IV. ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE. St. Peter addresses his letter to those who have obtained the like precious faith with himself. He strikes at once the key-note of the Epistle, the foll knowledge of God. He dwells, as in the First Epistle, on the blessings and the high privileges of the Christian life, and urges his readers, in the strength of God's promises and of fellowship with God, to bring in all diligence; they must go on from grace to grace-beginning with faith, they must go on to charity. Such continual progress is necessary for the attain- ment of full knowledge; without it men are blind, forgetting that they once were cleansed. Therefore they must be diligent to make their calling and election sure by holiness of life. The apostle will not be negligent to keep them in remembrance of what they knew already. For his end would be swift; he would have no time for death-bed admonitions; he wished, there- fore, now to say all that was necessary. He had the sure knowledge of an eye-witness; he had seen the glory of the Transfiguration, and had heard the attesting voice which came from heaven. And this was not the only evidence of the certain truth of St. Peter's message ; there was also the word of prophecy, to which Christians should give heed, for it came from God through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Ch. ii. But as there had been false prophets of old, so there would be false teachers now, who would even deny the Lord that bought them, bring- ing in heresies of destruction, leading many astray, seeking their own gain. They would bring upon themselves swift destruction, as did the angels that sinned, and the contemporaries of Noah, and the cities of the plain. Then the faithful few were saved ; so now the Lord will punish the wicked and deliver the godly. The characteristics of these false teachers are their impurity, their presumption, their railing, their covetousness. They are like Balaam in these things; they promise, but do not perform ; they talk loudly of liberty, but they are slaves themselves. Whatever knowledge they may once have possessed makes their guilt the greater; their latter end is worse than the beginning; they exemplify the old proverb, and return, like unclean animals, to their uncleanness. Cb. iii. Therefore the apostle writes a second Epistle, urging his readers to keep in remembrance the warnings of the prophets and apostles. There would be mockers who would scoff at the delay of the Lord's coming. Let them remember that by the Word of the Lord was the world made; by that Word it would be dissolved. Let them remember that the world had once perished by water; it would be destroyed by fire. " One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The delay of the judgment comes, not from slackness, but from the Lord's long-suffering mercy. He gives us time for repent11,nce. But the day of the Lord will come, and that suddenly, nnd with tremendous portents. Therefore they must prepare to meet their God. We have the promise of new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness; therefore, we should diligently xn INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER.
prepare ourselves for that new home. St. Panl had taught tbe same things ; bnt there were some things hard to be understood in his Epistles, 11s in other Scriptures. The apostle ends by urging his readers to be on their guard and preserve their steadfastness, bidding them, as he did at the beginning of the Epistle, to grow in grace and knowledge.
V. CoMMENTARms. Those mentioned in the Introduction to the First Epistle. It may be added that, while the authenticity of this Epistle has been denied, not only by Baur, Schwegler, Hilgenfeld, Mayerhotf, Reuss, Bleek, Davidson, but also by such critics as Weiss, Ruther, and Godct, it has been defended by Hug, Guericke, Windischman, Thiersch, Schott, Bruckner, Fronmiiller, Hoffman, and other German writers; and, among Eng- lish scholars, by Lardner, Alford, Wordsworth, Professor Lumby. Archdeacon Farrar says, "I believe there is much to support the conclusion that we have not here the words and style of the great apostle, but that he lent to this Epistle the sanction of his name and the assistance of his advice." Bertholdt, Ullman, Bunsen, and Lange admit the authenticity, but question the integrity of the Epistle, holding that it has ',ccn interpolated in various degrees. THE