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2 Peter Chapter Three

 

I. Content of the Chapter

 

The Knowledge Believers Have to Obtain of the True and False Knowledge

A.  The day of the Lord will bring different ends to the true and false knowledge (v.1-13);

1. Let us remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior (v.1-2).

2. Scoffers will come in the last days to scorn the promise of the Lord’s coming (v.3-4).

3. They willfully forget that the world that then existed perished by flood and will be burned by fire (v.5-7).

4. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, but is longsuffering (v.8-9).

5. The Lord will come as a thief and all things will be burnt up by fire (v.10-13a).

6. Only righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and a new earth (v.13b)

B.  Let us grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (v.14-18);

1. Be diligent to be found by the Lord in peace and blameless (v.14).

2. Do not twist the epistles of Paul and the rest of the Scriptures (v.15-16).

3. Beware of being led away with the error of the wicked (v.17).

4. Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (v.18).

 

II. Verse by Verse Commentary

 

2Pet. 3:1 “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),”

YLT: “This, now, beloved, a second letter to you I write, in both which I stir up your pure mind in reminding ,”

Meaning of Words: second”: again, second; “reminder”: reminding, recollection; “stir up”: arouse, wake fully; “pure”: sincere; “mind”: imagination, understanding;

Literal Meaning: “beloved, it appears four times in the whole chapter (see v.1, 8, 14, 17), according to which this chapter can be divided into four parts: a) v.1-7 “beloved…let us be reminded…”; b) v.8-13 “beloved…do not forge…”; c) v.14-16 “beloved…be diligent…”; d) v.17-18 “beloved…beware…”;

I now write to you this second epistle”, it shows that there is another first epistle, namely, the First Epistle of Peter.

(In both of which I by way of reminder)”, “reminder”, it means that the recipient had ever heard something and then forgot it. Therefore, they have to be reminded again.

“Stir up your pure minds”, “stir up”: arouse one’s realization of possessing something by manifesting its functions; “pure”: sincere, genuine;

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Preachers sometimes have to be tireless to repeat some knowledge or topics to “remind” believers to pay attention to them.

2)     Wise shepherds shepherd the flocks of God. It is better to “remind” than “escape”, and to “stir up” than “infuse into”.

 

2Pet. 3:2 “that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,”

YLT: “to be mindful of the sayings said before by the holy prophets, and of the command of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour,”

Meaning of Words: mindful”: remember, have in remembrance; spoken before”: foretell, tell before; commandment”: precept;

Literal Meaning: that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, “be mindful of”: not remember between times, but bear in mind always; “holy prophets”: those who speak for God, especially the prophets in the Old Testament (see Luke 1:70); “the words which were spoken before”: words clearly recorded in the Old Testament;

“And of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior”, “the Lord” emphasizes His authority; “Savior” emphasizes His ministry; “commandment”: His words spoken to men; “apostles”, it the early church time, the Lord Jesus personally set and sent twelve apostles (see Matt. 10:1-4; Acts 1:26) as well as the apostle Paul (see v.15-16);

This verse speaks of the origins and categories of the Scriptures: 1) words spoken by the prophets ---- the main constitutions of the Old Scriptures; 2) the commandment of the Lord and Savior ---- words and works concerning the Lord Jesus in the New Testament (especial the gospel books); 3) the commandment of the apostles ---- the apostles’ epistles in the New Testament;

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     The Lord Jesus is the builder of the church (see Matt. 16:18) upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (see Eph. 2:20). Therefore, the whole Bible of both the Old and New Scriptures delivered to the church is divinely inspired (see 2Tim. 3:16), and is the only book providing the standard of faith for believers today.

2)     “Apostles” according to the source scripture can be translated as “your apostles”. The apostles are for us, and of us (see 1Cor. 3:12). They live fully for serving all believers, not ruling them (see 1Pet. 5:3).

3)     Any word outside of the Scriptures (see Rev. 22:18-19).

4)     Let us often meditate the words in the Scriptures and bear them in mind (see Deut. 6:6-9).

 

2Pet.3:3 “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,”

YLT: “this first knowing, that there shall come in the latter end of the days scoffers, according to their own desires going on,”

Meaning of Words: first”: primary; “know”: understand; “scoffer”: mocker, derider; “according to”: follow, according as;

Literal Meaning: this first”, the following words are so important that we have to primarily pay attention to.

