The apostle drawing towards the conclusion of his second
epistle, begins this last chapter with repeating the account of his design and
scope in writing a second time to them (v. 1-2). II. He proceeds to mention one
thing that induced him to write this second epistle, namely, the coming of
scoffers, whom he describes (v. 3-7). III. He instructs and establishes them in
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to judgment (v. 8-10). IV. He sets forth
the use and improvement which Christians ought to make of Christ's second
coming, and that dissolution and renovation of things which will accompany that
solemn coming of our Lord (v. 11-18).
That the apostle might the better reach his end in writing this
epistle, which is to make them steady and constant in a fiducial and practical
remembrance of the doctrine of the gospel, he, 1. Expresses his special
affection and tenderness for them, by calling them beloved, hereby
evidencing that he added to godliness brotherly-kindness, as he had (ch.
1:17) exhorted them to do. Ministers must be examples of love and affection, as
well as life and conversation. 2. He evinces a sincere love to them, and hearty
concern for them, by writing the same thing to them, though in other words. It
being safe for them, it shall not be grievous to him to write upon the same
subject, and pursue the same design, by those methods which are most likely to
succeed. 3. The better to recommend the matter, he tells them that what he would
have them to remember are, (1.) The words spoken by the holy prophets,
who were divinely inspired, both enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Ghost;
and, seeing these persons' minds were purified by the sanctifying operation of
the same Spirit, they were the better disposed to receive and retain what came
from God by the holy prophets. (2.) The commandments of the apostles of the
Lord and Saviour; and therefore the disciples and servants of Christ ought
to regard what those who are sent by him have declared unto them to be the will
of their Lord. What God has spoken by the prophets of the Old Testament, and
Christ has commanded by the apostles of the New, cannot but demand and deserve
to be frequently remembered; and those who meditate on these things will feel
the quickening virtues thereof. It is by these things the pure minds of
Christians are to be stirred up, that they may be active and lively in the work
of holiness, and zealous and unwearied in the way to heaven.
To quicken and excite us to a serious minding and firm adhering
to what God has revealed to us by the prophets and apostles, we are told that
there will be scoffers, men who will make a mock of sin, and of
salvation from it. God's way of saving sinners by Jesus Christ is what men
will scoff at, and that in the last days, under the gospel. This indeed
may seem very strange, that the New-Testament dispensation of the covenant of
grace, which is spiritual and therefore more agreeable to the nature of God than
the Old, should be ridiculed and reproached; but the spirituality and simplicity
of New-Testament worship are directly contrary to the carnal mind of man, and
this accounts for what the apostle seems here to hint at, namely, that scoffers
shall be more numerous and more bold in the last days than ever before. Though
in all ages those who were born and walked after the flesh persecuted, reviled,
and reproached those who were born and did walk after the Spirit, yet in the
last days there will be a great improvement in the art and impudence of
bantering serious godliness, and those who firmly adhere to the circumspection
and self-denial which the gospel prescribes. This is what is mentioned as a
thing well known to all Christians, and therefore they ought to reckon upon it,
that they may not be surprised and shaken, as if some strange thing happened
unto them. Now to prevent the true Christian's being overcome, when attacked
by these scoffers, we are told,
I. What sort of persons they are: they walk after their own
lusts, they follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, and carnal
affections, not the dictates and directions of right reason and an enlightened
well-informed judgment. This they do in the course of their conversation, they
live as they list, and they speak as they list; it is not only their inward
minds that are evil and opposite to God, as the mind of every unrenewed sinner
is (Rom. 8:7), alienated from God, ignorant of him, and averse to him; but they
have grown to such a height of wickedness that they proclaim openly what is in
the hearts of others who are yet carnal; they say, "Our tongues are our
own, and our strength, and time, and who is lord over us? Who shall
contradict or control us, or ever call us to an account for what we say or do?"
And, as they scorn to be confined by any laws of God in their conversation, so
neither will they bear that the revelation of God should dictate and prescribe
to them what they are to believe; as they will walk in their own way, and talk
their own language, so will they also think their own thoughts, and form
principles which are altogether their own: here also their own lusts
alone shall be consulted by them. None but such accomplished libertines as are
here described can take a seat, at least they cannot sit in the seat of the
scornful. "By this you shall know them, that you may the better be upon
your guard against them."
II. We also are forewarned how far they will proceed: they will
attempt to shake and unsettle us, even as to our belief of Christ's second
coming; they will scoffingly say, Where is the promise of his coming? v.
4. Without this, all the other articles of the Christian faith will signify very
little; this is that which fills up and gives the finishing stroke to all the
rest. The promised Messiah has come, he was made flesh, and dwelt among us;
he is altogether such a one as in stated before, and has done all that for us
which has been before taken notice of. These principles the enemies of
Christianity have all along endeavoured to overturn; but as these all rest upon
facts which are already past, and of which this and the other apostles have
given us the most sure and satisfying evidence, it is probable that they will at
last grow weary of their opposition to them; and yet, while one very principal
article of our faith refers to what is still behind, and only has a promise to
rest upon, here they will still attack us, even to the end of time. Till our
Lord shall have come, they will not themselves believe that he will come; nay,
they will laugh at the very mention of his second coming, and do what in them
lies to put all out of countenance who seriously believe and wait for it. Now
therefore let us see how this point stands, both on the believer's part and on
the part of these seducers: the believer not only desires that he may come, but,
having a promise that he will come, a promise that he himself has made and often
repeated, a promise received and reported by faithful witnesses, and left upon
sure record, he is also firmly and fully persuaded that he will come: on the
other hand, these seducers, because they wish he never may, therefore do all
that in them lies to cheat themselves and others into a persuasion that he will
never come. If they cannot deny that there is a promise, yet they will laugh at
that very promise, which argues much higher degrees of infidelity and contempt: Where
is the promise, say they, of his coming?
III. We are also forewarned of the method of their reasoning,
for while they laugh they will pretend to argue too. To this purpose they add
that since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation, v. 4. This is a subtle, though not a solid way of
reasoning; it is apt to make impressions upon weak minds, and especially upon
wicked hearts. Because sentence against them is not speedily executed,
therefore they flatter themselves that it never will, whereupon their hearts
are fully set in them to do evil (Eccl. 8:11); thus they act themselves, and
thus they would persuade others to act; so here, say they, "The fathers
have fallen asleep, those are all dead to whom the promise was made,
and it was never made good in their time, and there is no likelihood that it
ever will be in any time; why should we trouble ourselves about it? If there had
been any truth or certainty in the promise you speak of, we should surely have
seen somewhat of it before this time, some signs of his coming, some preparatory
steps in order to it; whereas we find to this very day all things continue as
they were, without any change, even from the beginning of the creation.
Since the world has undergone no changes in the course of so many thousand
years, why should we affright ourselves as if it were to have an end?" Thus
do these scoffers argue. Because they see no changes, therefore they fear not
God, Ps. 55:19. They neither fear him nor his judgments; what he never has
done they would conclude he never can do or never will.
IV. Here is the falsehood of their argument detected. Whereas
they confidently had said there had not been any change from the beginning of
the creation, the apostle puts us in remembrance of a change already past,
which, in a manner, equals that which we are called to expect and look for,
which was the drowning of the world in the days of Noah. This these scoffers had
overlooked; they took no notice of it. Though they might have known it, and
ought to have known it, yet this they willingly are ignorant of (v. 5),
they choose to pass it over in silence, as if they had never heard or known any
thing of it; if they knew it, they did not like to retain it in their knowledge;
they did not receive this truth in the love of it, neither did they care to own
it. Note, It is hard to persuade men to believe what they are not willing to
find true; they are ignorant, in many cases, because they are willing to be
ignorant, and they do not know because they do not care to know. But let not
sinners think that such ignorance as this will be admitted as an excuse for
whatever sin it may betray them into. Those who crucified Christ did not know
who he was; for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory (1 Co. 2:8); but, though ignorant, they were not therefore innocent;
their ignorance itself was a sin, willing and wilful ignorance, and one sin can
be no excuse for another. So it is here; had these known of the dreadful
vengeance with which God swept away a whole world of ungodly wretches at once,
they would not surely have scoffed at his threatenings of any after equally
terrible judgment; but here they were willingly ignorant, they did not
know what God had done because they had no mind to know it. Now therefore we
shall proceed to consider the representation which the apostle here lays down
both of the destruction of the old world by water and that which awaits this
present world at the final conflagration. He mentions the one as what God has
done, to convince and persuade us the rather to believe that the other both may
be and will be.
