation rather than a revealer of sin. Others make baptism the door to heaven. They do this not only with Paul’s writings but with other Scriptures as well. Notice that Peter here puts Paul’s writings on the same level as the rest of the Scriptures, that is, the OT and whatever portions of the NT were then available. He acknowledges that the Pauline Epistles were part of the inspired sacred Scriptures. 3:17 Believers must be constantly on guard against the peril of error. The knowledge that there will always be false teachers who corrupt and imitate the truth should keep us alert. It is easy for the unsuspecting to be swept off their feet by the error of the wicked and to lose their spiritual balance. 3:18 Once again Peter teaches that continued progress in divine things is a great protection against the peril of false teachers. There must be a twofold growthin grace and in knowledge. Grace is the practical demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit. Growth in grace is not increased head knowledge or tireless activity; it is increasing likeness to the Lord Jesus. Knowledge means acquaintance with the Lord through the word. Growth in knowledge means increasing study of and subjection to His words, works, and ways. But Peter cannot close his Epistle with an exhortation to the saints. The climax must be glory to the Savior. And so we find the lovely doxology: To Him be the glory, both now and forever. Amen. This, after all, is the ultimate reason for our existenceto glorify Himand therefore no concluding note to this Epistle could be more fitting.