II Peter 3 · The Lantern

The Coming Judgment

This is now a second letter I am writing to you, beloved, in which I am stirring up your pure mind by putting you in remembrance,

Peter makes a point of mentioning that this is his second letter, so that the recipients will not doubt its authenticity.

I am writing to you, dear ones, in these letters, in which I stir up your sincere mind in remembrance: that you should 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 Jesus. From these, we learn that there are two universal letters of Peter.

From this we learn that the epistles of the Apostle Peter are only two. "I stir up by way of reminder in them" means: in these epistles or by these epistles I stir up your pure mind. For it is characteristic of a pure mind to remember what has been heard or commanded for salvation, and to be stirred up to fulfill this in deed with all strength and zeal.

to remember the declarations spoken beforehand by the holy prophets, and the commandment of your apostles, of the Lord and Savior.

Knowing this first, that in the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, following after their own desires

The all-merciful and beneficent Father has bowels [of compassion] towards those that fear Him, and kindly and lovingly bestows His favours upon those who come to Him with a simple mind. Wherefore let us not be double-minded; neither let our soul be lifted up on account of His exceedingly great and glorious gifts.

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 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 the creation. Where is the promise of his coming?

Because the coming of the Lord does not immediately follow upon His words, for the salvation of many who are written in the book of the living, insolent people attack the faithful with mockery and say: "Where is the promise of His coming?" But because one promise has not yet been fulfilled, for the aforementioned reason, it is unjust to disbelieve the other saving commandments…

and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For from the time the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

For this is concealed from them, willingly: that heavens existed long ago, and an earth composed out of water and through water by the word of God,

First of all, believe that there is one God who created and finished all things, and made all things out of nothing. He alone is able to contain the whole, but Himself cannot be contained.

For they willingly do not know that the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water by the word of God: by which the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

"Out of water," as the material cause, and "by water," as the perfecting cause, for water holds the earth together, binding its dust and giving it solidity, and were it not for this, the earth would turn into dust and air.

through which the world at that time was deluged with water and perished.

But the heavens and the earth that are now, by the same word, are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

Then further concerning Him, that He alone is powerful, both to institute judgment on the deeds performed in life, and on the ignorance of the Deity [displayed by men], I can adduce witnesses from your own ranks; and first Sophocles, who speaks as follows: "That time of times shall come, shall surely come, When from the golden ether down shall fall Fire's teeming treasure, and…

But the heavens and the earth which are now, etc. Therefore it is clear from the view of blessed Peter that the earth and those heavens which perished in the flood, and were restored after the flood, are affirmed to be destroyed by final fire.

Fire will precede the face of the Judge, by which the face of the earth will be burned up, so that the figure of this world will perish by the conflagration of worldly fires, just as the flood came about by the inundation of waters.

The Day of the Lord

But let this one thing not be hidden from you, beloved: that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

Now we have understood that the expression used among these words, 'According to the days of the tree [of life] shall be the days of my people; the works of their toil shall abound' obscurely predicts a thousand years. For as Adam was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would die, we know that he did not complete a thousand years.

If we take the millennium and think of the end of that time as being the end of the world, we could say that it was the end of time in general, for a thousand years in God's sight are like a single day. Because of this, anything that was done during the millennium could be spoken of as done at the end of time or on the last day.

Having concluded the discourse on the end of the age — that it will certainly come and will come through fire (which we also explained at length) — the apostle turned to the extension of the time of the world's end and says that "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering" (2 Pet.

The Lord does not delay the promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Now, as to Philo the deacon, a man of Cilicia, of high reputation, who still ministers to me in the word of God, along with Gaius and Agathopus, an elect man, who has followed me from Syria, not regarding his life,-these also bear testimony in your behalf. And I myself give thanks to God for you, because ye have received them: and the Lord will also receive you.

In his fatherly love, his kindness and his clemency, God does not punish immediately, so that you may recognize the extent of his loving regard for you and of his compassion. He would rather wait for you than punish you in your sin.

The Lord does not delay His promise, etc. Therefore, He who knows all times, the latest and the ancient, does not delay His promise, but indeed shows this at the time which He predestined before all times to come. And therefore He still defers, so that the full number of the elect, which He decreed with the Father before the ages, may be fulfilled.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements burning with heat will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will not be found.

Besides, the belief that everything was made from nothing will be impressed upon us by that ultimate dispensation of God which will bring back all things to nothing. For "the very heaven shall be rolled together as a scroll; '" nay, it shall come to nothing along with the earth itself, with which it was made in the beginning.

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, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Through the action of that fire all flammable elementary things will be consumed, plants and animals; the elements will be purged and renewed, especially air and earth; the just will be purged and the reprobate will be burned; and when these things have been accomplished, the motion of the heavens will also cease, so that, with the number of the elect completed, there may come…

When all these things are being dissolved in this way, what kind of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

expecting and hastening the coming of the day of God, through which the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved and the elements, burning with heat, are melting?

But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. "According to his promise." For He promised the faithful, saying: "I will come and take you, etc. (Jn. 14:33) "In my Father's house there are many mansions." (Jn.

Yet there will be new heavens and a new earth. He did not say different heavens and a different earth, but the old and ancient ones to be changed for the better, according to what David says: In the beginning, you founded the earth, Lord, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

The Lord will establish a new heaven and a new earth, "new" not in essence and substance; for if someone builds a new house, this does not already mean that he builds it from material that did not exist before.

Final Exhortations

Therefore, beloved, expecting these things, be diligent to be found by him without spot and without blemish, in peace.

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him,

These things, brethren, I write to you concerning righteousness, not because I take anything upon myself, but because ye have invited me to do so. For neither I, nor any other such one, can come up to the wisdom of the blessed and glorified Paul. He, when among you, accurately and stedfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of those who were then alive.

The same first of the apostles, when he was admonishing his disciples about many things and recognized that some were disparaging Paul's writings, says: "Just as our most dear brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking in them about these matters in which there are certain things difficult to understand, which the unlearned and unstable distort, as…

Paul wrote about this when he said: "the goodness of God leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4). If the longsuffering of God leads to repentance, and repentance is salvific for us, then it is evident that the longsuffering of God serves for our own benefit and salvation.

as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these things — among which are some things difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unestablished distort, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Now, unquestionably, the Divine Scriptures are more fruitful in resources of all kinds for this sort of facility. Nor do I risk contradiction in saying that the very Scriptures were even arranged by the will of God in such a manner as to furnish materials for heretics, inasmuch as I read that "there must be heresies, which there cannot be without the Scriptures.

Peter says this because he himself was overwhelmed by Paul's brilliance.

He says "hard to understand," which the ungodly preach in a distorted sense, for this means "they twist." Let us present one example from all their false interpretations. The Apostle Paul said: "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20). The distorters gave the words of the Apostle Paul this meaning: let us sin more so that we may receive greater forgiveness.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware that you not be led away by the error of the lawless and fall from your own steadfastness.

But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and to the day of the age. Amen.

II Peter3

The Coming Judgment

The Day of the Lord

Final Exhortations