Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Peter 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

10. 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 (Mat 24:43), or echoing the very words of St Paul (1Th 5:2), he declares that it will come, and will come suddenly, when men are not looking for it.

the heavens shall pass away with a great noise ] The last four words answer to one Greek adverb, not found elsewhere, which implies the “whizzing” or “rushing” sound of an arrow hurtling through the air (Hom. Il. xvi. 361). The “heavens” (in the plural, after the common mode of speech both in the Old and New Testament) shall, in that great day, be the scene of a great convulsion. We have here obviously the same thought as in Mat 24:29, but the mind of the Apostle, now rising to the character of an apocalyptic seer, beholds in that convulsion not a work of destruction only, but one of renovation. Comp. a like picture of the end of the world’s history in Rev 20:11; Rev 21:1.

the elements shall melt with fervent heat ] The word “elements” may possibly stand for what were so called in some of the physical theories of the time, the fire, air, earth, water, out of which all existing phenomena were believed to be evolved (comp. Wis 19:18 ). The word was, however, used a little later on for what we call the “heavenly bodies,” sun, moon, and stars (Justin Mart. Apol. ii. 4. 4), and that meaning, seeing that the “elements” are distinguished from the “earth,” and that one of the four elements is to be the instrument of destruction, is probably the meaning here.

the earth also and the works that are therein ] The use of the word “works” suggests the thought that the Apostle had chiefly in view all that man had wrought out on the surface of the globe; his cities, palaces, monuments, or the like. The comprehensive term may, however, include “works” as the “deeds” of men, of which St Paul says that they shall all be tried by fire (1Co 3:13).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

But the day of the Lord – The day of the Lord Jesus. That is, the day in which he will be manifested. It is called his day, because he will then be the grand and prominent object as the Judge of all. Compare Luk 17:27.

Will come as a thief in the night – Unexpectedly; suddenly. See the notes at 1Th 5:2.

In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise – That is, what seems to us to be the heavens. It cannot mean that the holy home where God dwells will pass away; nor do we need to suppose that this declaration extends to the starry worlds and systems as disclosed by modern astronomy. The word is doubtless used in a popular sense – that is, as things appear to us; and the fair interpretation of the passage would demand only such a change as would occur by the destruction of this world by fire. If a conflagration should take place, embracing the earth and its surrounding atmosphere, all the phenomena would occur which are here described; and, if this would be so, then this is all that can be proved to be meant by the passage. Such a destruction of the elements could not occur without a great noise.

And the elements shall melt with fervent heat – Greek: the elements being burned, or burning, ( kausoumena,) shall be dissolved. The idea is, that the cause of their being dissolved shall be fire; or that there will be a conflagration extending to what are here called the elements, that shall produce the effects here described by the word dissolved. There has been much difference of opinion in regard to the meaning of the word here rendered elements, ( stoicheia.) The word occurs in the New Testament only in the following places: Gal 4:3, Gal 4:9; 2Pe 3:10, 2Pe 3:12, in which it is rendered elements; Col 2:8, Col 2:20, in which it is rendered rudiments; and in Heb 5:12, where it is rendered principles. For the general meaning of the word, see the notes at Gal 4:3. The word denotes the rudiments of anything; the minute parts or portions of which anything is composed, or which constitutes the simple portions out of which anything grows, or of which it is compounded.

Here it would properly denote the component parts of the material world; or those which enter into its composition, and of which it is made up. It is not to be supposed that the apostle used the term with the same exact signification with which a chemist would use it now, but in accordance with the popular use of the term in his day. In all ages, and in all languages, some such word, with more or less scientific accuracy, has been employed to denote the primary materials out of which others were formed, just as, in most languages, there have been characters or letters to denote the elementary sounds of which language is composed. In general, the ancients supposed that the elements out of which all things were formed were four in number – air, earth, fire, and water. Modern science has overturned this theory completely, and has shown that these, so far from being simple elements, are themselves compounds; but the tendency of modern science is still to show that the elements of all things are in fact few in number.

The word, as used here by Peter, would refer to the elements of things as then understood in a popular sense; it would now not be an improper word to be applied to the few elements of which all things are composed, as disclosed by modern chemistry. In either case, the use of the word would be correct. Whether applied to the one or the other, science has shown that all are capable of combustion. Water, in its component parts, is inflammable in a high degree; and even the diamond has been shown to be combustible. The idea contained in the word dissolved, is, properly, only the change which heat produces. Heat changes the forms of things; dissolves them into their elements; dissipates those which were solid by driving them off into gases, and produces new compounds, but it annihilates nothing. It could not be demonstrated from this phrase that the world would be annihilated by fire; it could be proved only that it will undergo important changes. So far as the action of fire is concerned, the form of the earth may pass away, and its aspect be changed; but unless the direct power which created it interposes to annihilate it, the matter which now composes it will still be in existence.

The earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up – That is, whether they are the works of God or man – the whole vegetable and animal creation, and all the towers, the towns, the palaces, the productions of genius, the paintings, the statuary, the books, which man has made:

The cloud-cappd towers, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,

And all that it inherits, shall dissolve,

And, like the baseless fabric of a vision,

Leave not one wreck behind.

The word rendered burned up, like the word just before used and rendered fervent heat – a word of the same origin, but here intensive – means that they will undergo such a change as fire will produce; not, necessarily, that the matter composing them will be annihilated. If the matter composing the earth is ever to be destroyed entirely, it must be by the immediate power of God, because only He who created can destroy. There is not the least evidence that a particle of matter originally made has been annihilated since the world began; and there are no fires so intense, no chemical powers so mighty, as to cause a particle of matter to cease wholly to exist. So far as the power of man is concerned, and so far as one portion of matter can prey on another, matter is as imperishable as mind, and neither can be destroyed unless God destroys it. Whether it is His purpose to annihilate any portion of the matter which He has made, does not appear from His Word; but it is clear that He intends that the universe shall undergo important changes. As to the possibility or probability of such a destruction by fire as is predicted here, no one can have any doubt who is acquainted with the disclosures of modern science in regard to the internal structure of the earth.

Even the ancient philosophers, from some cause, supposed that the earth would still be destroyed by fire (see my notes at 2Pe 3:7), and modern science has made it probable that the interior of the earth is a melted and intensely-heated mass of burning materials; that the habitable world is only a comparatively thin crust (shell) over those internal fires; that earthquakes are caused by the vapors engendered by that heated mass when water comes in contact with it; and that volcanoes are only openings and vent-holes through which those internal flames make their way to the surface. Whether these fires will everywhere make their way to the surface, and produce an universal conflagration, perhaps could not be determined by science, but no one can doubt that the simple command of God would be all that is necessary to pour those burning floods over the earth, just as He once caused the waters to roll over every mountain and through every valley.

As to the question whether it is probable that such a change will be produced by fire, bringing the present order of things to a close, it may be further remarked that there is reason to believe that such changes are in fact taking place in other worlds. During the last two or three centuries, upwards of thirteen fixed stars have disappeared. One of them, situated in the northern hemisphere, presented a special brilliancy, and was so bright as to be seen by the naked eye at mid-day. It seemed to be on fire, appearing at first of a dazzling white, then of a reddish yellow, and lastly of an ashy pale color. LaPlace supposes that it was burned up, as it has never been seen since. The conflagration was visible about sixteen months. The well-known astronomer, Von Littrow, in the section of his work on New and Missing Stars (entitled, Die Wunder der Himmels oder Gemeinfassliche Darstellung der Weltsystems, Stuttgart, 1843, Section 227), observes: Great as may be the revolutions which take place on the surface of those fixed stars, which are subject to this alternation of light, what entirely different changes may those others have experienced, which in regions of the firmament where no star had ever been before, appeared to blaze up in clear flames, and then to disappear, perhaps forever.

He then gives a brief history of those stars which have excited the particular attention of astronomers. In the year 1572, on the 11th of November, says he, Tycho, on passing from his chemical laboratory to the observatory, through the court of his house, observed in the constellation Cassiopeia, at a place where before he had only seen very small stars, a new star of uncommon magnitude. It was so bright that it surpassed even Jupiter and Venus in splendor, and was visible even in the daytime. During the whole time in which it was visible, Tycho could observe no parallax or change of position. At the end of the year, however, it gradually diminished; and at length, in March 1574, sixteen months after its discovery, entirely disappeared, since which all traces of it have been lost. When it first appeared, its light was of a dazzling white color; in January 1573, two months after its reviving, it became yellowish; in a few months it assumed a reddish hue, like Mars or Aldebaran; and in the beginning of the year 1574, two or three months before its total disappearance, it glimmered only with a gray or lead-colored light, similar to that of Saturn. See Bibliotheca Sacra, III., p. 181. If such things occur in other worlds, there is nothing improbable or absurd in the supposition that they may yet occur on the earth.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

2Pe 3:10

The day of the Lord will come as a thief.

The day of the Lord

I. The text first points us to a period advancing rapidly upon us, in the future; and as such differs from any other which may have marked an epoch in the succession of ages since the world began.

1. The bright display of the Lords attributes which will then be made.

2. The affairs of the mediatorial kingdom of grace, the reign of Christ, as such, will then be completed.

3. The exhibition of His equity, which will then be made in the regular dispensations of His providence among men.

4. The Lord will then receive in and from His people glory and renown.

II. The declarations made in the text concerning its coming.

1. The certainty of it.

2. The sudden and unexpected manner of its approach.

(1) To excite men to watch for the event.

(2) The knowledge of the exact time might alarm men, and prevent attendance to the present duties of life.

III. Some of the occurrences of the day of the Lord. (J. Thompson Smith.)

Preparation for dearth and judgment

I. The period referred to. There have been memorable days in the history of the world and in the histories of nations.

1. On that day the dispensation of mercy will close.

2. It will be the day of the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Believer, it will be the consummation of thy bliss to have a perfect sight of Christ without a veil between, and to bear an exact conformity to His likeness. But O sinner! how wilt thou meet His frown?

3. It will be the day of the Lords especial honour.

4. It is the day on which all His declarations will be fulfilled and verified–His declarations of mercy to His people and His threatenings of destruction to the impenitent and unbelieving.

II. The duties to which its expected coming calls us.

1. We should watch against a spirit of slothfulness and indifference.

2. We should anxiously desire to be found ready whenever that day may come.

(1) Reconciliation with God is necessary.

(2) A close and humble walk with God is requisite.

(3) Frequent meditation on the consequences of that day will prepare us for its coming.

III. Motives to lead us to the discharge of these duties.

1. The uncertainty of the time when this day shall come.

2. The danger and ruin resulting from the want of preparation for its coming. (Essex Remembrancer.)

The heavens shall pass away with a great noise.—

The destruction of the universe:–

1. The destruction of the universe affords us a picture of the power of our Judge. How powerful is this Judge! Who can resist His will?

2. The conflagration of the universe affords us a picture of the horrors of vice. Behold how far God carries His resentment against sin. Heavens, earth, elements, are ye guilty? But, if ye be treated with so much rigour for having been the unconscious instruments of the crime, what must the condition of the criminal be?

3. In the burning of the universe we find a representation-of the vanity of the present world. What is this world which fascinates our eyes? It is a funeral pile that already begins to burn, and will soon be entirely consumed. The hope of an imaginary immortality hath been able to support some men against the fear of a real death. The idea of existing in the minds of those who exist after them hath, in some sort, comforted them under the miserable thought of being no more. Hence pompous buildings, hence rich monuments, and vainglorious titles inscribed on marble and brass. But behold the dissolution of all those bonds, and the memory of all that is fastened to the world will vanish with the world.

4. The conflagration of the universe furnisheth a description of the world to come. Ye often hear us declaim on the nothingness of earthly things. How is it that God, who hath resolved to render us one day happy, doth not allow us to continue in this world, and content Himself with uniting all happy circumstances in our favour? Ah! a life formed on this plan might indeed answer the ideas of happiness which finite geniuses form, but such a plan cannot even approach the designs of an infinite God. A life formed on this plan might indeed exhaust a terrestrial love, but it could never reach the love of an infinite God. To accomplish this love there must be another world; there must be new heavens and a new earth; there must be objects far more grand.

5. Finally, the destruction of the universe displays the excellence of piety. Oh that I could represent the believer amidst fires, winds, tempests, the confusion of all nature, content, peaceable, unalterable! (J. Saurin.)

The earth also shall be burned up.

The world on fire

I. The last general conflagration. In this Epistle there is one truth very plainly taught, namely, that this present world is to be consumed by fire. We learn also that this conflagration will take place in connection with the judgment, for the heavens and the earth which now are, are kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. We gather also from our text that this fire will burn up all the works existing upon the earth–everything which man has constructed shall perish. Chemists tell us that the great noise which Peter speaks of would certainly accompany such a combustion. The whole world shall become one molten mass again, and this terrestrial firmament shall cease to be. We may here note that the prophecy that the earth will thus be consumed with fervent heat is readily to be believed, not only because God says it, but because there are evidently the means at hand for the accomplishment of the prophecy. Pliny was wont to say that it was a miracle that the world escaped burning for a single day, and I do not wonder at the remark, considering the character of the district in which he spent much of his time. In visiting the country around Naples the same thought constantly occurred to me. Yonder is Vesuvius ready at any moment to vomit fire, and continually sending up clouds of smoke. Then go across to the Solfatara on the other side of Naples, stand at the vent of that ancient volcano and listen to the terrific rumblings which attend the rush of steam and sulphur; then stamp your foot or dash a stone upon the ground, and hear how the earth resounds; it is evident that you are standing over a vast cavern. Look around you and remark how the earth steams with sulphureous exhalations. Observe, also, how the earth in some places has risen and fallen, again and again. Yet this volcanic region around Naples is but one of the many ventholes of the great fires which are in the bowels of the earth; three hundred or more burning mountains have already vomited flame. According to the belief of many geologists, the whole centre of the earth is a mass of molten matter, and we live upon a thin crust which has cooled down, and is probably not so much as one hundred miles thick. The probabilites are that the whole internal mass is in a liquid, and, perhaps, in a gaseous state. Astronomers tell us that within the last two hundred or three hundred years some thirteen fixed stars have disappeared, and according to their belief they have been burned up. If such things happen in other worlds, is there anything improbable in the belief that the like will occur to us? But if there were no internal sea of fire, and no instance of other worlds being consumed by fire, who can guess the power which lurks in electricity, and other subtle forces? Gods dreadful armies lie in ambush everywhere. He has but to speak the word, and the servants of His omnipotence will rise, terrible in their destructive power. Earth is as a pile of wood, and the torch-bearers stand ready to kindle it at any moment. Although we read of the world being burned by fire, we are not told that it will be annihilated thereby. We believe from various things which are hinted at in Scripture, though we would not dogmatize, that this world will be refitted and renovated; and in that sense we expect new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Luther used to say that the world is now in its working clothes, and that by and by it will be arrayed in its Easter garments of joy. One likes to think that the trail of the old serpent will not always remain upon the globe, and it is a cheering thought that where sin has abounded Gods glory should yet more abound.

II. The apostle has drawn practical inferences. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? What connection can there be between the burning of the globe and holy conversation and godliness? The first connection is this. Our position as Christians is at this moment like that of Noah before the destruction of the world by water. What manner of person ought Noah to have been? I should suppose such a man, daily expecting the rain to descend and the flood to burst up from beneath, would lead a life very free from worldliness, a life the very reverse of the rest of his fellow-men. Now our life ought to be like that of Noah. Look around on the beauties of nature, and when you enjoy them say to yourself, All these are to be dissolved and to melt with fervent heat. You understand that the things which are seen are but a dream, that the things unseen are alone substantial. Therefore sit loose by all things below the moon, and clutch as with the grasp of a dying man the things eternal which God has revealed to you. Such conduct will separate you from your fellow-men. As there is down deep in your heart an object different from theirs, and as you set a different estimate on all things, your conduct will be wide apart from theirs; being swayed by different motives, your life will diverge from theirs, and they will misunderstand you, they will impute ill motives to you. I remark further, that the nearness of the Lord as suggested by the fact that the world is to be destroyed, according to His word, suggests holiness. The sinner finds a reason for sin when he says, God is not here: everything goes on in the ordinary way: God does not care what men do. No, says the apostle, He is not away, He is here, holding back the fire forces; He is reserving this world a little while, and by and by He will let the fires loose and the world will be destroyed. He is not far off: He is even at the door. How can ye sin against One who is so close at hand? The apostle says, What manner of persons ought ye to be? Remember he was talking to saints, and he teaches us that even saints ought to be more saintly than they are. We have not attained to what we ought to be, and I may say to the best child of God here this morning, There is a yet beyond. And then he goes on to specify two branches of holy life. In all holy conversation, that is to say, all holy behaviour towards men; and godliness, that is, all pious dealing towards God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

On the dissolution of the world

I. Contemplate the Supreme Being directing the dissolution, as He directed the original formation, of the world.

II. Let us contemplate the dissolution of the world as the end of all human glory. This earth has been the theatre of many a great spectacle, and many a high achievement.

III. contemplate the soul of man as remaining unhurt in the midst of this general desolation, when the whole animal creation perishes, and the whole frame of nature falls into ruins. Here, then, let us behold what is the true honour and excellence of man.

IV. We contemplate the dissolution of the world as the introduction to a greater and nobler system in the government of God. We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (H. Blair, D. D.)

Mans external universe as awaiting a tremendous crisis

There is a spiritual conflagration now going on. Christ came to send fire on the earth. His word like a fire consumes the false and the corrupt. But the conflagration in the text is a material one.

I. That the character of this crisis will be very terrible.

1. The agent by which it will be accomplished, fire, is terrible. Fire, when not in its latent but active state, is the most terrible force in the world. There is agony in its touch. Forms the most beautiful it turns to ashes. Water, which destroyed the old world, is in some of its forms a terrible power, but life can subsist in it. You can touch it without pain, you can float on its surface, you can construct a vessel to bear you over its surging floods and seas. But not so with fire. No ark will bear you over a fiery deluge.

2. The extensiveness of its scene makes it terrible. The heavens shall pass away. The earth also and all the works that are therein.

3. The tumult with which it will be attended is terrible. A great noise. There are some sounds that shake ones very soul with horror. The howl of the wind rising into the tempest, the rumble of the approaching thunderbolt, the wild and dismal roar of the ocean when lashed into fury–these are all sounds more or less of terror. But there are animal sounds still more so. The groans of the dying, the moanings of bereaved love, the shrieks of an agonised heart–these are fearful sounds. What a noise is produced by a little bonfire, what a noise, too, by a little steam from the engine; but what must be the noise of burning forests, and boiling oceans, of falling cities and rocking mountains! This great noise will be very terrible.

4. The unexpectedness with which it will come is another element of terror. It will come as a thief in the night. It will not come as a thief in some respects.

(1) A thief comes without warning.

(2) A thief has no right to come.

(3) A thief may be resisted. There is a possibility of turning him back; but not so with this crisis. It must come.

II. That the approach of this crisis is very certain.

1. It is certain that there is a point in the future that will terminate mens present connection with this earth.

2. There is conclusive evidence that this period will be attended with a conflagration.

III. That the prospect of this crisis should exert on mankind a hallowing influence. The apostle states two effects which the prospect ought to produce upon us–

1. Practical holiness in every part of our life–Holy conversation and godliness. If all our material interests are thus to pass away, with what earnestness ought we to cultivate those principles of character, those dispositions of mind, and those habits of life which will abide for ever?

