Read 2 Peter 3 before getting into the study!
(1) This is my second letter to you, *dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory.
- *dear friends: Greek - agapetos = beloved.
(2) I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.
- Peter wants them to refer to and remember three sources for the truth that should keep them from the error of the scoffers.:
- The Old Testament prophets
- The Lord and Savior (Jesus Christ)
- The apostles
(3) Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the *last days **scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
- Jude 1:17-18: But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires.
- *last days: When are the last days? In a sense, the last days began when Jesus ascended into heaven. Since that time, we haven’t rushed towards the precipice of the consummation of all things, but we have run alongside that edge - ready to go anytime at God’s good pleasure. But, we seem to be closer than ever with Israel in the land again and with so many other signs of the last days in place.
- **scoffers: "A scoffer is someone who treats lightly that which ought to be taken seriously." (Wiersbe)
(4) They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, *everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
- *everything has remained the same: Their view was that God had not intervened in history at all and, therefore, would not in the future. They were totally oblivious that Jesus Christ entered into this world and intervened in history (of which Peter was an actual eyewitness as he had pointed out in 1:16-18), which had resulted in His death and resurrection and would culminate in His second coming. The Bible is mostly an account of God's intervention in history.
- The prophets foretold he would come; he himself said he would come again, (John 14:3,28) ; the angels, at his ascension, declared he would come from heaven in like manner as he went up, (Acts 1:11) ; and all his apostles gave out that he would appear a second time to judge both quick and dead, (Acts 10:42) (2 Timothy 4:1) (1 Peter 4:5) , and that his coming was at hand, (Philippians 4:5) (2 Thessalonians 2:2) ; but where is the fulfillment of all this? They said He has not come, nor is there any sign or likelihood of it.
- John 14:3,28: When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ... Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am.
- Acts 1:11: Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
- Acts 10:42: And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead.
- 2 Timothy 4:1: I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom:
- 1 Peter 4:5: But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead.
- Philippians 4:5: Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:2: Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.
- The World View of the Evolutionist and the Secular Scientist: No Creation; no special significance to man; no ACCOUNTABILITY to God.
- The World View of the Secular Historian: God has no plan for History; there is no second coming of Christ; no kingdom
plan; no new heavens and new earth; History is heading nowhere; No URGENCY vs. "His Story" - The World View of the Environmentalist: let’s devote our life to protecting the natural resources around us; we are one with Mother Earth; this is a world that is reserved for destruction by fire!
(5) They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.
(6) Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.
(7) And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
- The point Peter is making in verses 5-7 is that God does indeed intervene in history and will yet again. The mockers say that Jesus is not coming again and that God has left us to our own devices.
(8) But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
- We now know that time is not constant and we know that God "inhabits eternity". Because of our short life span, we get overly anxious and want to speed up everything.
- Psalm 90:4: For you, a thousand years are as a passing day as brief as a few night hours.
- Habakkuk 2:3: This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
(9) The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
- Ezekiel 33:11: As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
- 1 Timothy 2:3-4: This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
(10) But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
- Psalm 102:25-26: Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them.
- Isaiah 34:4: The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree.
- Joel 3:15: The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
- Matthew 24:29-36: “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6: For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
- Hebrews 1:10-12: He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.”
- Revelation 6:13-14: Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.
(11) Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
(12) looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.
(13) But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
- Isaiah 65:17: “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
- Revelation 21:1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.
(14) And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
(15) And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—
(16) speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with *other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
- *other parts of Scripture: Paul's writings were considered "Scripture" already.
(17) I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.
(18) Rather, you must *grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.
- *grow in the grace and knowledge: The antidote to the false teachers is to GROW in grace and knowledge!
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
References and sources are listed at http://epistles-of-peter.blogspot.com/2010/10/2-peter-references.html