1. We begin with the apostle's account of the destruction
which has once already come upon the world (v. 5, 6): By the word of God the
heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water,
whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
Originally the world was otherwise situated, the waters were most wisely divided
at the creation and most beneficially for us; some of the waters had proper
repositories above the firmament, here called the heavens (as it is also Gen.
1:8), and others, under the firmament, gathered together unto one place; there
were then both sea and dry land, commodious habitation for the children of men.
But now, at the time of the universal deluge, the case is strangely altered; the
waters which God had divided before, assigning to each part its convenient
receptacle, now does he, in anger, throw together again in a heap. He breaks
up the fountain of the great deep, and throws open the windows (that is, the
clouds) of heaven (Gen. 7:11), till the whole earth is overflowed with
water, and not a spot can be found upon the highest mountains but what is fifteen
cubits under water, Gen. 7:20. Thus he made known at once his terrible power
and his fierce anger, and made an end of a whole world at once: The world
that then was, being overflowed with water, perished, v. 6. Is not here a
change and a most awful change! And then it is to be observed that all this was
done by the word of God; it was by his powerful word that the world was made at
first, and made in so commodious and beautiful a frame and order, Heb. 11:3, Kateµrtisthai.
He said, Let there be a firmament, etc., Gen. 1:6, 7. And let the
waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, etc., v. 9, 10.
Thus he spoke, and it was done, Ps. 33:9. Thus, says our apostle, by the word
of the Lord the heavens were, as they were of old (that is, at first
creation) and the earth (as it was at first a terraqueous globe) standing
out of the water and in the water. Not is it only the first frame and order
of the world that is here said to be by the word of God, but the
after-confusion and ruin of the world, as well as the utter destruction of its
inhabitants, were also by the same word; none but that God who stretched out
the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth could destroy and overthrow
such a vast fabric at once. This was done by the word of his power, and it was
also done according to the word of his promise; God had said that he would
destroy man, even all flesh, and that he would do it by bringing a flood of
waters upon the earth, Gen. 6:7, 13, 17. This was the change which God had
before brought upon the world, and which these scoffers had overlooked; and now
we are to consider,
2. What the apostle says of the destructive change which is yet
to come upon it: The heavens and the earth, which now are, by the same word
are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition
of ungodly men, v. 7. Here we have an awful account of the final dissolution
of the world, and which we are yet more nearly concerned in. The ruin that came
upon the world and its inhabitants by the flood, we read, and hear, and think
of, with concern, though those who were swept away by it were such as we never
knew; but the judgment here spoken of is yet to come, and will surely come,
though we know not when, nor upon what particular age or generation of men; and
therefore we are not, we cannot be, sure that it may not happen in our own
times: and this makes a very great difference, though it should be admitted that
they were equal in every other respect, which yet must not be allowed, for there
were some, though very few, who escaped that deluge, but not one can escape in
this conflagration. Besides, we were not in reach of the one, but are not sure
that we shall not be included in the other calamity. Now therefore to see the
world to which we belong destroyed at once—not a single person only, not a
particular family only, nor yet a nation (even that which we are most nearly
interested in and concerned for), but the whole world, I say, sinking at once,
and no ark provided, no possible way left of escaping for any one from the
common ruin, this makes a difference between the desolation that has been and
what we yet are to expect. The one is already past, and never to return upon us
any more (for God has said expressly that there shall never any more be a
flood to destroy the earth, Gen. 9:11-17); the other is still behind, and
is as certain to come as the truth and the power of God can make it: the one
came gradually upon the world, and was growing upon its inhabitants forty days,
before it made an utter end of them (Gen. 7:12, 17); this other will come upon
them swiftly and all at once (2 Pt. 2:1): besides, there were in that overthrow
(as we have said) a few who escaped, but the ruin which yet awaits this world,
whenever it comes, will be absolutely a universal one; there will not be any
part but what the devouring flames will seize upon, not a sanctuary left any
where for the inhabitants to flee to, not a single spot in all this world where
any one of them can be safe. Thus, whatever differences may be assigned between
that destruction of the world and this here spoken of, they do indeed represent
the approaching as the most terrible judgment; yet that the world has once been
destroyed by a universal deluge renders it the more credible that it may be
again ruined by a universal conflagration. Let therefore the scoffers, who laugh
at the coming of our Lord to judgment, at least consider that it may be.
There is nothing said of it in the word of God but what is within reach of the
power of God, and, though they still should laugh, they shall not put us out of
countenance; we are well assured that it will be, because he has said it, and we
can depend upon his promise. They err, not knowing (at least not
believing) the scriptures, nor the power of God; but we know, and we do
or ought to depend upon, both. Now that which he has said, and which he will
certainly make good, is that the heavens and the earth which now are
(which we are now related to, which still subsist in all the beauty and order in
which we see them, and which are so agreeable and useful to us, as we find they
are) are kept in store, not to be, what earthly minds would wish to have
them, treasures for us, but to be what God will have them, in his treasury,
securely lodged and kept safely for his purposes. It follows, they are reserved
unto fire. Observe, God's following judgments are more terrible than those
which went before; the old world was destroyed by water, but this is reserved
unto fire, which shall burn up the wicked at the last day; and, though this
seems to be delayed, yet, as this wicked world is upheld by the word of God, so
it is only reserved for the vengeance of him to whom vengeance belongs, who will
at the day of judgment deal with an ungodly world according to their deserts,
for the day of judgment is the day of the perdition of ungodly men. Those
who now scoff at a future judgment shall find it a day of vengeance and utter
destruction. "Beware therefore of being among these scoffers; never
question but the day of the Lord will come; give diligence therefore to be found
in Christ, that that may be a time of refreshment and day of redemption to you
which will be a day of indignation and wrath to the ungodly world."
Verse 8
The apostle comes in these words to instruct and establish
Christians in the truth of the coming of the Lord, where we may clearly discern
the tenderness and affection wherewith he speaks to them, calling them beloved;
he had a compassionate concern and a love of good-will for the ungodly wretches
who refused to believe divine revelation, but he has a peculiar respect for the
true believers, and the remaining ignorance and weakness that the apprehends to
be in them make him jealous, and put him on giving them a caution. Here we may
observe,
I. The truth which the apostle asserts—that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day. Though,
in the account of men, there is a great deal of difference between a day and a
year, and a vast deal more between one day and a thousand years, yet in the
account of God, who inhabits eternity, in which there is no succession, there is
no difference; for all things past, present, and future, are ever before him,
and the delay of a thousand years cannot be so much to him as the deferring of
any thing for a day or an hour is to us.
II. The importance of this truth: This is the one thing
the apostle would not have us ignorant of; a holy awe and reverential fear of
God are necessary in order to our worshiping and glorifying him, and a belief of
the inconceivable distance between him and us is very proper to beget and
maintain that religious fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. This
is a truth that belongs to our peace, and therefore he endeavours that it may
not be hidden from our eyes; as it is in the original, Let not this one thing
be hidden from you. If men have no knowledge or belief of the eternal God,
they will be very apt to think him such a one as themselves. Yet how hard is it
to conceive of eternity! It is therefore not very easy to attain such a
knowledge of God as is absolutely necessary.
We are here told that the Lord is not slack—he does not
delay beyond the appointed time; as God kept the time that he had appointed for
the delivering of Israel out of Egypt, to a day (Ex. 12:41), so he will keep to
the time appointed in coming to judge the world. What a difference is there
between the account which God makes and that which men make! Good men are apt to
think God stays beyond the appointed time, that is, the time which they have set
for their own and the church's deliverance; but they set one time and God sets
another, and he will not fail to keep the day which he has appointed. Ungodly
men dare charge a culpable slackness upon God, as if he had slipped the time,
and laid aside the thoughts of coming. But the apostle assures us,
I. That what men count slackness is truly long-suffering,
and that to us-ward; it is giving more time to his own people, whom he
has chosen before the foundation of the world, many of whom are not as yet
converted; and those who are in a state of grace and favour with God are to
advance in knowledge and holiness, and in the exercise of faith and patience, to
abound in good works, doing and suffering what they are called to, that they may
bring glory to God, and improve in a meetness for heaven; for God is not willing
that any of these should perish, but that all of them should come to repentance.
Here observe, 1. Repentance is absolutely necessary in order to salvation. Except
we repent, we shall perish, Lu. 13:3, 5. 2. God has no delight in the death
of sinners: as the punishment of sinners is a torment to his creatures, a
merciful God does not take pleasure in it; and though the principal design of
God in his long-suffering is the blessedness of those whom he has chosen to
salvation, through sanctification of the spirit, and belief of the truth,
yet his goodness and forbearance do in their own nature invite and call to
repentance all those to whom they are exercised; and, if men continue impenitent
when God gives them space to repent, he will deal more severely with them,
though the great reason why he did not hasten his coming was because he had not
accomplished the number of his elect. "Abuse not therefore the
patience and long-suffering of God, by abandoning yourselves to a course of
ungodliness; presume not to go on boldly in the way of sinners, nor to sit down
securely in an unconverted impenitent state, as he who said (Mt. 24:48), My
Lord delayeth his coming, lest he come and surprise you;" for,
II. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,
v. 10. Here we may observe, 1. The certainty of the day of the Lord: though it
is now above sixteen hundred years since this epistle was written, and the day
has not yet come, it assuredly will come. God has appointed a day wherein he
will judge the world in righteousness, and he will keep his appointment. It
is appointed to men once to die, and after this the judgment, Heb. 9:27.
"Settle it therefore in your hearts that the day of the Lord will certainly
come, and you shall certainly be called to give an account of all things done in
the body, whether good or evil; and let your exact walking before God, and your
frequent judging yourselves, evidence your firm belief of a future judgment,
when many live as if they were never to give any account at all." 2. The
suddenness of this day: It will come as a thief in the night, at a time
when men are sleeping and secure, and have no manner of apprehension or
expectation of the day of the Lord, any more than men have of a thief when they
are in a deep sleep, in the dark and silent night. At midnight there was a
cry, Behold, the bridegroom comes, (Mt. 25:6), and at that time not only the
foolish, but also the wise virgins slumbered and slept. The Lord will come in
a day when we look not for him, and an hour when men are not aware. The time
which men think to be the most improper and unlikely, and when therefore they
are most secure, will be the time of the Lord's coming. Let us then beware how
we in our thoughts and imaginations put that day far away from us; but rather
suppose it to be so much nearer in reality, by how much further off it is in the
opinion of the ungodly world. 3. The solemnity of this coming. (1.) The
heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The visible heavens, as unable
to abide when the Lord shall come in his glory, shall pass away; they shall
undergo a mighty alteration, and this shall be very sudden, and with such a
noise as the breaking and tumbling down of so great a fabric must necessarily
occasion. (2.) The elements shall melt with fervent heat. At this coming
of the Lord it shall not only be very tempestuous round about him, so
that the very heavens shall pass away as in a mighty violent storm, but a
fire shall go before him, that shall melt the elements of which the
creatures are composed. (3.) The earth also, and all the works that are
therein, shall be burnt up. The earth, and its inhabitants, and all the
works that are therein, shall be burnt up. The earth, and its inhabitants, and
all the works, whether of nature or art, shall be destroyed. The stately palaces
and gardens, and all the desirable things wherein worldly-minded men seek and
place their happiness, all of them shall be burnt up; all sorts of creatures
which God has made, and all the works of men, must submit, all must pass through
the fire, which shall be a consuming fire to all that sin has brought into the
world, though it may be a refining fire to the works of God's hand, that the
glass of the creation being made much brighter the saints may much better
discern the glory of the Lord therein.
And now who can but observe what a difference there will be
between the first coming of Christ and the second! Yet that is called the
great and dreadful day of the Lord, Mal. 4:5. How much more dreadful must
this coming to judgment be! May we be so wise as to prepare for it, that it may
not be a day of vengeance and destruction unto us. O! what will become of us, if
we set our affections on this earth, and make it our portion, seeing all these
things shall be burnt up? Look out therefore, and make sure of a happiness
beyond this visible world, which must all be melted down.
The apostle, having instructed them in the doctrine of Christ's
second coming,
I. Takes occasion thence to exhort them to purity and godliness
in their whole conversation: all the truths which are revealed in scripture
should be improved for our advancement in practical godliness: this is the
effect that knowledge must produce, or we are never the better for it. If you
know these things, happy are you if you do them. Seeing all these things must be
dissolved, how holy should we be, that are assured of it, departing from and
dying to sin, that has so corrupted and defiled all the visible creation that
there is an absolute need of its dissolution! All that was made for man's use
is subject to vanity by man's sin: and if the sin of man has brought the
visible heavens, and the elements and earth, under a curse, from which they
cannot be freed without being dissolved, what an abominable evil is sin, and how
much to be hated by us! And, inasmuch as this dissolution is in order to their
being restored to their primitive beauty and excellency, how pure and holy
should we be, in order to our being fit for the new heaven and new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness! It is a very exact and universal holiness
that he exhorts to, not resting in any lower measure or degree, but labouring to
be eminent beyond what is commonly attained—holy in God's house and in our
own, holy in our worshipping of God and in our conversing with men. All our
conversation, whether with high or low, rich or poor, good or bad, friends or
enemies, must be holy. We must keep ourselves unspotted from the world in
all our converses with it. We must be perfecting holiness in the fear of God,
and in the love of God too. We must exercise ourselves unto godliness of
all sorts, in all its parts, trusting in God and delighting in God only, who
continues the same when the whole visible creation shall be dissolved, devoting
ourselves to the service of God, and designing the glorifying and enjoyment of
God, who endures for ever; whereas what worldly men delight in and follow after
must all be dissolved. Those things which we now see must in a little while pass
away, and be no more as they now are: let us look therefore at what shall abide
and continue, which, though it be not present, is certain and not far off. This looking
for the day of God is one of the directions the apostle gives us, in order
to our being eminently holy and godly in all manner of conversation.
"Look for the day of God as what you firmly believe shall come, and what
you earnestly long for." The coming of the day of God is what every
Christian must hope for and earnestly expect; for it is a day when Christ shall appear
in the glory of the Father, and evidence his divinity and Godhead even to
those who counted him a mere man. The first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when he appeared in the form of a servant, was what the people of God
earnestly waited and looked for: that coming was for the consolation of
Israel, Lu. 2:25. How much more should they wait with expectation and
earnestness for his second coming, which will be the day of their complete
redemption, and of his most glorious manifestation! Then he shall come to be
admired in his saints, and glorified in all those that believe. For though
it cannot but terrify and affright the ungodly to see the visible heavens all in
a flame, and the elements melting, yet the believer, whose faith is the
evidence of things not seen, can rejoice in hope of more glorious heavens
after these have been melted and refined by that dreadful fire which shall burn
up all the dross of this visible creation. Here we must take notice, 1. What
true Christians look for: new heavens and a new earth, in which a great
deal more of the wisdom, power and goodness of our great God and Saviour Jesus
Christ will be clearly discerned than we are able to discover in what we now
see; for in these new heavens and earth, freed from the vanity the former were
subject to, and the sin they were polluted with, only righteousness shall dwell;
this is to be the habitation of such righteous persons as do righteousness, and
are free from the power and pollution of sin; all the wicked shall be turned
into hell; those only who are clothed with a righteousness of Christ, and
sanctified by the Holy Ghost, shall be admitted to dwell in this holy place. 2.
What is the ground and foundation of this expectation and hope—the promise
of God. To look for any thing which God has not promised is presumption; but
if our expectations are according to the promise, both as to the things we look
for and the time and way of their being brought about, we cannot meet with a
disappointment; for he is faithful who has promised. "See therefore
that you raise and regulate your expectations of all the great things that are
to come according to the word of God; and, as to the new heaven and new
earth, look for them as God has allowed and directed by the passages we have
in this portion of scripture how before you, and in Isa. 65:17; 66:22, to which
the apostle may be thought to allude."
II. As in v. 11 he exhorts to holiness from the consideration
that the heavens and the earth shall be dissolved, so in v. 14 he resumes
his exhortation from the consideration that they shall be again renewed.
"Seeing you expect the day of God, when our Lord Jesus Christ will appear
in his glorious majesty, and these heavens and earth shall be dissolved and
melted down, and, being purified and refined, shall be erected and rebuilt,
prepare to meet him. It nearly concerns you to see in what state you will be
when the Judge of all the world shall come to pass sentence upon men, and to
determine how it shall be with them to all eternity. This is the court of
judicature whence there lies no appeal; whatever sentence is here passed by this
great Judge is irreversible; therefore get ready to appear before the
judgment-seat of Christ: and see to it,"
1. "That you be found of him in peace, in a state of
peace and reconciliation with God through Christ, in whom alone God is reconciling
the world to himself. All that are out of Christ are in a state of enmity,
and reject and oppose the Lord and his anointed, and shall therefore be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the
glory of his power. Those whose sins are pardoned and their peace made with
God are the only safe and happy people; therefore follow after peace, and that
with all." (1.) Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (2.) Peace in
our own consciences, through the Spirit of grace witnessing with our spirits
that we are the children of God. (3.) Peace with men, by having a calm and
peaceable disposition wrought in us, resembling that of our blessed Lord.
2. That you be found of Christ without spot, and blameless.
Follow after holiness as well as peace: and even spotless and perfect; we
must not only take heed of all spots which are not the spots of God's children
(this only prevents our being found of men without spot), we must be pressing
towards spotless purity, absolute perfection. Christians must be perfecting
holiness, that they may be not only blameless before men, but also in the
sight of God; and all this deserves and needs the greatest diligence; he who
does this work negligently can never do it successfully. "Never expect to
be found at that day of God in peace, if you are lazy and idle in this your day,
in which we must finish the work that is given us to do. It is only the diligent
Christian who will be the happy Christian in the day of the Lord. Our Lord will
suddenly come to us, or shortly call us to him; and would you have him find you
idle?" Remember there is a curse denounced against him who does the work
of the Lord negligently, Marg. Jer. 48:10. Heaven will be a sufficient
recompence for all our diligence and industry; therefore let us labour and take
pains in the work of the Lord; he will certainly reward us if we be diligent in
the work he has allotted us; now, that you may be diligent, account the
long-suffering of our Lord to be salvation. "Does your Lord delay his
coming? Do not think this is to give more time to make provision for your lusts,
to gratify them; it is so much space to repent and work out your salvation. It
proceeds not from a want of concern or compassion for his suffering servants,
nor is it designed to give countenance and encouragement to the world of the
ungodly, but that men may have time to prepare for eternity. Learn then to make
a right use of the patience of our Lord, who does as yet delay his coming.
Follow after peace and holiness, or else his coming will be dreadful to you."
And inasmuch as it is difficult to prevent men's abuse of God's patience,
and engage them in the right improvement thereof, before all, reproved him,
as not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel! (1.) He calls him
brother, whereby he means not only that he is a fellow-christian (in
which sense the word brethren is used 1 Th. 5:27), or a fellow-preacher (in
which sense Paul calls Timothy the evangelist a brother, Col. 1:1), but a
fellow-apostle, one who had the same extraordinary commission, immediately from
Christ himself, to preach the gospel in every place, and to disciple all
nations. Though many seducing teachers denied Paul's apostleship, yet Peter
owns him to be an apostle. (2.) He calls him beloved; and they being both
alike commissioned, and both united in the same service of the same Lord, it
would have been very unseemly if they had not been united in affection to one
another, for the strengthening of one another's hands, mutually desirous of,
and rejoicing in, one another's success. (3.) He mentions Paul as one who had
an uncommon measure of wisdom given unto him. He was a person of eminent
knowledge in the mysteries of the gospel, and did neither in that nor any other
qualification come behind any of all the other apostles. How desirable is it
that those who preach the same gospel should treat one another according to the
pattern Peter here sets them! It is surely their duty to endeavour, by proper
methods, to prevent or remove all prejudices that hinder ministers'
usefulness, and to beget and improve the esteem and respect in the minds of
people towards their ministers that may promote the success of their labours.
And let us also here observe, [1.] The excellent wisdom that was in Paul is said
to be given him. The understanding and knowledge that qualify men to
preach the gospel are the gift of God. We must seek for knowledge, and labour to
get understanding, in hopes that it shall be given us from above, while we are
diligent in using proper means to attain it. [2.] The apostle imparts to men
according as he had received from God. He endeavours to lead others as far as he
himself was led into the knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel. He is not an
intruder into the things he had not seen or been fully assured of, and yet he
does not fail to declare the whole counsel of God, Acts 20:27. [3.] The epistles
which were written by the apostle of the Gentiles, and directed to those
Gentiles who believed in Christ, are designed for the instruction and
edification of those who from among the Jews were brought to believe in Christ;
for it is generally thought that what is here alluded to is contained in the
epistle to the Romans (ch. 2:4), though in all his epistles there are some
things that refer to one or other of the subjects treated of in this and the
foregoing chapter; and it cannot seem strange that those who were pursuing the
same general design should in their epistles insist upon the same things. But
the apostle Peter proceeds to tell us that in those things which are to be met
with in Paul's epistles there are some things hard to be understood. Among the
variety of subjects treated of in scripture, some are not easy to be understood
because of their own obscurity, such are prophecies; others cannot be so easily
understood because of their excellency and sublimity, as the mysterious
doctrines; and others are with difficulty taken in because of the weakness of
men's minds, such are the things of the Spirit of God, mentioned 1 Co. 2:14.
And here the unlearned and unstable make wretched work; for they wrest and
torture the scriptures, to make them speak what the Holy Ghost did not intend.
Those who are not well instructed and well established in the truth are in great
danger of perverting the word of God. Those who have heard and learned of the
Father are best secured from misunderstanding and misapplying any part of the
word of God; and, where there is a divine power to establish as well as to
instruct men in divine truth, persons are effectually secured from falling into
errors. How great a blessing this is we learn by observing what is the
pernicious consequence of the errors that ignorant and unstable men fall into—even
their own destruction. Errors in particular concerning the holiness and justice
of God are the utter ruin of multitudes of men. Let us therefore earnestly pray
for the Spirit of God to instruct us in the truth, that we may know it as it is
in Jesus, and have our hearts established with grace, that we may stand firm and
unshaken, even in the most stormy times, when others are tossed to and fro with
every wind of doctrine.
III. The apostle gives them a word of caution, v. 17, 18, where,
1. He intimates that the knowledge we have of these things
should make us very wary and watchful, inasmuch as there is a twofold danger, v.
17. (1.) We are in great danger of being seduced, and turned away from
the truth. The unlearned and unstable, and they are very numerous, do generally
wrest the scripture. Many who have the scriptures and read them do not
understand what they read; and too many of those who have a right understanding
of the sense and meaning of the word are not established in the belief of the
truth, and all these are liable to fall into error. Few attain to the knowledge
and acknowledgment of doctrinal Christianity; and fewer find, so as to keep in
the way of practical godliness, which is the narrow way, which only leadeth unto
life. There must be a great deal of self-denial and suspicion of ourselves, and
submitting to the authority of Christ Jesus our great prophet, before we can
heartily receive all the truths of the gospel, and therefore we are in great
danger of rejecting the truth. (2.) We are in great danger by being
seduced; for, [1.] So far as we are turned from the truth so far are we
turned out of the way to true blessedness, into the path which leads to
destruction. If men corrupt the word of God, it tends to their own utter ruin.
[2.] When men wrest the word of God, they fall into the error of the wicked,
men without law, who keep to no rules, set no bounds to themselves, a sort of
free-thinkers, which the psalmist detests. Ps. 119:113, I hate vain thoughts,
but thy law do I love. Whatever opinions and thoughts of men are not
conformable to the law of God, and warranted by it, the good man disclaims and
abhors; they are the conceits and counsels of the ungodly, who have forsaken God's
law, and, if we imbibe their opinions, we shall too soon imitate their
practices. [3.] Those who are led away by error fall from their own
stedfastness. They are wholly unhinged and unsettled, and know not where to
rest, but are at the greatest uncertainty, like a wave of the sea, driven with
the wind and tossed. It nearly concerns us therefore to be upon our guard,
seeing the danger is so great.
2. That we may the better avoid being led away, the apostle directs us what
to do, v. 18. And, (1.) We must grow in grace. He had in the beginning of
the epistle exhorted us to add one grace to another, and here he advises us to
grow in all grace, in faith, and virtue, and knowledge. By how much the stronger
grace is in us, by so much the more stedfast shall we be in the truth. (2.) We
must grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Follow on to
know the Lord. Labour to know him more clearly and more fully, to know more of
Christ and to know him to better purpose, so as to be more like him and to love
him better." This is the knowledge of Christ the apostle Paul reached after
and desired to attain, Phil. 3:10. Such a knowledge of Christ as conforms us
more to him, and endears him more to us, must needs be of great use to us, to
preserve us from falling off in times of general apostasy; and those who
experience this effect of the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
will, upon receiving such grace from him, give thanks and praise to him, and
join with our apostle in saying, To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
2 Peter 3 Bible Commentary
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete)
The apostle drawing towards the conclusion of his second epistle, begins this last chapter with repeating the account of his design and scope in writing a second time to them (v. 1-2). II. He proceeds to mention one thing that induced him to write this second epistle, namely, the coming of scoffers, whom he describes (v. 3-7). III. He instructs and establishes them in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to judgment (v. 8-10). IV. He sets forth the use and improvement which Christians ought to make of Christ's second coming, and that dissolution and renovation of things which will accompany that solemn coming of our Lord (v. 11-18).
Verses 1-2
That the apostle might the better reach his end in writing this epistle, which is to make them steady and constant in a fiducial and practical remembrance of the doctrine of the gospel, he, 1. Expresses his special affection and tenderness for them, by calling them beloved, hereby evidencing that he added to godliness brotherly-kindness, as he had (ch. 1:17) exhorted them to do. Ministers must be examples of love and affection, as well as life and conversation. 2. He evinces a sincere love to them, and hearty concern for them, by writing the same thing to them, though in other words. It being safe for them, it shall not be grievous to him to write upon the same subject, and pursue the same design, by those methods which are most likely to succeed. 3. The better to recommend the matter, he tells them that what he would have them to remember are, (1.) The words spoken by the holy prophets, who were divinely inspired, both enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Ghost; and, seeing these persons' minds were purified by the sanctifying operation of the same Spirit, they were the better disposed to receive and retain what came from God by the holy prophets. (2.) The commandments of the apostles of the Lord and Saviour; and therefore the disciples and servants of Christ ought to regard what those who are sent by him have declared unto them to be the will of their Lord. What God has spoken by the prophets of the Old Testament, and Christ has commanded by the apostles of the New, cannot but demand and deserve to be frequently remembered; and those who meditate on these things will feel the quickening virtues thereof. It is by these things the pure minds of Christians are to be stirred up, that they may be active and lively in the work of holiness, and zealous and unwearied in the way to heaven.
Verses 3-7
To quicken and excite us to a serious minding and firm adhering to what God has revealed to us by the prophets and apostles, we are told that there will be scoffers, men who will make a mock of sin, and of salvation from it. God's way of saving sinners by Jesus Christ is what men will scoff at, and that in the last days, under the gospel. This indeed may seem very strange, that the New-Testament dispensation of the covenant of grace, which is spiritual and therefore more agreeable to the nature of God than the Old, should be ridiculed and reproached; but the spirituality and simplicity of New-Testament worship are directly contrary to the carnal mind of man, and this accounts for what the apostle seems here to hint at, namely, that scoffers shall be more numerous and more bold in the last days than ever before. Though in all ages those who were born and walked after the flesh persecuted, reviled, and reproached those who were born and did walk after the Spirit, yet in the last days there will be a great improvement in the art and impudence of bantering serious godliness, and those who firmly adhere to the circumspection and self-denial which the gospel prescribes. This is what is mentioned as a thing well known to all Christians, and therefore they ought to reckon upon it, that they may not be surprised and shaken, as if some strange thing happened unto them. Now to prevent the true Christian's being overcome, when attacked by these scoffers, we are told,
I. What sort of persons they are: they walk after their own lusts, they follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, and carnal affections, not the dictates and directions of right reason and an enlightened well-informed judgment. This they do in the course of their conversation, they live as they list, and they speak as they list; it is not only their inward minds that are evil and opposite to God, as the mind of every unrenewed sinner is (Rom. 8:7), alienated from God, ignorant of him, and averse to him; but they have grown to such a height of wickedness that they proclaim openly what is in the hearts of others who are yet carnal; they say, "Our tongues are our own, and our strength, and time, and who is lord over us? Who shall contradict or control us, or ever call us to an account for what we say or do?" And, as they scorn to be confined by any laws of God in their conversation, so neither will they bear that the revelation of God should dictate and prescribe to them what they are to believe; as they will walk in their own way, and talk their own language, so will they also think their own thoughts, and form principles which are altogether their own: here also their own lusts alone shall be consulted by them. None but such accomplished libertines as are here described can take a seat, at least they cannot sit in the seat of the scornful. "By this you shall know them, that you may the better be upon your guard against them."
II. We also are forewarned how far they will proceed: they will attempt to shake and unsettle us, even as to our belief of Christ's second coming; they will scoffingly say, Where is the promise of his coming? v. 4. Without this, all the other articles of the Christian faith will signify very little; this is that which fills up and gives the finishing stroke to all the rest. The promised Messiah has come, he was made flesh, and dwelt among us; he is altogether such a one as in stated before, and has done all that for us which has been before taken notice of. These principles the enemies of Christianity have all along endeavoured to overturn; but as these all rest upon facts which are already past, and of which this and the other apostles have given us the most sure and satisfying evidence, it is probable that they will at last grow weary of their opposition to them; and yet, while one very principal article of our faith refers to what is still behind, and only has a promise to rest upon, here they will still attack us, even to the end of time. Till our Lord shall have come, they will not themselves believe that he will come; nay, they will laugh at the very mention of his second coming, and do what in them lies to put all out of countenance who seriously believe and wait for it. Now therefore let us see how this point stands, both on the believer's part and on the part of these seducers: the believer not only desires that he may come, but, having a promise that he will come, a promise that he himself has made and often repeated, a promise received and reported by faithful witnesses, and left upon sure record, he is also firmly and fully persuaded that he will come: on the other hand, these seducers, because they wish he never may, therefore do all that in them lies to cheat themselves and others into a persuasion that he will never come. If they cannot deny that there is a promise, yet they will laugh at that very promise, which argues much higher degrees of infidelity and contempt: Where is the promise, say they, of his coming?
III. We are also forewarned of the method of their reasoning, for while they laugh they will pretend to argue too. To this purpose they add that since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation, v. 4. This is a subtle, though not a solid way of reasoning; it is apt to make impressions upon weak minds, and especially upon wicked hearts. Because sentence against them is not speedily executed, therefore they flatter themselves that it never will, whereupon their hearts are fully set in them to do evil (Eccl. 8:11); thus they act themselves, and thus they would persuade others to act; so here, say they, "The fathers have fallen asleep, those are all dead to whom the promise was made, and it was never made good in their time, and there is no likelihood that it ever will be in any time; why should we trouble ourselves about it? If there had been any truth or certainty in the promise you speak of, we should surely have seen somewhat of it before this time, some signs of his coming, some preparatory steps in order to it; whereas we find to this very day all things continue as they were, without any change, even from the beginning of the creation. Since the world has undergone no changes in the course of so many thousand years, why should we affright ourselves as if it were to have an end?" Thus do these scoffers argue. Because they see no changes, therefore they fear not God, Ps. 55:19. They neither fear him nor his judgments; what he never has done they would conclude he never can do or never will.
IV. Here is the falsehood of their argument detected. Whereas they confidently had said there had not been any change from the beginning of the creation, the apostle puts us in remembrance of a change already past, which, in a manner, equals that which we are called to expect and look for, which was the drowning of the world in the days of Noah. This these scoffers had overlooked; they took no notice of it. Though they might have known it, and ought to have known it, yet this they willingly are ignorant of (v. 5), they choose to pass it over in silence, as if they had never heard or known any thing of it; if they knew it, they did not like to retain it in their knowledge; they did not receive this truth in the love of it, neither did they care to own it. Note, It is hard to persuade men to believe what they are not willing to find true; they are ignorant, in many cases, because they are willing to be ignorant, and they do not know because they do not care to know. But let not sinners think that such ignorance as this will be admitted as an excuse for whatever sin it may betray them into. Those who crucified Christ did not know who he was; for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Co. 2:8); but, though ignorant, they were not therefore innocent; their ignorance itself was a sin, willing and wilful ignorance, and one sin can be no excuse for another. So it is here; had these known of the dreadful vengeance with which God swept away a whole world of ungodly wretches at once, they would not surely have scoffed at his threatenings of any after equally terrible judgment; but here they were willingly ignorant, they did not know what God had done because they had no mind to know it. Now therefore we shall proceed to consider the representation which the apostle here lays down both of the destruction of the old world by water and that which awaits this present world at the final conflagration. He mentions the one as what God has done, to convince and persuade us the rather to believe that the other both may be and will be.
1. We begin with the apostle's account of the destruction which has once already come upon the world (v. 5, 6): By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. Originally the world was otherwise situated, the waters were most wisely divided at the creation and most beneficially for us; some of the waters had proper repositories above the firmament, here called the heavens (as it is also Gen. 1:8), and others, under the firmament, gathered together unto one place; there were then both sea and dry land, commodious habitation for the children of men. But now, at the time of the universal deluge, the case is strangely altered; the waters which God had divided before, assigning to each part its convenient receptacle, now does he, in anger, throw together again in a heap. He breaks up the fountain of the great deep, and throws open the windows (that is, the clouds) of heaven (Gen. 7:11), till the whole earth is overflowed with water, and not a spot can be found upon the highest mountains but what is fifteen cubits under water, Gen. 7:20. Thus he made known at once his terrible power and his fierce anger, and made an end of a whole world at once: The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished, v. 6. Is not here a change and a most awful change! And then it is to be observed that all this was done by the word of God; it was by his powerful word that the world was made at first, and made in so commodious and beautiful a frame and order, Heb. 11:3, Kateµrtisthai. He said, Let there be a firmament, etc., Gen. 1:6, 7. And let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, etc., v. 9, 10. Thus he spoke, and it was done, Ps. 33:9. Thus, says our apostle, by the word of the Lord the heavens were, as they were of old (that is, at first creation) and the earth (as it was at first a terraqueous globe) standing out of the water and in the water. Not is it only the first frame and order of the world that is here said to be by the word of God, but the after-confusion and ruin of the world, as well as the utter destruction of its inhabitants, were also by the same word; none but that God who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth could destroy and overthrow such a vast fabric at once. This was done by the word of his power, and it was also done according to the word of his promise; God had said that he would destroy man, even all flesh, and that he would do it by bringing a flood of waters upon the earth, Gen. 6:7, 13, 17. This was the change which God had before brought upon the world, and which these scoffers had overlooked; and now we are to consider,
2. What the apostle says of the destructive change which is yet to come upon it: The heavens and the earth, which now are, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, v. 7. Here we have an awful account of the final dissolution of the world, and which we are yet more nearly concerned in. The ruin that came upon the world and its inhabitants by the flood, we read, and hear, and think of, with concern, though those who were swept away by it were such as we never knew; but the judgment here spoken of is yet to come, and will surely come, though we know not when, nor upon what particular age or generation of men; and therefore we are not, we cannot be, sure that it may not happen in our own times: and this makes a very great difference, though it should be admitted that they were equal in every other respect, which yet must not be allowed, for there were some, though very few, who escaped that deluge, but not one can escape in this conflagration. Besides, we were not in reach of the one, but are not sure that we shall not be included in the other calamity. Now therefore to see the world to which we belong destroyed at once—not a single person only, not a particular family only, nor yet a nation (even that which we are most nearly interested in and concerned for), but the whole world, I say, sinking at once, and no ark provided, no possible way left of escaping for any one from the common ruin, this makes a difference between the desolation that has been and what we yet are to expect. The one is already past, and never to return upon us any more (for God has said expressly that there shall never any more be a flood to destroy the earth, Gen. 9:11-17); the other is still behind, and is as certain to come as the truth and the power of God can make it: the one came gradually upon the world, and was growing upon its inhabitants forty days, before it made an utter end of them (Gen. 7:12, 17); this other will come upon them swiftly and all at once (2 Pt. 2:1): besides, there were in that overthrow (as we have said) a few who escaped, but the ruin which yet awaits this world, whenever it comes, will be absolutely a universal one; there will not be any part but what the devouring flames will seize upon, not a sanctuary left any where for the inhabitants to flee to, not a single spot in all this world where any one of them can be safe. Thus, whatever differences may be assigned between that destruction of the world and this here spoken of, they do indeed represent the approaching as the most terrible judgment; yet that the world has once been destroyed by a universal deluge renders it the more credible that it may be again ruined by a universal conflagration. Let therefore the scoffers, who laugh at the coming of our Lord to judgment, at least consider that it may be. There is nothing said of it in the word of God but what is within reach of the power of God, and, though they still should laugh, they shall not put us out of countenance; we are well assured that it will be, because he has said it, and we can depend upon his promise. They err, not knowing (at least not believing) the scriptures, nor the power of God; but we know, and we do or ought to depend upon, both. Now that which he has said, and which he will certainly make good, is that the heavens and the earth which now are (which we are now related to, which still subsist in all the beauty and order in which we see them, and which are so agreeable and useful to us, as we find they are) are kept in store, not to be, what earthly minds would wish to have them, treasures for us, but to be what God will have them, in his treasury, securely lodged and kept safely for his purposes. It follows, they are reserved unto fire. Observe, God's following judgments are more terrible than those which went before; the old world was destroyed by water, but this is reserved unto fire, which shall burn up the wicked at the last day; and, though this seems to be delayed, yet, as this wicked world is upheld by the word of God, so it is only reserved for the vengeance of him to whom vengeance belongs, who will at the day of judgment deal with an ungodly world according to their deserts, for the day of judgment is the day of the perdition of ungodly men. Those who now scoff at a future judgment shall find it a day of vengeance and utter destruction. "Beware therefore of being among these scoffers; never question but the day of the Lord will come; give diligence therefore to be found in Christ, that that may be a time of refreshment and day of redemption to you which will be a day of indignation and wrath to the ungodly world."
Verse 8
The apostle comes in these words to instruct and establish Christians in the truth of the coming of the Lord, where we may clearly discern the tenderness and affection wherewith he speaks to them, calling them beloved; he had a compassionate concern and a love of good-will for the ungodly wretches who refused to believe divine revelation, but he has a peculiar respect for the true believers, and the remaining ignorance and weakness that the apprehends to be in them make him jealous, and put him on giving them a caution. Here we may observe,
I. The truth which the apostle asserts—that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day. Though, in the account of men, there is a great deal of difference between a day and a year, and a vast deal more between one day and a thousand years, yet in the account of God, who inhabits eternity, in which there is no succession, there is no difference; for all things past, present, and future, are ever before him, and the delay of a thousand years cannot be so much to him as the deferring of any thing for a day or an hour is to us.
II. The importance of this truth: This is the one thing the apostle would not have us ignorant of; a holy awe and reverential fear of God are necessary in order to our worshiping and glorifying him, and a belief of the inconceivable distance between him and us is very proper to beget and maintain that religious fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. This is a truth that belongs to our peace, and therefore he endeavours that it may not be hidden from our eyes; as it is in the original, Let not this one thing be hidden from you. If men have no knowledge or belief of the eternal God, they will be very apt to think him such a one as themselves. Yet how hard is it to conceive of eternity! It is therefore not very easy to attain such a knowledge of God as is absolutely necessary.