2. An earnest longing of the soul for the future. Looking for and hasting, etc. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Elements that will enhance the final conflagration

Since the noblest attribute of water is its blandness, who would be prepared to find that, chemically speaking, it is remarkable for its fiery composition? When its two constituents are burned in the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, they produce a flame of extraordinary ferocity. Such is the violence with which they combine that it is necessary to keep them from mingling, except in small quantities, unless they are just at the point of ignition. Dr. Clarke placed a brick screen between himself and the dangerous gases when he first experimented on their power, but was nearly killed by an explosion. Perhaps, when the world and all the works that are therein shall be burned up, the ocean may really be the magazine from which fuel may be drawn to support the great conflagration. But let this be as it may in Gods good counsel, is it not a startling thought that water, the uncompromising adversary of fire, should be compounded of two elements whose conjunction is accompanied by a passionate burst of flame and a terrible eruption of caloric? (Scientific Illustrations.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 10. The day of the Lord will come] See Mt 24:43, to which the apostle seems to allude.

The heavens shall pass away with a great noise] As the heavens mean here, and in the passages above, the whole atmosphere, in which all the terrestrial vapours are lodged; and as water itself is composed of two gases, eighty-five parts in weight of oxygen, and fifteen of hydrogen, or two parts in volume of the latter, and one of the former; (for if these quantities be put together, and several electric sparks passed through them, a chemical union takes place, and water is the product; and, vice versa, if the galvanic spark be made to pass through water, a portion of the fluid is immediately decomposed into its two constituent gases, oxygen and hydrogen;) and as the electric or ethereal fire is that which, in all likelihood, God will use in the general conflagration; the noise occasioned by the application of this fire to such an immense congeries of aqueous particles as float in the atmosphere, must be terrible in the extreme. Put a drop of water on an anvil, place over it a piece of iron red hot, strike the iron with a hammer on the part above the drop of water, and the report will be as loud as a musket; when, then, the whole strength of those opposite agents is brought together into a state of conflict, the noise, the thunderings, the innumerable explosions, (till every particle of water on the earth and in the atmosphere is, by the action of the fire, reduced into its component gaseous parts,) will be frequent, loud, confounding, and terrific, beyond every comprehension but that of God himself.

The elements shalt melt with fervent heat] When the fire has conquered and decomposed the water, the elements, , the hydrogen and oxygen airs or gases, (the former of which is most highly inflammable, and the latter an eminent supporter of all combustion,) will occupy distinct regions of the atmosphere, the hydrogen by its very great levity ascending to the top, while the oxygen from its superior specific gravity will keep upon or near the surface of the earth; and thus, if different substances be once ignited, the fire, which is supported in this case, not only by the oxygen which is one of the constituents of atmospheric air, but also by a great additional quantity of oxygen obtained from the decomposition of all aqueous vapours, will rapidly seize on all other substances, on all terrestrial particles, and the whole frame of nature will be necessarily torn in pieces, and thus the earth and its works be burned up.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

But the day of the Lord; the day of judgment is here called the day of the Lord by way of eminence, as the great day, Jud 1:6, and the great day of God Almighty, Rev 16:14, and the day of the Lord Jesus, 1Co 1:8; 5:5; 2Co 1:14; Phi 1:6,10.

Will come as a thief in the night; as a thief comes suddenly and unexpectedly, when he thinks all in the house are most secure.

In the which the heavens; viz. those that are visible, in distinction from the empyreal heaven, or place of glorified spirits.

Shall pass away; either wholly, so as to cease to be; or rather, as to their present being and condition, so as to cease to be what they now are, and to give place to the new heaven, Rev 21:1. The same word is used, Mat 24:35; Luk 16:17.

With a great noise; either swiftly and violently, or with such a noise as is usually caused by such violent and speedy motions.

The elements, in a natural sense, as integral parts of the universe, air, water, earth.

Shall melt with fervent heat; so 2Pe 3:12, where another word is used in the Greek, which properly signifies melting, or being on fire, or burning, shall be dissolved or destroyed. So the word signifies, Joh 2:19; 1Jo 3:8.

The earth also; the habitable part of the world. Though the earth, as a part of the world, be included in the elements before mentioned, yet here it may be taken with respect to its inhabitants, and the things contained in it.

And the works that are therein shall be burned up; not only artificial, mens works, but natural, all that variety of creatures, animate and inanimate, wherewith God hath stored this lower world for the present use of man; and so all those delectable things in which carnal men seek their happiness.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

10. The certainty, suddenness,and concomitant effects, of the coming of the day of the Lord. FABERargues from this that the millennium, c., must precedeChrist’s literal coming, not follow it. But “the day ofthe Lord” comprehends the whole series of events, beginning withthe pre-millennial advent, and ending with the destruction of thewicked, and final conflagration, and general judgment (which lastintervenes between the conflagration and the renovation of theearth).

willemphatical. But(in spite of the mockers, and notwithstanding the delay) come andbe present the day of the Lord SHALL.

as a thiefPeterremembers and repeats his Lord’s image (Luk 12:39Luk 12:41) used in theconversation in which he took a part; so also Paul (1Th5:2) and John (Rev 3:3;Rev 16:15).

the heavenswhich thescoffers say’ shall “continue” as they are (2Pe 3:4;Mat 24:35; Rev 21:1).

with a great noisewitha rushing noise, like that of a whizzing arrow, or the crashof a devouring flame.

elementsthecomponent materials of the world [WAHL].However, as “the works” in the earth are mentionedseparately from “the earth,” so it is likely by “elements,”mentioned after “the heavens,” are meant “the workstherein,” namely, the sun, moon, and stars (as THEOPHILUSOF ANTIOCH [p. 22,148, 228]; and JUSTINMARTYR [Apology,2.44], use the word “elements”): these, as at creation, soin the destruction of the world, are mentioned [BENGEL].But as “elements” is not so used in Scripture Greek,perhaps it refers to the component materials of “theheavens,” including the heavenly bodies; it clearlybelongs to the former clause, “the heavens,” not to thefollowing, “the earth,” &c.

meltbe dissolved, asin 2Pe 3:11.

the works . . . thereinofnature and of art.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,…. That is, the Lord will come in that day, which he has fixed, according to his promise, than which nothing is more certain; and he will come as a thief in the night: he will come “in the night”, which may be literally understood; for as his first coming was in the night; see Lu 2:8; so perhaps his second coming may be in the night season; or figuratively, when it will be a time of great darkness; when there will be little faith in the earth, and both the wise and foolish virgins will be slumbering and sleeping; when it will be a season of great security, as it was in the days of Noah, and at the time of the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, leave out the phrase, “in the night”: and the Alexandrian copy uses the emphatic article, “in the night”: and he will come, “as a thief”, in the dark, indiscernibly; it will not be known what hour he will come; he will come suddenly, at an unawares, when he is not expected, to the great surprise of men, and especially of the scoffers; when the following awful things will be done:

in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise; not the third heaven, the seat of angels and glorified saints, and even of God himself; but the starry and airy heavens, which shall pass away, not as to their matter and substance, but as to some of their accidents and qualities, and the present use of them; and that with a great noise, like that of a violent storm, or tempest; though the Ethiopic version renders it, “without a noise”; and which is more agreeable to his coming as a thief, which is not with noise, but in as still a manner as possible; and some learned men observe, that the word signifies swiftly, as well as with a noise; and, accordingly, the Syriac version renders it “suddenly”; and the Arabic version “presently”, immediately; that is, as soon as Christ shall come, immediately, at once, from his face shall the earth and heavens flee away, as John in a vision saw, Re 20:11;

and the elements shall melt with fervent heat: not what are commonly called the four elements, earth, air, tire, and water, the first principles of all things: the ancient philosophers distinguished between principles and elements; principles, they say h, are neither generated, nor corrupted;

, “but the elements will be corrupted, or destroyed by the conflagration”; which exactly agrees with what the apostle here says: by the elements seem to be meant the host of heaven, being distinguished from the heavens, as the works of the earth are distinguished from the earth in the next clause; and design the firmament, or expanse, with the sun, moon, and stars in it, which will be purged and purified by this liquefaction by fire;

the earth also will be purged and purified from everything that is noxious, hurtful, unnecessary, and disagreeable; though the matter and substance of it will continue:

and the works that are therein shall be burnt up; all the works of nature, wicked men, cattle, trees, c. and all the works of men, cities, towns, houses, furniture, utensils, instruments of arts of all sorts, will be burnt by a material fire, breaking out of the earth and descending from heaven, for which the present heavens and earth are reserved: this general conflagration was not only known to the Jews, but to the Heathens, to the poets, and Platonist and Stoic philosophers, who frequently i speak of it in plain terms. Some are of opinion that these words refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and so the passing away of the heavens may design the removal of their church state and ordinances, Heb 12:26, and the melting of the elements the ceasing of the ceremonial law, called the elements of the world, Ga 4:3, and the burning of the earth the destruction of the land of Judea, expressed in such a manner in De 29:23, and particularly of the temple, and the curious works in that, which were all burnt up and destroyed by fire, though Titus endeavoured to prevent it, but could not k: which sense may be included, inasmuch as there was a promise of Christ’s coming to destroy the Jewish nation, and was expected; and which destruction was a prelude of the destruction of the world, and is sometimes expressed in such like language as that is; but then this must not take place, to the exclusion of the other sense: and whereas this sense makes the words to he taken partly in a figurative, and partly in a literal way; and seeing the heavens and the earth are in the context only literally taken, the former sense is to be preferred; and to which best agrees the following use to be made of these things.

h Diog. Laert. l. 7. in Vita Zenonis. i Vid. Diog. Laert ib. & l. 9. in Vita Heraclit. & Hesych. de Philos. p. 36. Arrian. Epict. l. 3. c. 13. Phurut. de Natura Deorum, p. 39. Ovid. Metamorph, fab. 7. Min. Felix, p. 37. & Justin. Martyr. Apol. 2. p. 66. k Vid. Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 9, 10. & l. 7. c. 14, 16.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The day of the Lord ( ). So Peter in Ac 2:20 (from Joe 3:4) and Paul in 1Thess 5:2; 1Thess 5:4; 2Thess 2:2; 1Cor 5:5; and day of Christ in Php 2:16 and day of God in 2:12 and day of judgment already in 2Pet 2:9; 2Pet 3:7. This great day will certainly come (). Future active of , old verb, to arrive, but in God’s own time.

As a thief ( ). That is suddenly, without notice. This very metaphor Jesus had used (Luke 12:39; Matt 24:43) and Paul after him (1Th 5:2) and John will quote it also (Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15).

In the which ( ). The day when the Lord comes.

Shall pass away (). Future middle of , old verb, to pass by.

With a great noise (). Late and rare adverb (from , )– Lycophron, Nicander, here only in N.T., onomatopoetic, whizzing sound of rapid motion through the air like the flight of a bird, thunder, fierce flame.

The elements ( ). Old word (from a row), in Plato in this sense, in other senses also in N.T. as the alphabet, ceremonial regulations (Heb 5:12; Gal 4:3; Gal 5:1; Col 2:8).

Shall be dissolved (). Future passive of , to loosen, singular because is neuter plural.

With fervent heat (). Present passive participle of , late verb (from , usually medical term for fever) and nearly always employed for fever temperature. Mayor suggests a conflagration from internal heat. Bigg thinks it merely a vernacular (Doric) future for (from , to burn).

Shall be burned up (). Repeated in verse 12. Second future passive of the compound verb , to burn down (up), according to A L. But Aleph B K P read (future passive of , to find) “shall be found.” There are various other readings here. The text seems corrupt.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

The day of the Lord. Compare the same phrase in Peter’s sermon, Act 2:20. It occurs only in these two passages and 1Th 5:2. See 1Co 1:8; 2Co 1:14.

As a thief. Omit in the night. Compare Mt 24:43; 1Th 4:2, 4; Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15.

With a great noise [] . An adverb peculiar to Peter, and occurring only here. It is a word in which the sound suggest the sense (rhoizedon); and the kindred noun, rJoizov, is used in classical Greek of the whistling of an arrow; the sound of a shepherd ‘s pipe; the rush of wings; the plash of water; the hissing of a serpent; and the sound of filing. The elements [] . Derived from stoicov, a row, and meaning originally one of a row or series; hence a component or element. The name for the letters of the alphabet, as being set in rows. Applied to the four elements – fire, air, earth, water; and in later times to the planets and signs of the zodiac. It is used in an ethical sense in other passages; as in Gal 4:3, “elements or rudiments of the world.” Also of elementary teaching, such as the law, which was fitted for an earlier stage in the world ‘s history; and of the first principles of religious knowledge among men. In Col 2:8, of formal ordinances. Compare Heb 5:12. The kindred verb stoicew, to walk, carries the idea of keeping in line, according to the radical sense. Thus, walk according to rule (Gal 6:16); walkest orderly (Act 21:24). So, too, the compound sustoicew, only in Gal 4:25, answereth to, lit., belongs to the same row or column with. The Greek grammarians called the categories of letters arranged according to the organs of speech sustoiciai. Here the word is of course used in a physical sense, meaning the parts of which this system of things is composed. Some take it as meaning the heavenly bodies, but the term is too late and technical in that sense. Compare Mt 24:29, the powers of the heaven.

Shall melt [] . More literally, as Rev., shall be dissolved. With fervent heat [] . Lit., being scorched up.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “But the day of the Lord will come.” (heksei de) “But will come” (the) (Greek hemera kuriou) “day of (the) Lord,” Jehovah, Jud 1:6; Isa 2:10-22; Rev 19:11-21.

2) “As a thief in the night “ (hos kleptes) “as a thief or kleptomaniac”, (unexpectedly). The phrase in the night” is not in the original text, Mat 24:42; 1Th 5:2; Rev 16:15.

3) “In the which the heavens shall pass away.” (en he oi) “In the which (time)” (Greek auranoi pareleusontai) “heavens will pass away — be dispensed.” Psa 102:25-26.

4) “With a great noise.” (Greek hroizedon) “with a rushing sound as cascading floodwaters or a hurricane wind. Isa 51:6.

5) “And the elements shall melt.” (stoicheia luthesetai) (the) “elements shall be dissolved, disintegrated.”

6) “With fervent heat.” (de kausoumena) moreover or indeed with consuming heat, burning or flames,” Rev 21:11.

7) “The earth also and the works that are therein.” (Kai ge kia) “and even or also the earth” – in addition to the present, defiled heavens, where Satan has entered, now sinfully enters to accuse the brethren before the Advocate, Jesus Christ, Rev 12:7-12; 1Jn 2:1-2. (Greek to en aute erga) the in it works,” Rom 8:19-22.

8) “Shall be burned.” (Greek eurethesetai) “Will be discovered” or “will be with laser-beam-like heat consumed, Mat 24:35. Because the whole (kosmos) world-order” of earth and heaven have been defiled, lie in darkness, they must and shall be purged by fire, 1Jn 5:19.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

10. But the day of the Lord will come. This has been added, that the faithful might be always watching, and not promise to-morrow to themselves. For we all labor under two very different evils — too much haste, and slothfulness. We are seized with impatience for the day of Christ already expected; at the same time we securely regard it as afar off. As, then, the Apostle has before reproved an unreasonable ardor, so he now shakes off our sleepiness, so that we may attentively expect Christ at all times, lest we should become idle and negligent, as it is usually the case. For whence is it that flesh indulges itself except that there is no thought of the near coming of Christ?

What afterwards follows, respecting the burning of heaven and earth, requires no long explanation, if indeed we duly consider what is intended. For it was not his purpose to speak refinedly of fire and storm, and other things, but only that he might introduce an exhortation, which he immediately adds, even that we ought to strive after newness of life. For he thus reasons, that as heaven and earth are to be purged by fire, that they may correspond with the kingdom of Christ, hence the renovation of men is much more necessary. Mischievous, then, are those interpreters who consume much labor on refined speculations, since the Apostle applies his doctrine to godly exhortations.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

2Pe. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Expanded Translation

However long it may seem to be delayed, be assured, the day of the Lord will come. It will come as a thief (that is, suddenly and unexpectedly). At that time the heavens shall pass away, (pass by, disappear, vanish) with a loud, rushing, crashing noise, and the elements or basic components of the earth (atoms?)[77] shall be disengaged, unbound, and broken apart while they are burning intensely, and the earth and the works (accomplishments of man) that are in it shall be burned up (consumed by fire).[78]

[77] or, possibly; heavenly bodies. But see notes.

[78] or, according to other MSS, including the Vatican and Sinaitic, discovered or found out (heurisko). Cp. Ecc. 12:14.

_______________________

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief

The expression, the day of the Lord is frequent in the Scripture, and generally points to some great calamity (Isa. 2:12; Isa. 13:6, Jer. 46:10). The idea of the phrase seems to be: Youve had your day (in living according to your own lusts), now Ill have mine! However, the expression here may point to the second coming of Christ, as it certainly does in 1Th. 5:2. But whether Lord here refers to Christ or God, the event spoken of by the expression is still the same: the second coming of the Master and the destruction of the world. In this passage they may be thought of as the same event. That day will come as a thief, that comes quickly, stealthily, and without warning. Suddenly and abruptly, it will be upon us. Compare the teaching of Christ, Mat. 24:42-44.[79]

[79] Many doubt that the Matthew passage refers to Christs second coming. But the same lesson of preparedness is taught.

in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise

See comments, 2Pe. 3:7. The word hroizedon (great noise) was used anciently of various rushing or roaring noises, as the rushing of wings, the sound of mighty winds, the roaring of mighty waters, the roaring of flames, or the sound of thunder. It is difficult to say with certainty just what kind of noise is meant in this passage, other than it will be loud and roaring.

With such a sound the earth will pass away (parerchomai, to go past, pass by, etc.). This expression, to my mind, precludes the idea that the new heavens will be the old heavens re-made or fixed up, The atmosphere surrounding the world, we are told by scientists, has potentially combustible materials. So Peter says, the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved (2Pe. 3:12). Two age-old fears of man will be present in the skies on that day: (1) A loud noise or blast. (2) A great fire.

It would not be my place to here make a prophecy that God will somehow employ atomic energy or nuclear weapons to destroy the world. But the reader can certainly see in these words of Peter that such is possible.

and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat

Considerable controversy is waged among the critics here as to the proper meaning of the word elements (stoicheion). Two meanings are given as possibilities in this passage: (1) heavenly bodiesplanets, stars, etc., and (2) the basic components or constituent parts of the earth. The first is a possibility, for the word is so used by ancient writers: Diogenes Laertius, Justin, Tryphidorus, and Theophilus. But in other ancient writings (such as Platos works and the Septuagint Version), it carries the idea of the material elements or components of the universethe primary material of which anything is made. The word is several times in the New Testament used of those things which are primary or fundamental (that is, the A-B-Cs of something). In this sense it applies to knowledge: Heb. 5:12 (rudiments) or to the basics of any way of thinking or living (Gal. 4:3; Gal. 4:9; Col. 2:8; Col. 2:20rudiments). As far as I can see, this word, as it stands in this context, is approximately equivalent to our word atomthe smallest unitary constituent of a chemical element.

I would take, then, the present passage to teach that the very elements which make up all matter shall disintegrate within the mighty furnace of fire that shall envelop the earth in that day.
The verb shall be dissolved, is from luo, literally, to loosen, unbind, unfasten, disengage. In 2Pe. 3:5 we saw that God, by his mighty power, compacted or put together the earth. Now we find that he is also going to pull it apartat its very seams! Precisely what will happen to this globe when its elements break apart is a moot questionnor is it necessary for us to know. Peters main point here is to show the terribleness of that great cataclysmic day. Let us be warned! Let us be found faithful to our God! Let us be ready! For,

the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up

The word katakaio means to consume with fire, burn completely (Mat. 13:30, Act. 19:19), but does not necessarily carry with it the thought of obliteration or annihilation. If something is burned up, its chemical relation is changed and much of it goes up in smoke. Whether this globe will look like a ball of charcoal, or whether it will exist at all, after this event, is not answered with certainty in this chapter. (See notes under 2Pe. 3:13.)

