Глава III

A refutation of the false teaching about the second coming and a positive revelation of the true teaching on the subject (1-13). Concluding exhortations in exhortations (14–18). 2Pet.3:1. This is the second message I am writing to you, beloved; in them, as a reminder, I awaken your pure meaning, 2 Peter 3:2. so that you remember the words previously spoken by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior, delivered by your Apostles. Inspired by pastoral zeal for the salvation of Christians, the Apostle, in view of his imminent death (2 Pet. 1:14), writes a new, second epistle to his spiritual children, in which, as in the first, he “with a reminder awakens the pure meaning” of the readers (v. 1), in accordance with the whole teaching of the prophets and apostles and with the commandment of the Lord Himself, and in contrast to the darkened thoughts of the false teachers ( 2 Peter 3:3). “It is characteristic of pure sense to remember what is heard or commanded that is salutary and to be aroused to fulfill this in practice with all strength and zeal. And this was commanded through the preaching of the prophets and apostles” (Blessed Theophilus), who announced both the first and second coming of the Lord the Savior. The Apostle wants to confirm and consolidate the teaching of the Gospel in the mouths of Christians in view of the false teachers and scoffers who are about to appear and have already appeared. 2 Peter 3:3. First of all, know that in the last days there will appear arrogant scoffers, walking according to their own lusts. 2Pet.3:4. and saying: Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers began to die, from the beginning of creation, everything remains the same. The essence of the false teaching “who scolded her” (έμπαίκται, scoffers), who are about to appear “in the last days,” is the denial of the second coming of Christ. Although we learn about such false teaching only from the passage under consideration, the possibility and reality of its appearance already in apostolic times is beyond doubt. The false teachers denounced here are naturalists who referred to immutability the basic laws of world life and the entire previous world order, and from here they concluded that in the future the life of the world will remain unchanged, and no world catastrophe is foreseen. Such false teaching, based on the immutability of the world order (cf. Eccl. 1:4), was known long before Christianity (cf. Wis. 2). In the apostolic time, the emergence of the false teaching in question could have had a special basis. It is known that in the Thessalonica church they expected the imminent coming (parousia) of the Lord and grieved for those who would not survive until the opening of the day of the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13 et seq.), which is why the Apostle Paul had to deliberately reassure the confused believers (2 Thess. 2:1 et seq.). And in general, many Christians of the apostolic age expected the proximity of the parousia (James 5:8; 1 Pet 4:7). Then, against this living hope, which sometimes went beyond reasonable limits, the moral laxity of some false teachers came out, not reconciling itself with the day of God’s judgment, and in every possible way wanting to eliminate the thought of it, and the motive was put forward, v. 4, a naturalistic consideration of the inviolability of the world order and, in addition, the supposedly unfulfilled promise of the parousia (perhaps it pointed to the eschatological conversation of the Lord, Matthew 24). “Those who passionately live according to their own lusts, seeing that some fear the coming of the Lord, which the Lord Himself foretold with some God-bearers, and therefore are frightened by their unclean life, and especially because the prediction is not immediately followed by an event, but an interval is allowed for the salvation of those written in the book of those being saved, they shamelessly attack the believers and mock them” (Blessed Theophilus). 2 Peter 3:5. Those who think this way do not know that in the beginning, by the word of God, the heavens and the earth were made of water and by water: 2 Peter 3:6. therefore the world of that time perished, being drowned by water. 2 Peter 3:7. And the present heavens and earth, contained by the same Word, are reserved for fire for the day of judgment and destruction of wicked men. Refuting the false teaching of those who denied the possibility for the Creator to change the face of the earth and the whole world by free will, the Apostle proves that this is quite possible for the creative will of God. For a long time, heaven and earth existed - “from water” (έξ ύδατος) “and by water” (δΐ ύδατος): “from water, as a material cause, and by water, as a perfect cause; for water contains the earth, binding its dust and giving it hardness, and if this were not the case, then the earth would necessarily turn into dust and air” (Blessed Theophilus). At the same time, the creative power was the omnipotent word of God (v. 5, see Gen. 1:2 et seq.). And although nothing, apparently, foreshadowed the destruction of the world, however, at the command of the same word of God, the world was destroyed by the waters of the flood (v. 6, see Gen. 7:17) - “not the whole world was destroyed, but only the animals, which represent, as it were, the whole world, for the world created without them would not have been the world” (Blessed Theophilus). And just as in the world catastrophe of the flood, judgment was carried out on the world by the acting word of God, so in the future a world catastrophe will occur - the destruction of the world by fire - at the command and action of the same word of God, v. 7. “Thus, just as during the flood destruction followed through water, so now everything must be destroyed through fire. The two main elements of the universe, water and fire, from which two more elements receive their existence, air from evaporating waters and earth from condensing waters, and their evaporation and condensation is carried out by fire... So, if there are only two elements and the first destruction of the wicked was through water, then it is absolutely necessary, he says, that the second destruction of the wicked should be accomplished through fire” (Blessed Theophilus). The doctrine of the destruction of the world by fire, art. 7, below, art. 10, revealed in more detail, not found in other New Testament writings, is the original teaching of the Ap. Petra. However, it would be completely erroneous to look for the primary source of the teaching in Heraclitean or Stoic philosophy, when it is directly adjacent to the circle of Old Testament ideas about the final judgment of the world and New Testament ideas about the cleansing power of fire. Jewish tradition also attributed to Adam a prediction about the double destruction of the world, once from water, the other time from fire (Joseph Fla. Jude. Ancient. I2, 3). The prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 66:16), Amos (Amos 7:4) and Daniel (Dan.7:9) represented God's judgment on the world as carried out through fire. And in the New Testament we repeatedly encounter the idea of ​​fire as a cleansing force (Matthew 3:12; 1 Pet 1:7; 1 Cor 3:13–15). “And we are in the habit of exposing certain things to fire, not in order to destroy them, but in order to give them purity and shine. God promises to do the same at the end of the age through fire... A fiery flood will be necessary, that is, destruction, although not complete, destruction not of souls, but not of bodies. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), not without bodies - with souls only, but together with incorruptible bodies. For how can one soul without a body be punished, when it bears what it has done through the body? For it is not characteristic of the Righteous Judge, when two have sinned in the same thing, to forgive one and lay the burden of guilt on the other” (Blessed Theophilus). 2 Peter 3:8. One thing must not be hidden from you, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (Ps 89:5). 2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slack in fulfilling his promise, as some count slackness; but he is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Having proved the inevitability of the end of the world, and precisely through fire, the Apostle now moves on to the question of the time of the end of the world, meaning to refute the false teaching of “those who scolded her” about the slowdown of the parousia and the supposedly unfulfilled promise of the Lord. Contrary to this false teaching, the Apostle, first of all, in accordance with the teaching of the Lord Himself (Mark 13:32), recognizes the time of the end of the world as a mystery of God's omniscience and economy, and then, for the faith and edification of true Christians, he makes two provisions: first, in accordance with the saying of the psalmist (prophet Moses), Ps 89:4, that all human measurements of time have no meaning in the eyes of the Eternal, before Which equalizes periods of very different durations, for example, one day and a thousand years - Art. 8; secondly, therefore, one cannot think of any delay on the part of the Lord, Who, moreover, has a special good goal - to give every opportunity to all people (not excluding those who scolded her and the like) to avoid death and be saved through repentance and correction, v. 9. The Apostle humbly includes himself among the number of sinful people who require God’s long-suffering. From the words of the Apostle Art. 8, where he cites the saying of the psalm in a somewhat expanded form (Ps. 89), the chiliasts concluded that there must be a relationship between the days of creation and the millennia of the existence of the world, which is why the 7000th year from the creation of the world or 1492 AD was considered the year of the end of the world. But just as this expectation did not come true, so is any other calculation about this subject impossible, since the saying of the psalmist and the Apostle does not, of course, have a literal, mathematical meaning, and since the complete unknown of the day and hour of the coming of the Lord and the end of the world is definitely attested to by the Lord Himself (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32). 