Living in Light of the Day of the Lord

2 Peter 3:11–14 (NKJV) — 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

Introduction:

Background:

Proposition: In light of Christ coming, Christians should be a certain sort of people.

Interrogative: What sort of people should we be?

I. We should be people with the right conduct (3:11)

2 Peter 3:11 (NKJV) — 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

A. The Perspective: Since all of these things be destroyed in this way

2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV) — 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Since all of these things by destroyed

In this way

As a matter of judgement

Complete destruction

B. The Objective: what manner of persons you ought to be

In Holy Conduct

1 Peter 1:15 (NKJV) — 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

2. And Godliness

2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV) — 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

2 Peter 1:6–7 (NKJV) — 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

1 Timothy 2:2 (NKJV) — 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

1 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) — 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

1 Timothy 4:7–8 (NKJV) — 7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

1 Timothy 6:3–6 (NKJV) — 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. 6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

1 Timothy 6:11 (NKJV) — 11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

2 Timothy 3:5 (NKJV) — 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Titus 1:1 (NKJV) — 1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,

2 Peter 1:3–7 (NKJV) — 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

2 Peter 3:11 (NKJV) — 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

3:11 The NIV rightly understands the participle as giving a reason believers should live in a godly way (“since everything will be destroyed in this way”). The Greek participle luomenōn is actually present tense (“being destroyed”) instead of future (“will be destroyed”). Some commentators conclude from this that the world is in the process of dissolution even now, culminating in its final destruction.82 It is more likely, however, that the NIV is correct and the present participle designates the future (cf. also Matt 26:25; Luke 1:35; John 17:20; Acts 21:2–3).83 The destruction described is total and complete, involving a burning of the present elements of the world. Any wearing down of the world now is trivial and unnoticeable in comparison, and hence the future consumption of the world is intended. The destruction Peter spoke of refers back to vv. 7 and 10. In the former verse the heavens and earth are reserved for a fire. In the latter verse we are told that the heavens will pass away and that the elements of the world will be destroyed by burning.

The destruction of the world is not relayed to satisfy curiosity. Knowing the outcome of this world should motivate believers to live a new quality of life. The Greek literally reads “in holy behaviors and godliness [godly acts]” (en hagiais anastrophais kai eusebeiais). A similar call to holy “conduct” (anastrophē) occurs in 1 Pet 1:15. The importance of godliness in 2 Peter is reflected in its use in 1:3, 6–7. From the beginning of the letter, Peter emphasized that God has given everything we need for life and godliness and that it is a prime Christian virtue that should be ardently pursued. The plural of the terms for “behavior” and “godliness” is unusual and may emphasize numerous acts of goodness. Or perhaps the plurals are used abstractly and should not be pressed. The meaning of the verse is not greatly affected in either case.

2 Peter 3:11 (2 Peter and Jude (PNTC)): 11 The apocalyptic scenario that our author has painted is not designed so that the addressees say, “Oh, yes. Now I understand what will happen.” And they turn back to whatever they were doing before hearing the teaching. Like many apocalyptic writings and all NT letters, this one (which is both) is designed with a parenetic (i.e., ethical) purpose. Our author has reminded his addressees of the truths (1:12–15; 3:1–2) because the “scoffers” are not theoretical thinkers but teachers who are “following their own desires” (3:3). Their false conception of God’s future has led them to make charges against the honor of God and to live in ways that deny “the sovereign Lord who bought them” (2:1). Likewise a proper understanding of God’s future should bring about an appropriate lifestyle. It is those implications that 2 Peter addresses here at the end of the letter, just as many NT writers do at the end of their letters.

“Since everything [or “all these things”] will be destroyed in this way” is the assumption. Our author is clearly referring to the destruction of the heavens and the elements in the previous verse. This interpretation is preferable to that of authors who refer back to 2 Pet 3:7 and see this as the destruction of the heavens and the earth, for the verb for “destroyed” does not appear in 3:7, but rather appears in the reference to the elements being destroyed (same verb) by fire. Naturally, if one sees the elements as earth, air, fire, and water, as Neyrey does, then in 3:10 one is talking about the destruction of the earth, which would be part of “all these things.” Or if, with Bauckham, one feels that 3:10 abbreviates an original Jewish apocalypse and simply fails to mention the destruction of the earth that we find in 2 Clem. 16:3, then the earth also has been destroyed. But if we understand 3:10 as we explained above and take it at face value as expressing the vision of the future that our author wishes to communicate, then “all these things” are the heavens and the elements (heavenly bodies), the destruction of which was to expose human evil and lead to “the judgment and destruction of ungodly people” (3:7) or, to give the exact expression in 3:10, to expose “the earth and everything done in it.” Naturally, such cosmic destruction would have an effect on the earth, as would the destruction of the ungodly, but that is not Peter’s focus. Instead, his focus is the positive vision of the future and what it means for the present. While that positive vision will not appear until 3:13, the practical implication appears immediately.