Paul also speaks of fire in relationship to Christs second coming: . . . at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire (2Th. 1:7).

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(10) The certainty and possible nearness of Christs coming is the basis of the preceding warning and of the exhortations which follow.

As a thief in the night.Suddenly and without warning. The words are an echo of Mat. 24:43, a saying which St. Peter certainly heard (Mar. 13:3), or possibly of 1Th. 5:2, which may easily be included in the Epistles referred to below in 2Pe. 3:16. The words in the night are here wanting in authority.

The heavens shall pass away.Again an apparent reminiscence of the discourse in Matthew 24 (where comp. Mat. 24:35)the third such reminiscence in this chapter (see preceding Note, and on 2Pe. 3:7). This repeated reproduction of words and ideas from one of the most impressive of Christs discourses, which only St. Peter and three others seem to have heard, may fairly be added to the evidence in favour of the authenticity of the Epistle.

With a great noise.Better, with a rushing noise. The expression occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but some such idea as that in Isa. 34:4, Rev. 6:14, is probably indicatednot the roar of flames or the crash of ruins, but the parting and rolling up of the heavens. (Comp. Rev. 20:11.)

The elements shall melt with fervent heat.The meaning of elements here is much disputed. (See Notes on the word in Gal. 4:3; Gal. 4:9.) The difficulty of supposing fire to be destroyed by fire seems to exclude the four elements being intended; moreover, the earth is mentioned separately. Hence, some take the elements to mean water and air, the two remaining elements; but this is not very satisfactory. More probably, the various forms of matter in the universe are intended, without any thought of indicating what they are precisely. But seeing that Justin Martyr calls the sun, moon, and stars heavenly elements (Apol. II. v., Trypho, xxiii.), and that in predictions of the last day frequent mention is made of signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars (Mat. 24:29; Mar. 13:24; Luk. 21:25; Isa. 13:10; Isa. 24:23; Joe. 2:31, &c), it is possible that the heavenly bodies are meant here, all the more so, as the mention of these elements immediately follows that of the heavens. Bengel (perhaps with more poetry than correctness) ingeniously connects this explanation with the radical signification of the word, viz., letters of the alphabet, for stars in the heaven are as letters on a scroll. (Comp. Rev. 6:14.) Shall melt should rather be, as in the next two verses, shall be dissolved. Wiclif has dissolved, Rheims resolved. This dissolution is the opposite of the consistency spoken of in 2Pe. 3:5. In 2Pe. 3:12 melt is correct, and suits the heavenly bodies better than the four elements. (Comp. The Second Epistle of Clement, xvi. 3.)

The earth also and the works that are therein.Equivalent to the earth and the fulness thereof, works being used in a comprehensive sense for products both of nature and art. The moral work of each individual is not meant; consequently, a reference to 1Co. 3:13 is misleading. The two passages have little in common, and nothing is gained by bringing in the difficulties of the other passage here. In this passage the Apostle is stating plainly and in detail what some of the Prophets of the Old Testament had set forth in general and sometimes obscure languagethat a judgment by fire is in store for the world (Isa. 66:15-16; Isa. 66:24; Mal. 3:1-3; Mal. 4:1).

Shall be burned up.The question of readings here is one of known difficulty. One important MS. has shall vanish away (Jas. 4:14); two first-rate MSS. and other authorities have shall be found. The later Syriac has shall not be found, which is pretty nearly equivalent to shall vanish away, and is sometimes given as exactly equivalent to it. Shall be found, the reading most strongly attested, is summarily rejected by some editors as yielding no sense. The theory that it has grown out of the Latin for shall be burned upeurethesetai out of exurenturdoes not seem very probable. Nor is it true that it yields no sense By placing a colon at also, and making what follows a question, we obtainThe elements shall be dissolved, the earth also: and shall the works that are therein be found? Happily, nothing of importance turns on the reading; all the variations amount practically to the same thingthat the elements, the earth, and all that is in it, shall be destroyed.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

10. Will come With an emphatic will. For what we may call the Apocalypse of St. Paul, we look to 1Co 15:22-57 ; 2Th 1:7-10; and 2Th 2:3-8. And so we find the Apocalypse of St. Peter in this chapter, 5-13. But it was reserved for St. John to furnish the great Apocalypse of the New Testament. All three supply special points, but all three agree in the great sublime whole.

As a thief With a sudden surprise to the sceptic scoffers. It will catch them in the midst of their scoffs, and rob them of their argument.

The heavens shall pass away Note that the passing away is not of the earth, but of the atmospheric heavens of our earth. The visible heavens, as seen to the terrene spectator, are seen to be swept away. They vanish as a scroll. Compare descriptions of the same scene in Rev 6:12-17; Rev 20:11-15; Mat 25:31-46.

With a great noise The Greek word expresses the whiz or friction of the air or other substance, as by a bird’s wing or other sudden motion. It seems intended to describe the sound effected by a most violent collision of the atmospheric forces, or perhaps of the rushing earth and the air.

The elements Of which the material earth is composed. We have no reason to suppose that the solar system will be involved in the dissolution of our earth.

Melt with fervent heat Greek, the elements about-being-burned will be fused. The particles composing the material earth will be separated by the heat, and be ready for reconstruction into new and more perfect forms.

Earth and works therein As an effect of the divided elements the surface- earth, and all its contents, are consumed and forever disappear. The theatre of human history goes down into non-existence. In the matter of consumption of the earth by physical fire, St. Paul and St. Peter agree; but John is silent. The “lake of fire” of St. John does not seem to belong to the same category, but is analogous to Gehenna, the figurative image of divine wrath exerted in penalty.

The expectation of the destruction of the world by a diluvium ignis deluge of fire analogous to the diluvium aquae deluge of water was a traditional idea among the ancients, both poets and philosophers, especially the Stoics. We give passages from Wetstein. The philosopher Seneca says: “At that time the foam of the sea, released from laws, was borne on without restraint. By what cause, do you inquire? By the same cause by which the conflagration will take place when to God it seems good to establish a better order of things, and to close the old. Water and fire rule terrene things: from the former comes origination; from the latter, destruction.”

Cicero says: “Our philosophers suppose that at last the whole world will take fire, when, the moisture being consumed, neither the earth can be nourished nor the air circulate, so that nothing will be left but fire; from which, again, under the animating power of God, a renovation of the earth will take place, and the same fair order will be reproduced.”

Eusebius says: “It is the opinion of the Stoic philosophers, that all substance should go into fire, as a seed, and from it again should spring the same organization as before.”

Lenormant, the eminent French archaeologist and historian, (Contemporary Review, Nov. 1879,) says: “The result, then, of this long review authorizes us to affirm the story of the deluge to be a universal tradition among all the branches of the human race, with one exception, however, of the black. Now a recollection thus precise and concordant cannot be a myth voluntarily invented. No religious or cosmogonic myth presents this character of universality. It must arise from the reminiscence of a real and terrible event, so powerfully impressing the imagination of the first ancestors of our race as never to have been forgotten by their descendants. This cataclysm must have occurred near the first cradle of mankind, and before the dispersion of the families from which the principal races were to spring.”

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up (or ‘will be laid bare’).’

However, even though the Lord is merciful and longsuffering, that does not mean that ‘His Day’ will be delayed for ever. And they would therefore do well to recognise that, as Jesus Himself had emphasised, His Day will come suddenly like a thief. The idea of Jesus coming ‘like a thief’ is found in Jesus’ own words in Mat 24:23; Luk 12:39 (compare Rev 3:3; Rev 16:3). Compare also 1Th 5:2; 1Th 5:4 for a parallel of the coming of the Day of the Lord like a thief. The stress on the idea of the Day of the Lord coming like a thief is of suddenness, stealth and catastrophe.

This Day of the Lord is the time of the Lord’s final judgment. It is the time when the Lord ‘has His day’, and is in contrast to ‘man’s day’ (1Co 4:3). It was a Day regularly spoken of by the prophets.

Note on The Day of the Lord.

The term was used in Isa 13:9 of God’s visitation in judgment. Firstly judgment would come on His faithless people through Babylon, and then through the Medes God would bring judgment on Babylon (Isa 13:17). The whole is depicted in apocalyptic language (Isa 13:10; Isa 13:13) and is described as the wrath of the Lord (Isa 13:13). It also has a far view for it depicts the final desolation of Babylon (Isa 13:19-22). In the judgments of God near and far were part of one whole, especially as regards Babylon which was the symbol from the beginning of rebellion against God (Gen 10:9-12; Gen 11:1-9). The earlier judgment was a foretaste of the later one.

Again the day of the Lord was to come on Edom and its allies, its surrounding nations (Isa 34:4; Isa 34:8). ‘All the nations’ refers to these for other nations are called on to witness the event (Isa 34:1). But it is on Edom that the main judgment comes (Isa 34:6). Again it is represented in apocalyptic language (Isa 34:9-10), and such judgment did finally come upon them.

Jeremiah also prophesied a day of the Lord on Egypt and Pharaoh Neco (Jer 46:2, repeated in Jer 46:13), this time at the hands of Babylon (Jer 46:10; Jer 46:26). Thus ‘the day of the Lord’ began to indicate the day of the Lord’s judgments whenever they were.

It could be called ‘the day of the Lord of hosts’ (Isa 2:12), ‘the day of the Lord’s vengeance’ (Isa 34:8 – on Edom), ‘the day of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance’ (on Egypt – Jer 46:10), ‘the day of the Lord’s anger’ ( on Judah – Lam 2:22; on Judah and surrounding nations – Zep 1:18; Zep 2:2-3), ‘the day of the Lord’s sacrifice’ (on Judah – Zep 1:8), ‘the great day of the Lord’ (on Judah – Zep 1:14), ‘the great and terrible day of the Lord’ (Mal 4:5), which referred to the first coming of Jesus as the beginning of ‘the end days’ (Mat 11:14 with Act 2:17; 1Co 10:11; Heb 1:2; 1Pe 1:20; 1Pe 4:7).

But the basic term behind it all was ‘the day of the Lord’, the time when God had His day. In Isa 13:6; Isa 13:9 – it was on Babylon through the Medes; in Eze 13:5 – it was on Judah through Nebuchadnezzar; in Eze 30:3 – it was on Egypt through Nebuchadnezzar; in Joe 1:15 – it was on Judah through Nebuchadnezzar; in Joe 2:1; Joe 2:11 – it was on Judah through Nebuchadnezzar; Joe 2:31; in Joe 3:14 – it was in the end days at the time of restoration; in Amo 5:18; Amo 5:20 – it was on Israel through Assyria; in Oba 1:15 – it was on Edom and their allies (for ‘all the nations’ compare Isa 34:1); in Zep 1:7 – it was on Judah; in Zec 14:1 – it was in the end days at the time of restoration, and as the prophets began to look forward to the day when God would set all things right, establish His people and deal with their enemies, it began to be applied especially to that day (Joe 2:31; Joe 3:14; Zec 14:1).

In the New Testament the phrase appears four times (Act 2:20 quoting Joe 2:31, fulfilled, partially at least, at the resurrection and Pentecost; 1Th 5:2; 2Th 2:2. Here it is quite definitive. It is the time when ‘the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works in it will be discovered’ (or in some manuscripts ‘burned up’), that is the time when it will be revealed in God’s eyes and judged. It thus refers to God’s final judgments in the end days including the final Judgment itself.

End of Note.

Interestingly we can see how, by combining this verse with the first half of 2Pe 3:8 (and ignoring the second half), and by connecting it with Revelation 20, the idea could be obtained of a one thousand year Day of the Lord, a view which became part of the heresy of Chiliasm in the second century AD. (They believed that history was split into seven epochs of a thousand years each, of which the seventh was yet to come). This is not, however what Peter was saying. He is simply saying, ‘recognise that to God time-scales are not as we see them’.

This would, however, explain why anti-Chiliasts might have frowned on 2 Peter, thus for them casting doubts on its authorship and thus preventing it coming into prominence. On the other hand it might also have been cited by anti-Chiliasts as an antidote to Chiliastic teaching. Thus both sides may have been set against it, with both parties therefore being suspicious of 2 Peter on doctrinal grounds it would be thrust into the background. But clearly the strength of testimony to its having been written by Peter was sufficient for it to finally survive as an Apostolic writing.

“In the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up (or ‘will be laid bare’ – in Aleph, B, K).” Here is Peter’s description of the Day of the Lord. In his eyes it clearly refers to the final consummation before the new heavens and the new earth (2Pe 3:13).

The description is vivid and awesome. The ‘heavens’ need only signify the sky (Gen 1:8), but it may also be intended to include heavenly bodies which are regularly connected with the idea of the Day of the Lord (Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4; Joe 2:10; Joe 3:15-16). Furthermore, in view of his continual stress on ‘the heavens and the earth’, it is very probable that Peter also intended it to indicate that at the same time as earth was to be judged, so were spiritual beings in heavenly places (2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6; Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21; Eph 6:12; Col 1:16).

‘Will pass away.’ Compare here Rev 6:14; compare Isa 34:4.

‘A great noise’ can indicate the crackling of a forest fire. ‘The elements’ (which parallel ‘the works’ of earth) may indicate the atmosphere of air and clouds of water, or may indicate the heavenly bodies, or may simply indicate ‘what the heavens contain’. It would be foolish to be dogmatic. Peter is simply indicating everything to do with the heavens as man sees them. What is central is the destructive heat. In recent days men’s thoughts have turned towards hydrogen bombs and global warming. It might even result from a massive explosion in space, or the arrival of a huge asteroid. But only the future will reveal the truth.

The equally certain destruction of the earth and the works that are in it (which as in Noah’s day are the cause of its downfall) will be accomplished by it being ‘laid bare’ (the reading of the best MSS). But fire lays bare which may explain why the copyist changed the text to ‘burned up’ in order to tie in with the context. The meaning of the whole is the total destruction of the heavens and the earth as man knows it by fire.

‘Laid bare.’ While this could refer to the effects of fire (see 2Pe 3:11) some see this as referring to the fact that man’s works will be laid bare at the judgment. Compare Rev 20:11-15. Both will, of course, be true. And thus the false teachers who have proclaimed that nothing of the kind will happen will be rather dramatically proved wrong.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

2Pe 3:10. But the day of the Lord will come The last great day of general judgment will come, when it is least of all expected. See Mat 24:43-44. The passing away of the heavens, here means the same as by their being dissolved by fire, 2Pe 3:12. The word ‘ signifies, with a very loud and terrible noise; with a sound resembling that of a great storm. In this place it more particularly denotes the horrid crackling noise of a wide-spreading fire. The plain interpretation of the next clause is, “As the old heavens and earth were destroyed by water, so the present heavens and earth, and even the elements, the first principles or constituent parts of them, shall be destroyed by fire: that dreadfully spreading fire will carry all before it:all the works of God upon earth; all the works of man also, shall be involved in one common heap of ruin.”

The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself. Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve; And, like the baseless fabrick of a vision, Leave not a rack behind.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

2Pe 3:10 . [ ] ] stands first by way of emphasis, in contrast to what precedes: “ but come will the day of the Lord.” These words express the certainty of the coming of the day of judgment, and its unexpected suddenness; cf. 1Th 5:2 (Mat 24:43 ): , 2Pe 3:12 , shows that is here also equivalent to (not to ; Schott).

[ ] ] This relative clause states “the event of that day, which makes it essentially what it is” (Schott). , . ., equivalent to , is best taken in the sense peculiar to the word: “ with rushing swiftness ” (Wiesinger, Schott, Hofmann; Pape, s.v. ); Oecumenius understands it of the crackling of the destroying fire; de Wette, on the other hand, of the crash of the falling together. With , cf. Mat 24:35 ; Mat 5:18 ; Luk 16:17 ; Rev 21:1 . As to how the heavens shall pass away, see 2Pe 3:12 .

] cannot refer to the so-called four elements, “inasmuch as the dissolving of fire by means of fire is unthinkable” (Brckner), and it is arbitrary to limit the idea to three (Hornejus), or to two (Estius) elements; as now the position of the words shows that the expression has reference neither to the earth afterwards named, nor to the world as made up of heaven and earth (Pott: elementa totius mundi tam coeli quam terrae; thus, too, Brckner: “the primary substances of which the world, as an organism, is composed;” similarly Wiesinger, Schott), it must be understood of the constituent elements of the heavens, corresponding to the expression: , Isa 34:4 ; Mat 24:29 (cf. Meyer in loc. ). This view is justified by the circumstance that in the preceding no mention has as yet been made of the destruction of heaven and earth by fire. At variance with this view, Hofmann understands the expression here as a designation of the stars, arbitrarily asserting that “cannot be only original component parts, but must also be prominent points which dominate that by which they are surrounded,” appealing to Justin ( Apolog. ii. c. 5, and Dial. c. Tr. c. 23), who speaks of the stars as . To this view it may be objected, that the author could not picture to himself a burning of the stars, which appeared to him as fiery bodies; neither do any of the corresponding passages of Scripture allude to this.

The verb only here and in 2Pe 3:12 : “ to burn ;” in the classics: “to suffer from heat;” the participle expresses the reason of the : “will be dissolved by the burning.” , in the sense of: to destroy, to bring to nothing, Eph 2:14 ; 1Jn 3:8 , very appropriate here if be the original elements.

] are neither the wicked works of man (after 1Co 3:15 ), nor his works in general (Rosenmller, Steinfass, Hofmann); the reference may be either to the opera naturae et artis (Bengel, Dietlein: “the manifold forms which appear on the earth’s surface, in contrast to the earth as a whole;” thus also Brckner, Wiesinger, Schott, Fronmller); or the expression may be synonymous with that which frequently occurs in the O. T.: , that is to say, the creations of God which belong to the earth, as they are related in the history of creation, cf. Rev 10:6 . Hofmann wrongly urges against this view, that on it would be sufficient; for even though this be true, it does not follow that the addition of the word would prove that it is “the works of men” that are here meant. With reference to the reading , instead of the Rec. (see critical remarks), Hofmann regards it as original, and considers the words as an interrogative clause subjoined to the preceding affirmative clause. Of course an interrogative clause may be subjoined to an affirmative; but when Hofmann, in support of his interpretation, appeals to 1Co 5:2 , he fails to observe that the relation between the statement and the question there is entirely different from that which is supposed to exist here.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

2Pe 3:10-18

10But the day12 of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,13 in the which the14 heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt15 with fervent 11heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.16 Seeing then17 that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye18 to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12Looking for and hastening19 unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements 13shall melt with fervent heat?20 Nevertheless21 we, according to his promise,22 look for new heavens and a new23 earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in 15peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him24 hath written unto you; 16As also in all25 his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which26 are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own de struction.27 17Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.28 18But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.29

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

2Pe 3:10. But the day of the Lord will come.The Apostle having made mention of the long-suffering of God, now says, as it were, let none deceive himself, the day of the Lord will not fail to appear, but it will come surely and suddenly. ; it is called the day of God in 2Pe 3:12; hence is here doubtless=, as in 2Pe 3:9. So Joe 1:15; Eze 13:5; Isa 2:12. The day of Jehovah; cf. Jam 5:7. Elsewhere the day of the Lord Jesus, 2Co 1:14. The day of Christ, 2Th 2:2; also the day of the Lords coming, Mai. 2Pe 3:2. The last expression contains an intimation that the beginning of that great period of judgment must be distinguished from the Lords coming in the same. The former sets in unexpectedly and without notice. The Lords coming will be unexpected, but not unnoticed by the ungodly; it will be attended by a war-cry, the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 1Th 4:16.

As a thief in the night.The same figure is used by the Lord Himself in the Gospels, Mat 24:43; Luk 12:39. Paul also compares the coming of that day to the burglarious entry of a thief. The passages in Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15, which contain this description of the Lords coming, give prominence to the suddenness and surprise of His coming, not to its being unnoticed. His coming is free from surprise and terror to those who watch and observe the signs of the times; it is to them rather a joyful event, Luk 21:28.The figure of the thief contains also the secondary thought, that those who are held fast in the sleep of sin and security, shall lose in that catastrophe whatever they have, Mat 13:12; Joh 10:10.

In which the heavens shall pass away with a crashing roar; from, , to rush, to whiz, to crash; a word formed to resemble the sound, rushing, whizzing, crashing, here only in the New Testament. Oecumenius understands it of the crackling noise of a destructive fire; de Wette, of the crash of falling houses. The Apostle probably thinks of both, (Huther).; our Lord uses the same word, Mat 24:35; cf. Psa 102:27; Isa 34:4; Rev 20:11., the sky and the starry heavens, as in 2Pe 3:7; cf. Psa 72:7; Psa 102:26; Isa 34:4; Isa 51:6; Isa 65:17.

But the elements shall be dissolved in fire, andshall be burned up.; the rudiments of speech, then the constituent elements of the universe; of course not the elements in the sense of chemistry, but in the sense of antiquity, which since the time of Empedocles assumed the existence of four elements or rudiments of things; cf. Wis 7:17; Wis 19:17.Calov restricts the word to water and air, because the earth is specifically mentioned afterward. But de Wette rightly observes that the earth is referred to first as an element, and afterward as a totality. There is nothing contradictory in the idea that this elemental fire shall be suspended in its action by a stronger and supernatural fire. A total annihilation of the elemental constituents is out of the question; the reference is rather to the supposition of Gennadius and Oecumenius, that the old heavens and the old earth shall be changed and renovated into better.A reference to 2Pe 3:12, where the are mentioned, and not the earth expressly, shows plainly that relates primarily to the earth. , moreover intimates as much. Bengel, on the other hand, sees here, with many of the fathers, a reference to the sun, the moon and the stars. The sense= , foundations of the earth, given by others, cannot be verified. [The view of Bengel is that of Justin, Theophilus of Antioch, Polycrates, Mede, Hammond, Whitby and Alford. The last named author, after quoting Justin, argues that followed presently by the when reference is made to the earth, necessarily belongs to the heavens, and that the mention of the heavenly bodies as affected by the great day is constant in Scripture, cf. Mat 24:29; Isa 13:9-10; Isa 24:23; Isa 34:4, etc. On the other hand, the view propounded in the text is that of Wordsworth, who says that St. Peters meaning seems to be, that the , elements or rudiments, of which the universe is composed and compacted, will be loosed; that is, the frameworks of the world will be disorganized, and this is the sense of in the LXX., Wis 7:17; Wis 19:18, and in Hyppolyt. Philos. pp. 219. 318. The dissolution is contrasted with the consistency described by the word in 2Pe 3:5. The heavens are reserved for fire (2Pe 3:7) and will pass away with a rushing noise, and, being set on fire, will be dissolved (2Pe 3:12) the elements will be on fire and melt (2Pe 3:12), and be reduced to a state of confusion; the earth and the works therein will be burnt up.There does not seem, therefore, to be any cause for abandoning the common meaning of , the elemental principles of which the universe is made.M.] . Gerhard: When the preserving and supporting power of God, which is, as it were, the soul of the world, shall separate itself from the macrocosm, it will fall together like a soulless corpse.

The works.To wit, the works of nature and of art [Bengel: oper naturse et artis.M.] trees, plants, minerals, animals, cities, houses, provisions, instruments, etc., cf. Hab 2:13.

[Shall be burned up.The variation of Cod. Sin. B. and K. is difficult to account for.M.]

2Pe 3:11. Since then all these things are being dissolved., not . The Apostle vividly enters into the catastrophe and mentally anticipates it according to the characteristic, which has been noticed in 2Pe 2:10; 2Pe 3:3, and especially also in the first Epistle. Winer, p. 358, explains it as follows: These things, by their nature intended to be dissolvedthe destiny of dissolution is already inherent in them. Calov applies the Present to the certainty of the event. [The reading accords with the abrupt style of Peter, and makes the scene all the more vivid.M.]

As what sort of persons ought ye to evidence yourselves? etc. or from or , land, soil, signifies properly, from what country, where born, whence in point of origin, not equivalent to . Cf. Mat 8:27; Luk 1:29; Luk 7:39; 1Jn 3:1. It often denotes a question of surprise, to which no answer is given; but here the answer is added in 2Pe 3:12. Sense: Ye must evidence yourselves as persons of more noble origin, as citizens of the heavenly kingdom that are only strangers here on earth. This seems to be an echo of the first Epistle. The common use of in the New Testament as connected with an exclamation, is not decisive against our interpretation. Huther wants to supply before , consider then, but this is arbitrary. De Wette takes in the sense of quantus, how great, how strong, how diligent ought ye to be in holy conversation. But this is ungrammatical. The connection is this: Considering that this entire world-system, with whatever it contains, is doomed to perish, it becomes us Christians to tear our hearts from all inordinate love of the world, and to qualify ourselves even now as citizens of the celestial world. Augustine: If there is an end of the world, if we have to move away from this world, we must not love the world; and in another passage: Seeing that Christ shall come to judgment the very day in which the world shall be dissolved, and that all must appear before His judgment-seat, let us live in the true fear of God, serve Him in holiness and righteousness, and carefully guard against sins.. The Plural as in 1Pe 1:15; 1Pe 2:1, to mark the different forms and directions of a holy walk and piety, cf. 2Pe 2:2; 2Pe 1:3.

Ver.12. Expecting and hastening the coming of the day of God..Not with Luther: To wait as contrasted with haste, but looking for, expecting something while enduring the pressure of evil, cf. 2Pe 3:14.. Some commentators arbitrarily supply ; the sense of yearning or longing for cannot be verified; it signifies to urge, to press, to hasten, and applies therefore not only to earnest occupation, but, as Bengel asserts, to inward struggling, to perseverance in prayer for the hastening of the Kingdom of Christ, and to preparation for it in repentance and holiness. At the same time the remark of Richter is true, that in a certain respect it is visionary, dangerous and passionate to pray for the hastening of the end of the world and the termination of the on of Gospel-calling.

[Trench (Bible Revision, p. 112) pronounces for the marginal reading in E. V., hasting the coming (accelerantes adventum, Erasmus), and explains: The faithful, that is, shall seek to cause the day of the Lord to come the more quickly by helping to fulfil those conditions, without which it cannot comethat day being no day inexorably fixed, but one the arrival of which it is free to the Church to help and hasten on by faith and by prayer, and through a more rapid accomplishing of the number of the elect. De Wette, followed by Alford: They hasten it by perfecting, in repentance and holiness, the work of the Gospel, and thus diminishing the need of the , 2Pe 3:9, to which the delay of that day is owing. Alford, in reply to Huthers objection, says, It is true that the delay or hastening of that day is not mans matter, but Gods: but it is not uncommon in Scripture, to attribute to us those Divine acts, or abstinences from acting, which are really and in their depth, Gods own. Thus we read, that He could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief, Mat 13:58, compared with Mar 6:5-6; thus repeatedly of mans striving with, hindering, quenching Gods Holy Spirit.Wordsworth considers this remarkable thought as compared with St. Peters speech in Acts 3, as another silent evidence of the genuineness of this Epistle.M.]

. See 2Pe 3:10, cf. Tit 2:13; Rev 16:14; Act 17:31. The term day of God cannot excite surprise, if respect is had to the Old Testament. Lachmanns notion that the author had given up the hope of Christs coming, I and mixed it up with Gods future day of judgment, is incongruous, for he treats of the Lords in 2Pe 3:4.

For the sake of which the heavens being on fire, shall dissolve (themselves), and the elements shall melt away with fervent heat; . It is best to connect with , and to take as indicating the occasioning cause. Winer, p. 418, [who sanctions however the construction recommended in Appar. Crit., which is also that adopted by Alford.M.] Dietlein renders in honour of which, as it were, but this rendering is inapposite. If the plan of God is to be carried out, this sin-stained world must perish. Augustine says of the succession of the events, After the judgment the world will be on fire; that is, it will be entirely burned up. This is also thought probable by Gerhard, who holds moreover that the burning of the world will take place before the wicked are cast into hell and the godly received to heaven.

and , to melt like wax, are . The Present is used here for the same reason, as in 2Pe 3:11, above. [The note of Wolfius, (Cur Philologic et Critic) on the force of these Presents will be found useful: Interim nihil est mutandum. Patet enim, Apostolum in duobus his commatibus, data opera, nunc prsenti et , nunc futuro , de ea ru uti, qu tam certa futura erat, ac si jam fieret.M.]

2Pe 3:13. But we, according to His promise, expect new heavens and a new earth.The Apostle, for the comfort of believers, contrasts the destruction of the present world system with the expectation of new heavens and a new earth. This hope is founded on the word of prophecy, Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22; Isa 30:26; cf. Rev 21:1. This does not denote an ideal state of blessedness, but a real spirituo-corporeal body-world. So Anselm: The whole earth, which carried in its lap the body of the Lord, will be a paradise. Augustine: The promises of God are apprehended by faith; hope cannot reach them, love cannot understand them; they surpass our longings and desires; they may be obtained, but cannot be estimated. Grotius mentions that Plato also speaks of a pure earth and a pure heavens. Calov suggests a substantial recreation of heaven. More correctly even Irenus: Neither the substance, nor the existence of the creature will be annihilated. According to His promise, sc. God.

In which dwelleth righteousness.Not abstr. pro concreto, the righteous, but true righteousness itself or a perfect agreement with the will of God, cf. Rev 21:27; Rev 21:3. This is added partly for the encouragement, partly for the consolation of believers with reference to their unrighteous oppressors. Huther produces similar passages from the book of Enoch, in which reference seems to be made to our Epistles. [The passages are Enoch 2:27; 55:5; 54:4, 5; 90:17.Wordsworth says, that the Apostle does not represent the heavens as destined to destruction, but as hereafter to be transformed () to a more glorious condition. As the mortal bodies of the saints are dissolved by death, and will not be reduced to annihilation, but will, by reason of Christs resurrection, and of their incorporation in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, be renewed to immortality, so the heavenly bodies will be renewed by fire and delivered from the bondage of corruption. See Rom 8:20-22.The material creation has sympathized with us in our fall, and it will rejoice with the righteous in their redemption and revivification, when their mortal bodies will rise and bloom anew like vernal herbs and flowers, in the glorious spring-tide of the resurrection. See Eusebius, Severus and others here in the Caten, Cramer, p. 100.Thus the benefits of the incarnation and the redemption wrought by the second Adam extend also to the natural world. He has restored already the free use of the creatures to us (cf. 1Co 3:23), and He will raise the Creation itself to a more glorious state of being.M.]

2Pe 3:14. Wherefore, beloved, expecting these things, be diligent, etc.The Apostle founds here an exhortation to holiness on the last named circumstance [i. e., the expectation of the new heavens and the new earth.M.], as in 2Pe 3:11, on the expectation of that catastrophe.; cf. 1Pe 1:19; 1Ti 6:14; Jam 1:27., Php 2:15, like , blameless; that you cannot be blamed; for the opposite, see 2Pe 2:13., in His judgment, before Him, connect with ; cf. 2Co 12:20., 1Pe 1:7; 1Pe 2:22, in His day. . De Wette explains it: For your peace= ; but in that case the Apostle would certainly have expressed it. Better Calov: In peace with God and with men. [Alford suggests, that considering the familiarity of the Eastern tongue with the expression , the phrase may have an onward as well as a present meaning, as in and , Act 16:36 : Jam 2:16; Luk 7:50; Luk 8:48; and denote that eternal peace of which all earthly peace is but a feeble foretaste.M.] More specific definition of . Gerhard: Strive that the Lord at His coming may find you peaceful and reconciled. The thought is connected with , 2Pe 3:13. Dietlein thinks that it is added with reference to the subject about to be stated by the Apostle, viz., the peace-destroying animosity of the deceivers, and refers to Judges 19. But Peter states first something else. It has a good meaning with reference to the many internal and external peace-breakers, especially at that time, Heb 12:14.

2Pe 3:15. And account the longsuffering of our Lord your salvation, [see Appar Crit.M.]; , cf. 2Pe 3:9; Rom 2:4; Rom 9:22. Every postponement of the day of judgment is also an extension of grace for believers, as far as they may make further progress in holiness. Dietlein: Apart from it, every converted Christian, reviewing his conversion, is constrained to admit that unless the longsuffering of God did insert a development-process of sin and redemption between apostacy and judgment, his conversion would have been impossible and the merited judgment would have overtaken him also. To this must be added the observation that since the text reads in general, not , the salvation of many others also is founded on this longsuffering. [After this exegesis, it is difficult to understand why Fronmller retains the old Lutheran rendering.M.] Roos: The passage must not be limited to those persons who live at that time, but rather be extended to those who may still be born, if the long-suffering of God preserves this present world for a long time.

Even as also our beloved brother Paulhath written unto you.The deceivers, to whom Peter refers, probably abused the Epistles of the Apostle St. Paul, and represented Peter and Paul as contradicting each other; on this account Peter cites the testimony of Paul as confirmatory of his doctrine, and shows that between Paul and himself there is an intimate communion of spirit, and that the incident, mentioned Gal 2:11, was unable to extinguish his love.

As also, relates, not to what immediately precedes, but to the whole exhortation, 2Pe 3:14-15, to holiness in view of the coming of Christ. Dietlein supposes that since the of God is treated of only in Rom 2:4; Rom 9:22, the reference is evidently to the Epistle to the Romans, but the supposition that is to be thus limited, is wrong, and is decidedly opposed to it. Peter must allude to an Epistle of Paul, which, like the present Epistle of Peter, is addressed to the Christians of Asia Minor. To say that the Epistle to the Romans was addressed to Gentiles in general, is no sufficient explanation. Hence Bengel, Gerhard, al., think it to be the Epistle to the Hebrews on account of Heb 9:26, etc.; Heb 10:25; Heb 10:37; others, the Epistle to the Ephesians, on account of Eph 4:30; Eph 6:8; Eph 3:4. The reference is perhaps to all these; de Wette conjectures 1Th 4:13; 1Th 5:11, and 2Th 2:16; but the above named reason is against this view [which is also that of Alford, who meets the objection founded on , by saying that this Epistle is addressed to all Christians alike, cf. 2Pe 1:1; and that all that can be inferred from amounts to this, that this Epistle belongs to a date when the Pauline Epistles were no longer the property only of the Churches to which they were written, but were dispersed through, and were considered to belong to the whole Christian Church.Benson considered the reference to be the Epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians, because addressed to Asia Minor Churches; this is also the opinion of Wordsworth, who notices also that this text is quoted by Origen de Recta Fide, sect. II., and ascribed by him without any hesitation to St. Peter.M.]

Our beloved brother.Brother must be taken in the narrow sense of fellow-apostle. How beautiful is this trait of Peters character, that he harboured no unkind remembrance of the sharp rebuke which Paul, who excelled him in his labours for the kingdom of God, had administered to him, and that he joyfully acknowledged his Apostolic calling.

According to the wisdom.Dietlein: Not so much preminence in knowledge as aptitude in teaching, knowledge which peculiarly qualifies for teaching; hence ministerial grace accorded to him. Chrysostom does not hesitate to prefer Paul as a teacher to all others and to call him the teacher of all wisdom. [Polycarp ad Philipp. I. 3; No one like me can equal the wisdom of the blessed Paul, who being absent wrote to you Epistles ( ) into which, if you look diligently, you will be enabled to be built up unto the faith.M.]

2Pe 3:16. As also in all his Epistles, speaking in them of these things. . Even if the Article is retained, which is probably spurious, there is no necessity to suppose here a reference to all the Epistles of Paul as a finished whole. It cannot be determined which and how many of the Pauline Epistles were known to Peter. sc. ; ; of the coming of Christ, the end of the world and of what is connected with those events; stedfastness in faith and zeal in good works. Here Peter might refer more particularly to the Epistles to the Thessalonians.

Among which are some things difficult to understand. Gerhard: Peter here makes no direct reference to the Pauline Epistles, but to the subjects of which they treat, among which are some hard to understand, which belongs to the nature of the last things. ; ; from , an instrument of torture, a rock, a screw, a press, hence to screw, to strain, to wind, to twist or distort. A very striking word, peculiar to Peter, to describe the perversion of the Scriptures. As to the things themselves Bengel refers to 2Ti 2:18; Gerhard, to false views of the millennium, of justification by faith, of Christian liberty, of the coming of Antichrist, and especially to the justification and excuses of lawless extravagancies.

The ignorant and unstable.The reference is perhaps rather to the deceived than to the deceivers and scoffers, for whom these two words would be too mild. On , cf. 2Pe 2:14.

As also the other Scriptures; . Here again the reference is not to a completed collection of the writings of the New Testament, from which the inference might be drawn that this Epistle is of a comparatively late origin. De Wette, without sufficient reasons, understands passages of Scripture. The reference is probably to the Pauline Epistles, the Epistle of James and the prophetical writings, which, according to 2Pe 3:2 and 2Pe 1:20, must not be excluded.

To their own perdition.Cf. 2Pe 2:2; Deu 4:2; Deu 12:32; Rev 22:19. Huther: The perversion of the Scriptures has this consequence, since they use their distorted sayings in order to harden themselves in their carnal lusts. We have only to add, that they also bring perdition on themselves because they deprive others of salvation.

2Pe 3:17. Ye, therefore, beloved, knowing it before, beware, lest being led away together with the error of the lawless.Final exhortation not to suffer themselves to be made to waver in their hope by the error of the ungodly, and to grow in grace and knowledge.. Bengel supplies: the danger. Dietlein refers it to the imminent attempts of deception. The Lord Himself set great value on the foretelling and fore-knowing of the future. Cf. Joh 14:29; Joh 16:4., . Take heed, be on your guard that yefall not from.Thus taken, the construction is not singular; cf. Luk 12:15; Act 21:25; 1Jn 5:21., 2Pe 2:7; 2Pe 3:3; , 2Pe 2:18, error, delusion, not deception, as Dietlein maintains;. Cf. Gal 2:13. Similar to what is said of sins, that, like the wind, they have taken us away, Isa 64:6. [Alford notes the remarkable coincidence, that Peter, well acquainted as he was with the writings of Paul, should have written this word, which is the very one used by that Apostle of Barnabas, at Antioch, when he with the hypocrisy of Peter and the other Jews.M.];, together with them and others which they had long since deceived.

Ye fall from your own stedfastness.. Cf. Gal 5:4, to fall from, to be banished;, standing fast, stedfastness in faith and hope; contrast to 2Pe 3:16, above. He refers to 2Pe 1:12 where he declared his readers to be established in the truth. Roos: The state of grace is the fortress. There God Himself is the stronghold and castle; Christ the rock on which we are builded; there we are assured by the privilege, that all things must work together for good to them that love God; there we are, by the power of God, kept unto salvation. A Christian falls from this his own fortress, if he loses grace, and neglecting to watch and pray and to attend to the word of God, gradually yields to the commission of intentional sins, which, whether by some thoroughly matured dogma or only by hasty judgments, he erroneously regards now in a very different light, and consequently excuses or even justifies. Gerhard: Not, as though they could of their own strength persevere in faith, but because only true believers continue firm to the end.There is no reference here to continuance in communion with the Church.

2Pe 3:18. But grow in the grace, etc.Gerlach: The best preservation is continual practice of faith, continual growth in grace and knowledge: then we are proof against all assaults. Similarly Calvin. [Haec unica est perseverandi ratio, si assidue progredimur.M.]; Cf. 1Pe 2:2; 2Pe 1:5; Eph 4:15; Col 1:10. We grow in grace, if we apprehend it with ever increasing faith and keep it, and thus we are privileged to enjoy it more and more richly. Cf. 1Pe 5:10. belongs only to not to , [This is doubtful, since the preposition extends to both. There is no difficulty if the subjective force of and the objective force of as connected with Christ is brought out. Grow in the grace of which Christ is the Author, in the knowledge of which Christ is the object.M.].Great value is set here at the close, as before at the beginning of the Epistle, on the knowledge of the person, the office, and the benefits of Christ, cf. 2Pe 1:2. . The doxology refers to Christ in proof of His Divinity. [Alford suggests Plinys letter, hymnus Christo quasi Deo.M.]. Cf. Jude 25; Rev 1:6; Rev 4:9; Eph 3:21. not found elsewhere. Bengel explains in contrast with night: Eternity is a day without night, purely and perpetually enduring. Huther: The day in which eternity begins as contrasted with time, but which day is likewise all eternity itself. The selection of this expression is best explained by reference to 2Pe 3:8. Eternity counts with God as one day. Augustine: It is only one day, but an everlasting day without yesterday to precede it, and without to-morrow to follow it; not brought forth by the natural sun, which shall exist no more, but by Christ, the Sun of Righteousness.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Unbelief is generally blind to the grossest contradictions in which it is entangled, even as those scoffers do neither see the folly of affirming a beginning of the world and to deny the end of the world, nor the absurdity of the conclusion: That which has not yet happened until to-day, will happen nevermore. God has not made the worlds for eternity, like Himself, but they come and pass away. In the case of each world there was a time when it did not exist, and there will be a time, when its place shall not be found. How distant soever the day of the destruction of our earth may be, when it does come there will be men on earth, like ourselves, occupied, as we are, with expectations and hopes of a long future. He that rolls up the heavens like a garment and scatters suns and earths like dust, He only is the Lord. Our science will never reach the laws which bring about the destruction of our earth. Schleiermacher.
2. Although loving gratitude to Jesus, who gave up His life as a sin-offering for us, must after all remain our strongest motive to holiness, Scripture teaches us that the thought of death and the judgment, of the end of the world and eternity, should move us to vigilance, seriousness, soberness, and to be on our guard against the security of the world. If the disciples in their time needed the pre-announcement of Christs coming and the end of the world, it is doubly and trebly needed in our time. Hastening the coming of Jesus must not degenerate into an impatient drawing near of the Judge by murmuring against others; we ought the rather be occupied with clearing away and preparation in our own affairs, in order that we may be found in peace. Rieger.

3. The new earth is the eternal and chief scene of the Kingdom of God, Psalms 37; Revelation 21. It will not be uninhabited. As the nature of the earth has been made to correspond and conform to man in his fallen and corrupt condition, so it will be made to correspond and conform to man purified, recovered and transfigured into glorious righteousness. Augustine already teaches that the renovated world will answer to the bodies of men which will likewise be renovated. Richter.

4. Even the older theologians held that the day of the Lord, in which such great and decisive events are to be transacted, in which so many millions are to be judged, must not be made to denote a day of twelve or twenty-four hours. It ought rather to be taken in the sense of a diet [In German, Reichs-tag, Land-tag, Frsten-tag, literally, day or diet of an empire, county or princes, i. e., a congress of the representatives of an empire, a country, or of princes. The reference in the text is to the name of such assemblies, which although referring to a day, continue in session for weeks or months. So the day of the Lord denotes not a single day, but an indefinite period of time.M.].

5. The Roman Catholic Church charges the Scripture with obscurity, and founds her charge on 2Pe 3:16. In reply we may notice,

a. The correct interpretation of the passage shows that Peter refers immediately to the difficulty of understanding the subjects treated in those Epistles.

b. These are difficult to understand because they relate to future events, and because the soul-man [so called in respect of the predominance of the .M.] finds it so difficult to understand the things of the Spirit.

c. Chrysostoms assertion concerning the Scripture is irrefutable, viz.: Whatever is necessary [to be known and to our salvation.M.] is plain and sure in it, so that all, even the unlearned, may understand it.

d. There are good reasons why many things in the Scriptures are hard to understand.

Many parts of the truth of God must be clothed in concealment in order to prevent aversion to it, to prompt diligent inquiry, and in order to be reserved as a reward of the fidelity exhibited in such search. Rieger. These difficulties contain a peculiar attraction, a stirring up to prayer, a confounding of our vanity, a concealing of the truth from the eyes of the meddling.
6. If the genuineness of this Epistle be admitted, it affords us a clear proof of the futile pretences of the critics of the Tubingen school in respect of the Pauline Epistles, e. g., of Zeller, who says in the Theol. Jahrb., 1846, II.: Of the twenty-seven writings contained in our Canon, there is not one for which can be shown credentials of its origin reaching up to the pretended date of its composition.

[7. Augustine says concerning the question arising from 2Pe 3:16 : Which are the things hard to understand in the Epistles of Paul? Even in the times of the Apostles, certain persons, who did not understand some of Pauls rather obscure (sub obscuras) sentences, alleged that he said, Let us do evil, that good may come, because he had said, that the law entered in, that sin might abound; and where sin abounded, there did grace much more abound, Rom 3:8; Rom 5:20.When the Apostle Paul says that a man is justified by faith (per fidem) without the works of the law, he does not mean thereby, that, when a man has received and professed the faith, he may despise the works of righteousness; but that every one may know that he may be justified by faith, although works of the law have not gone before his faith. For works follow him that is justified, Seguuntur justificatum, non precedunt justificatum.Since, however, the notion above mentioned had arisen at that time (viz., that works were not requisite), the other Apostolic Epistles of Peter, John, James and Jude, specially contend against that notion; in order to maintain earnestly, that faith without works does not profit. Indeed Paul himself has defined faith to be not any kind of faith by which man believes in God, but he defines true faith to be that healthful and evangelical faith, whose works proceed from love: Faith which worketh by love, Gal 5:6. And he asserts, that the faith which some men think sufficient for salvation is so worthless, that If I have faith (he says) so as to remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing, 1Co 13:2; and doubtless that mans life is good, where faithful love works, for he says, the fulfilling of the law is love, Rom 13:10.Evidently, therefore, for this reason St. Peter in his second Epistle, when he was exhorting to holiness of life, and was declaring that this world would pass away, and that new heavens and a new earth are looked for, which are to be assigned as dwellings to the righteous; and when he was admonishing them to consider what ought to be their life in this world, in order that they may be made meet for that future habitation; and being also aware that many ungodly men had taken occasion from certain rather obscure sentences of the Apostle Paul, to be reckless of living well, and to presume of salvation by faith, has noted that there are some things hard to be understood in St. Pauls Epistles, which men wrested, as they did the other Scriptures, to their own destruction; whereas, in truth, that Apostle (St. Paul) entertained the same opinions as the rest of the Apostles concerning eternal salvation, and that it would not be given to any but to those who live well. Thus therefore Peter writes. Augustine then quotes this chapter, 2Pe 3:11-18.Augustine, de fide et operibus, c. 22, ed. Bened. 6, p. 308.M.]

[8. Wordsworth, who cites the foregoing passage from Augustine, gives also the following useful table of the testimony of prophets and Apostles to the authority of Holy Scripture:
The prophet Malachi closes the Canon of the Old Testament by a solemn appeal to the law of Moses, and to the statutes and judgments. He says: Remember them, (Mal 4:4.)

The Apostle and Evangelist St. John closes the four gospels with a similar reference. These things are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, ye might have life through His name, Joh 20:31.

St. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentile world, closes his Epistles with a testimony to the sufficiency and inspiration of Holy Scripture: Abide thou in those things which thou hast learned, and wert assured of, knowing from whom thou didst learn them; and that from a child thou knowest the Holy Scriptures, which are the things that are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith that is in Jesus Christ. Every Scripture, being divinely inspired, is also profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, in order that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto every good work, 2Ti 3:14-17.

St. Peter, here, in like manner closes his Epistles with a similar exhortation, and with a warning against perversion of Scripture.

St. Jude also closes the Catholic Epistles with a memento to his readers: Remember ye the words spoken before by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, Judges 17.

Lastly, the Apostle and Evangelist St. John closes the Apocalypse with a promise of blessing to those who keep its sayings, and a curse on those who take from it or add to it, Rev 22:7; Rev 22:18-19.

Thus the duties of the Christian Church, as the Guardian of Holy Scripture, and the duties of every member of the Church, as bound to receive, to meditate upon, and to obey the written word of God, are solemnly inculcated by the farewell voices of prophets and Apostles.

Prophets and Apostles pass away to another and a better world. But the word of God, written by their instrumentality, endureth forever, 1Pe 1:25.M.]

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

There is a twofold day of the Lord, a day of His mercy in which He still causes sinners to be bidden to His Kingdom by the word (preached), 2Co 6:2, and a day of righteousness and wrath (Act 17:31), which has its various gradations and divisions.What is necessary to watching and being prepared for the coming day of the Lord? Luk 12:39; 1Th 5:6; 1Th 5:4; Mat 24:38; Rev 16:15.We cannot be translated, into a state of peace, rest and happiness, unless we have been purified within by sanctificalion of the Spirit, and there arise a cessation of the reproaches and accusations in respect of the transgressions of which we were guilty.If by carelessness or indiscretion we contract once more spots or blemishes, let us hasten to the opened fountain for all uncleanness, that we may be cleansed by the blood of Jesus.If all things shall dissolve into fire, the idols of secure men will also perish. How ill is it with us, if we have nothing that is fire-proof!The only means of escaping the terror of the coming of Christ, is a holy walk and godliness. The former relates to other men and earthly things, the latter to our conduct towards God.Who does sufficiently realize the end of all things, which has come nigh, and which after the death of the body we shall quickly be made to meet?According to Tertullian, the primitive Christians were wont to pray for a postponement of the end. The Church sings:

Hasten, Lord, the judgment-day,
Thy glorious countenance display;

Ei, lieber Herr, eil zum, Gericht,

Lass sehn Dein herrlich Angesicht;

both sentiments are well founded.The hope of that new world, wherein dwelleth perfect righteousness and constant joy, a chief means of consolation among all the trials and afflictions of this world.It is one of the chief aims of believers to strive that hereafter they may be found without spot before the Lord.Who will hereafter be found without spot?The long-suffering of God our salvation and that of many others.Beautiful example of Peter in his attitude towards Paul.Harmony among the teachers of the Church is as necessary as the joint operation of the members of our body.To honour the gifts of God in others, is to honour God Himself.If the, forgery of a testament (will) which disposes of an earthly inheritance is a great crime, how much greater is the sin of those who forge and distort the Testament of the Eternal God.The grace of stedfastness should be daily implored with earnest prayer.The grace of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ are indissolubly united.Christ is duly glorified by us, if we acknowledge, praise and publish His benefits.

Starke:That must be a fearful day; who does not tremble at the birth-pangs of the last time? But ye holy ones, rejoice, lift up your heads, for your redemption is nigh. Luk 21:28.Men, be moderate in providing garments, in building palaces, in purchasing precious things. Every thing, even the most precious, must be consumed by fire in the last day, 1Co 7:30-31.The constant recollection of the last day, in which Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, will give to every man his due reward, is a powerful incentive to godliness, Ecc 12:13-14.When the heavens and the earth shall have passed away, believers will nevertheless come to a most delightful place, although we cannot now name it or describe its glory, 1Th 4:17.Those who do not pursue righteousness and holiness here, will not be preferred to the abode in the new heaven of glory, and still less be permitted to enjoy its pleasures, 1Co 6:9.The patience and long-suffering of Christ is our preservation; for we owe it to His mercy that we are not consumed, Lam 3:22.If there are dark passages in Holy Scripture, the darkness is not intrinsic, but extrinsic, that is, with respect to the reader and his weak understanding. But it is clear enough in the order of salvation and eternal life to silence all excuses, Psa 119:105.If Holy Scripture seems to be dark here and there, be not offended at it, and take care not to despise it; learn rather therefrom its sublimity and thy lowliness, but ever search more and more and persevere in prayer; thus thou shalt get more light: as for the rest, it will be reserved for the perfect knowledge thou shalt attain in heaven, 1Co 13:12.A perverted understanding goes generally hand in hand with an evil will.Try the spirits, whether they are of God; if not, hearken not to them, do not follow them, and let them not deceive thee, 1Co 6:9.A strong fortress needs a vigilant and lion-hearted commander, else it will be lost.Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall, 1Co 10:12. Watch!Those who are minded not to fall from their own stedfastness, must above all things grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, Joh 17:3.

Stier:If we may sigh in our own case, Lord, come speedily; must we not, on the other hand, pray because of the ungodly, Lord, have patience. Examples: Abraham, Jonah.Look at all the glory of this poor world with no other thought than the knowledge that all is destined to pass away!

Rieger:True part of friendship among Christians, to warn one another.All the notices of the Holy Scriptures concerning future things are given to us that we should be on our guard. Those who only use them to gratify their curiosity, deprive them all of their best properties of salt and light.The multitude of the wicked and the diversity of the instruments whereby error is conveyed to men, constitute no small power of deception.How many a possession, the objects of doubt, dispute and contradiction will be saved in the day of eternity!

Richter:Ye that are fortified in genuine Scripture-truth and in the doctrine in Christ, are in the city of refuge, of which the Jewish city of refuge wag a type! Numbers 35.

Kapff:In the great process of combustion the earth will experience the fate of ore which contains silver and gold. The gross, light and formless parts are consumed, the precious and light-giving parts are preserved.The earth will be a great light-bearer corresponding to the light of the glorified resurrection bodies.In the passages describing the glorification of the earth, it is difficult to determine how much belongs to the renovation of the earth during the millennial kingdom, and how much to the glorification of the new earth.If the earthly is so unclean before the holiness of God that it must be burned with fire, how dare we suffer our spirit to be linked to the earthly ?

Lisco:Of the salvation, which we may attain even in this life.The inner completion of the citizens of the kingdom.The salutation of departing Christians.The renovation of the world at the coming of Christ.

[Sharp:The reflection that our Lord, who came into the world to die for the sins of mankind, is by His resurrection made Judge of the world, doth not afford matter of greater terror to His enemies, than it does of comfort to His friends and followers. How must it revive the heart of every honest Christian, and encourage him to go on patiently and cheerfully in the service of his Master, notwithstanding the many frailties and infirmities under which he labours; notwithstanding the many slips and errors, that after his best endeavours do attend his course of life, to consider that He, who is to take his accounts at the last day, and to pass sentence upon him, is no other than his dear Redeemer! If we look upon the judgment to come only in this view, that then all the hidden works of darkness shall be brought to light; the secrets of all hearts be laid open; the actions of all mankind strictly examined and scanned; and sentence passed upon every one according to his works done in the flesh; if we have no other view of the last judgment than only this, it would not be very comfortable to the best of us, who are all sinners, and therefore cannot plead our innocence at that great tribunal. But when we consider farther, that it is our Saviour who shall then sit upon the throne; that it is our Saviour to whom God hath committed the judging of us; our Saviour who knows our frame, who is sensible of all the difficulties we have to conflict with, as having Himself in the days of His flesh had sufficient experience of them, He being in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin; and that this Saviour of ours will not judge us according to the rigour of the Law, but according to that gracious allowance of the Gospel; the consideration of this will prove an effectual antidote against all the fears, and disquietudes, and despondencies we may lie under upon account of our own unworthiness. Let none of us, therefore, that heartily own our Lord Jesus and His religion, and honestly endeavour to live up to the laws of His Gospel, fright ourselves with such thoughts as these: How much shall I, poor wretch, dare to appear before the face of my Judge at the last day: I, who have so many sins to answer for? Let us but go on in the good course we are in: let us but hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, and daily apply to the throne of grace for strength and assistance against our corruptions; and to our prayers let us add our sincere endeavours to increase in virtue, and the longer we live still to grow better; and then I dare say, whatever sins we may have been guilty of, we shall not need to have any apprehension, or fear our condition on account of them, when we come to die: but we may with confidence appear before the tribunal of our Lord; and expect our part in that comfortable sentence, which He will at the last day pronounce to all His true disciples and followers: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, Mat 25:34.M.]

[Cf. on 2Pe 3:10. H. Blair: On the dissolution of the world. Sermons, III.

2Pe 3:10-14. C. Simeon: The day of judgment. Works, XX., 349.

2Pe 3:11. John Owen: Providential changes an argument for universal holiness. 4 Serm. Works XVI., 220. Holiness urged from the liability of all things to dissolution. Works, (Goold), XVII., 524.

2Pe 3:13. Thomas Chalmers: The new heavens and the new earth. Works, VII., 280.

2Pe 3:15-16. W. Paley: Caution recommended in the use and application of Scripture language. Visit. Serm. Serm. and Tracts, I.

Chr. Wordsworth: Hulsean Lecture for 1847.

W. Barrow: On the mysterious doctrines of Christianity. Bampton Lecture, 221; Serm., I., 173.

C. Benson: Origin of Scripture difficulties. 1. Existence of Scripture difficulties vindicated. 26. Objections to the existence of difficulties in the Scriptures as an inspired work considered. 47. The existence of difficulties in Scripture not incompatible with their object as a religiously instructive work. 69. Classification of Scripture difficulties. 156. Minor difficulties in Genesis. Recapitulation and conclusion. Hulsean Lecture for 1822, 399.

T. Chevallier: The use of historical types authorized by Scripture; the advantages attending an inquiry into them; the danger of abuse, and rules of interpretation. Hulsean Lecture for 1826. 35.

2Pe 3:18. Jeremy Taylor: Of growth in grace, with its proper instruments and signs. 2 Sermons.M.]

Footnotes:

[12]2Pe 3:10. omitted by Lachmann and Tisch. The Article is not wanted, because every body knows what sort of a day it is. cf. 2Pe 3:7; Php 1:6; Php 1:10; Php 2:16. [ omitted in B. C.; inserted in Rec. with A. K. L., al.M.]

[13] omitted by Tischen. and al. [also in A. B., Sin.: al., Vulg., Syr., Copt., Arm., al.; inserted in C. K. L., Rec, Syr.M.]

[14][ Omit before , Sin., K. L., al.Sin. and Cod. Colbert., insert after .M.]

[15][ Lachmann reads ; Tisch. with A. G. K. prefers [Sin., B.C., read .M.]

[16] [ Sin. B. L., al., read for .M.]

[German: As a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a crashing roar, but the elements shall be dissolved in fire, and the earth and the works in it, shall be burned up.
Translate: As a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a rushing noise, but the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up.Dr. Lillie calls attention to the onomatopoeia in which most versions here sought to preserve. The word rushing, like the German Gerusch (Stier) resembles most.In I have retained the Passive force with Vulg., Syr., de Wette, Alford and Lillie.M.]

[17]2Pe 3:11. Tisch., with B. C., and many other authorities, reads for ; [, A. K. L., Vulg., al.M.]

[18] [ , Sin.*omits B.M.]

[German: Since then all these things are being dissolved, as what sort of persons ought ye to evidence yourselves in all manner of holy walk and godliness?
Translate: All these things being thus to be dissolved (Alford) what manner. .M.]

[19] 2Pe 3:12. [ Sin. omits ; but Tisch. marks the reading with *.M.]

[German: Expecting and hastening (so Alford, Bloomf., de Wette, Lillie) the coming of the day of God, for the sake of which () the heavens being on fire, shall dissolve (themselves), and the elements shall melt away with fervent heat.

[20]2Pe 3:12. Translate: . by reason of which ( understood, Alford), the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall be melted with a fervent heat ( C. Vulg., Lachm., or retaining as the present of destiny, render are to be melted.)M.]

[21]2Pe 3:13. [ The German dagegen, and nevertheless of E. V. objectionable on account of their strong adversative force and the emphasis they give to ; better translate but with most of the foreign versions, Alf., Hammond, Doddridge, Lillie.M.]

[22]A. Lachm. read .[Sin. .M.]

[23] [ Insert before A. Vulg., al. Sin.M.]

2Pe 3:14. [German: Wherefore, beloved, expecting these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless before Him in peace.M.]

[24] 2Pe 3:15. [ Rec. has before with L.; , A. B. C. K., Sin., al.M.]

German: Account your salvation. Better in strict conformity to the Greek And the longsuffering of our Lord account salvationwrote unto you.M.]

[25]2Pe 3:16. [ before omitted in A. B. C. K., al., Vulg,. Syr., Alf.M.], Lachm. and Tisch.

[26]Lachmann reads referring to ; Tischend., with A. G. K. prefers the reading . So de Wette. [ , A. B., Sin.M.]

[27][ German: As he also does in all his Epistles, speaking in them of these things, among which are some things difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable distort, as also the other Scriptures to their own perdition.M.]

[28]2Pe 3:17. [ German: Ye, therefore, beloved, knowing it before, beware, lest being led away together with the error of the lawless, ye fall from your own stedfastness.M.]

[29] 2Pe 3:18. [ German: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Translate:. To Him the glory both now and to the day of eternity.M.]

Subscription: , A. B.Sin.; Cod. Colbert.; [. L., al.; . C.M.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 2428
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

2Pe 3:10-14. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless [Note: This was preached on occasion of the horrible conspiracy (called The Cato-Street Conspiracy, in February, 1820,) against his Majestys Ministers; the meditated destruction of whom, by the explosion of a grenade of 14lbs. weight, afforded very abundant and appropriate matter as introductory to this Discourse.].

* * * * * * *
BUT have we never contemplated our own situation? Have we never considered that the solemnities of the judgment day are now in actual preparation; and that, not our own individual dwelling, or friends only, will be affected by them, but the whole universe? Our minds are at this time justly, and almost exclusively, engrossed with the consideration of this tremendous plot, which God, in mercy to this whole nation, has defeated. And I hope rather to strengthen, than efface, those impressions, by leading you to contemplate,

I.

The events predicted in our text

These are widely different indeed from each other; but they are inseparably connected, and infallibly simultaneous. Let us consider,

1.

The dissolution of this present world

[Once the world and every thing in it, with the exception of that small portion contained in the ark, was destroyed by water: and there is a time coming when the whole of it without exception will be destroyed by fire. Of the latter there will be no more expectation at the time, than there was of the former. In the days of Noah they were eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, as securely as at any former period of the world: and would not believe that they were in any danger, till, on the entrance of Noah into the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. So, at the last day, the inhabitants of this globe will be as little occupied with the thoughts of judgment, as we are at this moment. Our Lord tells us, that he will come as a thief in the night; that, without any previous warning, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth, with every thing in it, shall be burnt up.
Conceive now the feelings of men at the very first moment that this tremendous and irresistible combustion shall burst forth. Some faint idea may be entertained, if only you suppose that the plot, which God in his mercy has defeated, had been accomplished. Conceive the company that was assembled, either as partaking of the friendly repast, or as deliberating on the affairs of state, and consulting with each other for the welfare of the nation: conceive of them as beholding the desolating instrument cast in among them, and ready in a few moments to execute its destined office: with what terror would they be filled ! and, if a moment were allowed for an ejaculatory petition, with what ardour would they implore mercy for their souls! Thus will it be in every quarter of the globe. All, except the remnant, who, in the habit of their minds, have been dying daily, will be ready to call upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, and to cover them from the wrath of the Lamb, whose judgment they dread.
But to that happy remnant another scene will open: for to them shall be revealed,]

2.

The establishment of a new and better state

[They, according to Gods promise, are even now looking for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness: and then shall that new state open to their view. In the bold and figurative language of prophecy, the Millennial state is sometimes described under these terms [Note: Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22.] and well it may be; since, when compared with the present state of things, wherein iniquity so awfully abounds, it will be indeed a new creation. But the period here spoken of is contemporaneous with the final judgment; and, consequently, must refer to heaven itself, where neither sin nor sorrow can ever dwell. That is the period of which St. John speaks, when he says, I saw a new heaven, and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth [Note: Rev 21:1; Rev 21:27.].

Contemplate the feelings of the godly at the moment that this glory bursts upon them. In vain shall we look for any thing wherewith to compare it upon earth. Alas! the visions of the godly are not so bright; nor do their sublimest raptures make so deep an impression as do the terrors which are inspired by sudden and appalling danger. But, as contrasted with the feelings of the ungodly, we may conceive in some little measure their bliss. Let us picture to ourselves the Rich Man and Lazarus, entering at the same moment into the eternal world, the one beholding the abyss of hell ready to swallow him up, and the other fixing his eyes upon his God and Saviour, whose glory and felicity he is about to share. But]
We shall contemplate these things to more advantage, if we view them in connexion with,

II.

The effect which the prospect of those events should produce upon us

This the Apostle sets forth,

1.

In a way of candid appeal

[We all look for these events; nor do any of us doubt but that they will come in due season. Let me then ask of all who are here present, What manner of persons ought ye to be? Should you not be waiting for that period in all holy conversation and godliness? Should you not be looking for it, and hasting unto it with a holy eagerness, to meet your God at his coming? As for the things of this life, they should be as nothing in our eyes. Being so soon to part with them all, we should sit loose to them; as the Apostle says; They who have wives should be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away [Note: 1Co 7:29-31.]. I well know, that, when such a state of mind is recommended by us, we appear to require more than is necessary. But I will venture to appeal to every considerate man, whether this be not the conversation that becomes us, when our God is coming to judgment; and when he has told us that he will come as a thief in the night? Would it not be madness to be dreaming of peace and safety, till sudden and everlasting destruction come upon us [Note: 1Th 5:2-3.]? The wise virgins were not wise in this respect, that, like the foolish virgins, they slumbered and slept. Happily for them, they had oil in their vessels with their lamps; or else, with the foolish virgins, they also would have been excluded from the nuptial feast. The true frame for all of us to be in, is that of ardent and affectionate expectation; our loins being girt, and our lamps trimmed, and our whole souls as those who wait for the coming of their Lord. Maintaining this frame, you may rest assured, that the Lord Jesus Christ will confirm you to the end [Note: 1Co 1:7-8.], and present you faultless before the presence of his Fathers glory with exceeding joy [Note: Jude, ver. 24.].]

2.

In a way of affectionate entreaty

[Beloved brethren, seeing that ye look for such things, I beseech you be diligent that ye may be found of God in peace, without spot and blameless. Think, if that day should come upon you unprepared; and, instead of going forth to meet a loving Saviour, you should behold only an angry and avenging Judge; how terrible will this be! Lose not an hour then; but be diligent in seeking peace with God through the Son of his love. It is the blood of Christ, and that only, which can effect your reconciliation with God: and therefore lose not a moment in sprinkling it upon your souls; yea, let your holiest actions, as well as your more acknowledged sins, be purged with it from their defilement. Endeavour, too, to preserve a spotless and blameless conduct throughout your whole lives, being sincere and without offence until the day of Christ. Let no allowed sin be found in you: but so cleanse yourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, that you may perfect holiness in the fear of God, and be acknowledged by him as Israelites indeed, in whom there was no guile. This will doubtless require diligence: but surely the occasion justly deserves all the care and labour you can bestow upon it. Can you doubt whether those, whose lives have been lately in such imminent peril, have taken precautions against any future surprise? Would they not be justly blamed, if they were to be as heedless of danger, as they were before they knew of the conspiracy that was formed against them? Be ye then on your guard. They, whatever attempts were made against them, might escape: but no possibility of escape remains for you. Your God will come, even as a thief in the night; and therefore I entreat you all to be diligent, that, whether he come in the evening, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning [Note: Mar 13:32-37. The particular instructions in this passage, Take ye heed, watch, and pray, may here be dwelt upon to advantage.], you may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless

I only add, Account the long-suffering of God to be salvation [Note: ver. 15.]. You have long been spared; and God is still forbearing to call you to your great account. Beloved brethren, despise not this goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering of your God; but let them lead you to repentance [Note: Rom 2:4.]. Though the general judgment should be long deferred, your own particular doom will be fixed the very instant that you shall be summoned into the eternal world. Do not then delay till it be too late; but to-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts, lest God cut you off in your sins, and swear in his wrath that you shall never enter into his rest.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Ver. 10. The heavens shall pass, &c. ] The very visible heavens are defiled with men’s sins, Rev 18:5 , and must therefore be purged by fire; as the vessel that held the sin offering was in the time of the law.

With a great noise ] , such a noise as the sea makes in a great storm, or like the hissing of parchment shrivelled up with heat, as others make the comparison.

Shall be burnt up ] This the very heathens knew in part, as appears by the writings of Lucretius, Cicero do Natura Deorum, Ovid’s Metam. lib. i.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

10 .] Assertion of the conclusion as against the scoffers the certainty, suddenness, and effect of the day of the Lord . But (notwithstanding the delay) the day (the art. is not needed for definiteness in the later Epistles, cf. 2Pe 3:7 ; Phi 1:6 ; Phi 1:10 ; Php 2:16 ) of the Lord (= , below, 2Pe 3:12 ) shall come ( has the emphasis, as opposed to all the doubts of the scoffers. It is more than merely “shall come,” though no one word will give the exact force in English: “shall be here,” “shall be upon you”) as a thief (ref. 1 Thess.: from which place probably the expression is taken, as reference is made below to the Epistles of St. Paul); in which the heavens shall pass away (reff. Matt.; and Rev 21:1 ) with a rushing noise ( , , c. is the rush of a bird, ref. Wisd., of an arrow, Il. . 361, of the music or a shepherd’s pipe, Od. . 315: and, see Palm and Rost’s Lex., of any thing rapidly moving. Some understand it of the actual noise of the flames which shall consume the heavens: others, as De W., of the ‘ruina,’ or crash with which they shall fall: “magno impetu,” vulg.; “in modum procell,” Calv.: “cum stridore,” Beza: alii aliter), and the heavenly bodies ( , according to Bed [23] , the four elements , fire, air, earth, and water: but he is obliged to modify the meaning or , inasmuch as fire cannot dissolve or consume fire: according to Bengel, the sun, moon, and stars , defending it by this word being often used in that sense by Theoph. of Antioch and others in Suicer sub voce. Certainly Justin Martyr so uses the word several times: cf. Apol. ii. 5, p. 92, . : and Dial. Tryph. 23, p. 122, Epist. ad Diognet. 7 (Migne, Patr. Gr. vol. ii. p. 1177), and Otto’s notes. And considering that this clause, on account of the , followed presently by the when we come to speak of the earth, necessarily belongs to the heavens, considering also that the mention of the heavenly bodies as affected by the great Day is constant in Scripture, cf. Mat 24:29 ; Isa 13:9-10 ; Isa 24:23 ; Isa 34:4 , &c., I should be inclined on the whole to accept this interpretation, feeling that the above-named reasons overbear the objection alleged by De Wette, that the word does not bear this sense in any other passage of Scripture. This objection is also weakened by remembering, 1. that it occurs in a physical sense here only: 2. that in Gal 4:3 , where it is clearly not in a physical sense, the Greek interpreters give it this meaning: see in Suicer sub voce, and mine and Bishop Ellicott’s notes on Gal. l. c., and note on Mat 24:29 ) being scorched up ( , classically, to suffer from excessive heat: to be in a burning fever. The pres. part. gives the ground and reason of the following verb) shall be dissolved (not literally, melt [that is expressed by below]: cf. next verse, and reff. here), and the earth and the works in it ( may mean either the works of men, buildings and the like, or, the works of the Creator: perhaps both of these combined, “opera natur et artis,” Bengel. Estius’s sense, “opera peccatorum,” is out of the question: nor does 1Co 3:15 &c. apply here, any further than that the same purifying fire is spoken of) shall be burned up (the var. readd. are very curious. That of [24] [25][26] 27] , , has plainly arisen from the Latin urentur . That it has so arisen, is a most instructive fact, and leads to inferences which cannot be here followed out).

[23] Bede, the Venerable , 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. “E,” mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.

[24] The CODEX VATICANUS, No. 1209 in the Vatican Library at Rome; and proved, by the old catalogues, to have been there from the foundation of the library in the 16th century. It was apparently, from internal evidence, copied in Egypt. It is on vellum, and contains the Old and New Testaments. In the latter, it is deficient from Heb 9:14 to the end of the Epistle; it does not contain the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; nor the Apocalypse. An edition of this celebrated codex, undertaken as long ago as 1828 by Cardinal Angelo Mai, has since his death been published at Rome. The defects of this edition are such, that it can hardly be ranked higher in usefulness than a tolerably complete collation, entirely untrustworthy in those places where it differs from former collations in representing the MS. as agreeing with the received text. An 8vo edition of the N.T. portion, newly revised by Vercellone, was published at Rome in 1859 (referred to as ‘Verc’): and of course superseded the English reprint of the 1st edition. Even in this 2nd edition there were imperfections which rendered it necessary to have recourse to the MS. itself, and to the partial collations made in former times. These are (1) that of Bartolocci (under the name of Giulio de St. Anastasia), once librarian at the Vatican, made in 1669, and preserved in manuscript in the Imperial Library (MSS. Gr. Suppl. 53) at Paris (referred to as ‘Blc’); (2) that of Birch (‘Bch’), published in various readings to the Acts and Epistles, Copenhagen, 1798, Apocalypse, 1800, Gospels, 1801; (3) that made for the great Bentley (‘Btly’), by the Abbate Mico, published in Ford’s Appendix to Woide’s edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, 1799 (it was made on the margin of a copy of Cephalus’ Greek Testament, Argentorati, 1524, still amongst Bentley’s books in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge); (4) notes of alterations by the original scribe and other correctors. These notes were procured for Bentley by the Abb de Stosch, and were till lately supposed to be lost. They were made by the Abbate Rulotta (‘Rl’), and are preserved amongst Bentley’s papers in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge (B. 17. 20) 1 . The Codex has been occasionally consulted for the verification of certain readings by Tregelles, Tischendorf, and others. A list of readings examined at Rome by the present editor (Feb. 1861), and by the Rev. E. C. Cure, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford (April 1862), will be found at the end of these prolegomena. A description, with an engraving from a photograph of a portion of a page, is given in Burgon’s “Letters from Rome,” London 1861. This most important MS. was probably written in the fourth century (Hug, Tischendorf, al.).

[25] The Codex Cyprius, brought from the island of Cyprus to Paris, and now in the Imperial Library there (MS. Gr. 63). Contains the Gospels (entire), memoirs of the saints of the Greek Church, and the canons of Eusebius. Collated by Tischendorf and Tregelles. Its text is peculiar and sui generis; and is consequently of much value. Assigned to the ninth century .

[26] By these symbols are designated the portions of two ancient MSS., discernible (as also are fragments of Ulphilas’ gothic version) under the later writing of a volume known as the Codex Carolinus in the Ducal Library at Wolfenbttel. P (GUELPHERBYTANUS A) contains fragments of each of the Gospels. Q (GUELPH. B) fragments of Luke and John. Both are probably of the sixth century . They were edited by F. A. Knittel in 1762; and, more thoroughly, by Tischendorf in 1860 [1869], Monumenta Sacra, vol. iii. [vi.]

[27] The CODEX SINAITICUS. Procured by Tischendorf, in 1859, from the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. The Codex Frederico-Augustanus (now at Leipsic), obtained in 1844 from the same monastery, is a portion of the same copy of the Greek Bible, the 148 leaves of which, containing the entire New Testament, the Ep. of Barnabas, parts of Hermas, and 199 more leaves of the Septuagint, have now been edited by the discoverer. A magnificent edition prepared at the expense of the Emperor of Russia appeared in January, 1863, and a smaller edition containing the N.T. &c., has been published by Dr. Tischendorf. The MS. has four columns on a page, and has been altered by several different correctors, one or more of whom Tischendorf considers to have lived in the sixth century. The work of the original scribe has been examined, not only by Tischendorf, but by Tregelles and other competent judges, and is by them assigned to the fourth century . The internal character of the text agrees with the external, as the student may judge for himself from the readings given in the digest. The principal correctors as distinguished by Tischendorf are: A, of the same age with the MS. itself, probably the corrector who revised the book, before it left the hands of the scribe, denoted therefore by us -corr 1 ; B (cited as 2 ), who in the first page of Matt. began inserting breathings, accents, &c., but did not carry out his design, and touched only a few later passages; C a (cited as 3a ) has corrected very largely throughout the book. Wherever in our digest a reading is cited as found in 1 , it is to be understood, if no further statement is given, that C a altered it to that which is found in our text; C b (cited as 3b ) lived about the same time as C a , i.e. some centuries later than the original scribe. These are all that we need notice here 6 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

2Pe 3:10 . . No distinction is made between the Day of the Lord, and the Coming of Christ. This is remarkable, as excluding any idea of millenarian teaching, which speedily made its appearance in the Early Church, is , cf. 1Th 5:2 , Mat 24:43 , Luk 12:39 , Rev 3:3 ; Rev 16:15 . That day will surprise those who are clinging to the idea that no change is possible. , onomatopoetic, expressing the sound produced by rapid motion through the air, e.g. , flight of a bird, or an arrow. It is also used of the sound of a shepherd’s pipe. No doubt the sound of a fierce flame is meant. “It is used of thunder in Luc. Jup. Trag. 1; of the music of the spheres in Iamblich, Vit. Pyth. c. 15; Oecumenius says the word is especially used of the noise caused by a devouring flame” (Mayor, ed. p. 157). . Spitta interprets . as being the spirits that preside over the various parts of nature. But the situation of . between and makes it practically certain that the heavenly bodies are meant. The universe consists of , and . is the vault of heaven,“the skies”. . would therefore mean sun, moon and stars. Cf. Justin. Apol. 2Pe 2:5 , Trypho. 23. Cf. Isa 34:4 , Joe 2:30-31 , Mat 24:29 , Rev 6:12-14 in illustration of the Jewish belief that the stars will share in the final destruction of the Last Day. . A medical term, used of the heat of fever ( ). This is the only known use of the word applied to inanimate objects. Whether the writer of 2 Peter has here indulged a fondness for unusual words, or whether was ever used in other than a medical sense in the , it is impossible as yet to say. In any case it denotes a violent consuming heat. . The only alternative reading that is worthy of notice in connexion with this difficult passage is , but one would expect a word expressing dissolution, like , or . is found in an absolute sense in Clement, Cor. 9:3 (of Enoch) , “his death was not brought to light”. In 2 Clem. xvi. (see textual note) is the paraphrase of ( cf. Introd. pp. 90 f.).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

in the night. The texts omit. Compare 1Th 5:2, 1Th 5:4.

with a great noise = with a rushing sound. Greek. rhoizedon. Only here.

elements. See Gal 1:4, Gal 1:3.

melt = be dissolved. Greek. luo, to loose. Compare App-174.

with fervent heat = being burnt up. Greek. kausoo. Only here and 2Pe 3:12.

therein = in (App-104.) it.

burned up. See 1Co 3:15.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

10.] Assertion of the conclusion as against the scoffers-the certainty, suddenness, and effect of the day of the Lord. But (notwithstanding the delay) the day (the art. is not needed for definiteness in the later Epistles, cf. 2Pe 3:7; Php 1:6; Php 1:10; Php 2:16) of the Lord (= , below, 2Pe 3:12) shall come ( has the emphasis, as opposed to all the doubts of the scoffers. It is more than merely shall come, though no one word will give the exact force in English: shall be here, shall be upon you) as a thief (ref. 1 Thess.: from which place probably the expression is taken, as reference is made below to the Epistles of St. Paul); in which the heavens shall pass away (reff. Matt.; and Rev 21:1) with a rushing noise (, , c. is the rush of a bird, ref. Wisd., of an arrow, Il. . 361, of the music or a shepherds pipe, Od. . 315: and, see Palm and Rosts Lex., of any thing rapidly moving. Some understand it of the actual noise of the flames which shall consume the heavens: others, as De W., of the ruina, or crash with which they shall fall: magno impetu, vulg.; in modum procell, Calv.: cum stridore, Beza: alii aliter), and the heavenly bodies (, according to Bed[23], the four elements, fire, air, earth, and water: but he is obliged to modify the meaning or , inasmuch as fire cannot dissolve or consume fire: according to Bengel, the sun, moon, and stars, defending it by this word being often used in that sense by Theoph. of Antioch and others in Suicer sub voce. Certainly Justin Martyr so uses the word several times: cf. Apol. ii. 5, p. 92, . : and Dial. Tryph. 23, p. 122, Epist. ad Diognet. 7 (Migne, Patr. Gr. vol. ii. p. 1177), and Ottos notes. And considering that this clause, on account of the , followed presently by the when we come to speak of the earth, necessarily belongs to the heavens,-considering also that the mention of the heavenly bodies as affected by the great Day is constant in Scripture, cf. Mat 24:29; Isa 13:9-10; Isa 24:23; Isa 34:4, &c., I should be inclined on the whole to accept this interpretation, feeling that the above-named reasons overbear the objection alleged by De Wette, that the word does not bear this sense in any other passage of Scripture. This objection is also weakened by remembering, 1. that it occurs in a physical sense here only: 2. that in Gal 4:3, where it is clearly not in a physical sense, the Greek interpreters give it this meaning: see in Suicer sub voce, and mine and Bishop Ellicotts notes on Gal. l. c., and note on Mat 24:29) being scorched up (, classically, to suffer from excessive heat: to be in a burning fever. The pres. part. gives the ground and reason of the following verb) shall be dissolved (not literally, melt [that is expressed by below]: cf. next verse, and reff. here), and the earth and the works in it ( may mean either the works of men, buildings and the like,-or, the works of the Creator: perhaps both of these combined, opera natur et artis, Bengel. Estiuss sense, opera peccatorum, is out of the question: nor does 1Co 3:15 &c. apply here, any further than that the same purifying fire is spoken of) shall be burned up (the var. readd. are very curious. That of [24] [25][26] 27], , has plainly arisen from the Latin urentur. That it has so arisen, is a most instructive fact, and leads to inferences which cannot be here followed out).

[23] Bede, the Venerable, 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. E, mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.

[24] The CODEX VATICANUS, No. 1209 in the Vatican Library at Rome; and proved, by the old catalogues, to have been there from the foundation of the library in the 16th century. It was apparently, from internal evidence, copied in Egypt. It is on vellum, and contains the Old and New Testaments. In the latter, it is deficient from Heb 9:14 to the end of the Epistle;-it does not contain the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon;-nor the Apocalypse. An edition of this celebrated codex, undertaken as long ago as 1828 by Cardinal Angelo Mai, has since his death been published at Rome. The defects of this edition are such, that it can hardly be ranked higher in usefulness than a tolerably complete collation, entirely untrustworthy in those places where it differs from former collations in representing the MS. as agreeing with the received text. An 8vo edition of the N.T. portion, newly revised by Vercellone, was published at Rome in 1859 (referred to as Verc): and of course superseded the English reprint of the 1st edition. Even in this 2nd edition there were imperfections which rendered it necessary to have recourse to the MS. itself, and to the partial collations made in former times. These are-(1) that of Bartolocci (under the name of Giulio de St. Anastasia), once librarian at the Vatican, made in 1669, and preserved in manuscript in the Imperial Library (MSS. Gr. Suppl. 53) at Paris (referred to as Blc); (2) that of Birch (Bch), published in various readings to the Acts and Epistles, Copenhagen, 1798,-Apocalypse, 1800,-Gospels, 1801; (3) that made for the great Bentley (Btly), by the Abbate Mico,-published in Fords Appendix to Woides edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, 1799 (it was made on the margin of a copy of Cephalus Greek Testament, Argentorati, 1524, still amongst Bentleys books in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge); (4) notes of alterations by the original scribe and other correctors. These notes were procured for Bentley by the Abb de Stosch, and were till lately supposed to be lost. They were made by the Abbate Rulotta (Rl), and are preserved amongst Bentleys papers in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge (B. 17. 20)1. The Codex has been occasionally consulted for the verification of certain readings by Tregelles, Tischendorf, and others. A list of readings examined at Rome by the present editor (Feb. 1861), and by the Rev. E. C. Cure, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford (April 1862), will be found at the end of these prolegomena. A description, with an engraving from a photograph of a portion of a page, is given in Burgons Letters from Rome, London 1861. This most important MS. was probably written in the fourth century (Hug, Tischendorf, al.).

[25] The Codex Cyprius, brought from the island of Cyprus to Paris, and now in the Imperial Library there (MS. Gr. 63). Contains the Gospels (entire), memoirs of the saints of the Greek Church, and the canons of Eusebius. Collated by Tischendorf and Tregelles. Its text is peculiar and sui generis; and is consequently of much value. Assigned to the ninth century.

[26] By these symbols are designated the portions of two ancient MSS., discernible (as also are fragments of Ulphilas gothic version) under the later writing of a volume known as the Codex Carolinus in the Ducal Library at Wolfenbttel. P (GUELPHERBYTANUS A) contains fragments of each of the Gospels. Q (GUELPH. B) fragments of Luke and John. Both are probably of the sixth century. They were edited by F. A. Knittel in 1762; and, more thoroughly, by Tischendorf in 1860 [1869], Monumenta Sacra, vol. iii. [vi.]

[27] The CODEX SINAITICUS. Procured by Tischendorf, in 1859, from the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. The Codex Frederico-Augustanus (now at Leipsic), obtained in 1844 from the same monastery, is a portion of the same copy of the Greek Bible, the 148 leaves of which, containing the entire New Testament, the Ep. of Barnabas, parts of Hermas, and 199 more leaves of the Septuagint, have now been edited by the discoverer. A magnificent edition prepared at the expense of the Emperor of Russia appeared in January, 1863, and a smaller edition containing the N.T. &c., has been published by Dr. Tischendorf. The MS. has four columns on a page, and has been altered by several different correctors, one or more of whom Tischendorf considers to have lived in the sixth century. The work of the original scribe has been examined, not only by Tischendorf, but by Tregelles and other competent judges, and is by them assigned to the fourth century. The internal character of the text agrees with the external, as the student may judge for himself from the readings given in the digest. The principal correctors as distinguished by Tischendorf are:-A, of the same age with the MS. itself, probably the corrector who revised the book, before it left the hands of the scribe, denoted therefore by us -corr1; B (cited as 2), who in the first page of Matt. began inserting breathings, accents, &c., but did not carry out his design, and touched only a few later passages; Ca (cited as 3a) has corrected very largely throughout the book. Wherever in our digest a reading is cited as found in 1, it is to be understood, if no further statement is given, that Ca altered it to that which is found in our text; Cb (cited as 3b) lived about the same time as Ca, i.e. some centuries later than the original scribe. These are all that we need notice here6.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

2Pe 3:10. ) will be present.- , the heavens) which the mockers say shall continue as they are, 2Pe 3:4.-, with a great noise) The word has letters resembling the sound of an arrow in its flight, the trickling of water, etc.-, the elements) that is, the works which are in the heavens, as the following words show. The sun, the moon, and the stars, are often called , by Theophilus of Antioch, p. 22, 148, 228, and by others, whom Wolf has brought together in his edition, and whom Suicer has noticed, and Menage on Diogenes Laertius, vi. 102, they are called elementa by Jerome. As at the creation, so at the destruction of the world, the sun, the moon, and the stars, are accustomed especially to be mentioned, Mat 24:29; and they are certainly contained in some part of Peters representation, and especially in the word elements, rather than fire, air, water, and earth. For Peter makes mention of the earth separately, and under this he includes water, or even air (of which, however, the Scripture rarely makes mention, when speaking of the nature of things); fire will be that, by which the elements shall melt away. The same word is used, Wis 7:17. It is a most elegant metaphor. For as a letter on a parchment,[21] so is a star in the heaven.-, the works of nature and art.

[21] Elementum was used of a letter of the Alphabet.-E.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Holy Living and Godliness

2Pe 3:10-18

How quickly the great European convulsion broke upon the world in the summer of 1914! Who expected such a sudden burst of the great storm! We are evidently near some vast change in the history of mankind, which may fitly be compared to the coming of new heavens and a new earth, as mentioned in 2Pe 3:13. The condition of the world calls on each of us to be holy, as the virgins in their pure dresses, with burning and well-filled lamps. See Mat 25:1-13. This is the manner in which we may hasten the coming of the day of God. It is not enough to say, Thy kingdom come. Each day we should move some pebble from its pathway!

In twenty-four hours God can do as much as all His servants at home and abroad could not accomplish in a thousand years. According to Gods chronology, it was on the morning of yesterday that Jesus died. Be watchful. Christs coming is certain, but not the hour. If we are blameless now, we shall be faultless presently. See Jud 1:24.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

the day: Isa 2:12, Joe 1:15, Joe 2:1, Joe 2:31, Joe 3:14, Mal 4:5, 1Co 5:5, 2Co 1:14, Jud 1:6

as a: Mat 24:42, Mat 24:43, Luk 12:39, 1Th 5:2, Rev 3:3, Rev 16:15

in the which: Psa 102:26, Isa 51:6, Mat 24:35, Mar 13:31, Rom 8:20, Heb 1:11, Heb 1:12, Rev 20:11, Rev 21:1

the elements: 2Pe 3:12

melt: Psa 46:6, Psa 97:5, Amo 9:5, Amo 9:13, Nah 1:5

the earth: 2Pe 3:7

Reciprocal: Gen 6:13 – the earth Exo 19:18 – in fire Deu 7:10 – slack Jos 8:3 – by night Job 14:12 – till the heavens Job 26:11 – pillars Job 40:6 – out Psa 18:9 – He bowed Psa 46:2 – though Psa 97:3 – General Psa 104:5 – that it Pro 27:12 – General Ecc 1:4 – but Isa 2:19 – when he Isa 13:13 – the earth Isa 13:22 – her time Isa 24:6 – and few Isa 42:14 – long time Isa 54:10 – the mountains Isa 64:1 – that the Isa 66:15 – the Lord Jer 51:25 – and will Eze 13:5 – the day Dan 4:29 – end Amo 5:18 – the day of the Lord is Mic 1:4 – the mountains Nah 2:6 – dissolved Zep 1:7 – for the day Zep 3:8 – for all Mat 5:18 – Till Mat 24:29 – the powers Mat 24:36 – General Mat 25:6 – a cry Mar 13:24 – General Mar 13:32 – of Luk 6:48 – the flood Luk 16:17 – it Luk 17:24 – in Luk 21:25 – signs Luk 21:26 – for the Luk 21:34 – that day Act 2:20 – sun 1Co 1:8 – the day 1Co 3:13 – the day 1Co 11:26 – till 1Co 15:52 – a moment 2Co 5:17 – old Phi 1:6 – the day 1Th 4:16 – the Lord 2Th 1:8 – flaming Heb 12:27 – signifieth 1Pe 1:7 – that Rev 2:25 – till Rev 6:14 – the heaven Rev 21:4 – the former

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

2Pe 3:10. The Lord is nowhere compared to a thief, but the time of His coming is where the likeness is. That is because a thief makes no announcement of his approach but comes in by surprise, usually selecting the time of night for the event. There are three heavens spoken of in the Bible, the third one being the dwelling place of God (2Co 12:1-4), and of course that will never pass away. The other two are in the material universe, comprising the region of the atmosphere for the first and that of the planets for the second. These shall pass away with a great noise. The italicized words come from one Greek word which Strong defines, “Whizzingly, i. e., with a crash.” The origi- nal for elements is defined by Thayer as follows: “The elements from which all things have come, the material causes of the universe.” These materials will become liquefied by the intense heat that the Creator will send upon them. The earth is a part of the same material universe mentioned in the quoted definition, but it is given special mention because it is where man lives at the present, thus giving him serious warning of the fateful event.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

2Pe 3:10. But the day of the Lord; the day which in 2Pe 3:12 is called the day of God, and elsewhere the day of Christ (2Th 2:2), the day of the Lord Jesus (2Co 1:14). The expression carries us back to the Old Testament prophecies of Jehovahs day, or the day of the Lord (Joe 1:15; Isa 2:12; Eze 13:5), and the day of His Coming (Mal 3:2). There it designates Messiahs Coming, or Jehovahs own Coming in connection with the realization of Messianic hope, and that as an event of judicial as well as gracious consequence. In such passages as the present it is transferred to the day of the Second Advent, and to that specially as a day of judicial sifting and decision. This clause affirms the certainty of the approach of that time, notwithstanding the facts just noticed, and the order of the words gives great emphasis to the statement. Though some deem it so late of appearing (the writer means), that it may never appear, and though it is true that God in His long-suffering delays the event, yet come will (or, on you shall be ) the day of the Lord. The suddenness with which it will enter is next asserted.as a thief: the best authorities omit the words in the night which are added in the A. V. Peter had been taught the figure by Christ Himself (Mat 24:43; Luk 12:39). It appears also in Paul (1Th 5:2) and in the Apocalypse (chaps, Rev 3:3, Rev 16:15). It does not properly convey the idea of dread, but simply that of the swift and unexpected.

in which the heavens with a rushing noise shall pass away. The phrase with a great noise, which is given by both the A. V. and the R. V., is a prosaic rendering, which entirely fails to do justice to the singular vividness and force of the original. Peter uses an adverb which is not found elsewhere in the New Testament, and which, indeed, is of rare occurrence even in the Classics. It means with a rushing sound (or, motion). The idea expressed by its cognates is that of the whizzing or hurtling of arrows, the whistling of the descending scourge, the whirring wing and rushing movement of the bird in flight. It is a term to stimulate the imagination, conveying by a single stroke a conception which it takes many words to reproduce in English, of the dread facility with which the change shall be effected, its unerring suddenness and rapidity, the crash of its instantaneous completion. The renderings of some of the older English Versions deserve notice. Wycliffe, e.g., gives with great birr; Tyndale, with terrible noise; Cranmer, in manner of a tempest; the Rhemish, with great violence. As to the pass away (the same verb had been used by Christ in His prophecy of the end, Mat 24:35), compare such passages as Rev 21:11; Isa 34:4; Psa 102:27.

the elements, moreover, shall be dissolved, consumed by intense heat. The connecting word here is not the usual and, but a conjunction which implies contrast or distinction as well as connection. It should therefore be rendered but, or moreover. The melt of the A. V. should rather be, as in 2Pe 3:11 (where the same verb is employed), be dissolved (or loosed). The phrase with fervent heat, which is given by the A. V. and retained by the R. V., represents a participle which means burning fiercely, or consumed with fierce heat. The question of difficulty here, however, is what we are to under stand by these elements. Some (e.g. Bengel, Alford, Plumptre, etc.) suppose that the heavenly bodies are meant, these being, as it were, the elements making up the heavens. This view is held to be supported by such considerations as these: the fact that the sun, moon, and stars are introduced into other biblical descriptions of the day of the Lord (Isa 13:9-10; Isa 24:23; Isa 34:4, etc.), and especially in Christs own announcement of it (Mat 24:29); the relation in which this clause stands to the preceding statement about the heavens themselves; the employment of the term by early Christian writers (e.g. Justin Martyr, Apol. ii. 5, Trypho, xxiii.) in this sense; and the apparent distinction drawn here between these elements and both the heavens and the earth. Others (Bede, etc.) take the four elements of the physical universe, earth, air, water, fire, to be in view. In this case there is the awkward ness of representing the writer as speaking of the dissolution of fire by fire; hence it is proposed to limit the expression to three of these elements, or even to air and water alone (Estius). All these views, however, as well as other modifications of them (such e.g. as the idea that the stars in particular are meant), attribute to Peter a more sharply-defined meaning than was probably intended. The great objection to the first view is that the term does not appear to denote the heavenly bodies in any other passage of Scripture. In Classical Greek it seems to mean primarily the several parts of a series, the components which make up something; whence it came to be used of the simple series of sounds which form the elements of language, the first principles or elementary data of science, such as the points, lines, etc. of geometry, and, in Physics, the component parts of matter, which were reduced to four in the philosophical schools. In the New Testament it occurs only seven times, viz. in the present verse and again in 2Pe 3:12, in Gal 4:3; Gal 4:9, in Col 2:8; Col 2:20, and Heb 5:12. In the Petrine passages it clearly has a physical sense; in the others an ethical. Here it is applied, with no reference to scientific or philosophical ideas, but in a broad and popular sense, to the parts of which the heavens in particular, or the system of things generally, are made up. It may denote, therefore, much the same as is covered by the phrase the powers of the heavens in Mat 24:29 (so Huther), the idea being that these heavens shall pass away by having their constituent parts dissolved. Or it may refer in the wider sense to the whole framework of the world, as that world was conceived to consist of heavens and earth (so Wordsworth, etc.).

and the earth; so it should be rendered, and not the earth also.

and the works that are therein shall be burnt up. The works are not to be limited either to the results of mans moral activity (as in 1Co 3:13; 1Co 3:15), or to his achievements in general. The phrase is better understood, as is done by most interpreters, in the wider sense given it by Bengelworks of nature and of art. As Peters language, however, seems at so many points here to be steeped in the terms of the ancient prophecies, it is still more likely that this is simply his equivalent for the Old Testament phrase the earth and the fulness thereof. In that case it would point to Gods works rather than to mansto the creations of God which belong to the earth, as they are related in the history of creation, cf. Rev 10:6 (Huther). Instead of burnt up, some of the very best documentary authorities, including the two most ancient manuscripts, give another reading, which means shall be found. It is supposed, however, that this reading is one of those in which the earliest documents themselves have gone astray, and that, as the reading followed by the Received Text is supported by far inferior authorities, this is one of a few passages in which the original text has not been preserved in any of our existing authorities. The reading of the oldest manuscripts is supposed by the latest critical editors to have arisen from a corruption of another, which would mean shall flow (or, melt) away (see Westcott and Hort, vol. 2 p. 103). Those who retain the reading which the ordinary laws of evidence would lead us to adopt, get a satisfactory sense out of it by interpreting it shall be discovered, that is, found out judicially, or made to appear as they are. This would fit in very well with the idea of the next verse, which is that of the manner of life which the thought of the judicial end should recommend. Some propose to hold by the ordinary sense of the verb, and to turn the sentence into an interrogationShall the earth and the works that are therein be found (i.e shall they continue) then? There is no uncertainty as to the sense which is meant to be conveyed. The uncertainty attaches only to the particular expression which was given to that sense. But this forms, in view of the singular results which are shown by the documents, one of the most perplexing problems in the criticism and history of the text. One of the primary manuscripts has another reading, which means shall disappear. A later Syriac Version inserts the negative, and gives shall not be found. The wide variety of reading is a witness to the early uncertainty of the text here, and to the difficulty felt with the term which was transmitted by the oldest documents. It is well to know, on the testimony of those who have devoted their lives to such questions as these, that the passages affected by anything amounting to substantial variation can hardly form more than one-thousandth part of the entire text, and that the books of the New Testament as preserved in extant documents assuredly speak to us in every important respect in language identical with that in which they spoke to those for whom they were originally written (Westcott and Horts New Testament in Greek, ii. pp. 2, 284).

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Our apostle having asserted, that this solemn day of judging the Jews, at the destruction of Jerusalem first, and then of all mankind at the end of the world, will certainly come; he next shews the manner how, and that although this great day of the Lord comes slowly, yet it will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night, surprising the secure and unprepared part of the world. The thief cometh without warning, and without noise, so shall the coming of the Son of man be. Rev 16:15 Behold I come as a thief, blessed are they that watch.

Observe next, The apostle declares what a great change there will be when Christ comes to judgment, namely, a total dissolution of the whole frame of nature, The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt, and the earth be burnt up: that is, say some, totally consumed and utterly abolished; for when there is no more need of sun and stars, of earth and water, why should they be any more? And when the saints see God face to face, what need of the glass of the creatures to behold the face of God in?

Others conceive that the heavens and the earth shall not be annihilated, but bettered and improved, their substance continued, but their qualitites changed; that out of this conflagration God will bring forth a new edition of heaven and earth, and of what is contained in them, to be the everlasting monuments of his own power and goodness, and the delightful objects of his saints contemplation.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

The “Day of the Lord”

There are numerous references to the “day of the Lord” in the New Testament ( 1Co 1:8 ; Php 1:6 ; 1Th 5:2 ; 2Th 2:2 ). When coupled with Peter’s words in 2Pe 3:10 , they can be seen as plainly referring to the second coming of Christ. That coming will be unexpected, like that of a thief ( Mat 24:42-44 ). Evidently, the word “heavens” stands for the place where the birds fly. They will pass away with a loud noise, which is the noise of destruction and may describe the roaring of a fire (see verse 7). The very building blocks of the universe, or elements which may be atoms or even smaller, will be melted in the flame. The earth and all of man’s works in it, such as houses, monuments, etc., will also be burned up.

The fact that this earth and all the works in it will be destroyed should have moved Christians to recognize their ultimate home, or country which is the meaning of the word “manner,” and live as if they really were its citizens ( Php 3:20-21 ; Heb 11:13-16 ; 2Co 4:18 ). Christ’s disciples should, therefore, live a pure and reverent life in the sight of God. The Christian should look forward to the Lord’s coming, according to Peter, and be so expectant that he would speed its coming if he could ( 2Pe 3:11-12 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

2Pe 3:10. But Notwithstanding the long-suffering of God; the day of the Lord The day of the consummation of all things, and of final judgment; will come, and that as a thief in the night Because thieves commonly break into houses in the nighttime, and occasion great fear to those who are within, any sudden, unexpected event, especially such as occasioned terror, was compared, by the Hebrews, to the coming of a thief in the night. The suddenness, therefore, and unexpectedness of the coming of the day of the Lord, and the terror which it will occasion to the wicked, are the circumstances in which it will resemble the coming of a thief, and not that it will happen in the night-time. In the which the heavens That is, the aerial heavens, the atmosphere which surrounds this earth, and which the apostle calls the heavens, because Moses had called it so; shall pass away The passing away of the heavens and the earth does not mean, it seems, that they will be removed to another part of space, or that they will be annihilated; but that, being burned, their form and constitution will be changed much more, probably, than the constitution or form of the old world was by the flood; destruction by fire being more complete and dreadful than destruction by water; with a great noise Surprisingly expressed by the very sound of the original word, . That the thundering noise occasioned by the burning of the whole heavens, or atmosphere, will be terrible beyond description, may be conjectured by considering what a noise is made by those small portions of the air which are burned when it thunders, or which are set in commotion in a storm. But how much greater will be the noise arising from the general conflagration of the whole earth, with all that it contains. And the elements shall melt with fervent heat , burning shall be dissolved. The word , rendered elements, signifies the first principles, or constituent parts of any thing. Hence it denotes the principles of science, (Heb 5:12,) as well as the principles of bodies. Estius understands by the word the elements of which this terraqueous globe is composed; but as the melting of these is mentioned 2Pe 3:12, Macknight is of opinion that, in this verse, the apostle is speaking of the electrical matter, the sulphureous vapours, the clouds, and whatever else floats in the air, all which, burning furiously, will be disunited and separated. The earth also, and the works that are therein Whether of nature or of art; shall be burned up And has not God already abundantly provided for this?

1st, By the stores of subterranean fire, which are so frequently bursting out at tna, Vesuvius, Hecla, and many other burning mountains; 2d, by the ethereal (vulgarly called electrical) fire, diffused through the whole globe; which, if the secret chain that now binds it up were loosed, would immediately dissolve the whole frame of nature; 3d, By comets, one of which, if it touch the earth in its course toward the sun, must needs strike it into that abyss of fire. If in its return from the sun, when it is heated (as a great man computes) two thousand times hotter than a red-hot cannon ball, it must destroy all vegetables and animals long before their contact, and soon after burn it up.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

ARGUMENT 5

CREMATION AND CELESTIALIZATION OF THIS EARTH

10. Remember Gods day is a thousand years. The Lord comes as a thief, receives His bride, inaugurates the millennium and reigns a thousand years, as related by John. After the millennium, as described by John (Revelation 20), the final resurrection and judgment transpire. Meanwhile the cremation of the earth will take place, i.e., its sanctification by fire, putting an end to the temporal and probationary state on the earth. This final and thorough cremation of the earth will exterminate all the effects of sin, superinducing a final and complete expurgation of this entire world from all the maladies and contaminations of sin, consuming the oceans and seas and melting the frozen poles.

11. Therefore these things being dissolved, what part does it behoove us to be in holy deportment and godliness. Certainly these relations constitute the greatest possible incentives to a holy experience and life.

12. Anticipating and expediting the coming of the day of God. He has promised to come so soon as the Gospel of the kingdom is preached to all nations, thus giving all a chance for the bridehood and a throne in the Coming kingdom. So we can expedite His coming by telling the nations, i.e., preaching the Gospel to all the world. Through which the heavens, i.e., the firmaments, being on fire, will be melted with fervent heat. The intense heat of the cremation will not only consume the ocean, but melt the mountains and deserts and dissolve the great strata of the earth, reducing the globe to a molten plate, thus preparing it for the ensuing reformation and celestialization.

13. But we look for new heavens [i.e., new firmaments] and a new earth in which dwelleth righteousness. This corroborates John. Rev 21:1. Harmonizing Peter and John, we see the cremation and renovation will take place after the millennium. During the final judgment, which will occupy a period of time sufficient for the magnitudinous issues destined then to transpire. Meanwhile the great Appellate Court of the universe is moving and settling all destinies for eternity. The earth will be passing through those tremendous fiery convulsions and revolutions requisite to utterly expurgate all the debris of sin and prepare the way for complete renovation and glorious transformation into a heavenly world, for the inheritance of saints and the occupancy of glorified spirits through all eternity. In which dwelleth righteousness. In the new celestial world into which our earth will be transformed after its complete sanctification by the fiery baptism, there will never be any more sin nor anything contaminated by sin. Transfigured saints and glorified angels will here abide forever. Doubtless this redeemed earth will ever be a favorite among the glorified inhabitants of all celestial worlds, having universal celebrity as the battlefield of Gods empire, where his Son met the powers of hell in battle array and fought the battle of human redemption. Therefore throughout celestial ages, earth will be a favorable resort as the battlefield of Gods empire. Doubtless the bright unfallen intelligences from millions of unfallen worlds, will delight to visit the scene of the most terrible conflicts in the history of the universe.

14. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, hasten to be found spotless and blameless unto Him in peace. The true attitude of saintship in all ages has been that of constant expectancy of our returning Lord. This vivid and constant outlook is the grandest conceivable inspiration to a holy experience and life. Mark the commandment, Hasten to be found spotless and blameless, i.e., get wholly sanctified by the precious blood and the consuming fire, utterly expurgating inbred sin out of the heart. This is the only possible way to be found spotless and blameless. You must first get spotless and blameless, and then keep so, looking out constantly for King Jesus to ride down on a cloud. Foolish people think it simply depends on their conduct. A hog can not live like a sheep. First of all, you must receive the transforming grace of God, to eliminate all of the hog nature out of you, then you can live like a sheep.

15. Consider the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation. Oh, how true! Salvation here means our final transfiguration at the Lords coming. If He had not waited long He would have found many of us without the spotless robe.

16. Peter brings in Pauls testimony (2 Thessalonians 2), to corroborate his visions on the Lords coming, observing that they are hard to understand and, consequently, wrested by the unlearned and unestablished to their own destruction. The Bible is a spiritual book, dealing in spiritualities and not mentalities. Peter himself is pronounced an unlearned and ignorant man. Act 4:13. Hence unlearned and unestablished is to be understood in a strictly spiritual sense, i.e., untaught by the Holy Ghost and unestablished in holiness.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 10

As a thief in the might; unexpectedly and suddenly.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

3:10 {10} But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great {d} noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

(10) A very short description of the last destruction of the world, but in such sort as nothing could be spoken more gravely.

(d) With the violence of a storm.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The phrase "day of the Lord" refers to a specific time yet future, as elsewhere in Scripture. This "day" will begin when Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel, and it will conclude with the burning up of the present heavens and earth (Dan 9:27; 2Pe 3:12; et al.). Some ancient manuscripts read "the earth and its works will be laid bare [Gr. eurethesetai]." This could mean that the earth and its works will be exposed for what they really are. "Its works" probably refers to all that has been done on earth that has only temporal value (e.g., buildings, etc.). This day will come as a thief in that its beginning will take those unbelievers living on the earth then (after the Rapture) by surprise (Mat 24:37-39; Mat 24:43-44; Luk 12:39-40; 1Th 5:2; Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15). The term "heavens" probably refers to the earth’s atmosphere and the "second heaven" in which the stars and the planets exist, not God’s abode (the "third heaven"). The "elements" (Gr. stoicheia) apparently refer to the material building blocks of physical things (i.e., the atoms, molecules, and larger masses that are foundational to still larger things). Other views are that they are the heavenly bodies or the angelic powers.

After the Flood, God told Noah, "I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen 8:21-22). He meant that He would not do so with another flood. He went on to say, "All flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth" (Gen 9:11 b; cf. 2Pe 3:15). Peter’s announcement of a worldwide judgment by fire does not, therefore, contradict God’s promise in the Noahic Covenant.

When in the "day of the Lord" will this conflagration take place? Some believe it will happen at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. [Note: E.g., George N. H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ, 2:504-9.] Of these some believe this destruction will be only a limited renovation of the earth. [Note: E.g., Robert D. Culver, Daniel and the Latter Days, p. 188; and Walter Scott, Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 418.] It seems more likely however that this holocaust will take place at the end of the Millennium and will result in the destruction of the universe as we know it (Rev 21:1; cf. Mat 5:18; Mat 24:35; Mar 13:31; Luk 16:17; Luk 21:33). [Note: For answers to the arguments of Peters and Culver, see R. Larry Overstreet, "A Study of 2 Peter 3:10-13," Bibliotheca Sacra 137:548 (October-December 1980):358-68.]

"Peter clearly opposes those Christians who insisted that Christ had to return within a certain short period of time after his resurrection. But he by no means opposes the idea of imminence itself." [Note: Moo, p. 189.]

"Only the book of Revelation in the New Testament speaks so directly about the cosmic effects of the day of the Lord." [Note: Carson and Moo, p. 666.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 29

“WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT YE TO BE?”

2Pe 3:10-13

THE Apostle, ever earnest to put the brethren in mind of the things they had heard or read, never fails to follow his own precept. His thoughts perpetually go back to the words of Jesus, of which the passage before us is but one example out of many. “If the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched”. {Luk 12:39} So spake Christ unto the disciples when urging them to be like unto servants that look for the coming of their lord. To the Masters parable St. Peter now gives its application: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief.” He means first to mark the unexpected advent, which steals upon men when they least think of it. Sinners will have lulled themselves into security, and the thought farthest from their minds will be the all-important preparation. St. Paul uses the same figure in speaking of the same subject, {1Th 5:2} from which passage the words “in the night” have found their way into the text of St. Peter, to which, as the Revised Version indicates, they do not belong. And in the Epistle to the Hebrews the Apostle has defined the preparation which, joined with patience, should keep men in readiness for the certain advent: “Exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.” {Heb 10:25}

St. Peter passes on to tell of the terrors which shall attend on that day. Here also he has in mind the words of his Master, who, after a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, spake of that greater coming of the Son of man of which the overthrow of the Holy City was to be but a partial type: “There shall be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows, men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”. {Luk 21:25-26; Mat 24:29} With the Lords language for his warrant, he paints, largely in the words of the prophets of old, the things which shall befall the world in that great and notable day: “In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Isaiah had used like words of old: “All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll”; {Isa 34:4} and in another place he speaks {Isa 24:19} of the earth as utterly broken, clean dissolved, moved exceedingly; Micah has to proclaim the coming of the Lord, and he pictures it thus: “The mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft as wax before the fire”; {Mic 1:4} and Nahum, describing the day of the Lord which he foresaw was coming upon Nineveh, says, “The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at His presence, yea, the world and all that dwelt therein.” It is St. Peters, by the light of the words of Jesus, to read their full purport into these prophetic messages, and to teach those upon whom the ends of the ages are come that all these things will have their consummation in that coming of the Lord which shall be the close of these latter days.

When thus considered his description contains many striking details. “The heavens will pass away.” Christ Himself had so spoken, not of heaven only, but of the earth also. His word was the same which Peter employs, but He used it in the same sentence thus: “My word will not pass away.” {Mat 24:35} That is the one thing to which we may trust. All else will be destroyed or changed. Only those who are in Christ will be fit for the new order. For them old things are passed away; behold they are become new. {2Co 5:17} They have been purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit, and so can abide the day of Christs coming.

To describe the dread process he has a striking word, which, like so many of the Apostles expressions, is used nowhere else in the New Testament: “With a great noise” (). It is applied to many sounds of terror: to the hurtling of weapons as they fly through the air; to the sound of a lash as it is brought down for the blow; to the rushing of waters; to the hissing of serpents. He has chosen it as if by it he would unite many horrors in one.

Then the thought of natures dissolution. All that was bound together at the Creation, and then received a law of cohesion which sustained it thenceforth, will be cast loose, the compacted world dissolved. These things have been thought of as emblems of stability. God hath made the round world so fast that it cannot be moved, {Psa 104:5} but He who made can also unmake. How foolish then must they be who bound their thoughts and aims by what the world can give, making themselves thereby of the earth, earthy, and so sure to fail when that is destroyed. And what are those works that are in the earth of which the Apostle speaks? Do the words mean no more than “the world and all that therein is,” a phrase so common in Scripture? At first sight it appears so. But some most ancient manuscripts, instead of “shall be burned up,” read “shall be discovered.” Of this the Revised Version takes note on its margin. From this reading the mind goes to the words of the Preacher, “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil”. {Ecc 12:14} The sense is thus bound closer with the coming of the day of the Lord.

“Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness?” The Apostle says more than “are to be dissolved.” His word signifies “are being dissolved.” The event is so sure, and the interests involved so weighty, that he speaks of it as present, that thus he may more forcibly urge his lesson of preparation. “What manner of persons ought ye to be?” Christ had supplied the answer, and so St. Peter gives none: “Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning, and ye yourselves like unto men looking for their” Luk 12:35-36. The figures imply readiness for any service, most of all, to an Eastern mind, readiness to set forth on a journey. Such should ever be the attitude of those who are but sojourners and pilgrims. And by his words the Apostle intimates how this preparedness should enter into every relation of the Christian life. The translation says, “in all holy living and godliness”; but in the Greek there is no word for all. Literally the words are “in holy conversations and godlinesses.” In English we could not use words thus. Hence the device of the translators to come as near to the sense as is possible. But if we carry with us the thought contained in these plural words, we see how St. Peter teaches by them that in our daily life and work as well as in our religious exercises we should be ever watchful, ever ready. Our life with men and with God should be stamped as “Holiness unto the Lord.” By such a walk we shall keep ourselves apart from sinners, and be helped thus far to keep away from sin. And the godliness of which he speaks springs, as he has already taught {2Pe 1:6} in this Epistle, from a patient waiting on the Lord. Thus the whole attitude of the Christian becomes one of wakeful readiness. He is of those of whom it is said, “Blessed are those servants whom their lord when He cometh shall find watching.”

“Looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” The question of the mockers, “Where is the promise of His coming?” will not disturb those whose lives are thus made ready. That coming fills their every thought, moulds every desire, controls and chastens every action. For not only do they look for it: they long for it, and earnestly desire it. For to be with Christ is far better. Hence they hear of the melting elements and the fires of heaven without alarm. With them it is as with the Hebrew children in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. The fires which others dread, and by reason of which the heavens dissolve and the elements melt, will have no power over them save to loose their bonds, to free them from the burden of the flesh, to further that change from the natural to the spiritual which St. Paul teaches we must all undergo; while with them there will be the Son of God. And thus they will attain to their desire, and become partakers of the Divine nature.

But the translation “earnestly desiring” by no means exhausts the significance and solemnity of St. Peters word. The Authorized Version rendered it “hasting unto the coming of the day of God”; but the word “unto” is not in the Greek, though the verb means “hastening.” The word is found in the LXX of Isa 16:5, where the Authorized Version translates the Hebrew by “hasting righteousness” and the Revised by “swift to do righteousness.” But though a king, as in that passage, may be said to hasten righteousness by being swift to do it, is there any sense in which men could be said to hasten the coming of the day of God? It seems as though Christ intended to set such an aim before His servants. Before He was crucified He spake that prophetic promise, “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.” When He had been lifted up on the cross and as a testimony to His Godhead, lifted up from the grave, He gave His commission to the Apostles: “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nationsLo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” He promised His Spirit also to be their Guide into all truth.

Thus were they sent to be heralds of and laborers for His kingdom; and one of them has testified to the abundance of the aid bestowed: “I can do all things through Christ that giveth me power.” But he who thus spake could say to his converts, “Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.” {1Co 11:1} In this way men can lift up Christ; in this way can they draw men to Him. And to do this by examples of holy living and godliness is the work which He has committed to His Church, to let the light of Christian lives shine before men in such wise that they may be won for Him. And when we see His kingdoms slow advance, St. Peters question is turned into a reproach, “What manner of men ought ye to be?”

“But, according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” All creation was marred at the Fall. It groaneth and travaileth until now in pain along with the sons of men. It was made subject unto vanity, but that was by reason of God, who made it thus subject in hope that it shall be delivered, along with man, from the bondage of corruption. And that victory was promised from the first. The seed of the woman shall not always be the spoil of the serpent. The world was in many ways kept alive to this thought. A race was promised from whom all nations should be blessed. God established a kingdom to represent His rule in the world, and at length Isaiah was inspired to tell of new heavens and a new earth. {Isa 65:17} He too foresaw that this was for a reign of righteousness, that it pointed to a time when the wickedness of the wicked had come to an end: “The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither the moon by night; for the Lord shall be thy everlasting light, and as for thy people, they shall all be righteous.” And Christ while on earth endorsed the prophetic word: “I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there shall My servant be.”

Hence St. Peter says, “According to His promise we look forward.” And by using the same he identifies the new heavens and the new earth with the coming of the day of God. The believer heeds no more the mockers who ask, “Where is the promise of His coming?” He can look and lift up his head, assured that his redemption draweth nigh. For his expectation has been fostered through a life of holy conversation and godliness, and the assurance of the day of God is firm, for the kingdom of God is set up within him.

And the consolation of the promise consists largely in the thought that in the new creation righteousness will dwell, will make its home. First, there will be Christ the righteous, who is also our righteousness; and all the hindrances and stumbling-blocks of this life will be removed. Here the sojourners and pilgrims abide for the time amid many foes and countless perils; then they will be delivered even from their own frailties: As their home is new-created, so they shall become new creatures. So their thought, their prayer, their struggle, is ever, Sursum corda; and day by day they are bound less to earth and realize more of heaven.

“The distant landscape draws not nigh

For all our gazing, but the soul

That upward looks may still descry

Nearer each day the brightening goal.”

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary