2 Peter 3:1-10 The Day of the Lord
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Summary of passage
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Text and Translation
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Original Context & Exegesis
A. Passage Boundaries (why are these verses grouped together in this chapter or pericope?)
B. Exegesis of passage as a whole (or verse-by-verse, if helpful).
3:1-2 Peter here states the purpose of both of his epistles, namely to strengthen and remind those reading them of what they already knew. This is still necessary today. We often don't need so much to know more as we do to remember, understand, and apply that which we already know. He also commends his readers to remember the Old Testament (words spoken before by holy prophets) as well as the gospels (commandments of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles.) He also puts Paul's writings on the same level with other Scriptures in verses 15-16 of this same chapter. These verses help to prove that the Old Testament is still useful today (which there are some who would disagree) and that Paul’s writings belong as a part of the canon of Scripture, i.e. that they are Divinely inspired.
3: 3-7 In the last days mockers will come scoffing at the notion of Christ's return and judgment. These people "willingly forget" or "are willfully ignorant" of the history of the Bible. They are, as Kent Hovind puts it, "dumb on purpose." They say that the way things are is the way they always were and always will be. They choose to ignore the fact that the world was destroyed once before by water and the world that now is has been "sentenced to death" by fire. These mockers will be sadly surprised when Christ does come in judgment. They don't believe this because they have reviewed the evidence and come to the best conclusion that they can, however. Verse 3b tells us the "why." They walk after their own lusts -- they do what they do because they want what they want. They want to pursue their own pleasures with no sense of accountability to a higher power.
3:8-9 This is not to be taken as some kind of divine equation, i.e. 1 day=1000 years and 1000 years=1 day, therefore, of course Christ hasn't returned yet, He's only been gone 2 days. The purpose of this verse is to communicate that the Lord exists outside of time and is not bound by time. He does what He wants to do when He wants to do it. His patience may cause Him to wait hundreds or even thousands of years to judge a sinful people, but ultimately His justice requires that they be judged. A delay in judgment is not a stamp of approval, but a chance for repentance granted by a loving and gracious Lord.
3:10 This gives more details to the description of the ultimate demise of this Earth that we know. Its "death sentence by fire" was first mentioned in v.7 of this chapter.
C. Literary Features--What genre is it? What literary devices (e.g, metaphor) does it use?
D. Connections to the rest of book—what purpose does this pericope serve in the bigger picture of the book?
E. Connections to the rest of Scripture--How is it referenced or alluded to elsewhere?
Jesus Christ: The Redemptive-Historical Context
A. Where is Christ and the Gospel present in this passage?
B. How does this passage point to Christ or depend on Christ? How does Christ fulfill this passage? How was it fulfilled already? How will it be fulfilled?
C. What does this passage tell us about God’s plan of redemption in Christ?
Current Context
A. What does this tell us about ourselves, our world, and the human condition?
B. What are some modern parallels to the original situation?
C. What is the call/command/invitation of this passage?
D. How does Christ & the Gospel in this passage enable us to see, think, and live differently?
Links/References/Bibliography
A. Representative sermons on the passage
B. Examples and Illustrations
C. Commentaries on this book
D. Articles on this book or passage
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