a. The Certainty. Ch. 3:1-7

1 This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; 2 that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles: 3 knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, 4 and saying. Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that ^e fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; 6 by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

The return of Christ and the establishment on earth of his perfected Kingdom has been the blessed hope of the Church through all the passing centuries. In writing his First Epistle, hope was continually used by Peter as an inspiring motive for patience in suffering and for fidelity in the performance of duty. In this Second Epistle, the same truth also is so continually in mind that the two letters have commonly been called the "Epistles of Hope."

Thus as he begins this third chapter, Peter states that his purpose in writing is to remind his readers of the teachings of apostles and prophets concerning the return of Christ, and specifically of their prediction that, as the present age drew to its close, men would appear who would ridicule the very idea of a second advent: "knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?" As their appearance had been predicted thus in connection with the Lord's return, the very existence and words of such scoffers proved the truth which they attempted to deny.

It may be noted that there is a very modern accent in the two grounds on which their denial is based: first, the lapse of time since the promise was made; and second, the improbability of its fulfillment: "for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." That is to say, first, our Lord had suggested that his return might be at an early date, and now practically a generation had passed away, at least most of the early fathers of the Church were dead, and as Christ had not returned there must be some mistake about his promise or the common interpretation of his promise; he had not come, so, the scoffers concluded, he would not come.

The second objection sounds quite as familiar to-day: "all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation"; that is to say, law is uniform, miracle is impossible, the sole process in the universe is evolution, the supernatural is inconceivable; the return of Christ with its attendant circumstances is absolutely miraculous, catastrophic, supernatural; therefore it is the foolish dream of fanatics and not worthy the serious thought of men of enlightenment and culture.

This second objection Peter at once discusses; the first he meets In the next paragraph. As to the "uniformity of nature," Is it true that there has been no divine act, no "supernatural intervention?" Do not these scoffers "wilfully forget" and stubbornly neglect certain known facts? How did the world come into being, and how was the "process of evolution" begun; were these not ''by the word of God?" Or, how about the flood? was it not by this same divine Word that "the world . . . being overflowed with water, perished?" If God sent a deluge to punish a guilty world, is It not possible that Christ may appear In flaming fire to punish the ungodly and to deliver his saints?

This seems to be the argument of Peter. Of course his language is figurative. It Is certain that the flood did not destroy the heaven and the earth; of this absurd statement Peter is guilty if words must be taken literally. So when Christ comes he will not destroy the earth. Fire is a symbol of divine judgment and of purification. Just what the figures of speech imply will always be a matter of controversy and conjecture; but as to the fact of our Lord's return there need be no doubt. It is established, as Peter declares, by the words of "the holy prophets" and of "the Lord and Saviour" himself. These words must be studied with patience, and expounded with care, and defended with charity; but in days of deepest darkness they are, to men of "sincere mind" and simple faith, stars of hope, pointing to the dawn and the glorious appearing of the King.

b. The Time and Circumstances. Ch. 3:8-13

8 But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuff ering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up./ 11 Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, 12 looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shaU melt with fervent heat? 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

While the blessed hope of their Lord's return has been the stay and comfort of his followers in every age, there have always been men, even within the Church, who have ridiculed the doctrine as an idle fancy, a chimera, a dream. There were such men in the days of Peter, and he writes his Second Epistle to warn his readers against these teachers of unbelief; such teachers exist to-day, and express polite surprise that any persons could be so lacking in intelligence as to expect a literal, visible, glorious reappearing of Jesus Christ; such have been predicted to appear "in the last days," and their scoffing will make them unconscious witnesses of the fact they deride.

In the earlier verses of this chapter, Peter has indicated that such unbelief was not due to any lack of prediction on the part of Christ or of the prophets and apostles, but was due to the long delay in the fulfillment of the promises; no one who reads the New Testament questions the fact that the early Christians expected the return of the Lord, and regarded it as possible in their own day; "but," say these doubters, "the early Church was evidently mistaken; the prediction has been discredited by these ages of delay." To such Peter makes his memorable reply: "But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." That is to say, time is purely relative, and what seems a long delay to man is not long in the mind of the Eternal; to him the issues of a single day are permanent, endless; and the events of a thousand years are present, real, already passing before him.

Thus to the charge of a long delay, Peter replies, first, that men are poor judges of the length and shortness of time in which divine counsels are concerned; he replies, in the next place, that what, even in human judgment, is a long delay is occasioned by a wise and gracious purpose: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise," not unmindful, not indifferent to his word, "but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance"; if he delays his judgment, it is that men, even the readers of this epistle, may have time to repent and to accept the salvation he has provided in Jesus Christ.

In the third place, Peter states that the long delay should not make men careless or lull them into a false security, for "the day of the Lord will come as a thief." The mere fact that events seem to be taking their usual course, or have so continued for ages, is no proof that the Lord will not return. By the world the event will be unexpected; the time is always uncertain; the lack of expectation on the part of believers is a predicted sign that the coming may be near.

It is folly to "set the time" for the Lord's return, or to extort from some obscure passages of Scripture a prediction of the exact date of his coming; nevertheless there are certain events and circumstances which will serve as signs for those who are watchful. "Ye . . . are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief," wrote Paul to the Thessalonian believers. Of these circumstances Peter mentions only the physical convulsions which precede and attend the appearing of Christ. The language he employs is highly figurative and when taken literally leads to strange conclusions. He borrows his figures from the last two chapters of Isaiah and from the Eighteenth Psalm; the latter is describing a severe storm, as it declares that "the foundations of the world were laid bare"; so Peter declares, "The earth and the works that are therein shall be discovered" [margin]. Isaiah described the blessedness of the return from captivity, that was to be, for the Jews, like enjoying "new heavens and a new earth." In no case does it mean that the coming of the Lord is to destroy this earth. When Peter declares that "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up" he is merely referring to the "signs" attending the coming of Christ to which the Master himself referred when he said: "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory." "But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh." Peter is merely giving a picture of coming judgments. The issue of these convulsions, whatever their nature, is "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness"; not a new globe, for the nations of the world are pictured as still here; as in Isaiah and the two closing chapters of the Bible, the "new earth" is this same old world, purified, glorified, redeemed, and the scene of righteousness and blessedness and universal peace.

c. The Consequent Exhortations. Ch. 3:14-18

14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you; 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and for ever. Amen.

The purpose of Peter is intensely practical. He has written of the return of Christ not to arouse idle speculation or to occasion bitter disputes but to make better men and women. Two facts he makes perfectly clear: Christ will come, the result will be a reign of righteousness; but as the coming is attended with judgment, "what manner of persons" ought we to be "in all holy living and godliness," should we not be "looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God?" Thus Peter argues. We may not be able to interpret all his symbols, or to understand all that the "day of God" will contain, but the exhortations of the apostle are clear; he makes our duty plain.

Thus, as he brings the epistle to a close, Peter gives two parting injunctions: one Is to steadfastness, the other to spiritual growth. "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found In peace"; the return of Christ should not occasion restless excitement but calm confidence; "without spot and blameless In his sight," for If we are expecting the bridegroom we should keep our garments white and clean. We should remember that if he delays his coming it is to give us an opportunity to accept and to proclaim his salvation, even as Paul has written in his epistles; these epistles are inspired and to be accepted as holy Scripture, but they contain passages hard to understand which men who are ignorant of spiritual truth and eager to find an excuse for sin have misinterpreted so as to allow themselves license which is destroying their souls. We have been warned in advance of the evil influences of false teachers, and of the peril of turning from the truth; we therefore should stand firm and steadfast. We should "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This can be possible, as Peter has shown us, only by daily and diligently developing the virtues which we have seen revealed in our Lord, and by continually dwelling upon his word. "To him be the glory both now and for ever. Amen."