2 Peter | Practical Teaching on Coming Conditions

Session 11 | 2 Peter 3:8-14

2 Peter 3:8-10 | The Kingdom is Coming in Spite of Delay

Verse 8 --
- This oft' quoted verse is a figure of speech, it seems to me, rather than some kind of heavenly chronological standard.
- The Lord is outside of time and space and thus there is no chronological standard in His time.
Verse 9 --
- Peter considers the slowness of the kingdom promise to be longsuffering to us-ward.
- Since the recipients are scattered Jews, the us-ward would be Jewish as well.
- God's will is that **all **[Israel] should come to repentance.
Verse 10 --
- “standard thinking."
  - In Revelation 21:1, John speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, and we virtually always take this to be a post-millennial reference.
  - However, in this verse the heavens shall pass away and the earth also, but it takes place at the day of the Lord.
    - This day is referred to many times in the Hebrew Scriptures and is always a reference to what happens in conjunction with the Second Coming, and thus premillennial.
- I think this verse should cause us to question the assumptions of our standard thinking.
  - The Old Testament is very thorough in describing the day of the Lord and the beginning of the millennium as one of fire and judgment.
  - The passing away of the heavens and the earth does not preclude the establishment of the physical Kingdom, nor is the concept of the new heaven and new earth at the end of the millennium without its problems.
  - For a thorough discussion of this verse, see George N.H. Peters The Theocratic Kingdom, Vol. 2, Propositions 148-151.

2 Peter 3:11-14 | The Kingdom is Coming, So Be Prepared

Verse 11 --
- Peter gives the only reasonable question in response: **what manner *of persons ought ye to be? *Peter especially wants to focus on holy conversation and godliness.
- While he asks the question, he only gives a very brief response, and not until verse 14. It seems to be more of a question for personal reflection than for direct instruction.
Verse 12 --
- It makes sense for Peter to tell his listeners to be looking for...the coming of the day of God but why and how does he ask them to be hasting unto the coming of this day?
  - The word hastingσπεύδω [speudo], from which we get *speeding. *
  - The text literally says hasting the coming of the day of God (see marginal note, KJV).
  - But how can one do anything to speed God's timing on the Kingdom?
- I believe even Bullinger got this wrong, saying,
  - “Man can neither hinder nor advance the kingdom of God. But here the meaning is “Looking for, yes and earnestly looking for, the coming of the day of God" (The Companion Bible, note on 2 Peter 3:12). .
  - While this is true for man in this dispensation, it is not true for the nation of Israel.
  - The nation of Israel is specifically told by the Lord that there is a threefold requirement for the coming of its Kingdom:
    - Preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the world - Matthew 24:14.
    - Repent, ushering in times of refreshing - Acts 3:19.
    - Call (collectively) on Jesus as Messiah - Matthew 23:39.
- “advance the Kingdom" doctrine by believing that the Kingdom has already been established but is not yet fully established.
- Bullinger and other more literalist believers avoid this problem but seek to change the clear meaning of the words of this verse by mistakenly applying them to the believer today.
- Note that Peter uses the phrase day of God, describing it in the same terms as the **day of the Lord **in verse 10. Revelation 16:14 speaks of this day as the great day of God Almighty.
Verse 13 --
- Since Peter again speaks of that which immediatly follows the day of the Lord as the new heavens and a new earth, then we are forced by scripture into one of the following conclusions:
  - An amillennial conclusion. But this would conflict with far too many scriptures, requiring far too much allegorization.
  - A conclusion that says that Peter simply wrote in the broadest language possible concerning the millennial kingdom.
  - A conclusion that makes the new heavens and earth premillennial (or at the beginning of the millennium).
- I think the final option is worthy of consideration. Looking at Revelation 21, there are a few problems with the standard *post-millennial *interpretation. For example, Isaiah 65:17 speaks of a new heavens and a new earth but the context is clearly the beginning of the millennium. Further study is warranted.
Verse 14 - The nation of Israel looks for such things as the new heavens (v. 13). This is added indication that these new things are associated with the beginning of the Kingdom rather than the end.

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