(10) The certainty and possible nearness of Christ's coming is the basis of the preceding warning and of the exhortations which follow.
As a thief in the night.--Suddenly and without warning. The words are an echo of Matthew 24:43, a saying which St. Peter certainly heard (Mark 13:3), or possibly of 1 Thessalonians 5:2, which may easily be included in the Epistles referred to below in 2 Peter 3:16. The words "in the night" are here wanting in authority.
The heavens shall pass away.--Again an apparent reminiscence of the discourse in Matthew 24 (where comp. Matthew 24:35)--the third such reminiscence in this chapter (see preceding Note, and on 2 Peter 3:7). This repeated reproduction of words and ideas from one of the most impressive of Christ's discourses, which only St. Peter and three others seem to have heard, may fairly be added to the evidence in favour of the authenticity of the Epistle.
With a great noise.--Better, with a rushing noise. The expression occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but some such idea as that in Isaiah 34:4, Revelation 6:14, is probably indicated--not the roar of flames or the crash of ruins, but the parting and rolling up of the heavens. (Comp. Revelation 20:11.)
The elements shall melt with fervent heat.--The meaning of "elements" here is much disputed. (See Notes on the word in Galatians 4:3; Galatians 4:9.) The difficulty of supposing fire to be destroyed by fire seems to exclude the four elements being intended; moreover, the earth is mentioned separately. Hence, some take "the elements" to mean water and air, the two remaining elements; but this is not very satisfactory. More probably, the various forms of matter in the universe are intended, without any thought of indicating what they are precisely. But seeing that Justin Martyr calls the sun, moon, and stars "heavenly elements" (Apol. II. v., Trypho, xxiii.), and that in predictions of the last day frequent mention is made of "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 24:23; Joel 2:31, &c), it is possible that the heavenly bodies are meant here, all the more so, as the mention of these "elements" immediately follows that of the heavens. Bengel (perhaps with more poetry than correctness) ingeniously connects this explanation with the radical signification of the word, viz., "letters of the alphabet," "for stars in the heaven are as letters on a scroll." (Comp. Revelation 6:14.) "Shall melt" should rather be, as in the next two verses, shall be dissolved. Wiclif has "dissolved," Rheims "resolved." This dissolution is the opposite of the consistency spoken of in 2 Peter 3:5. In 2 Peter 3:12 "melt" is correct, and suits the heavenly bodies better than the four elements. (Comp. The Second Epistle of Clement, xvi. 3.)
The earth also and the works that are therein.--Equivalent to "the earth and the fulness thereof," "works" being used in a comprehensive sense for products both of nature and art. The moral work of each individual is not meant; consequently, a reference to 1 Corinthians 3:13 is misleading. The two passages have little in common, and nothing is gained by bringing in the difficulties of the other passage here. In this passage the Apostle is stating plainly and in detail what some of the Prophets of the Old Testament had set forth in general and sometimes obscure language--that a judgment by fire is in store for the world (Isaiah 66:15-16; Isaiah 66:24; Malachi 3:1-3; Malachi 4:1).
Shall be burned up.--The question of readings here is one of known difficulty. One important MS. has "shall vanish away" (James 4:14); two first-rate MSS. and other authorities have "shall be found." The later Syriac has "shall not be found," which is pretty nearly equivalent to "shall vanish away," and is sometimes given as exactly equivalent to it. "Shall be found," the reading most strongly attested, is summarily rejected by some editors as yielding no sense. The theory that it has grown out of the Latin for "shall be burned up"--eurethesetai out of exurentur--does not seem very probable. Nor is it true that it yields no sense By placing a colon at "also," and making what follows a question, we obtain--The elements shall be dissolved, the earth also: and shall the works that are therein be found? Happily, nothing of importance turns on the reading; all the variations amount practically to the same thing--that the elements, the earth, and all that is in it, shall be destroyed.
Verse 10. - But the day of the Lord will come. The word ἥξει, will come, stands emphatically at the beginning of the clause; whatever the mockers may say, whatever may happen, come certainly will the day of the Lord. "The day of the Lord" meets us often in the prophets; it is usually associated with the thought of judgment (see Isaiah 2:12; Ezekiel 13:5; Joel 1:15; Malachi 3:2). In the New Testament it signifies the second advent of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:2). As a thief in the night. The best manuscripts omit here "in the night." St. Peter is evidently echoing the Lord's words in that great prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives, which must have made such a deep impression upon the apostles. This illustration of the sudden coming of the thief is repeated not only by St. Peter here, but also by St. Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:2), and twice by St. John (Revelation 3:3 and Revelation 16:15). In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The Greek for "with a great noise (ῤοιζηδόν)" occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is one of those remarkable poetic forms which are not unfrequent in this Epistle: the noun ῤοῖζος is used of the whizzing of arrows, of the rush of wings, of the sound of mighty winds or roaring waters. It may be understood here of the crash of a falling world or of the roar of the destroying flames. The word rendered "pass away" is that used by our Lord in the prophecy just referred to (Matthew 24:35; also in Matthew 5:18 and in Luke 16:17). And the elements shall melt with fervent heat. It is uncertain whether by "the elements" (στοιχεῖα) St. Peter means the four elements (in the old and popular use of the word), or the great constituent parts of the universe, the heavenly bodies. Against the first view is the assertion that one of those elements is to be the agent of destruction. But the word rendered "melt" means "shall be dissolved" or "loosed;" and it may be, as Bishop Wordsworth says, that "St. Peter's meaning seems to be that the στοιχεῖα, elements or rudiments, of which the universe is composed and compacted, will be loosed; that is, the framework of the world will be disorganized; and this is the sense of στοιχεῖα in the LXX. (Wisd. 7:17 Wisd. 19:17) and in Hippolytus, 'Philos.,' pages 219, 318. The dissolution is contrasted with the consistency described by the word συνεστῶσα in verse 5. The heavens are reserved for fire, and will pass away with a rushing noise, and, being set on fire, will be dissolved; the elements will be on fire and melt, and he reduced to a state of confusion; the earth and the works therein will be burnt up. There does not seem, therefore, to be any cause for abandoning the common meaning of στοιχεῖα, the elemental principles of which the universe is made." On the other hand, the word στοιχεῖα is certainly used of the heavenly bodies by Justin Martyr ('Apolog.,' 2. c. 5, and 'Dial. cum Tryphon,' c. 23); and the heavenly bodies are constantly mentioned in the descriptions of the awful convulsions of the great day (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:12, etc.). The objection that the word does not bear this meaning elsewhere in Holy Scripture is of little weight, as this is the only place in which it has a physical sense. The literal translation of the clause is, "The elements, being scorched, shall be dissolved." The word for "being scorched" (καυσούμενα) occurs in the New Testament only here and in verse 12; it is used by the Greek physicians of the burning heat of fever. The verb λυθήσεται means "shall be dissolved or loosened." The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. By "the works that are therein" St. Peter seems to mean all the works both of God and of man, "opera naturae et artis" (Bengel). There is a very remarkable reading here (supported by the Sinaitic and Vatican and another uncial manuscript), εὑρεθήσεται, "shall be discovered," instead of κατακαήσεται, "shall be burned up." If we understand "the works that are therein" of man's works and actions, this reading will give a good sense (comp. 1 Corinthians 3:13, "Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is"). Or the clause may be regarded as interrogative, "Shall the earth and the works that are therein be found?" But the reading, "shall be burned up" is well supported, and suits the context best.
3:5-10 Had these scoffers considered the dreadful vengeance with which God swept away a whole world of ungodly men at once, surely they would not have scoffed at his threatening an equally terrible judgment. The heavens and the earth which now are, by the same word, it is declared, will be destroyed by fire. This is as sure to come, as the truth and the power of God can make it. Christians are here taught and established in the truth of the coming of the Lord. Though, in the account of men, there is a vast difference between one day and a thousand years, yet, in the account of God, there is no difference. All things past, present, and future, are ever before him: the delay of a thousand years cannot be so much to him, as putting off any thing for a day or for an hour is to us. If men have no knowledge or belief of the eternal God, they will be very apt to think him such as themselves. How hard is it to form any thoughts of eternity! What men count slackness, is long-suffering, and that to us-ward; it is giving more time to hisown people, 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. Settle therefore in your hearts that you shall certainly be called to give an account of all things done in the body, whether good or evil. And let a humble and diligent walking before God, and a frequent judging of yourselves, show a firm belief of the future judgment, though many live as if they were never to give any account at all. This day will come, when men are secure, and have no expectation of the day of the Lord. The stately palaces, and all the desirable things wherein wordly-minded men seek and place their happiness, shall be burned up; all sorts of creatures God has made, and all the works of men, must pass through the fire, which shall be a consuming fire to all that sin has brought into the world, though a refining fire to the works of God's hand. What will become of us, if we set our affections on this earth, and make it our portion, seeing all these things shall be burned up? Therefore make sure of happiness beyond this visible world.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,.... That is, the Lord will come in that day, which he has fixed, according to his promise, than which nothing is more certain; and he will come as a thief in the night: he will come "in the night", which may be literally understood; for as his first coming was in the night; see Luke 2:8; so perhaps his second coming may be in the night season; or figuratively, when it will be a time of great darkness; when there will be little faith in the earth, and both the wise and foolish virgins will be slumbering and sleeping; when it will be a season of great security, as it was in the days of Noah, and at the time of the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, leave out the phrase, "in the night": and the Alexandrian copy uses the emphatic article, "in the night": and he will come, "as a thief", in the dark, indiscernibly; it will not be known what hour he will come; he will come suddenly, at an unawares, when he is not expected, to the great surprise of men, and especially of the scoffers; when the following awful things will be done:
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise; not the third heaven, the seat of angels and glorified saints, and even of God himself; but the starry and airy heavens, which shall pass away, not as to their matter and substance, but as to some of their accidents and qualities, and the present use of them; and that with a great noise, like that of a violent storm, or tempest; though the Ethiopic version renders it, "without a noise"; and which is more agreeable to his coming as a thief, which is not with noise, but in as still a manner as possible; and some learned men observe, that the word signifies swiftly, as well as with a noise; and, accordingly, the Syriac version renders it "suddenly"; and the Arabic version "presently", immediately; that is, as soon as Christ shall come, immediately, at once, from his face shall the earth and heavens flee away, as John in a vision saw, Revelation 20:11;
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat: not what are commonly called the four elements, earth, air, tire, and water, the first principles of all things: the ancient philosophers distinguished between principles and elements; principles, they say (h), are neither generated, nor corrupted; "but the elements will be corrupted, or destroyed by the conflagration"; which exactly agrees with what the apostle here says: by the elements seem to be meant the host of heaven, being distinguished from the heavens, as the works of the earth are distinguished from the earth in the next clause; and design the firmament, or expanse, with the sun, moon, and stars in it, which will be purged and purified by this liquefaction by fire;
the earth also will be purged and purified from everything that is noxious, hurtful, unnecessary, and disagreeable; though the matter and substance of it will continue:
and the works that are therein shall be burnt up; all the works of nature, wicked men, cattle, trees, &c. and all the works of men, cities, towns, houses, furniture, utensils, instruments of arts of all sorts, will be burnt by a material fire, breaking out of the earth and descending from heaven, for which the present heavens and earth are reserved: this general conflagration was not only known to the Jews, but to the Heathens, to the poets, and Platonist and Stoic philosophers, who frequently (i) speak of it in plain terms. Some are of opinion that these words refer to the destruction of Jerusalem; and so the passing away of the heavens may design the removal of their church state and ordinances, Hebrews 12:26, and the melting of the elements the ceasing of the ceremonial law, called the elements of the world, Galatians 4:3, and the burning of the earth the destruction of the land of Judea, expressed in such a manner in Deuteronomy 29:23, and particularly of the temple, and the curious works in that, which were all burnt up and destroyed by fire, though Titus endeavoured to prevent it, but could not (k): which sense may be included, inasmuch as there was a promise of Christ's coming to destroy the Jewish nation, and was expected; and which destruction was a prelude of the destruction of the world, and is sometimes expressed in such like language as that is; but then this must not take place, to the exclusion of the other sense: and whereas this sense makes the words to he taken partly in a figurative, and partly in a literal way; and seeing the heavens and the earth are in the context only literally taken, the former sense is to be preferred; and to which best agrees the following use to be made of these things.
(h) Diog. Laert. l. 7. in Vita Zenonis. (i) Vid. Diog. Laert ib. & l. 9. in Vita Heraclit. & Hesych. de Philos. p. 36. Arrian. Epict. l. 3. c. 13. Phurut. de Natura Deorum, p. 39. Ovid. Metamorph, fab. 7. Min. Felix, p. 37. & Justin. Martyr. Apol. 2. p. 66. (k) Vid. Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 9, 10. & l. 7. c. 14, 16.
As a thief in the night.--Suddenly and without warning. The words are an echo of Matthew 24:43, a saying which St. Peter certainly heard (Mark 13:3), or possibly of 1 Thessalonians 5:2, which may easily be included in the Epistles referred to below in 2 Peter 3:16. The words "in the night" are here wanting in authority.
The heavens shall pass away.--Again an apparent reminiscence of the discourse in Matthew 24 (where comp. Matthew 24:35)--the third such reminiscence in this chapter (see preceding Note, and on 2 Peter 3:7). This repeated reproduction of words and ideas from one of the most impressive of Christ's discourses, which only St. Peter and three others seem to have heard, may fairly be added to the evidence in favour of the authenticity of the Epistle.
With a great noise.--Better, with a rushing noise. The expression occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but some such idea as that in Isaiah 34:4, Revelation 6:14, is probably indicated--not the roar of flames or the crash of ruins, but the parting and rolling up of the heavens. (Comp. Revelation 20:11.)
The elements shall melt with fervent heat.--The meaning of "elements" here is much disputed. (See Notes on the word in Galatians 4:3; Galatians 4:9.) The difficulty of supposing fire to be destroyed by fire seems to exclude the four elements being intended; moreover, the earth is mentioned separately. Hence, some take "the elements" to mean water and air, the two remaining elements; but this is not very satisfactory. More probably, the various forms of matter in the universe are intended, without any thought of indicating what they are precisely. But seeing that Justin Martyr calls the sun, moon, and stars "heavenly elements" (Apol. II. v., Trypho, xxiii.), and that in predictions of the last day frequent mention is made of "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 24:23; Joel 2:31, &c), it is possible that the heavenly bodies are meant here, all the more so, as the mention of these "elements" immediately follows that of the heavens. Bengel (perhaps with more poetry than correctness) ingeniously connects this explanation with the radical signification of the word, viz., "letters of the alphabet," "for stars in the heaven are as letters on a scroll." (Comp. Revelation 6:14.) "Shall melt" should rather be, as in the next two verses, shall be dissolved. Wiclif has "dissolved," Rheims "resolved." This dissolution is the opposite of the consistency spoken of in 2 Peter 3:5. In 2 Peter 3:12 "melt" is correct, and suits the heavenly bodies better than the four elements. (Comp. The Second Epistle of Clement, xvi. 3.)
The earth also and the works that are therein.--Equivalent to "the earth and the fulness thereof," "works" being used in a comprehensive sense for products both of nature and art. The moral work of each individual is not meant; consequently, a reference to 1 Corinthians 3:13 is misleading. The two passages have little in common, and nothing is gained by bringing in the difficulties of the other passage here. In this passage the Apostle is stating plainly and in detail what some of the Prophets of the Old Testament had set forth in general and sometimes obscure language--that a judgment by fire is in store for the world (Isaiah 66:15-16; Isaiah 66:24; Malachi 3:1-3; Malachi 4:1).
Shall be burned up.--The question of readings here is one of known difficulty. One important MS. has "shall vanish away" (James 4:14); two first-rate MSS. and other authorities have "shall be found." The later Syriac has "shall not be found," which is pretty nearly equivalent to "shall vanish away," and is sometimes given as exactly equivalent to it. "Shall be found," the reading most strongly attested, is summarily rejected by some editors as yielding no sense. The theory that it has grown out of the Latin for "shall be burned up"--eurethesetai out of exurentur--does not seem very probable. Nor is it true that it yields no sense By placing a colon at "also," and making what follows a question, we obtain--The elements shall be dissolved, the earth also: and shall the works that are therein be found? Happily, nothing of importance turns on the reading; all the variations amount practically to the same thing--that the elements, the earth, and all that is in it, shall be destroyed.
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise; not the third heaven, the seat of angels and glorified saints, and even of God himself; but the starry and airy heavens, which shall pass away, not as to their matter and substance, but as to some of their accidents and qualities, and the present use of them; and that with a great noise, like that of a violent storm, or tempest; though the Ethiopic version renders it, "without a noise"; and which is more agreeable to his coming as a thief, which is not with noise, but in as still a manner as possible; and some learned men observe, that the word signifies swiftly, as well as with a noise; and, accordingly, the Syriac version renders it "suddenly"; and the Arabic version "presently", immediately; that is, as soon as Christ shall come, immediately, at once, from his face shall the earth and heavens flee away, as John in a vision saw, Revelation 20:11;
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat: not what are commonly called the four elements, earth, air, tire, and water, the first principles of all things: the ancient philosophers distinguished between principles and elements; principles, they say (h), are neither generated, nor corrupted; "but the elements will be corrupted, or destroyed by the conflagration"; which exactly agrees with what the apostle here says: by the elements seem to be meant the host of heaven, being distinguished from the heavens, as the works of the earth are distinguished from the earth in the next clause; and design the firmament, or expanse, with the sun, moon, and stars in it, which will be purged and purified by this liquefaction by fire;
the earth also will be purged and purified from everything that is noxious, hurtful, unnecessary, and disagreeable; though the matter and substance of it will continue:
and the works that are therein shall be burnt up; all the works of nature, wicked men, cattle, trees, &c. and all the works of men, cities, towns, houses, furniture, utensils, instruments of arts of all sorts, will be burnt by a material fire, breaking out of the earth and descending from heaven, for which the present heavens and earth are reserved: this general conflagration was not only known to the Jews, but to the Heathens, to the poets, and Platonist and Stoic philosophers, who frequently (i) speak of it in plain terms. Some are of opinion that these words refer to the destruction of Jerusalem; and so the passing away of the heavens may design the removal of their church state and ordinances, Hebrews 12:26, and the melting of the elements the ceasing of the ceremonial law, called the elements of the world, Galatians 4:3, and the burning of the earth the destruction of the land of Judea, expressed in such a manner in Deuteronomy 29:23, and particularly of the temple, and the curious works in that, which were all burnt up and destroyed by fire, though Titus endeavoured to prevent it, but could not (k): which sense may be included, inasmuch as there was a promise of Christ's coming to destroy the Jewish nation, and was expected; and which destruction was a prelude of the destruction of the world, and is sometimes expressed in such like language as that is; but then this must not take place, to the exclusion of the other sense: and whereas this sense makes the words to he taken partly in a figurative, and partly in a literal way; and seeing the heavens and the earth are in the context only literally taken, the former sense is to be preferred; and to which best agrees the following use to be made of these things.
(h) Diog. Laert. l. 7. in Vita Zenonis. (i) Vid. Diog. Laert ib. & l. 9. in Vita Heraclit. & Hesych. de Philos. p. 36. Arrian. Epict. l. 3. c. 13. Phurut. de Natura Deorum, p. 39. Ovid. Metamorph, fab. 7. Min. Felix, p. 37. & Justin. Martyr. Apol. 2. p. 66. (k) Vid. Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 9, 10. & l. 7. c. 14, 16.