Discovery Box2 Peter 3:6-18
Context3:6 Through these things 1 the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water. 3:7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 2
3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, 3 that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. 3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, 4 as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish 5 for any 6 to perish but for all to come to repentance. 7 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, 8 the heavens will disappear 9 with a horrific noise, 10 and the celestial bodies 11 will melt away 12 in a blaze, 13 and the earth and every deed done on it 14 will be laid bare. 15 3:11 Since all these things are to melt away 16 in this manner, 17 what sort of people must we 18 be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, 19 3:12 while waiting for and hastening 20 the coming of the day of God? 21 Because of this day, 22 the heavens will be burned up and 23 dissolve, and the celestial bodies 24 will melt away in a blaze! 25 3:13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for 26 new heavens and a new earth, in which 27 righteousness truly resides. 28
3:14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for 29 these things, strive to be found 30 at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. 31 3:15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, 32 just as also our dear brother Paul 33 wrote to you, 34 according to the wisdom given to him, 3:16 speaking of these things in all his letters. 35 Some things in these letters 36 are hard to understand, things 37 the ignorant and unstable twist 38 to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. 39 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, 40 be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men 41 and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. 42 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge 43 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on 44 that eternal day. 45
[3:6] 1 tn The antecedent is ambiguous. It could refer to the heavens, the heavens and earth, or the water and the word. If the reference is to the heavens, the author is reflecting on the Genesis account about “the floodgates of the heavens” being opened (Gen 7:11). If the reference is to the heavens and earth, he is also thinking about the cosmic upheaval that helped to produce the flood (Gen 6:11). If the reference is to the water and the word, he is indicating both the means (water) and the cause (word of God). This last interpretation is the most likely since the final nouns of v. 5 are “water” and “word of God,” making them the nearest antecedents.
[3:7] 2 tn Grk “the ungodly people.”
[3:8] 3 tn The same verb, λανθάνω (lanqanw, “escape”) used in v. 5 is found here (there, translated “suppress”).
[3:9] 4 tn Or perhaps, “the Lord is not delaying [the fulfillment of] his promise,” or perhaps “the Lord of the promise is not delaying.” The verb can mean “to delay,” “to be slow,” or “to be hesitant.”
[3:9] 5 tn Grk “not wishing.” The participle most likely has a causal force, explaining why the Lord is patient.
[3:9] 6 sn He does not wish for any to perish. This verse has been a battleground between Arminians and Calvinists. The former argue that God wants all people to be saved, but either through inability or restriction of his own sovereignty does not interfere with peoples’ wills. Some of the latter argue that the “any” here means “any of you” and that all the elect will repent before the return of Christ, because this is God’s will. Both of these positions have problems. The “any” in this context means “any of you.” (This can be seen by the dependent participle which gives the reason why the Lord is patient “toward you.”) There are hints throughout this letter that the readership may be mixed, including both true believers and others who are “sitting on the fence” as it were. But to make the equation of this readership with the elect is unlikely. This would seem to require, in its historical context, that all of these readers would be saved. But not all who attend church know the Lord or will know the Lord. Simon the Magician, whom Peter had confronted in Acts 8, is a case in point. This is evident in contemporary churches when a pastor addresses the congregation as “brothers, sisters, saints, etc.,” yet concludes the message with an evangelistic appeal. When an apostle or pastor addresses a group as “Christian” he does not necessarily think that every individual in the congregation is truly a Christian. Thus, the literary context seems to be against the Arminian view, while the historical context seems to be against (one representation of) the Calvinist view. The answer to this conundrum is found in the term “wish” (a participle in Greek from the verb boulomai). It often represents a mere wish, or one’s desiderative will, rather than one’s resolve. Unless God’s will is viewed on the two planes of his desiderative and decretive will (what he desires and what he decrees), hopeless confusion will result. The scriptures amply illustrate both that God sometimes decrees things that he does not desire and desires things that he does not decree. It is not that his will can be thwarted, nor that he has limited his sovereignty. But the mystery of God’s dealings with humanity is best seen if this tension is preserved. Otherwise, either God will be perceived as good but impotent or as a sovereign taskmaster. Here the idea that God does not wish for any to perish speaks only of God's desiderative will, without comment on his decretive will.
[3:9] 7 tn Grk “reach to repentance.” Repentance thus seems to be a quantifiable state, or turning point. The verb χωρέω (cwrew, “reach”) typically involves the connotation of “obtain the full measure of” something. It is thus most appropriate as referring to the repentance that accompanies conversion.
[3:10] 10 tn Or “hissing sound,” “whirring sound,” “rushing sound,” or “loud noise.” The word occurs only here in the NT. It was often used of the crackle of a fire, as would appear appropriate in this context.
[3:10] 11 tn Grk “elements.” Most commentators are agreed that “celestial bodies” is meant, in light of this well-worn usage of στοιχεῖα (stoiceia) in the 2nd century and the probable allusion to Isa 34:4 (text of Vaticanus). See R. Bauckham, Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 315-16 for discussion.
[3:10] 12 tn Grk “be dissolved.”
[3:10] 13 tn Grk “being burned up.”
[3:10] 14 tn Grk “the works in it.”
[3:10] 15 tc One of the most difficult textual problems in the NT is found in v. 10. The reading εὑρεθήσεται (Jeureqhsetai), which enjoys by far the best support (א B K P 0156vid 323 1241 1739txt pc) is nevertheless so difficult a reading that many scholars regard it as nonsensical. (NA27 lists five conjectures by scholars, from Hort to Mayor, in this text.) As R. Bauckham has pointed out, solutions to the problem are of three sorts: (1) conjectural emendation (which normally speaks more of the ingenuity of the scholar who makes the proposal than of the truth of the conjecture, e.g., changing one letter in the previous word, ἔργα [erga] becomes ἄργα [arga] with the meaning, “the earth and the things in it will be found useless”); (2) adoption of one of several variant readings (all of which, however, are easier than this one and simply cannot explain how this reading arose, e.g., the reading of Ì72 which adds λυόμενα [luomena] to the verb – a reading suggested no doubt by the threefold occurrence of this verb in the surrounding verses: “the earth and its works will be found dissolved”; or the simplest variant, the reading of the Sahidic
[3:11] 16 tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”
[3:11] 18 tc ‡ Most
[3:11] 19 tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”
[3:12] 20 tn Or possibly, “striving for,” but the meaning “hasten” for σπουδάζω (spoudazw) is normative in Jewish apocalyptic literature (in which the coming of the Messiah/the end is anticipated). Such a hastening is not an arm-twisting of the divine volition, but a response by believers that has been decreed by God.
[3:12] 21 sn The coming of the day of God. Peter elsewhere describes the coming or parousia as the coming of Christ (cf. 2 Pet 1:16; 3:4). The almost casual exchange between “God” and “Christ” in this little book, and elsewhere in the NT, argues strongly for the deity of Christ (see esp. 1:1).
[3:12] 22 tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).
[3:12] 23 tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”
[3:12] 24 tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”
[3:12] 25 tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).
[3:13] 26 tn Or possibly, “let us wait for.” The form in Greek (προσδόκωμεν, prosdokwmen) could be either indicative or subjunctive. The present participle in v. 14, however, is best taken causally (“since you are waiting for”), suggesting that the indicative is to be read here.
[3:13] 27 tn The relative pronoun is plural, indicating that the sphere in which righteousness dwells is both the new heavens and the new earth.
[3:13] 28 tn Grk “dwells.” The verb κατοικέω (katoikew) is an intensive cognate of οἰκέω (oikew), often with the connotation of “taking up residence,” “settling down,” being at home,” etc. Cf., e.g., Matt 2:23; Acts 17:26; 22:12; Eph 3:17; Col 1:19; 2:9. Hence, the addition of the adverb “truly” is implicit in the connotation of the verb in a context such as this.
[3:14] 29 tn Grk “dear friends, waiting for.” See note in v. 13 on “waiting for.”
[3:14] 30 sn The Greek verb used in the phrase strive to be found is the same as is found in v. 10, translated “laid bare.” In typical Petrine fashion, a conceptual link is made by the same linkage of terms. The point of these two verses thus becomes clear: When the heavens disappear and the earth and its inhabitants are stripped bare before the throne of God, they should strive to make sure that their lives are pure and that they have nothing to hide.
[3:14] 31 tn “When you come into” is not in Greek. However, the dative pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) does not indicate agency (“by him”), but presence or sphere. The idea is “strive to found {before him/in his presence}.”
[3:15] 32 tn The language here is cryptic. It probably means “regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation.” In the least, Peter is urging his audience to take a different view of the delay of the parousia than that of the false teachers.
[3:15] 33 sn Critics generally assume that 2 Peter is not authentic, partially because in vv. 15-16 Paul is said to have written scripture. It is assumed that a recognition of Paul’s writings as scripture could not have happened until early in the 2nd century. However, in the same breath that Paul is canonized, Peter also calls him “brother.” This is unparalleled in the 2nd century apocryphal works, as well as early patristic writings, in which the apostles are universally elevated above the author and readers; here, Peter simply says “he’s one of us.”
[3:15] 34 sn Paul wrote to you. That Paul had written to these people indicates that they are most likely Gentiles. Further, that Peter is now writing to them suggests that Paul had already died, for Peter was the apostle to the circumcised. Peter apparently decided to write his two letters to Paul’s churches shortly after Paul’s death, both to connect with them personally and theologically (Paul’s gospel is Peter’s gospel) and to warn them of the wolves in sheep’s clothing that would come in to destroy the flock. Thus, part of Peter’s purpose seems to be to anchor his readership on the written documents of the Christian community (both the Old Testament and Paul’s letters) as a safeguard against heretics.
[3:16] 35 tn Grk “as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things.”
[3:16] 36 tn Grk “in which are some things hard to understand.”
[3:16] 37 tn Grk “which.” The antecedent is the “things hard to understand,” not the entirety of Paul’s letters. A significant principle is seen here: The primary proof texts used for faith and practice ought to be the clear passages that are undisputed in their meaning. Heresy today is still largely built on obscure texts.
[3:16] 38 tn Or “distort,” “wrench,” “torture” (all are apt descriptions of what heretics do to scripture).
[3:16] 39 sn This one incidental line, the rest of the scriptures, links Paul’s writings with scripture. This is thus one of the earliest affirmations of any part of the NT as scripture. Peter’s words were prophetic and were intended as a preemptive strike against the heretics to come.
[3:17] 40 tn Grk “knowing beforehand.”
[3:17] 41 tn Or “lawless ones.”
[3:17] 42 tn Grk “fall from your firmness.”
[3:18] 43 tn The term “knowledge” (γνῶσις, gnwsis) used here is not the same as is found in 2 Pet 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20. This term is found in 1:5 and 1:6.
[3:18] 45 tc ‡ The vast bulk of