Verses 9-10
We are here told that the Lord is not slack—he does not delay beyond the appointed time; as God kept the time that he had appointed for the delivering of Israel out of Egypt, to a day (Ex. 12:41), so he will keep to the time appointed in coming to judge the world. What a difference is there between the account which God makes and that which men make! Good men are apt to think God stays beyond the appointed time, that is, the time which they have set for their own and the church's deliverance; but they set one time and God sets another, and he will not fail to keep the day which he has appointed. Ungodly men dare charge a culpable slackness upon God, as if he had slipped the time, and laid aside the thoughts of coming. But the apostle assures us,
I. That what men count slackness is truly long-suffering, and that to us-ward; it is giving more time to his own people, whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world, many of whom are not as yet converted; and those who are in a state of grace and favour with God are to advance in knowledge and holiness, and in the exercise of faith and patience, to abound in good works, doing and suffering what they are called to, that they may bring glory to God, and improve in a meetness for heaven; for God is not willing that any of these should perish, but that all of them should come to repentance. Here observe, 1. Repentance is absolutely necessary in order to salvation. Except we repent, we shall perish, Lu. 13:3, 5. 2. God has no delight in the death of sinners: as the punishment of sinners is a torment to his creatures, a merciful God does not take pleasure in it; and though the principal design of God in his long-suffering is the blessedness of those whom he has chosen to salvation, through sanctification of the spirit, and belief of the truth, yet his goodness and forbearance do in their own nature invite and call to repentance all those to whom they are exercised; and, if men continue impenitent when God gives them space to repent, he will deal more severely with them, though the great reason why he did not hasten his coming was because he had not accomplished the number of his elect. "Abuse not therefore the patience and long-suffering of God, by abandoning yourselves to a course of ungodliness; presume not to go on boldly in the way of sinners, nor to sit down securely in an unconverted impenitent state, as he who said (Mt. 24:48), My Lord delayeth his coming, lest he come and surprise you;" for,
II. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, v. 10. Here we may observe, 1. The certainty of the day of the Lord: though it is now above sixteen hundred years since this epistle was written, and the day has not yet come, it assuredly will come. God has appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, and he will keep his appointment. It is appointed to men once to die, and after this the judgment, Heb. 9:27. "Settle it therefore in your hearts that the day of the Lord will certainly come, and you shall certainly be called to give an account of all things done in the body, whether good or evil; and let your exact walking before God, and your frequent judging yourselves, evidence your firm belief of a future judgment, when many live as if they were never to give any account at all." 2. The suddenness of this day: It will come as a thief in the night, at a time when men are sleeping and secure, and have no manner of apprehension or expectation of the day of the Lord, any more than men have of a thief when they are in a deep sleep, in the dark and silent night. At midnight there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom comes, (Mt. 25:6), and at that time not only the foolish, but also the wise virgins slumbered and slept. The Lord will come in a day when we look not for him, and an hour when men are not aware. The time which men think to be the most improper and unlikely, and when therefore they are most secure, will be the time of the Lord's coming. Let us then beware how we in our thoughts and imaginations put that day far away from us; but rather suppose it to be so much nearer in reality, by how much further off it is in the opinion of the ungodly world. 3. The solemnity of this coming. (1.) The heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The visible heavens, as unable to abide when the Lord shall come in his glory, shall pass away; they shall undergo a mighty alteration, and this shall be very sudden, and with such a noise as the breaking and tumbling down of so great a fabric must necessarily occasion. (2.) The elements shall melt with fervent heat. At this coming of the Lord it shall not only be very tempestuous round about him, so that the very heavens shall pass away as in a mighty violent storm, but a fire shall go before him, that shall melt the elements of which the creatures are composed. (3.) The earth also, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. The earth, and its inhabitants, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. The earth, and its inhabitants, and all the works, whether of nature or art, shall be destroyed. The stately palaces and gardens, and all the desirable things wherein worldly-minded men seek and place their happiness, all of them shall be burnt up; all sorts of creatures which God has made, and all the works of men, must submit, all must pass through the fire, which shall be a consuming fire to all that sin has brought into the world, though it may be a refining fire to the works of God's hand, that the glass of the creation being made much brighter the saints may much better discern the glory of the Lord therein.
And now who can but observe what a difference there will be between the first coming of Christ and the second! Yet that is called the great and dreadful day of the Lord, Mal. 4:5. How much more dreadful must this coming to judgment be! May we be so wise as to prepare for it, that it may not be a day of vengeance and destruction unto us. O! what will become of us, if we set our affections on this earth, and make it our portion, seeing all these things shall be burnt up? Look out therefore, and make sure of a happiness beyond this visible world, which must all be melted down.
Verses 11-18
The apostle, having instructed them in the doctrine of Christ's second coming,
I. Takes occasion thence to exhort them to purity and godliness in their whole conversation: all the truths which are revealed in scripture should be improved for our advancement in practical godliness: this is the effect that knowledge must produce, or we are never the better for it. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. Seeing all these things must be dissolved, how holy should we be, that are assured of it, departing from and dying to sin, that has so corrupted and defiled all the visible creation that there is an absolute need of its dissolution! All that was made for man's use is subject to vanity by man's sin: and if the sin of man has brought the visible heavens, and the elements and earth, under a curse, from which they cannot be freed without being dissolved, what an abominable evil is sin, and how much to be hated by us! And, inasmuch as this dissolution is in order to their being restored to their primitive beauty and excellency, how pure and holy should we be, in order to our being fit for the new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness! It is a very exact and universal holiness that he exhorts to, not resting in any lower measure or degree, but labouring to be eminent beyond what is commonly attained—holy in God's house and in our own, holy in our worshipping of God and in our conversing with men. All our conversation, whether with high or low, rich or poor, good or bad, friends or enemies, must be holy. We must keep ourselves unspotted from the world in all our converses with it. We must be perfecting holiness in the fear of God, and in the love of God too. We must exercise ourselves unto godliness of all sorts, in all its parts, trusting in God and delighting in God only, who continues the same when the whole visible creation shall be dissolved, devoting ourselves to the service of God, and designing the glorifying and enjoyment of God, who endures for ever; whereas what worldly men delight in and follow after must all be dissolved. Those things which we now see must in a little while pass away, and be no more as they now are: let us look therefore at what shall abide and continue, which, though it be not present, is certain and not far off. This looking for the day of God is one of the directions the apostle gives us, in order to our being eminently holy and godly in all manner of conversation. "Look for the day of God as what you firmly believe shall come, and what you earnestly long for." The coming of the day of God is what every Christian must hope for and earnestly expect; for it is a day when Christ shall appear in the glory of the Father, and evidence his divinity and Godhead even to those who counted him a mere man. The first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he appeared in the form of a servant, was what the people of God earnestly waited and looked for: that coming was for the consolation of Israel, Lu. 2:25. How much more should they wait with expectation and earnestness for his second coming, which will be the day of their complete redemption, and of his most glorious manifestation! Then he shall come to be admired in his saints, and glorified in all those that believe. For though it cannot but terrify and affright the ungodly to see the visible heavens all in a flame, and the elements melting, yet the believer, whose faith is the evidence of things not seen, can rejoice in hope of more glorious heavens after these have been melted and refined by that dreadful fire which shall burn up all the dross of this visible creation. Here we must take notice, 1. What true Christians look for: new heavens and a new earth, in which a great deal more of the wisdom, power and goodness of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ will be clearly discerned than we are able to discover in what we now see; for in these new heavens and earth, freed from the vanity the former were subject to, and the sin they were polluted with, only righteousness shall dwell; this is to be the habitation of such righteous persons as do righteousness, and are free from the power and pollution of sin; all the wicked shall be turned into hell; those only who are clothed with a righteousness of Christ, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost, shall be admitted to dwell in this holy place. 2. What is the ground and foundation of this expectation and hope—the promise of God. To look for any thing which God has not promised is presumption; but if our expectations are according to the promise, both as to the things we look for and the time and way of their being brought about, we cannot meet with a disappointment; for he is faithful who has promised. "See therefore that you raise and regulate your expectations of all the great things that are to come according to the word of God; and, as to the new heaven and new earth, look for them as God has allowed and directed by the passages we have in this portion of scripture how before you, and in Isa. 65:17; 66:22, to which the apostle may be thought to allude."
II. As in v. 11 he exhorts to holiness from the consideration that the heavens and the earth shall be dissolved, so in v. 14 he resumes his exhortation from the consideration that they shall be again renewed. "Seeing you expect the day of God, when our Lord Jesus Christ will appear in his glorious majesty, and these heavens and earth shall be dissolved and melted down, and, being purified and refined, shall be erected and rebuilt, prepare to meet him. It nearly concerns you to see in what state you will be when the Judge of all the world shall come to pass sentence upon men, and to determine how it shall be with them to all eternity. This is the court of judicature whence there lies no appeal; whatever sentence is here passed by this great Judge is irreversible; therefore get ready to appear before the judgment-seat of Christ: and see to it,"
1. "That you be found of him in peace, in a state of peace and reconciliation with God through Christ, in whom alone God is reconciling the world to himself. All that are out of Christ are in a state of enmity, and reject and oppose the Lord and his anointed, and shall therefore be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power. Those whose sins are pardoned and their peace made with God are the only safe and happy people; therefore follow after peace, and that with all." (1.) Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (2.) Peace in our own consciences, through the Spirit of grace witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God. (3.) Peace with men, by having a calm and peaceable disposition wrought in us, resembling that of our blessed Lord.
2. That you be found of Christ without spot, and blameless. Follow after holiness as well as peace: and even spotless and perfect; we must not only take heed of all spots which are not the spots of God's children (this only prevents our being found of men without spot), we must be pressing towards spotless purity, absolute perfection. Christians must be perfecting holiness, that they may be not only blameless before men, but also in the sight of God; and all this deserves and needs the greatest diligence; he who does this work negligently can never do it successfully. "Never expect to be found at that day of God in peace, if you are lazy and idle in this your day, in which we must finish the work that is given us to do. It is only the diligent Christian who will be the happy Christian in the day of the Lord. Our Lord will suddenly come to us, or shortly call us to him; and would you have him find you idle?" Remember there is a curse denounced against him who does the work of the Lord negligently, Marg. Jer. 48:10. Heaven will be a sufficient recompence for all our diligence and industry; therefore let us labour and take pains in the work of the Lord; he will certainly reward us if we be diligent in the work he has allotted us; now, that you may be diligent, account the long-suffering of our Lord to be salvation. "Does your Lord delay his coming? Do not think this is to give more time to make provision for your lusts, to gratify them; it is so much space to repent and work out your salvation. It proceeds not from a want of concern or compassion for his suffering servants, nor is it designed to give countenance and encouragement to the world of the ungodly, but that men may have time to prepare for eternity. Learn then to make a right use of the patience of our Lord, who does as yet delay his coming. Follow after peace and holiness, or else his coming will be dreadful to you." And inasmuch as it is difficult to prevent men's abuse of God's patience, and engage them in the right improvement thereof, before all, reproved him, as not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel! (1.) He calls him brother, whereby he means not only that he is a fellow-christian (in which sense the word brethren is used 1 Th. 5:27), or a fellow-preacher (in which sense Paul calls Timothy the evangelist a brother, Col. 1:1), but a fellow-apostle, one who had the same extraordinary commission, immediately from Christ himself, to preach the gospel in every place, and to disciple all nations. Though many seducing teachers denied Paul's apostleship, yet Peter owns him to be an apostle. (2.) He calls him beloved; and they being both alike commissioned, and both united in the same service of the same Lord, it would have been very unseemly if they had not been united in affection to one another, for the strengthening of one another's hands, mutually desirous of, and rejoicing in, one another's success. (3.) He mentions Paul as one who had an uncommon measure of wisdom given unto him. He was a person of eminent knowledge in the mysteries of the gospel, and did neither in that nor any other qualification come behind any of all the other apostles. How desirable is it that those who preach the same gospel should treat one another according to the pattern Peter here sets them! It is surely their duty to endeavour, by proper methods, to prevent or remove all prejudices that hinder ministers' usefulness, and to beget and improve the esteem and respect in the minds of people towards their ministers that may promote the success of their labours. And let us also here observe, [1.] The excellent wisdom that was in Paul is said to be given him. The understanding and knowledge that qualify men to preach the gospel are the gift of God. We must seek for knowledge, and labour to get understanding, in hopes that it shall be given us from above, while we are diligent in using proper means to attain it. [2.] The apostle imparts to men according as he had received from God. He endeavours to lead others as far as he himself was led into the knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel. He is not an intruder into the things he had not seen or been fully assured of, and yet he does not fail to declare the whole counsel of God, Acts 20:27. [3.] The epistles which were written by the apostle of the Gentiles, and directed to those Gentiles who believed in Christ, are designed for the instruction and edification of those who from among the Jews were brought to believe in Christ; for it is generally thought that what is here alluded to is contained in the epistle to the Romans (ch. 2:4), though in all his epistles there are some things that refer to one or other of the subjects treated of in this and the foregoing chapter; and it cannot seem strange that those who were pursuing the same general design should in their epistles insist upon the same things. But the apostle Peter proceeds to tell us that in those things which are to be met with in Paul's epistles there are some things hard to be understood. Among the variety of subjects treated of in scripture, some are not easy to be understood because of their own obscurity, such are prophecies; others cannot be so easily understood because of their excellency and sublimity, as the mysterious doctrines; and others are with difficulty taken in because of the weakness of men's minds, such are the things of the Spirit of God, mentioned 1 Co. 2:14. And here the unlearned and unstable make wretched work; for they wrest and torture the scriptures, to make them speak what the Holy Ghost did not intend. Those who are not well instructed and well established in the truth are in great danger of perverting the word of God. Those who have heard and learned of the Father are best secured from misunderstanding and misapplying any part of the word of God; and, where there is a divine power to establish as well as to instruct men in divine truth, persons are effectually secured from falling into errors. How great a blessing this is we learn by observing what is the pernicious consequence of the errors that ignorant and unstable men fall into—even their own destruction. Errors in particular concerning the holiness and justice of God are the utter ruin of multitudes of men. Let us therefore earnestly pray for the Spirit of God to instruct us in the truth, that we may know it as it is in Jesus, and have our hearts established with grace, that we may stand firm and unshaken, even in the most stormy times, when others are tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine.
III. The apostle gives them a word of caution, v. 17, 18, where,
1. He intimates that the knowledge we have of these things should make us very wary and watchful, inasmuch as there is a twofold danger, v. 17. (1.) We are in great danger of being seduced, and turned away from the truth. The unlearned and unstable, and they are very numerous, do generally wrest the scripture. Many who have the scriptures and read them do not understand what they read; and too many of those who have a right understanding of the sense and meaning of the word are not established in the belief of the truth, and all these are liable to fall into error. Few attain to the knowledge and acknowledgment of doctrinal Christianity; and fewer find, so as to keep in the way of practical godliness, which is the narrow way, which only leadeth unto life. There must be a great deal of self-denial and suspicion of ourselves, and submitting to the authority of Christ Jesus our great prophet, before we can heartily receive all the truths of the gospel, and therefore we are in great danger of rejecting the truth. (2.) We are in great danger by being seduced; for, [1.] So far as we are turned from the truth so far are we turned out of the way to true blessedness, into the path which leads to destruction. If men corrupt the word of God, it tends to their own utter ruin. [2.] When men wrest the word of God, they fall into the error of the wicked, men without law, who keep to no rules, set no bounds to themselves, a sort of free-thinkers, which the psalmist detests. Ps. 119:113, I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love. Whatever opinions and thoughts of men are not conformable to the law of God, and warranted by it, the good man disclaims and abhors; they are the conceits and counsels of the ungodly, who have forsaken God's law, and, if we imbibe their opinions, we shall too soon imitate their practices. [3.] Those who are led away by error fall from their own stedfastness. They are wholly unhinged and unsettled, and know not where to rest, but are at the greatest uncertainty, like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. It nearly concerns us therefore to be upon our guard, seeing the danger is so great.
2. That we may the better avoid being led away, the apostle directs us what to do, v. 18. And, (1.) We must grow in grace. He had in the beginning of the epistle exhorted us to add one grace to another, and here he advises us to grow in all grace, in faith, and virtue, and knowledge. By how much the stronger grace is in us, by so much the more stedfast shall we be in the truth. (2.) We must grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Follow on to know the Lord. Labour to know him more clearly and more fully, to know more of Christ and to know him to better purpose, so as to be more like him and to love him better." This is the knowledge of Christ the apostle Paul reached after and desired to attain, Phil. 3:10. Such a knowledge of Christ as conforms us more to him, and endears him more to us, must needs be of great use to us, to preserve us from falling off in times of general apostasy; and those who experience this effect of the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will, upon receiving such grace from him, give thanks and praise to him, and join with our apostle in saying, To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.