2 Peter 3:10. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and then the heavens will pass away with a noise, the elements, having flared up, will be destroyed, the earth and all the works on it will be burned up. Having mentioned (2 Peter 3:9) the long-suffering of God, which calls all people to repentance and salvation, the Apostle immediately warns that no one should, on this basis, indulge in carelessness: this is not allowed by the suddenness of the coming of the Lord and the end of the world. “To explain the unknown and unexpectedness of the coming of the Lord, the Apostle compares it with the coming of a thief and the night. Night indicates the unknown, and the thief indicates surprise; for no one who waits for a thief will be robbed” (Blessed Theophilus). In the second half of Art. 10 reveals in more detail the thought of 2 Peter 3:7 about the future destruction of the world from fire, distinguishing three points in the general idea of ​​this: 1) “the heavens will pass away with noise (ροιζηδόν)”, and the expression “with noise” denotes the idea of ​​​​a terrible, destructive elemental force; 2) “the elements – the basic elements of nature (fire, water, air, earth, cf. Wisdom 7:17) – will flare up and collapse”; 3) “the earth and all the works on it will burn up.” The Apostle said: the earth and the works on it will be burned, not the people; therefore, he speaks only about the destruction of the wicked or their wicked deeds: for the way of the wicked will perish (Ps. 1:6), and not together with the wicked himself” (Blessed Theophilus). 2 Peter 3:11. If all this is destroyed, then what kind of holy life and piety should you be? 2 Peter 3:12. waiting and desiring the coming of the day of God, in which the flaming heavens will be destroyed and the burning elements will melt? Vividly transporting his thoughts to the day of the end of the world, the Apostle directs the thought, will and heart of all Christians there and convinces them to be zealous for the holiness of life and piety in anticipation and even desire for the coming day of the Lord. In Art. 12 The Apostle once again returns to the thought (2 Pet. 3:7-10) about the future destruction of the world from fire, and mentions the then-complete melting (τήκεται) of the elements (v. 12). “And modern science is inclined to the same idea. The gradual decrease in moisture and water on earth involuntarily leads to the idea that our world will end its existence through combustion or fire” (Bishop George). 2 Peter 3:13. However, according to His promise, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. But the death of the world from fire will not be its complete destruction, its transformation into nothingness. Christians, according to the promises of God (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; Rev. 21:1), expect “a new heaven and a new earth.” And these latter will not be a new, newly created world, but a recreated, updated, improved world, but fundamentally the same world that exists now. “The Lord will create a new heaven and a new earth, “new” not in essence and substance; for whoever builds a new house does not mean that he builds it from a substance that did not exist before. No, God once created matter and formed it into all kinds of forms and compositions, and what was necessary for life here only, but for the incorruptible life there is useless and unnecessary, He will abolish, and what is useful, He will give it a new image with imperishable and unfading beauty and allow it to fill another and imperishable world” (Blessed Theophilus). The Apostle points out the infusion of truth there as a distinctive feature of the new world. The truth brought into the world by Christ - in the sense of the correspondence of the holy and blessed life of man with the holy and blessed life of God - in the new, future world will receive the fullness of manifestation in everything: both in knowledge, and in feeling, and in the whole life of its inhabitants, where God will be all in all (1 Cor 15:28; cf. Rev 21:3, 27). 2 Peter 3:14. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to this, strive to appear before Him undefiled and blameless in peace; 2 Peter 3:15. and consider the longsuffering of our Lord to be salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, 2 Peter 3:16. as he speaks about this in all his epistles, in which there is something difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable, like other Scriptures, twist to their own destruction. Summarizing everything that has been said about the end of the world and how Christians should relate to this subject, the Apostle once again convinces believers, while awaiting their appearance before the Judge the Lord, to be “undefiled and blameless in the world” (v. 14) and to remember earlier (see 2 Pet. 3:9) what the Apostle said, that it is only because of His long-suffering and desire for the salvation of all people that the Lord delays with His judgment on the world, and that all Christians, considering this to be salvific for themselves, should use time accordingly for their spiritual improvement (v. 15a). Now (v. 15b), after a series of his own arguments and admonitions, the Apostle Peter, in order to confirm the readers and all Christians in the holiness of life in anticipation of the second coming of the Lord, refers to the authority of “his beloved brother,” that is, the co-apostle Paul, who “according to the wisdom given to him” wrote to them, that is, to the Christians of Asia Minor, about similar doctrinal subjects, which may relate, for example, to the epistles: to Ephesians, Galatians, Colossians, Timothy - all in Asia Minor. And since further (v. 16a) the Apostle also draws on all the letters of the Apostle, then, according to the context of the speech, it is natural to also understand both letters to Thessalonians with their teaching about the second coming of the Lord and its signs, about the resurrection of the dead, about the mystery of lawlessness, about the Antichrist. Referring to the testimony of Ap. Pavel, Ap. Peter simultaneously affirms the great church-canonical significance of the epistles of the great Apostle of Languages ("according to the wisdom given to him") and at the same time warns against the misunderstanding of these epistles and sublime doctrinal and moral subjects (for example, about law, grace and Christian freedom, etc.), noting: in them "there is something incomprehensible that the ignorant and unconfirmed, to their own destruction, they transform it, like other Scriptures." It is known that Ap. himself. Paul complained that some false teachers distorted the meaning of his messages to justify their false teaching (2 Thess. 2:2). Thus, the holy desire of Ap. Peter's desire to serve the common cause of the salvation of Christians prompted him to mention Apostle. Paul and his writings. Some (representatives of the New Tübingen school) saw Absolutely wrongly in this mention of Ap. Peter about the Ap. Paul's intention to maintain his dignity, as if humiliated by the note of Ap. Paul about Apostle Peter in Gal.2:11 et seq. The very name “beloved brother”, assimilated by Ap. Peter to the great Apostle of Languages, speaks of the complete absence of any struggle between the two early church apostles, of the complete brotherhood of both apostles in Christ and of perfect agreement and mutual assistance in the preaching of the Gospel. That the Apostle Peter knows all the letters of Paul (except, perhaps, the second letter to Timothy, written by the Apostle Paul at the very end of his life), this is not surprising given the mutual communication of both apostles, and the actual similarity of the first letter of the Apostle. Peter with Paul's epistles to the Romans and Ephesians “is explicable only on the assumption of Peter’s familiarity with the writings of the Apostle of Languages” (Prof. Archpriest D. I. Bogdashevsky). The popularity of Paul's epistles to readers of the Epistles of St. Paul is also quite understandable. Peter with a wide exchange of apostolic works between individual local churches, evidence of which is found in the letter to the Colossians. (Col 4:16). 2 Peter 3:17. Therefore, beloved, being forewarned of this, beware lest you be carried away by the error of the wicked and fall from your own affirmation, 2 Peter 3:18. but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. The conclusion of the letter is the Apostle's exhortation to readers to beware of the deception of the false teachings of lawless men, to be firm in the truth (cf. 2 Pet. 1:12) and to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Knowledge was an essential subject of the Apostle’s speech from the very beginning of the epistle, since heretics deceived Christians with their imaginary title and presented themselves as people especially knowledgeable in all mysteries; he speaks about him several times in his message. With this he ends the message. Therefore, we can say that the teaching of the knowledge of God was the main content of the epistle, so that all other subjects of speech of the epistle are reduced to this main subject.” You might be interested in: