Get Ready
How’s your patience? Do you spend a lot of time thinking about the future? Wondering what is going to happen and how soon? Do you worry that things will not go well? Or are you more relaxed, willing to let things happen in their own good (and Godly) time?
The Word
3This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you 2 that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. 3 First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” 5 They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, 6 through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? 13 But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Final Exhortation and Doxology
14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
16 speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. 18 But 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. NRSV
Get into the Word
1. How does Peter begin this section? What is his objective for these two letters? How does he hope to accomplish this? Who are his sources?
2. What is the first problem he warns against? What is the challenge believers will face? Why will this problem seem “reasonable”? What truth is Peter trying to convey here?
3. What does he bring next? What is the reminder here? Why is this important? Why does God “wait” as he appears to be doing? What is really going on in our world? What is the end result?
4. How should Christians respond to this situation? How should this affect our behavior? What will be the major change from our present world?
5. How does this affect the church? Who does Peter refer to for support of his advice? What must believers avoid? What happens if they don’t follow Peter and Paul’s advice? What happens if they do?
Get Personal
How is God helping you arouse your sincere intention to live the kind of life that Jesus modeled when he was on this earth? How is he helping you avoid the snares of false teaching and following your desires and live a Godly life.
Notes . . .
3:1. Second letter – evidently both letters were intended for the same group(s) of believers.
Arouse your sincere intention – other translations use “stimulate you to wholesome thinking.” Peter’s goal is to avoid the false prophets’ teaching he discussed in chapter 2.
Reminding you – or “refresh your memory” – his audience already knows the correct story about Jesus and his work on their behalf.
3:2. Holy prophets – Peter directly connects the Christians’ beliefs to the Old Testament and to his and the Apostles’ teaching.
3:3. Last days – the label the Apostles gave to the time between Jesus’ resurrection and his return at the end of time.
Scoffers – the false teachers in chapter 2. Both Jesus [Matthew 24:3-5] and Paul [1 Timothy 4:1-3, 3:1-9] also predicted them.
3:4. All things continue – the scoffers claim nothing has ever really changed so why should believers expect anything different.
3:5. Deliberately ignore – Peter uses the
Old Testament narrative of Noah again to show that God has intervened in history.
3:8. One day is like . . . – Peter is referring to Psalm 90:4, to point out that God does operate on human or earthly time.
3:9. Patient with you – in fact, God’s apparent slowness in returning actually gives humans more time to hear the Gospel and accept Christ’s forgiveness and invitation to “follow me,” [also in verse 15: Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation].
3:10. Day of the Lord – a reference to God’s judgment, Zephaniah calls it the “Day of the Lord’s wrath” [1:18].
3:11. What sort of persons – Jesus, as well as Paul and John, used the knowledge of impending judgment as a call to all believers to lead “lives of holiness and godliness,” [check Luke 12:35-40, and Romans 13:11-14].
3:15. Our beloved brother Paul – even though both men had different points of emphasis, they agreed on the key aspects of the Gospel, and their letters were circulating at the same time in the middle of the first century.
3:17. You therefore beloved – a last warning and encouragement.
Memory Verse
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day, [2 Peter 3:9]
Next Lesson
John’s Letters