The practical implication is, “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.” That is, there is no reason to adjust one’s life to the values and mores of this age of the world, for this age is coming to an end. It would be like investing in a firm that was about to crash. Rather, one ought to be living now the lifestyle of the promised coming age, a lifestyle that will mark one out as a person who belongs to that age and will make the coming judgment a welcome event rather than a dreaded one. The “scoffers” are living lives run by their desires; those who look forward to the Day of the Lord ought to live lives that are “holy and godly.” That holiness does not mean religious acts, but rather a lifestyle (the word for “lives” is the term for “lifestyle” that appears thirteen times in the NT) that reflects the character of God as seen in 1 Pet 1:15–16 (cf. 1 Pet 2:12, a “good lifestyle”). Where would a member of 2 Peter’s community have found a model of such a lifestyle? In the portrayals of God in the OT for sure, but primarily in the life and teaching of Jesus. In the rough-and-tumble of the politics of first-century Palestine he showed what being merciful and slow to anger and the like looked like. Thus holiness is not abstract but concrete. And it is the opposite of the lives of the teachers our author opposes, for it reflects lives that are freed from the corruption that is in the world through various human desires (1:4). The reference to a “godly” lifestyle also carries us back to ch. 1, for this term that is common in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim 2:2; 4:7; 6:3; 2 Tim 3:5; Tit 1:1) appears in 2 Pet 1:3 (see the comment there). But what this looks like concretely is then worked out in 2 Pet 1:5–7. Both words, then, are defined in terms of concrete virtues.

The life of a follower of Jesus, then, is not to be led in fear of judgment but in hope of a new age. Fear tends to paralyze people rather than to motivate them. Thus, while our author goes to pains to refute the teachings of the “scoffers,” his focus is on the new that is coming rather than on the fearfulness of the intermediate judgment. His addressees are to be living the life of the future age no matter how dysfunctional it may seem in this age, for the structures of this age are temporary—we will likely be surprised at how quickly they collapse—and the structures of the coming age are permanent. Given the massive investment of contemporary Christians in the nationalism, materialism, and pleasure orientation of Western culture, this passage should serve as wake-up call. When the Day comes, one’s retirement fund will not be important, but rather what one has invested in the kingdom of our Sovereign Lord.

Transition:

II. We should be people with a upward focus (3:12-13)

2 Peter 3:12–13 (NKJV) — 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

A. The Focus

1. Looking for

Also in our passage

2 Peter 3:13 (NKJV) — 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

b. Active looking

Matthew 11:3 (NKJV) — 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

Luke 12:36 (NKJV) — 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.

c. Expecting

Acts 3:5 (NKJV) — 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

Illustration: Scruffy expecting mom to return home.

2. Hastening

✪ σπεύδω, Ep. inf. σπευδέμεν Od.24.324: fut. σπεύσω A.Ag.601, E.Med.153 (lyr.), Ar.Eq.926, etc.; Cret. σπευσίω SIG527.42 (iii b.c.): aor. ἕσπευσα E.Supp.161, Pl.Cri.45c, etc.; Ep. σπεῦσα Od.9.250; subj. σπεύσομεν, for -ωμεν, Il.17.121: pf. ἔσπευκα Annuario 8/9.375 (Perga, ii b.c.), Paus.7.15.11:—Med., A.Ag.151 (lyr.): fut. σπεύσομαι Il.15.402:—Pass., pf. ἔσπευσμαι, Luc.Am.33, Gal.12.895.

1. trans., set going, urge on, hasten, ταῦτα δʼ ἅμα χρὴ σπεύδειν Il.13.236; οἱ δὲ γάμον σπεύδουσιν Od.19.137, cf. Hdt.1.38; παῦσαι σπεύδων τὰ σπεύδεις ib. 206; σ. ἀθλίαν ὁδόν E.Ion1226; σ. οἱ μὲν ἴγδιν, οἱ δὲ σίλφιον, οἱ δʼ ὔξος procure quickly, get ready, Sol.39; κλίμακας E.IT1352; σπευσίω ὅτι κα δύναμαι κακὸν τᾷ πόλει SIG l.c. (in Hdt.8.46, Δημοκρίτου σπεύσαντος, an acc. must be supplied).

b. seek eagerly, strive after, μηδὲν ἄγαν σ. Thgn.335, 401; σ. βίον ἀθάνατον, μακροτέραν ἀρετάν, Pi.P.3.62, I.4(3).13(31); εὐψυχίαν ἀντʼ εὐβουλίας E.Supp.161; τὴν ἡγεμονίαν Th.5.16; χάριν E.Hec.1175; πόλεμον τέκνοις Id.HF1133.

c. promote or further zealously, press or urge on, τι τῶν φέρει φρήν A.Supp.599 (lyr.); τὸ σὸν σ. ἅμα καὶ τοὐμόν S.El.251; τὸ σὸν ἀγαθόν E.Hec.120 (lyr.); τὸ ἐφʼ ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος σ. Th.1.141; σ. ἀσπούδαστʼ ἐπὶ σοὶ δαίμων E.IT201 (lyr.); τὰ ἐναντία τῇ ἑαυτῶν ὠφελείᾳ σ. And.2.2; in arguing, σεαυτῷ τὰ ἐναντία σ. Pl.Prt.361a; σ. τοῦτο, ὅπως .. Id.Lg.687e; μὴ σπεῦδʼ ἃ μὴ δεῖ, μηδʼ ἃ δεῖ σπεύδειν μένε Men.Mon.344: c. dat., οἱ Χαιρέᾳ σπεύδοντες the partisans of Chaereas, Charito6.1: ἐς τὰ Ἑλλήνων σ. Philostr.VA5.8: folld. by a conj., εἰς τοὺς πλουσίους σπεύσω σʼ ὅπως ἂν ἐγγραφῇς Ar.Eq.926:—Med., σπευδομένα θυσίαν A.Ag.151 (lyr.):—Pass., ξυνὸν πᾶσι ἀγαθὸν σπεύδεται Hdt.7.53; ἐσπευσμέναι χρεῖαι pressing needs, Luc.Am.33.

2. c. acc. et inf., σπεύσατε .. Τεῦκρον ἐν τάχει μολεῖν urge him to come quickly, S.Aj.804; σπεῦσον .. κάπετόν τινʼ ἰδεῖν hasten to look out for .., ib. 1165 (anap.).

II. more freq. intr., press on, hasten. διὰ δρυμὰ πυκνὰ καὶ ὕλην σπεύδουσʼ Il.11.119, cf. 8.191, 23.414, Hes.Sc.228; σ. ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος with loose rein, S.OC900; δρόμῳ E.Ion1556; πεζῇ X.An.3.4.49, etc.; exert oneself, strive eagerly or anxiously, of warriors fighting, Il.4.232, cf. 8.293, etc.; of a smith at work, 18.373; of beasts of draught, 17.745; of bees working, Hes.Th.597: prov., ὅταν σπεύδῃ τις αὐτὸς χὠ θεὸς συνάπτεται A.Pers.742 (troch.); σπεῦδε βραδέως festina lente, Gell.10.11.5; σ. τινί exert oneself for another, Alex.309:—Construct.,

1. c. part., σπεῦσε πονησάμενος τὰ ἃ ἔργα (for σπουδαίως ἐπονήσατο) Od.9.250, cf. S.El.935, E.Med.761 (anap.), Ar.Ach.179: reversely, σπεύδων in haste, eagerly, τὼ δὲ σπεύδοντε πετέσθην Il.23.506; ἵκετο σπεύδων Pi.P.4.95; εἰς ἀρθμὸν ἐμοὶ .. σπεύδων σπεύδοντί ποθʼ ἥξει A.Pr.193 (anap.); σ. ἐβοήθει X.HG4.3.1.

2. c. inf. to be eager to .., Hes Op.22, 673, Pi.O.4.11(14), N.9.21, A.Ag.601, Hdt.8.41; σῴζειν θέλοντας ἄνδρα γʼ ὃς σπεύδῃ θανεῖν S.Aj.812:—Med., σπευδομένα ἀφελεῖν A.Eu.360 (lyr.).

3. c. acc. et inf., to be anxious that .., εἰρήνην ἑωυτοῖσι γενέ σθαι Hdt.1.74; ἔσπευδεν εἶναι μὴ μάχας Ar.Pax672, cf. Pl.Prt.361a; τὸ λεκτικοὺς γίγνεσθαι τοὺς συνόντας οὐκ ἔσπ. X.Mem.4.3.1: also ἔσπευσεν τοῦ διατηρηθῆναι τὴν εὐφημίαν αὐτοῖς IG22.1028.83.

4. folld. by ὡς, ὅπως, etc., σ. ὡς Ζεὺς μήποτʼ ἄρξειεν A.Pr.205; σ. ὅπως μὴ .. Pl.Grg.480b; ἵνα .., ἵνα μὴ .., Id.Plt.264a, Isoc.4.164; ὥστε μή, cf. inf., Thphr.Od.57.

5. folld. by a Prep., σ. μάχην ἐς show eagerness for .., Il.4.225 (Med., σπεύσομαι εἰς Ἀχιλῆα, ἵνα .. hasten, 15.402); εἰς ἄφενος σπεύδειν Hes.Op.24; εἰς ἀρετήν Thgn.403; ἐς θαλάμους E.Hipp.182 (anap.); ἐς τὰ πράγματα Id.Ion599, etc.; εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ ἡμῖν X.Cyr.1.3.4; δώματος εἴσω E.Med.100 (anap.); ἐπί τι Lycurg.57; περὶ Πατρόκλοιο θανόντος struggle for him, Il.17.121; ὑπέρ τινος IG12(9).903 (Chalcis, ii b.c.); πρός τινα Ar.V.1026, etc.; also σ. ὁδόν IG14.1729.

6. with Adv., σ. οἷ θέλεις S.Tr.334; δεῦρο Ar.Ach.179; ἔνθα X.An.4.8.14, etc.

7. to be troubled in mind, harassed, LxxEx.15.15, 1Ki.28.21, al. (Cf. σπουδή, σπούδαξ, Lith. spáudžiu ‘press’.)

2 Maccabees 7:14 (KJV Apoc) — 14 So when he was ready to die he said thus, It is good, being put to death by men, to look for hope from God to be raised up again by him: as for thee, thou shalt have no resurrection to life.

2 Maccabees 12:44 (KJV Apoc) — 44 For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead.

Acts 3:19–21 (NKJV) — 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

Divine sovereignty is not threatened, for God himself foreknows what his people will do.89 Indeed, he even foreordains what we will do (e.g., Prov 16:33; Isa 46:9–11; Lam 3:37–38; Eph 1:11).

Proverbs 16:33 (NKJV) — 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.

Isaiah 46:9–11 (NKJV) — 9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.

Lamentations 3:37–38 (NKJV) — 37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed?

Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV) — 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

B. The Destruction - 12 b

Because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire

An eschatological hope is signified by the term elsewhere (Matt 11:3; Luke 7:29–30; cf. 2 Mac 7:14; 12:44).

2. and the elements will melt with fervent heat

Isaiah 63:18–64:1 (NKJV) — 18 Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. 19 We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, Those who were never called by Your name. 1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence—

Micah 1:4 (NKJV) — 4 The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.

Isaiah 34:4 (NKJV) — 4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

3:12 The focus on the future continues. Godly lives are related to and grounded in eschatology. Those who disregard the future cosmos will not live well in the present one. Hence, believers live in a way that pleases God as they “look forward to” (prosdokōntos) and “speed” (speudontos) the coming of God’s day. The term “look forward to” (prosdokaō) occurs three times in the space of three verses (3:12–14), designating the eager expectation believers should have for the coming of Christ and the fulfillment of God’s future promises. An eschatological hope is signified by the term elsewhere (Matt 11:3; Luke 7:29–30; cf. 2 Mac 7:14; 12:44). We are surprised to see Peter speak of the coming of “the day of God,” since that expression is unusual in the New Testament (Rev 16:14; cf. Jer 46:10). The word “coming” (parousia) in 1:16 and 3:4 refers to the coming of Christ, but the day of God refers to the day of the Father, not the Son. Nonetheless, the coming of God’s day is inseparable from the future coming of Christ. When Christ comes, the day of God will commence, this world will be destroyed, and a new one will be instituted. Peter therefore continued to direct his readers to the coming of Christ.

We may be surprised to see that Peter spoke of hastening the day of God.84 Some understand this to say that we should be diligent to prepare for the day,85 but this is not the most natural sense of the verb (cf. Luke 2:16; 19:5–6; Acts 20:16; 22:18). Peter clearly taught that believers can advance or hasten the arrival of God’s day by living godly lives.86 We think here of the prayer, “Your kingdom come” (Matt 6:10). Surely the idea is that our prayer has some impact on when the kingdom arrives. Such an idea was current in Judaism as well, for some rabbis taught that God would fulfill his promises if Israel would repent (cf. b. Sanh. 98a).87 Acts 3:19–21 appears to teach a similar idea.88 God would send his Christ and restore all things if Israel repented fully. But does not such an idea threaten divine sovereignty, his control over history? Was Peter suggesting that God himself does not know when the end will be, since he does not know if his people will live in a godly way? We can dismiss the idea that the future is obscured from God, for if that were true, how could we know that history would ever end? After two thousand years of history, how could we be sure that Christians would ever live righteously enough to bring about God’s day? Divine sovereignty is not threatened, for God himself foreknows what his people will do.89 Indeed, he even foreordains what we will do (e.g., Prov 16:33; Isa 46:9–11; Lam 3:37–38; Eph 1:11). Nevertheless, such teaching must never cancel out the call to live godly lives and the teaching that our prayers and godliness can speed his coming. We must not fall prey to rationalism that either squeezes out divine sovereignty or ignores human responsibility. Both of these must be held in tension, and here the accent falls on what human beings can do to hasten the day of God.

Peter returned to what will occur when God’s day arrives. Literally he said that “the heavens will be destroyed by burning.”90 In v. 7 the heavens are said to be reserved for fire; and in v. 10, that they will pass away with a roar. We argued in the latter case that the roar designated a crackling fire, and so what v. 12 says coheres with v. 10. The heavens will be destroyed by a great conflagration. The elements of the world (earth, air, fire, and water—as we argued in v. 10) “will melt in the heat.” The description is quite similar to v. 10, where the elements are predicted to be destroyed by burning. The verb “melt” (tēketai) is in the present tense in Greek, but it surely describes a future event. Isaiah 63:19–64:1 (LXX) portrays the mountains melting when the Lord manifests himself (cf. Mic 1:4). An interesting parallel emerges in Isa 34:4, “All the powers of the heavens will melt” (takesontai pasai hai dynameis tōn ouranon).91 The command to live holy lives in the middle of v. 11 is framed on each side by the assertion that the present world will be destroyed by fire. The false teachers had badly miscalculated. Unfortunately, they had made the kind of mistake in which they would know they were wrong only when it was too late.

12 Since followers of Jesus are looking forward to that future age, they want the “day of God” to come soon. Despite the fact that our human experience of time is not God’s experience of time (3:8), our author does not imply that his addressees will not be alive at the Parousia. He is not talking about “Parousia delay” in the sense that he has given up the expectation of experiencing the Parousia but in the sense that the “scoffers” are charging that the waiting has been long enough that it indicates that the event will not happen, a charge that he felt he needed to answer. When it comes to this expectation, Jude talked about waiting for “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 21), while our author talks about “waiting for” or “looking forward to”57 “the day of God” (or, more exactly, “waiting for the coming of the day of God”). (2 Pet 3:10 has called this “the day of the Lord,” and here it is called “the day of God,” so it looks as if “the Lord” in the previous part of the chapter is God rather than Jesus, although in practice it makes little difference. What is clear is that “the day of the Lord” and the “day of God” refer to the same eschatological event, which is also spoken of as the “coming” or “Parousia” of Christ [2 Pet 1:16; 3:4].) This overlapping terminology should make us extremely cautious in trying to separate these terms or in applying them to separate events. For our author they apply to a single event that we are to await.) This “waiting for” or “looking forward to” is the stance of the whole end of the letter, for the verb is repeated in 3:13 and 3:14. The connection of this verb to eschatological hope is common in the NT, for the question of whom one is waiting for comes up in Matt 11:3 (par. Luke 7:19; cf. Luke 3:15) and future expectation (or the danger of a lack of it) in Matt 24:50 (par. Luke 12:46). As seen in the teaching of Jesus, this expectation also has the sense of being prepared for the Day. There is a moral side to waiting; it is not merely an intellectual stance. It is, in fact, very similar to the idea of “watching” (often in the teaching of Jesus, and of course also in the letters, and translated “be alert” in 1 Pet 5:8 and a number of other places in the NT). This fits with the likely origin of this idea of waiting, that is, Hab 2:3, “Though [the revelation] linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”58

But one does not simply “look forward to” or “await” or “watch” passively. The structure of our passage parallels two stances: “looking forward to the coming of the day of God” and “speeding the coming of the day of God” (both verbs parallel participles in Greek). This later phrase indicates that the “day of God”59 is not a fixed date but something that believers can change by their “holy and godly lives.” This idea is based on God’s hasting a day in Isa 60:22 (“in its time I will accomplish it quickly”). This was picked up by a number of Second Temple Jewish authors (Sir 36:10: “hasten the day and remember the appointed time”; NRSV [36:7, LXX]; 2 Apoc. Bar. 20:1–2; 54:1; 83:1; Pseudo-Philo, Bib. Ant. 19.13) as well as some early Christian writers (e.g., Barn. 4:3). Now these references, for the most part, refer to God’s hastening the day, not to human beings doing it, but, as we saw above when commenting on 2 Pet 3:9, there was a Jewish tradition (we cited b. Sanhedrin 97b–98a) in which God hastens or delays the day due to Israel’s repentance or lack thereof. Various other rabbis were said to express similar views in y. Taʿanit 1:1; b. Yoma 86b; or b. Baba Bathra 10a. In other words, in the first couple of centuries after Jesus such sentiments are attributed to more than one rabbi.

That this idea was not a later development is shown in Acts 3:19–20, which ties repentance to the return of Christ (“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ”). It is also found in 2 Clem. 12:6 (“When you do these things [i.e. good deeds, forsaking hypocrisy, sexual purity],” he says, “the kingdom of my Father will come”). A related idea is found at the end of the first century in Hermas, Sim. 10:4:4 (or ch. 114:4 in Ehrman’s numbering). Thus we see that our author is following a solid Jewish tradition, including one found in the early Jesus movement, in declaring that the coming (Greek parousia) of the Day of God is not a fixed date, but that under the sovereignty of God and due to his mercy (mentioned earlier in our chapter) it can be sped up (or, conversely, slowed down) by the behavior of the followers of Jesus. Thus an exhortation to hasten that day was appropriate then (and continues to be appropriate now).

Having exhorted his addressees to hasten that day, our author goes on to repeat what he said in 2 Pet 3:10, namely, that because of that Day60 there will be “the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements [i.e., the planets and other heavenly bodies, as argued in the exegesis of 3:10] will melt in the heat.” While this picture does not differ significantly from that found in 3:10 (which is, as we argued, dependent on Isa 34:4), the term for melting is new (and unique in the NT), but has been used previously in the Greek OT for God’s melting of the heavens in Isa 34:4 (in some manuscripts) and the mountains in Isa 63:19–64:1. The picture is picked up in T. Levi 4:1 and later in 2 Clem. 16:3. The apocalyptic day will destroy business as usual on this earth. The heavenly powers (perhaps viewed as those determining the evil going on on the earth or perhaps viewed as covering the evil going on on earth) will be stripped away so that true justice and a new order can come.

C. The Hope - 13

1. Nevertheless we

2. According to His promise

3. Look for new heavens and a new earth

Isaiah 65:17 (NKJV) — 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Isaiah 66:22 (NKJV) — 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.

The promise of a new heavens and new earth reaches back to Isaiah (65:17; 66:22), and often in postbiblical literature writers reflect on the new creation that God will institute (Jub. 1:29; 1 Enoch 45:4–5; 72:1; 91:16; Sib. Or. 5:211–213; 2 Apoc. Bar. 32:6; 44:12; 57:2; 4 Ezra 7:25).

Revelation 21:1–22:5 (NKJV) — 1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” 9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. 1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

4. In which righteousness dwells

Isaiah 32:16–20 (NKJV) — 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. 18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, 19 Though hail comes down on the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation. 20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.

3:13 Believers, of course, are not merely waiting for the destruction of the present world. Such destruction, however, is crucial because it is bound up with the judgment of the ungodly (3:7). Nevertheless, if the future offered only destruction, believers would be miserable indeed. The day of God, the day of the Lord (i.e., the coming of Christ) involves both judgment and salvation. This salvation is not merely spiritual, an ethereal out-of-body experience with God. God promises a new world for believers, a transformed world, a new heavens and a new earth. Hence, the Petrine view should be distinguished from Stoicism that does not look forward to a new world.92 The word “promise” was important for Peter, focusing especially on the coming of Christ (3:4, 9; cf. also 1:4). The coming of Christ is inseparable from the arrival of the day of God and the new heavens and new earth. The promise of a new heavens and new earth reaches back to Isaiah (65:17; 66:22), and often in postbiblical literature writers reflect on the new creation that God will institute (Jub. 1:29; 1 Enoch 45:4–5; 72:1; 91:16; Sib. Or. 5:211–213; 2 Apoc. Bar. 32:6; 44:12; 57:2; 4 Ezra 7:25). In Peter, therefore, we see two themes juxtaposed. On one hand, the old world will be destroyed, and on the other, there will be a new heavens and new earth—a new universe created by God. Revelation teaches us that the new heavens and new earth will become a reality with the coming of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:1–22:5). At the same time we are told that “every island fled away and the mountains could not be found” (Rev 16:20). And, “Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them” (Rev 20:11). The first verse of Revelation 21 brings both themes together, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (Rev 21:1; cf. Matt 19:28).93 Did Peter teach that the old heavens and earth will be annihilated and that God will create something brand new?94 Or is the idea that God will purify the old world and create out of the same elements a new one?95 It is difficult to be sure, and we would do well to be cautious in postulating how God will fulfill his promises. Thiede points out that the debate is a very old one, with Justin Martyr and Minucius Felix endorsing annihilation, whereas Irenaeus and Origen argued for purification and renovation.96 In either case, it seems that we can fairly say that the future world is physical, that a new universe will be born. Believers “are looking forward” (prosdokōmen) to this world, to the day of God (3:12), to the fulfillment of God’s promises.

In that future world righteousness will dwell (cf. Isa 32:16, LXX).97 The righteousness here is God’s righteousness (cf. 1:1), which fills the future world with his glory and beauty. And Peter had clarified throughout the letter that only the righteous will participate in that world. The antinomian teachers will be excluded, as will all their disciples. Only those who heeded Peter’s message will inherit the promises and enjoy the new world. We should remind ourselves that no notion of works righteousness is involved here, for as Peter had already taught (1:3–4), those who live righteously have been transformed by God himself. They do what is right as a consequence of God’s gracious work in their lives.

2 Peter 3:13 (2 Peter and Jude (PNTC)): Clearly, then, investing in this age is investing in something without a future. The future is the Day of God, and what stretches out beyond that Day. Thus the text puts into the emphatic position “new heavens and a new earth,” then adds that we are to expect them “according to his promise,” and finally, almost as an afterthought (after all, it could hardly be otherwise if God has fulfilled his promises), “the home of righteousness” (or “where righteousness dwells”).

The point is that God’s goal and the topic of this text are not primarily the destruction of evil. The issue that the “scoffers” are raising in 3:4 and that our author returns to in 3:9 is God’s promises. His promise to the followers of Jesus is not simply that he will remove evil, but that he will reward and honor them (even make them partakers of the divine nature; 2 Pet 1:4). It is in essence a positive promise, for which the removal of evil is a necessary preliminary.

The actual promise of the new heaven and earth comes from Isa 65:17 (“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind”) and 66:22 (“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure”). The need for a renewal of creation was often reflected on in Second Temple Jewish literature. This literature uses the language of “renewal” of creation rather than “new heavens and new earth,” although some of the descriptions indicate a renewal as extreme as that in the time of Noah. Such an expectation is not surprising, for while the Jews never saw creation itself as problematic—indeed, they could hardly conceive of life without some type of creation—they did realize that evil had so penetrated it that radical renewal was necessary, especially when it came to human beings. Romans picks up this need, stating in Rom 8:21 that “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Salvation is for all of creation, according to Paul. Many commentators think that this renewal is what Jesus is speaking about when he speaks of “the renewal of all things” (or “the rebirth”/“regeneration”) in Matt 19:28. But it is Revelation that uses the terminology found in Isaiah and 2 Peter, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (Rev 21:1). John’s symbolic presentation is stating that the forces of chaos (i.e., the sea in OT thought) have been decisively defeated and the heavens and earth have been decisively renewed (in Revelation there are powers of evil in the heavens as well as on earth, e.g., in Revelation 12). The picture is that of a new city (as opposed to the evil cities of Genesis and, for that matter, the rest of Revelation), which is symbolically presented as the holy of holies (i.e., cubical), a new Garden of Eden with a new river and the tree of life, which is now freely available. In other words, eschatology returns to protology, but this time there will be no fall. The plan of God in Genesis comes to fulfillment in Revelation: humanity rules the fruitful earth in full communion with God.

Now we do not know how much of this picture of Revelation our author is aware of, but he is clearly aware of the essential elements. The earth will be renewed. The renewed heavens and earth will be “the home of righteousness” or “the place where righteousness is at home” or “the place where righteousness dwells.” The point is that this renewed creation is not a place where God’s will is occasionally done (as in the unrenewed creation) or a place where God’s will is done in subversive groups (as in the Jesus movement), but a place where God’s will rules, that is, is totally at home. Remember that the teachers 2 Peter opposes do not live righteously—they deny the Lord who bought them by disobeying his teaching. Such people will have no place in this new age of the universe. Instead, it will be the addressees of the letter, who are exhorted to live and assumed to be living “holy and godly lives” who will be at home there, as their present dysfunctional (in terms of the culture around them) lifestyle shows.

Our author points out that it is this renewed creation to which followers of Jesus are looking forward. The problem contemporary followers of Jesus have is not that they are looking forward too much to the future world, but that they are not looking forward enough to it. We tend to conform our lifestyles to this present age, trying to live functionally with respect to it, which is short-sighted since this age is passing away. Instead, 2 Peter exhorts us to have our eyes fixed on the coming age and to let that age determine our present lifestyle. It is to that topic that he turns in the final encouragement of his letter.

Transition: Because the new heaven and earth is characterized by righteousness, our goal should be righteousness.

III. We should be people with a clear objective (13:14)

2 Peter 3:14 (NKJV) — 14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

A. The Focus: Looking forward to these things

B. Be diligent to be found by Him in peace

1. Be Diligent

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) — 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 4:9 (NKJV) — 9 Be diligent to come to me quickly;

Hebrews 4:11 (NKJV) — 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

2 Peter 1:10 (NKJV) — 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

2. To be found by Him

1 Peter 1:6–8 (NKJV) — 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

C. Peace

1. Without spot

2. Blameless

Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) — 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

Ephesians 5:27 (NKJV) — 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Philippians 2:15 (NKJV) — 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Colossians 1:22 (NKJV) — 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

Jude 24 (NKJV) — 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

Revelation 14:5 (NKJV) — 5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

3:14 The arrival of the new heavens and new earth is the hope of believers, awaited eagerly (prosdokaō) by all who truly know God. Then God’s righteousness will be all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:28). Verse 14 is stitched to v. 13 by the repetition of the verb “looking forward” (prosdokaō). It is the new heavens and earth that believers long for, the realization of God’s righteousness. The false teachers, of course, repudiated the very idea of such a future world. Once again, as in vv. 11–13, the eschatological future becomes the basis for ethical exhortation. Indeed, the exhortation in v. 14 restates in different terms the summons to a godly life in v. 11, and in both instances the exhortation flows from God’s promise that the present world will be destroyed and a new world is coming. The teachers’ libertine lifestyle and ethic was inseparable from their eschatology. They rejected the future coming of Christ and therefore lived however they pleased. Peter realized that he must convince his readers of Christ’s coming if they were going to live in a way that pleases God. Peter’s argument is not pragmatic. That is, he did not invent the idea of a future judgment to foster ethical living now. On the contrary, the day of the Lord, consisting of both judgment and salvation, was bedrock reality for him. On the basis of this reality, believers are exhorted to godliness.

As we come to the end of the letter, many themes from its beginning reappear. Here Peter summoned his readers to diligence—“make every effort” (spoudasate) in light of the destruction and renovation of the heavens and earth. We are reminded of 1:5, where believers are to apply “all diligence” (NASB, spoudēn pasan) in pursuing the virtues detailed in 1:5–7. And in 1:10 Peter said, “Be all the more diligent [spoudasate] to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (NASB). In this instance the verb is the exact form that we find in 1:10. Nor has the subject changed. Diligently pursuing godly virtues is necessary for the final reward, that is, eternal life in 1:5–11. Similarly, in 3:14 diligence in godliness is requisite for enjoying the new heavens and new earth. In this verse diligence is to be exercised to live a “spotless and blameless” life before God. The words “spotless” (aspiloi) and “blameless” (amōmētoi) contrast with the opponents, who were “blots” (spiloi) and “blemishes” (mōmoi) in the church (2:13).98 When we examine texts where a similar idea is found (Eph 1:4; 5:27; Phil 2:15; Col 1:22; Jude 24; Rev 14:5), it is apparent that being “spotless and blameless” is necessary for eternal life. We should not confuse this, then, with moral perfection, at least in this life. The New Testament does teach, however, that those who belong to God’s people will live godly lives and that they will be perfected on the last day. The false teachers, in other words, will not be saved on the last day since their blemished lives will condemn them. Indeed, the terminology “be found” (eurethēnai) is judicial, anticipating the judgment before God (see esp. 2 Pet 3:10; cf. 1 Cor 4:2; 15:15; Gal 2:17; Phil 3:9; 1 Pet 1:7; Rev 5:4). Hence, there is little doubt that believers need to be “spotless and blameless” to be saved. Evangelicals are disposed to emphasize at this point the imputed righteousness of Christ as the basis of our righteousness, and, of course, Christ’s righteousness is the basis for all our righteousness. We should simply observe, however, that this is not what Peter emphasized here. In this context spotless and blameless behavior of believers is required to inherit the eternal reward. Thereby we will “be found” to be “at peace with him.” Peace (eirēnē) designates being right with God, entering into his presence with joy rather than experiencing his wrath.99

14 Our author signals the letter body closing with an inferential conjunction (“so then” or “wherefore”) and the repetition of the noun of address (“dear friends” or “beloved”). A similar pairing of conjunction and noun of address in 3:17 will indicate that the body closing is finished and the letter closing is beginning.

The “so then” refers back to the situation described in the previous section, that is, the end of the second age of the world and the beginning of the third, the new heavens and new earth. This is made clear by the participial phrase “since you are looking forward to this.” They are expecting something, and this has consequences for their present behavior, just as brides and grooms approaching their wedding are already changing their financial, social, and other behavior in the light of what they are expecting.

These addressees are exhorted to “make every effort” to be prepared for the new age. The idea of making every effort has already appeared twice in 2 Peter, first with respect to them in 1:10 (“be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure”) and then as a commitment of Peter in 1:15 (“I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things”). It is the former reference that is relevant here, for holiness is how they make their calling and election sure. Such effort is not foreign to the rest of the NT, for the verb occurs in ethical exhortation in Eph 4:3; 2 Tim 2:15; and Heb 4:11. The appropriate lifestyle of a follower of Jesus does not just happen; it requires effort, especially since the forces of the surrounding culture will attempt to make apprentices of Jesus adjust their behavior back to that of the majority culture.

The effort is directed toward behavior that follows the directives of Jesus, here described in terms of purity: “spotless, blameless.” Both terms in this word pair come from sacrificial language and are thus metaphorical. In fact, the word pair is probably expressing a single idea, not two ideas (i.e., we have a metonymy). In the OT it is only pure animals, that is, “unblemished,” that are appropriate for sacrifice. For instance, in the Greek OT our second term, “blameless”/“unblemished,” is applied to a bull and two rams in Exod 29:1 and two lambs in Exod 29:38 (see also Lev 1:3, 10; 3:1; and many similar passages in the OT). The animal is to be whole or perfect in every way. The best animals are to be offered to YHWH. Likewise, in 1 Macc 4:42 the priest who offers the animals is to be whole or entire, both in the sense that he is a faithful follower of the law (which is the probable idea in 1 Macc 4:42) and in the sense that he is physically whole (Lev 21:17–24).1 In the NT this metaphorical language is applied to Christ in 1 Pet 2:19, where he is viewed as “a lamb without blemish or defect.” (Heb 9:14 has a similar use of our second term alone.) Normally, however, the terms are used without explicit sacrificial imagery for moral uprightness,2 as in 1 Tim 6:14; Jas 1:27 (for our first term) and Eph 1:4; Phil 2:15; Col 1:22; Rev 14:5 (for our second term). In most of these passages our terms appear paired with other synonyms or near synonyms, including the term “holy.” The particular use here in 2 Peter is likely influenced by Jude 24 (“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy”), where a form of our second term appears.

The point our author is making is that purity in the eyes of the Lord (which is not limited to sexual purity, as it often is in contemporary usage) is something to make every effort to gain. It alone has lasting value. It is the lack of this purity that marks the lives of the teachers our author opposes. And this lack of purity will condemn them to destruction since purity is the natural result of submission to Jesus as Lord. Thus, if we need to spend time in spiritual disciplines, perhaps under the direction of a spiritual director, join a recovery group to seek release from compulsive actions, spend time in counseling, or take some other appropriate action to gain this purity, it is well worth the effort. Indeed, the rest of our life may be vitiated without such effort.

Moving on in our passage, we ask, “How does ‘at peace’ relate to this purity?” Two basic ways of translating this verse bring out the possible relationships. The one, followed by the NIV, relates “at peace” to “him” (i.e., “our Lord,” as the next verse makes clear), and the “spotless and blameless” are either parts of a three-adjective series (as in the NIV),3 or they expand on the idea of being “at peace with him.”4 The second, as seen in the ASV (“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”) relates “spotless and blameless” to “him” and takes “at peace” as a further characteristic of the community.5

In our view it is this latter interpretation that fits best into the passage. In 2 Pet 3:10 the “fire” will strip off the heavens, and the stars and planets in them, so that “the earth and the works in her will be found/discovered” (to give our own rather wooden translation), presumably by God or the Lord. Here in our passage we have the other side of the coin, that true followers of Jesus (i.e., the addressees of the letter) are “to be found/discovered by him spotless and without (moral) blemish.” Those scoffers who ignore the Lord’s Parousia will have their character and works exposed with appropriate consequences, but so will those true followers of Jesus have theirs exposed, also with appropriate consequences. Here in 3:14 we have the flip side of 3:10. This fits with (1) the normal meaning of the verb for finding/discovering, (2) the contrast of the “scoffers” or false teachers with the addressees, and (3) the usual eschatological sense of the “spotless” and “without blemish” metaphors (i.e., in most of the passages this moral state is determined only at the coming of Christ). Finally, it seems the most natural way of reading the Greek word order.6

But what about the phrase at the end of the verse, “in peace”? Neyrey relates this to the Hebrew shalom in its Semitic root meaning of “complete” or “whole” and thus as a restatement of “spotless and unblemished” in their moral meaning.7 Bauckham suggests that this is “the state of reconciliation with God which is Christian salvation.”8 Both of these interpretations are possible since in 2 Pet 1:2 it does occur in the stylized greeting that wishes grace and peace (shalom) upon the addresses from God (cf. 1 Pet 1:2). But given that the type of issues mentioned in this book could disturb the community and that the references to scoffers and false teachers could leave them hunting for such people and thus damaging the solidarity of the community, one suspects that this add-on phrase is a reference to being at peace in the community, which is a significant Christian virtue (e.g., 1 Pet 3:11; Jas 3:18). In that case peace is not to be taken with “in him” but as a separate thought added to the sentence.

Concluding Applications: