The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Peter — Section 73

" wo.ter." The meaning will be the same years, and a thousand years as one day. whiohever view we take. "The fountains "With the Lord" means in his sio-bt, 0 m of the great deep were broken up, and the his estimate of things (comp. Ps. xc. 4, windows of heaven were opened ; '' that is, "A thousand years in thy sicrht 0 are but the Deluge was brought to pass by means of as yesterday"). Bengel finely says, "Dei the heavens, i.e. the waters that were above reoniologium (sic appellare liceat) differt ab the firmament, and tho earth, i.e. the waters horologio mortalium. Illius gnomon omnes that were below the firmament, whioh came horas simul indicat in snmma actione et in from the earth as the waters first mentioned snmma quiete. Ei nee tardius nee relerius came from the heavens. Another possible labuntnr tempera quam ipai et ceconomire view is that of Hut.her, who rel'ers iit' iliv to ejus aptum ait. Nulla causa est cur finem the water and the Word of Goel, By the rerum aut protelare aut accelerare necessum world here must be meant the world of habeat. Qui hoe comprebendemus? Si living creatures. This is St. Peter's answer comprehenrlere possemus, non opus foret a to the mockers : there had been one great Mose et Petro addi, apnd Dominum." Goel catastrophe ; there will be another. is eternal: his thought is not, like ours, Ver. 7.-But the heavens and the earth, subject to the law of time; and e~en we which are now; rather, the heavens which can understand that one day, 8S the day of are now, and the earth. The " now " does the Saviour's eleath, may have far more of not refer, as some think, to any change intense action compressed into it, and far wrought by the Flood, but distinguishes the more influence upon the spiritual destiny of present heavens and earth from the new mankind, than any period of a thousand heavens and new earth, which Christie.ns years. This passage seems to be quoted by are to look for(ver.13). Ey the same Word Justin Martyr, the 'Epistle of Barnabas,' are kept in store, reserved unto fire. Several Irenmus, and Hippolytns; but they may be of the better manuscripts have " by his refe1Ting to Ps. xc., though the quotations Word," which, on the whole, seems to give resemble the words of St. Peter more closely the best meaning. Tbe reading in the text than those of the psalm. may, indeed, be understood in a similar Ver. 9.-The Lord is not slaok conoerning sense, " by the same Word of God ; " other- his promise, as some men count slackness. wise it would mean that the original word 'l'heLordhere,asfrequentlyin these Epistles, of creation determined also the duration of is God the Father; it is he only who knoweth the world and the means of its destruction. that clay and that boar (Mark xiii. 32). The words 1·endered, " are kept in store," Some take the genitive ..-jjs e.-..yyel\ias with are, literally, "he.ve been treasured (n611- "the Lord," and translate, "The Lord of <10.vp1<1p.tvo, ,l,rlv)" (comp. Rom. ii. 5). It the promise is not slack." This is e. poSfilble seems better to take the dative 1rup! (" with connection, but not so se.tisfactory as the fh-e," or "for fire") witll this verb re.ther ordinary rendering. (For the genitive with than with the following, as in the Authorized tho verb /3pa66v,i, see Winer, iii. 30. 6, b.) Version. If we take the first meaning of The latter clause may be understood, " as the dative, the sense will be that the world some think it, i.e. the elelay of the judgment, has been stored with fire, i.e. that it con- to be slaokness;" or better, perhaps, "as tains, stored up in its inner depths, the fire some nnderstaud the meaning of slackness." which is destineel ultimately to destroy it. Men are slow in fulfilling their promises But the other view seems on the whole more from various, often selfish, motives ; the probable ; the heavens and the earth are Lord's delay comes from love o.nd long- stored up for fire or unto fire, i.e. with the suff~ring. But is long-suffering to us-ward; purpose in the counsels of God of their ulti- rather, to you-ward, which seems to be tht mate destruction by fire. This is the clearest best-supported reading; two ancient manu- prophecy in Holy Scripture of the :final con- scripts give "for your sake." St. Peter bas flagration of the universe ; but comp. Isa.. the same thought in the First Epistle (iv. 20); lxvi. 15; Dan. vii. 10; Mai. iv. 1; 2 Thess. there he reminds us bow the long-suffering i. 8. Such e. rloctrine formed part of tbe of God waited while the ark was e.-pre- physical theories of the Stoics; it is also paring; here he tells us tllat the delay of found in the' Book of Enoch.' Ago.inst the the judgment, at whioh unbelievers scoff, day of judgment and perdition of ungodly is due to the same cause. We note here an men. The partioiple "reserved" ( ..-11poop.,vo,) item of evideuco for the common authorship is best taken with this clause: "Reserved of the two Epistles (comp. Hab. ii. 3, quoted against the d11y of judgment and perdition in Heb. x. 37, and Ecclus. xxxii. 22, in the of ungodly men." Septuagint: e.lso Augustine's well-known Ver. 8.-But, beloved, be not ignorant of words, "Patiens quia wternus "). Not will- this one thing; literally, let not this one ing that any should perish; rather, not thing esoape you, as especie.lly important. wishing or desiring (p.¾ /3ov;>..oµ,vos ). The That one day is with the Lord as a thousand participle gives the reason of the Lord"s  68 THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [cH, m.1-18.