“Knowing that scoffers will come in the last days, “the last days” refer to the times of grace in the New Testament or the end of the times of grace in the New Testament, namely, the period before the last days. “Will come”, it shows that such men must appear. “Scoffers”: those who do not believe the Bible is the word of God (see v.4-5), namely, the false teachers who do not confess the Lord and forsake the Lord’s words (see 2:1, 21) and like to scorn the Scriptures.

“Walking according to their own lusts”, “according to their own lusts”: speak to satisfy one’s lusts according to fleshly instinct;

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     The important truth of the second coming of Christ is the theme of the spiritual war and the center of conflicts between the spiritual and those who are in the flesh as well as the focus of conflicts between the spirit and flesh in a Christian ---- seek the spiritual growth? Or seek fleshly satisfaction?

2)     If preachers or believers explain the Bible in the mind of the flesh, they may distort or ignore verses unfavorable to them, thus making a trade of the word of God (2Cor. 2:17) and failing to cut a straight line of the word of truth (see 2Tim. 2:15).

 

2Pet.3:4 “and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."”

YLT: “and saying, `Where is the promise of his presence? for since the fathers did fall asleep, all things so remain from the beginning of the creation;'”

Meaning of Words: coming”: presence; promise”: declaration, announcement; fathers”: forefathers, parents; fall asleep”: put to sleep, be dead; all things”: all; beginning”: all creature; continue as they were”: stay constantly, remain constantly; 

Literal Meaning: and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? It does not mean that they have not found the promise of the Lord’s coming, but they have not seen any sign of the accomplishment of this promise so as to regard it a vain promise ---- they ask: “what is the nature of the promise?”

For since the fathers fell asleep, “fathers”, because the promise of the Lord’s coming again is given to the fathers in the Old Testament (see Dan. 7:13-14; Mal. 4:1-3 etc.); “since the fathers fell asleep”: since the promise of the Lord’s coming was given;

“All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation”, it points that since the universe remains the same and will be so in future, the Lord will not come.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     The stableness and order of the universe is the sign of God’s upholding all things. Though all things are kept in order, it does not mean God has forgotten the promise of the Lord’s coming to judge the world.

2)     The infidels comment on the Scriptures always with a scientific insight. The last days in the Scriptures are merely a fright in their sight and only the foolish will believe.

 

2Pet.3:5 “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,”

YLT: “for this is unobserved by them willingly, that the heavens were of old, and the earth out of water and through water standing together by the word of God,”

Meaning of Words: willfully”: deliberately, purposefully; forget”: hide, ignore;of old”: a long time ago;stand out”: consist, exhibit;

Literal Meaning:for this they willfully forget”, it shows that they ignore the fact recorded in the Scriptures deliberately. These disputants always willfully ignore the views opposite to theirs.

“That by the word of God the heavens were of old, “of old”: when all things were firstly created (see Gen. 1:1); “the word of God”: the worlds were framed by the word of God (see Heb. 11:3); “the heavens”: God created the heavens before the earth (see Ps. 33:6).

“And the earth standing out of water and in the water”, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). The creation of the heavens was succeeded by that of the earth. “Standing out of water”, the earth was totally covered by water. And God said, Let the water under heavens be gathered together to one place and let the dry land appear (see Gen. 1:9). “Standing … in the water”: the land was standing through water. And the water and earth existed together ---- the earth was in the water and the water was in the earth.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Heretical or extreme doctrines may often catch merely one word of the Scriptures one-sided. Therefore, let us discern and judge every word according to the whole Scriptures.

2)     Nothing shall be impossible with God (Luke 1:37). The heavens and the earth were created by the word of God, and the promise of the Lord’s coming is the word of God. Indeed the word of God is enough to destroy the heavens and the earth He created. The problem of men today is whether they have believed the word of God.

3)     The word is settled in the heavens forever (Ps. 119:89). And the promise of the Lord’s coming must be fulfilled.

 

2Pet.3:6 “by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.”

YLT: “through which the then world, by water having been deluged, was destroyed;”

Meaning of Words: by which”: through which; “world”: orderly arrangement; “be flooded”: overflow, deluge; “perish”: destory;

Literal Meaning: “by which”: by the word of God; “the world that then existed” has two meanings: 1) the world that was firstly created (see Gen. 1:1-2); 2) the world in the age of Noah (see Gen. 6:11-12); “world” in the source scripture means the orderly arrangement;

  “Perished, being flooded with water”, it also implies two meanings: 1) it was God’s judgment upon the former world before He created again (see Gen. 1:1-2 “darkness” suggests the flood covered the whole earth); 2) it indicates that God judged the corrupted world in the generation of Noah by the flood (see Gen. 7:17-24; 6:11-13).

  Note that the previous two times of destruction of the world by flood might be both by the word of God. Therefore, “by which” in this verse means “by the two times of God’s word”.

  Note that “the world that then existed” according to verse five was the first world in the beginning of Genesis. However, according to verse seven “the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word”, it was the world in chapter six of the Book of Genesis, for the present world was the renewed world after that judgment (see Gen. 8:21-22). The conclusion is that the apostle Peter may mention two worlds and two times of flood.  

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     The world was created and stood by the word of God (see v.5) and was once destroyed by the word of God. Today, God still upholds all things by the word of His power (see Heb. 1:3). He spoke and it was. He commanded, and it stood fast (Ps. 33:9).

2)     God is able to maintain life through water, and also destroy life through water. Anything in the hands of God can be used by Him. If we believers want to be positively used by God, let us cherish and value God’s word.

 

2Pet.3:7 “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

YLT: “and the present heavens and the earth, by the same word are treasured, for fire being kept to a day of judgment and destruction of the impious men.”

Meaning of Words: now”: today; “reserve”: keep, preserve; “perdition”: destruction;

Literal Meaning: “but the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, the heavens and the earth which are now…”: the heavens and the earth through which we live today; preserved by the same word”: be reserved by the word of God (see Gen. 8:22);

“Are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men”, “ungodly”: those who do not believe; “the day of judgment and perdition”: the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5), namely, “the day of visitation” (1Pet. 2:12); “fire” symbolizes “judgment” (see Matt. 13:40). God will judge in future by fire (see v.10, 12) instead of water (see Gen. 9:11).

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)    The flood in the past merely destroyed everything creeping on the ground. But the fire will burn all living creatures and all things in the heavens and the earth (see v.10, 12). Only the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Eccl. 12:7). Therefore, let us spare efforts on “our spiritual life”.

2)    On that day, everything will be through fire. And all that is able to abide by fire will be saved. However, even though someone is saved, he shall suffer loss (see 1Cor. 3:13-15). All that cannot abide by fire will be burned.

3)    Our God is fire (Heb. 12:29), who will purge all the people and things unworthy of His holiness by fire.

 

2Pet.3:8 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

YLT: “And this one thing let not be unobserved by you, beloved, that one day with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day;”

Meaning of Words: forget”: ignore, neglect; 

Literal Meaning: beloved, it shows that: 1) Peter exhorts the readers of this epistle in love; 2) the following words (v.8-13) are different from the previous words (v.1-7). The first seven words dispute the false teachers about their mocking words, and the following verses exhort believers how to look upon the Lord’s coming.

“But do not forget this one thing, “one thing”: it is that the Lord has not yet fulfilled the promise of His coming. “Do not forget”: we have to look upon it in the sight of God.

“That with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, “with the Lord …” here Peter explains the meaning of time to the Lord; “one day is as a thousand”, it means: 1) to the Lord, one day is not too short, and he pays attentions to men’s everything in every day; 2) the Lord sees men’s everything in every day with a long-term sight.

“And a thousand years as one day”, this verse is quoted from the Book of Psalm (90:4), which indicates that: 1) a thousand years pass quickly. And time to the Lord is not too long. 2) The patience of the Lord is so infinite that even though He has waited for a though years, He still see it as yesterday when it is past.

“That with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day”, in a word, it tells us: 1) to the Lord, there is no difference between the length or shortness of time. He pays attention to the fulfillment of His will only; 2) the Lord’s works are not limited by time. He can wait for men with patience. 3) The only problem to the Lord is opportunity (whether men’s conditions are suitable), not willingness or power.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     The divine way of calculating time is different from the human way. Therefore, let us not measure the time of God according to human way.

2)     Christians have to see time according to the sight of God ---- ignore not the short day nor the prophecies in the Scriptures because of “”

 

2Pet.3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

YLT: “the Lord is not slow in regard to the promise, as certain count slowness, but is long-suffering to us, not counselling any to be lost but all to pass on to reformation,”

Meaning of Words: slack”: tardiness, slowness; longsuffering”: forebear, patient; perish”: destroy, lose; repentance”: compunction, reversal; 

Literal Meaning: “the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, “promise”: the promise of the Lord’s coming; “slackness”: fail to fulfill or be unable to fulfill; “is not slack”: it is not God that delays the Lord’s coming.

“But is longsuffering toward us”, “longsuffering toward us”, it shows that it is men that delay the Lord’s coming. The promise of the Lord’s coming has not been fulfilled ---- it is not God that delays, but we believers that have not prepared us to see the Lord. Therefore, God is longsuffering toward us to wait for us to come to repentance.

“Not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”, “perish” has two meanings: 1) sinners who do not believe will perish forever; 2) believers are chastened by God (see 1Cor. 3:15; 1Pet. 4:17-18) for they have come short of the standard of God; “repentance”: the conversion of one’s mind ---- convert from errors to the truth (see James 5:19-20);

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Each moment is a chance of God to men ---- whether to be forgiven or condemned, it is decided by whether we have caught the chance of God’s longsuffering. Once it is missed, it is late for repentance.

2)     Let Christians have the mind of the Lord and lead men living in sins to repent and convert to God while the Lord has not come yet.

3)     God is longsuffering toward sinners, especially Christians, and gives chances to them to repent. Therefore they have chances to prepare them to be found by the Lord in peace (see v.14).

 

2Pet.3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”

YLT: “and it will come -- the day of the Lord -- as a thief in the night, in which the heavens with a rushing noise will pass away, and the elements with burning heat be dissolved, and earth and the works in it shall be burnt up.”

Meaning of Words: day”: time, age; come”: arrive, be present;a great noise”: with a crash, whizzing;pass away”: transgress, come near;elements”: principles, constituents;fervent heat”: set on fire;melt”: dissolved, destroyed;

Literal Meaning: “but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, “the day of the Lord”: the day of the Lord’s coming again; “come as a thief”, it indicates that the Lord comes suddenly in an unexpected time, as a thief who always appears in an unnoticed time (see 1Thess. 5:2).

“In which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, “in which”: in the day of the Lord’s coming; according to the whole scriptures, the last day will not instantly come when the Lord comes again, for there will be an interval of one thousand years (see 1Thess. 4:16; Rev. 20:4-5). “The heavens will pass away with a great noise”, it describes the situation of the destruction of the old heavens: 1) the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll or garment (Is. 34:4; Heb. 1:12); 2) “a great noise”: the huge noise uttered when the old heavens are rolled;

“And the elements will melt with fervent heat”, “the elements”: all things, namely, “the earth and the works that are in it” ---- the earth itself and all things in the earth (including all living things or materials) as well as the airspace around the earth; “will melt with fervent heat”, it shows that all material things will “melt” by fire (see v.7) and be dissolved.

“Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up”, “both the earth and the works” equal to “the elements”; “be burned up”: God will not destroy the old creature by flood (see 2:5; Gen. 9:11), but by fire.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Since the Lord comes as a thief, no one can foretell the time. Therefore, let us not confer the date in vain (see Matt. 24:36).

2)     This verse tells us things that will happen in future and has not explained it in detail. Therefore, we have to notice that things mentioned in the same verse will not happen simultaneously.

3)     All elements will melt, so let Christians not pay too much attention to tangible things, but seek the intangible spiritual things. 

 

2Pet.3:11 “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,”

YLT: “All these, then, being dissolved, what kind of persons doth it behove you to be in holy behaviours and pious acts?”

Meaning of Words: manner of persons”: style of persons, manner of conversation; godliness”: piety;

Literal Meaning: since all these things will be dissolved, “all these things” refer to “the earth and all things that are in it”, through which we live (see v.10); “since … will be dissolved”, since all things are so undependable and will ultimately turn to vanity, let us not regard them as the goal of our life.

“What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness”, “manner of persons”: the style of life; “in holy conduct”: the degree of living to God; “in godliness”: the degree of likeness to God in life;

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. Therefore, we have to remember our God who creates us and fear Him and keep His commandment. This is the whole duty of man (see Eccl. 12:1, 8, 13).

2)     It is most important for Christians to know how to discern what is transient or everlasting and let our life oriented toward eternity to please God all our life.

 

2Pet.3:12 “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?”

YLT: “waiting for and hasting to the presence of the day of God, by which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements with burning heat shall melt;”

Meaning of Words: look for”: wait for, expect, tarry, look for; rush”: urge on, await eagerly, hasten unto;melt”: liquefy;

Literal Meaning: looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, “looking for and hastening”: accelerate or quicken the day; “the day of God” has two aspects of meanings: 1) in a broad sense, it refers to “the day of the Lord” (see v.10); 2) in a narrow sense, it refers to the day of God’s judgment on the white throne in the last day (see Rev. 20:11). Therefore, there are one thousand years between the day of the Lord and the day of God (see Rev. 20:4-6).

Note that Peter sees the last day from the present time, so he mentions “the day of the Lord” and “the day of God” together. In fact, in the day of the Lord, the old heavens and earth have not been dissolved. Therefore, we have to see things of “dissolution” (v.7-12) from the angle of “a thousand years as one day” (see v.8).

“Because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, the old heavens and earth will disappear after the kingdom of a thousand years when the day of God comes (see Rev. 20:11; 21:1).

“And the elements will melt with fervent heat?” It is a repeat of verse ten “the elements will melt with fervent heat” ---- “melt” first and then “be dissolved”.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Let Christians love God fervently and remain steadfast in the lifestyle that pleases God to hasten the day of God.

2)     All the saints’ preaching the gospel with one soul is also another way of hastening the day of the Lord’s coming (see Matt. 24:14).

3)     One will not hasten the coming of the day of God unless he has ceased looking on things on the earth. As long as we are hoping for things on the earth, we will not set our mind on the heavenly things (see Col. 3:2).

 

2Pet.3:13 “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

YLT: “and for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise we do wait, in which righteousness doth dwell;”

Meaning of Words: look for”: wait for; “new”: fresh; “dwell”: live, inhabit;

Literal Meaning: “nevertheless we, according to His promise”, “nevertheless”, it strongly indicates that we Christian do not look for things that will be dissolved. “We, according to His promise”, nevertheless we set our hope upon the promise of God in His word.

  “Look for new heavens and a new earth”, “new heavens and a new earth”: the everlasting new heavens and new earth (see Rev. 21:1) after the present heavens and earth;

  “In which righteousness dwells”, “righteousness”: be right and just before God and men; “in which…dwells”: it is an impersonating description, which shows that there is no righteousness or evil at all in the eternal world (see Rev. 21:8; 22:15). At that time, “the righteous one Jesus Christ” (1John 2:1) will reign and all the inhabitants are righteous (see Is. 60:21) and everything is worthy of God’s righteousness.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)    In Christ all the old things have passed away and are become new (see 2Cor. 5:17). And in the eternal world, the old heavens and earth will pass away (see v.10) and the new heavens and new earth will keep forever.

2)    In the new heavens and new earth, only righteousness can dwell in ---- anything that fails to pass the righteous judgment of God will be dissolved. Only righteousness can pass the divine judgment.

3)    For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace and joy in Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). If we are enabled to live in the reality of God’s kingdom today, we will also be enabled to live in the realization of God’s kingdom in future.

 

2Pet.3:14 “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;”

YLT: “wherefore, beloved, these things waiting for, be diligent, spotless and unblameable, by Him to be found in peace,”

Meaning of Words: look forward to”: wait for; “be diligent”: prompt, be earnest, use speed; “without spot”: unspotted, spotless; “blameless”: without blemish, blameless; “peace”: quietness, rest;

Literal Meaning: “beloved”, this is the third time of mentioning it (see v.1, 8), showing that Peter exhorts brothers in love to prepare themselves to see the Lord.

  “Looking forward to these things, be diligent”, “look forward to”: wait for frequently; “these things”: the new heavens and the new earth that will be brought when the Lord comes again (see v.12-13); “be diligent”: it suggests that if we are not diligent, we will suffer loss (see 1Cor. 3:15) in the judgment at the house of God when the Lord comes again (see 1Pet. 4:17).

  “To be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless”, “without spot”: spotless, which is just opposite to false teachers (see 2:13); “blameless”: no matter to God or to men, there is no blemish (see Phil. 3:6; 1Thess. 2:10); “be found by Him in peace”, it means that one is bold and unashamed before the Lord (see 1John 2:28).

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)    Christians do not go to the heaven with ease, but run with endurance the race that lies before us (Heb. 12:1). Therefore, we have to “be diligent”.

2)    The duty of Christians is “diligence”. He who is diligent has assurance (see Heb. 6:11). The idle one is unable to bear spiritual fruit (see 1:8).

3)    If we do not endeavor to prepare us, we will be unable to “be found in peace” when the Lord comes again.

 

2Pet.3:15and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,”

YLT: “and the long-suffering of our Lord count ye salvation, according as also our beloved brother Paul -- according to the wisdom given to him -- did write to you,”

Meaning of Words: longsuffering”: patience; salvation”: deliverance, saving, safety;wisdom”: that is wise;

Literal Meaning: “and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—”, “the longsuffering of our Lord”, it indicates that (see v.9; Rom. 2:4); “salvation”: though we believers have been saved in spirit, we have to still catch the opportunities to seek “the salvation of souls” with diligence. Therefore, the Lord’s longsuffering will fulfill the salvation of souls.

“As also our beloved brother Paul, “as”, Peter here intents to mention an epistle of another apostle to prove and strengthen his exhortations; “our beloved brother”, it shows that brothers honor and love one another; Paul”: the apostle Paul;

“According to the wisdom given to him, has written to you”, “according to the wisdom given to him”: the wisdom in the Scriptures is from above (see 1Cor. 2:6-7; James 3:17) “Has written to you”, there are at least thirteen epistles written by the apostle Paul. There are also other Bible expositors thinking that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews is also Paul.

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Because of the longsuffering of the Lord, we have worked our own salvation (Phil. 2:12). However, now our salvation is near than when we believed (see Rom. 13:11). Therefore, let us redeem the time and catch the opportunities and seek with diligence (Eph. 5:16).

2)     There are nearly dozens of writers in the Scriptures. However, because of the wisdom from above, all the books can even edify and strengthen each other, but not contradict. Therefore, every scripture is divinely inspired (2Tim. 3:16).

3)     The apostle Peter is the first apostle of the Lord. He was once withstood by Paul to the face (see Gal. 2:11) but never hated Paul. The magnanimous bosom and mind of Peter is really worthy of the imitation of the Lord’s servants. 

 

2Pet.3:16 “as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”

YLT: “as also in all the epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, among which things are certain hard to be understood, which the untaught and unstable do wrest, as also the other Writings, unto their own destruction.”

Meaning of Words: speak”: talk; untaught”: ignorant; twist”: pervert; rest”: remaining;

Literal Meaning: as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, “these things”: things pertaining to life and godliness (see 1:3, 12);

“In which are some things hard to understand, it shows that there are deep and difficult and elusive words in the epistles.

“Which untaught and unstable people, “untaught”: the unlearned; “unstable”: believer who are young and weak in spirit (see 2:14) and unable to distinguish both good and evil (see Heb. 5:13-14), tosses and carried about by every wind of that teaching in the sleight of men (see Eph. 4:14). “Twist”: pervert the meanings of the Scriptures; 

“Twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures”, “the rest of the Scriptures”: the scriptures besides the thirteen epistles of Paul; here it especially refers to the Old Scriptures, because the epistles of Paul were the first scriptures of the New Testament; “to their own destruction”: they exclude them from the blessings of life (see Rev. 22:18-19).

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     There may be some words in the Bible beyond our understanding because of our lack of learning or faith or spiritual experience. Then the most important is not to twist the words lest we should come to destruction.

2)     G. K. Chesterton said, “to keep the orthodox doctrines is like to walk on the mountain ridge, which is as narrow as the edge of the sword. As long as one slightly strays to either side, there will be immediately great destruction. The truth often includes two aspects. If we emphasize one side of any great truth, the destructive heresy will appear immediately”.

3)     The Bible is a mysterious book. Men of all ages in all over the world have their own interpretations on the truth of the Scriptures. However, the basic truth of salvation (e.g. the persons of the holy Trinity, the knowledge of the cross, etc.) should be kept the same. Concerning the detail explanations, different views are allowed.

 

2Pet.3:17 “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;”

YLT: “Ye, then, beloved, knowing before, take heed, lest, together with the error of the impious being led away, ye may fall from your own stedfastness,”

Meaning of Words: know this beforehand”: know before, foreknow; beware”: watch, observe; lest”: so as not to; the wicked”: the lawless; fall from”: drop away, fail, fall away; steadfastness”: stability; “be led away”: condescend, carry away with, take off;

Literal Meaning: beloved”, this is the fourth time of mentioning “beloved” (see v.1, 8, 14). Whenever the word is mentioned, there will be a paragraph of important exhortations then.

“You therefore since you know this beforehand, beware”, “know this beforehand”: there will be men twisting the Scriptures to their own destruction. “Beware”, we have to beware of twisting the Scriptures, no matter we ourselves or others. We are exhorted not to receive any doctrines of errors.

“Lest you also fall from your own steadfastness”, once one has become not steadfast, he has fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4).

“Being led away with the error of the wicked”, “the error of the wicked”: the heretical doctrines of false teachers (see 2:1; 3:3-4); “be led away”: be enticed away from the right path and become associated with the evil tide;

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     No matter reading or hearing the words, believers have to discern and judge instead of receiving some strange doctrines lest we should have part in the errors of others.

2)     “Beware” is the best strategy. We common believers are not strong enough to take the initiative. However, we have to at least watch and beware of receiving any strange words.

 

2Pet.3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

YLT: “and increase ye in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; to him the glory both now, and to the day of the age! Amen.”

Meaning of Words: grow”: increase, enlarge; 

Literal Meaning: but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”, “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” is a complete name to the Lord Jesus, which appears only three times in the whole New Testament, in the Second Epistle of Peter (see 1:11; 2:20; 3:18). “Lord” refers to His authority; “Savior” refers to His works; “Jesus” relates to His humanity; “Christ” relates to His glorious anointing; “grow in the grace and knowledge”: the former refers to the growth in life experience, and the latter refers to the growth in knowledge and truth; it is best to keep the balance between the two aspects.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen”, “Him” is “the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”; in the heart of Peter, the Lord Jesus is God (see Rom. 16:27).

Enlightenment in the Word:

1)     Believers shall keep the balance of the growth of both the experience of the Lord’s grace and the knowledge of God’s words.

2)     Growth in grace makes us enjoy more the Lord. And growth in knowledge prevents us from the enticement of heretical doctrines.

 

III. Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons

 

Know God

A.  To know that the word of God is truth (v.1-4);

B.  To know that the works of God are consistent (v.5-7);

C.  To know that the bowel of God is merciful (v.8-10);

 

Things that We Shall Not Ignore

A.  Things we shall be stirred up ---- pure minds (v.1);

B.  Things l we shall be mindful of ---- the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior (v.2);

C.  Things we shall know ---- scoffers will come in the last days, scorning the promise of the Lord’s coming (v.3-4);

D.  Things we shall think of ---- the creation and destruction of the world are both by the word of God (v.5-7);

E.  Things we shall take heed of ---- why the promise of the Lord has not been fulfilled (v.8-9);

F.  Things we shall hope ---- it is not the old heavens and earth that will pass away, but the everlasting new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells (v.10-13);

G.  Things we shall be diligent in ---- grown in the grace and knowledge of Christ (v.14-18);

 

Concerning the Lord’s Coming Again

A.  Let us be mindful of the prophecies of the Lord’s coming again (v.1-2);

B.  Let us know that there will be scoffers in the last days scorning the prophecy of the Lord’s coming (v.3-7);

C.  Let us not forget that the Lord will come again (v.8-10).

D.  Let us look for and hasten the coming of the Lord (v.11-13).

E.  Let us prepare us with diligence so as to be found by the Lord in peace (v.14-18).

 

Beloved

A.  Remind and stir up us so that we will be mindful of (v.1-2) ---- look backward;

B.  Do not forget (v.8, 11-12) ---- look upward;

C.  Be diligent (v.14-15) ---- look forward (stretch out to be the things before);

D.  Be beware (v.17-18) ---- look around;

 

Be Diligent

A.  Let us be diligent to lead a godly life (v.11-14);

B.  Let us be diligent to understand the word of God (v.15-16);

C.  Let us be diligent to grow in grace and knowledge (v.17-18);

 

── Caleb HuangChristian Digest Bible Commentary Series

   Translated by Mary Zhou