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2 Peter 3

Chapter 3 in 30 seconds

Scoffers ask, so where is He? Peter answers that with God a day is like a thousand years. He is not slow; He is patient, because He wants everyone to repent. The day will come like a thief, with fire, and then a new heaven and earth. Paul says the same, though some of his letters are hard to understand. Keep growing.

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In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreeA Day Like a Thousand Years · after verse 18 The Big Question · Christians disagreeWill the Earth Burn? · after verse 18

The Coming Judgment// Genesis 7:1–24; Jude 1:17–23

¹Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking ²by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

2PE 3:1[NOTE]SECOND LETTER. Most take the first letter to be 1 Peter.

³Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”

2PE 3:3[PROPHECY]In the last days scoffers will come, walking according to their own lusts... the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment → STILL TO COME

⁵But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶through which the world of that time perished in the flood. ⁷And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

2PE 3:5[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← GEN 1:6-9
2PE 3:6[FULFILLS]The flood came suddenly and swept away all who were outside the ark. Jesus said His coming will be like this ← GEN 7:23
2PE 3:6[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← GEN 7:11
2PE 3:7[PROPHECY]In the last days scoffers will come, walking according to their own lusts... the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment → STILL TO COME

The Day of the Lord// Zephaniah 1:7–18; Malachi 4:1–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

⁸Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

2PE 3:8[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← PS 90:4
2PE 3:8[NOTE]A THOUSAND YEARS. See the Big Question page.
2PE 3:9[NOTABLE]God waits because He wants everyone to come to repentance.
2PE 3:9[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← EZK 18:23; 33:11
2PE 3:9[NOTE]NOT WANTING ANYONE TO PERISH. Arminians say God wants every person saved and leaves the choice to them. Calvinists say anyone means any of you, God's people, or shows what God desires in general, not whom He chooses. Both agree God is patient and calls all to repent, Ezekiel 33:11.

¹⁰But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

2PE 3:10[PROPHECY]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... we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells → STILL TO COME
2PE 3:10[NOTE]TEXT. The oldest copies say the earth and its works will be found, laid bare. Later copies and the KJV say burned up. See Will the Earth Burn?

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness ¹²as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

2PE 3:12[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← IS 34:4
2PE 3:13[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← IS 65:17; 66:22

Final Exhortations

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

2PE 3:14[NOTABLE]Live today the way you want to be found when He comes.

¹⁵Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. ¹⁶He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

2PE 3:15[NOTABLE]Peter puts Paul's letters next to the rest of the Scriptures, and admits some parts are hard to understand.
2PE 3:15[NOTE]PAUL IS SCRIPTURE. Peter puts Paul's letters next to the rest of the Scriptures, 3:16. They once clashed at Antioch, Galatians 2:11 to 14. Here Peter calls him our beloved brother.

¹⁷Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Amen.

2PE 3:18[NOTABLE]The last words Peter ever wrote: keep growing.

The Big Question · Christians disagree

A Day Like a Thousand Years

What Did Peter Mean?

2 Peter 3:8 to 9 · Psalm 90:4 · Genesis 2:17 · Matthew 24:36

WHAT PETER SAID: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day, 3:8. He borrows Psalm 90:4, a prayer of Moses: a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes. Then he explains: the Lord is not slow, but patient, 3:9.
THE HISTORY: Early Jews and Christians did a lot with this verse. The book of Jubilees, about 160 BC, and Justin Martyr, about AD 155, said Adam died at 930 within one day of a thousand years, so God's warning in Genesis 2:17 came true. The Letter of Barnabas, about AD 130, and Irenaeus, about AD 180, taught that the world would last six days of a thousand years each, then a seventh thousand year sabbath.
GOD IS PATIENT: Most teachers say Peter's point is simple: God does not watch the clock like we do. What feels like a long delay to us is nothing to Him, and He waits so more people can repent. Key verses: 3:9 and Psalm 90:2 to 4. Best case: it is the reason Peter himself gives in the next verse.
THE MILLENNIAL WEEK: Six thousand years of history, then a thousand year reign of Christ, Revelation 20:4. Best case: it is very old, held by Barnabas, Irenaeus and many after. Problem: every attempt to count the years to a date has failed, and Jesus said no one knows the day or hour, Matthew 24:36.
DAY AGE CREATION: Some use the verse to say the days of Genesis 1 could be long ages. Young earth teachers answer that Peter is talking about God's patience, not about creation, and that Genesis 1 counts evening and morning.
GOD OUTSIDE TIME: Augustine and many after him taught that God is not inside time at all. A day and a thousand years are the same to Him because He sees all of history at once.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Jesus is coming back. The delay is not God forgetting His promise; it is mercy. Nobody should set dates.

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Will the Earth Burn?

Burned Up or Made New

2 Peter 3:7 to 13 · Romans 8:19 to 22 · Revelation 21:1 to 5 · 1 Corinthians 3:13

WHAT PETER SAID: The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, 3:7. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare, 3:10. Then a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells, 3:13.
THE TEXT: The oldest full Bibles, Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, say the earth and its works will be found, which this Bible says as laid bare. Later copies say will be burned up, and the KJV follows them. A few old translations even say will not be found. So one word changes the picture.
BURNED UP AND REPLACED: God will destroy this universe completely and create a brand new one. Some Lutheran teachers after the Reformation taught this, and many Christians today. Key verses: 3:10 to 12 in the KJV, Revelation 21:1, the first earth passed away. Best case: Peter's words are strong, destroyed and melt.
PURIFIED AND RENEWED: Fire will clean this world the way fire refines gold, 1 Peter 1:7, and God will make it new. Irenaeus said the form of this world passes away, not its substance. Calvin and many today agree. Key verses: Romans 8:21, creation itself set free; Acts 3:21, the restoration of all things; Revelation 21:5, I make all things new. Best case: Noah's world was washed by water, 3:6, not wiped from existence.
LAID BARE FOR JUDGMENT: Found or laid bare means every work on earth will be exposed before God, like fire testing each person's work, 1 Corinthians 3:13. Best case: it reads the oldest copies plainly and fits the next verse, what kind of people ought you to be?
PICTURE LANGUAGE: The prophets used falling stars and melting heavens as pictures of God's judgment, Isaiah 34:4. Some, called preterists, think it pointed to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Most think it is still future.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Jesus will return, the world will be judged, and God's people will live in a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness is at home. So live holy now, 3:11.

2 Peter 3

The Coming Judgment// Genesis 7:1–24; Jude 1:17–23

The Day of the Lord// Zephaniah 1:7–18; Malachi 4:1–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

Final Exhortations

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