The dissolution of

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the world by fire.

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up.

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

vanic spark be made to pass through water, a portion of the fluid is immediately decomposed into its two constituent gases, oxygen and hydrogen); and as the electric or ethereal fire is that which, in all likelihood, God will use in the general conflagration; the noise occasioned by the application of this fire to such an immense congeries of aqueous particles as float in the atmosphere, must be terrible in the extreme. Put a drop of water on an anvil, place over it a piece of iron red hot, strike the iron with a hammer on the part above the drop of water, and the report will be as loud as a musket; when, then, the whole strength | of those opposite agents is brought together into a state of conflict, the noise, the thunderings, the innumerable explosions (till every particle of water on the earth and in the atmosphere is, by the action of the fire, reduced into its component gaseous parts), will be frequent, loud, confounding, and terrific, beyond every comprehension but that of God himself.

The elements shall melt with fervent heat] When the fire has conquered and decomposed the water, the elements, σroixɛia, the hydrogen and oxygen airs or gases (the former of which is most highly inflammable, and the latter an eminent supporter of all combustion), will occupy distinct regions of the atmosphere, the hydrogen by its very great levity ascending to the top, while the oxygen from its superior specific gravity will keep upon or near the surface of the earth; and thus, if different substances be once ignited, the fire, which is supported in this case, not only by the oxygen which is one of the constituents of atmospheric air, but also by a great additional quantity of oxygen obtained from the decomposition of all aqueous vapours, will rapidly seize on all other substances, on all terrestrial particles, and the whole frame of nature will be necessarily torn in pieces, and thus the earth and its works be burnt up.

Verse 11. All these things shall be dissolved] They will all be separated, all decomposed; but none of them destroyed. And as they are the original matter out of which God formed the terraqueous globe, consequently they may enter again into the composition of a new system; and therefore the apostle says, ver. 13: We look for new heavens and a new earth-the others being decomposed, a new system is to be formed out of their materials. There is a wonderful philosophic propriety in the words of the apostle in describing this most awful event.

e Mic. i. 4. Ver. 10.f Isai. Ixv. 17. lxvi. 22. Rev. xxi. 1.

What manner of persons ought ye to be] Some put the note of interrogation at the end of this clause, and join the remaining part with the 12th verse, thus: Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be? By holy conversation and godliness, expecting and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, &c. Only those who walk in holiness, who live a godly and useful life, can contemplate this most awful time with joy.

The word σevdovras, which we translate hasting unto, should be rendered earnestly desiring, or wishing for; which is a frequent meaning of the word in the best Greek writers.

Verse 12. The heavens, being on fire] See on ver. 10. It was an ancient opinion among the heathens, that the earth should be burnt up with fire; so Ovm, Met., lib. i., v. 256.

Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, adfore tempus,
Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaque regia cœli
Ardeat; et mundi moles operosa laboret.
"Remembering in the fates a time when fire
Should to the battlements of heaven aspire,
And all his blazing world above should burn,
And all the inferior globe to cinders turn."

DRYDEN.

Minucius Felix tells us, xxxiv. 2, that it was a common opinion of the Stoics that, the moisture of the earth being consumed, the whole world would catch fire. The Epicureans held the same sentiment; and indeed it appears in various authors, which proves that a tradition of this kind has pretty generally prevailed in the world. But it is remarkable that none have fancied that it will be destroyed by water. The tradition, founded on the declaration of God, was against this; therefore it was not received.

Verse 13. We, according to his promise, look før new heavens] The promise to which it is supposed the apostle alludes, is found Isai. lxv. 17: Behold, 1 create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind; and chap. lxvi. 22: For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed, &c. Now, although these may be interpreted of the glory of the gospel dispensation, yet, if St. Peter refer to them, they must have a more extended meaning.

It does appear, from these promises, what the apostle says here, and what is said Rev. xxi. 27,

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a

A. U. C. cir. 813. diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot,

b

e

d

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17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

с

18 'But grow in grace, and in the know

1 Cor. i. 8. xv. 58. Phil. i. 10. 1 Thess. iii. 13. v. 23. b Rom. ii. 4. 1 Pet. iii. 20. Ver. 9.- c Rom. viii. 19. 1 Cor. xv. 24. 1 Thess. iv. 15.- d Mark xiii. 23. Ch. i. 12.

xxii. 14, 15, that the present earth, though destined to be burnt up, will not be destroyed, but be renewed and refined, purged from all moral and natural imperfection, and made the endless abode of blessed spirits. But this state is certainly to be expected after the day of judgment; for on this the apostle is very express, who says the conflagration and renovation are to take place at the judgment of the great day; see ver. 7, 8, 10, and 12. That such an event may take place is very possible; and, from the terms used by St. Peter, is very probable. And, indeed, it is more reasonable and philosophical to conclude that the earth shall be refined and restored, than finally destroyed. But this has nothing to do with what some call the millennium state; as this shall take place when time, with the present state and order of things, shall be no more.

Verse 14. Seeing that ye look for such things] As ye profess that such a state of things shall take place, and have the expectation of enjoying the blessedness of it, be diligent in the use of every means and influence of grace, that ye may be found of him—the Lord Jesus, the Judge of quick and dead, without spot-any contagion of sin in your souls, and blameless-being not only holy and innocent, but useful in your lives.

Verse 15. And account that the long-suffering of our Lord] Conclude that God's long-suffering with the world is a proof that he designs men to be saved; even as our beloved brother Paul. "This epistle being written to those to whom the first epistle was sent, the persons to whom the apostle Paul wrote concerning the long-suffering of God were the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Accordingly, we know he wrote to the Ephesians (chap. ii. 3, 4, 5), to the Colossians (chap. i. 21), and to Timothy (1 Epist., chap. ii. 3, 4), things which imply that God's bearing with sinners is intended for their salvation. The persons to whom Peter's epistles were sent were, for the most part, Paul's converts."-Macknight.

According to the wisdom given unto him] That is, according to the measure of the divine inspiration,

by which he was qualified for the divine work, and by which he was so capable of entering into the deep things of God. It is worthy of remark that Paul's epistles are ranked among the scriptures; a term applied to those writings which are divinely inspired, and to those only.

Verse 16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things] Paul, in all his epistles, says Dr. Macknight, has spoken of the things written by Peter in this letter. For example, he has spoken of Christ's coming to judgment; 1 Thess. iii. 13, iv. 14-18; 2 Thess. i. 7-10; Titus ii. 13. resurrection of the dead, 1 Cor. xv. 22; 21. And of the burning of the earth; 2 Thess. i. 8. And of the heavenly country; 2 Cor. v. 1-10. And of the introduction of the righteous into that country ; 1 Thess. iv. 17; Heb. iv. 9, xii. 14, 18, 24. And of the judgment of all mankind by Christ; Rom. xiv. 10.

And of the Phil. iii. 20,

In which are some things hard to be understood] Avovonta Tiva That is, if we retain the common reading ev oiç, in or among which things, viz., what he says of the day of judgment, the resurrection of the body, &c., &c., there are some things difficult to be comprehended, and from which a wrong or false meaning may be taken. But if we take the reading of AB, twelve others, with both the Syriac, all the Arabic, and Theophylact, ev ais, the meaning is more general, as ev aiç must refer to σToday, epistles, for this would intimate that there were difficulties in all the epistles of St. Paul; and indeed in what ancient writings are there not difficulties? But the papists say that the decision of all matters relative to the faith is not to be expected from the scriptures on this very account, but must be received from the church; i. e. the Popish or Romish church. But what evidence have we that that church can infallibly solve any of those difficulties? We have none ! And till we have an express, unequivocal revelation from heaven that an unerring spirit is given to that church, I say, for example, to the present church of Rome, with the pope called Pius VII. at its head, we are not to receive its pretensions. Any church may pretend the same, or any number of equally learned men as there

are of cardinals and pope in the conclave; and, after all, it would be but the opinion of so many men, to which no absolute certainty or infallibility could be attached.

This verse is also made a pretext to deprive the common people of reading the word of God; because the unlearned and unstable have sometimes wrested this word to their own destruction: but if it be human learning, and stability in any system of doctrine, that qualifies men to judge of these difficult things, then we can find many thousands, even in Europe, that have as much learning and stability as the whole college of cardinals, and perhaps ten thousand times more; for that conclave was never very reputable for the learning of its members: and to other learned bodies we may, with as much propriety, look up as infallible guides, as to this conclave.

Besides, as it is only the unlearned and the unestaWished (that is, young Christian converts) that are in danger of wresting such portions; the learned, that is, the experienced and the established in the knowledge and life of God, are in no such danger; and to such we may safely go for information: and these abound every where, especially in Protestant countries; and by the labours of learned and pious men on the sacred writings there is not one difficulty relative to the things which concern our salvation left unexplained. If the members of the Romish church have not these advantages, let them go to those who have them; and if their teachers are afraid to trust them to the instruction of the Protestants, then let them who pretend to have infallibly written their exposition of these difficult places, also put them, with a wholesome text in the vulgar language, into the hands of their people, and then the appeal will not lie to Rome, but to the Bible; and those interpretations will be considered according to their worth, being weighed with other scriptures, and the expositions of equally learned and equally infallible men.

We find, lastly, that those who wrest such portions, are those who wrest the other scriptures to their destruction; therefore they are no patterns, nor can such form any precedent for withholding the scriptures from the common people, most of whom, instead of wresting them to their destruction, would become wise unto salvation by reading them. We may defy the Romish church to adduce a single instance of any soul that was perverted, destroyed, or damned, by reading of the Bible; and the insinuation that they may is blasphemous. I may just add that the verb orρEßλow, which the apostle uses here, signifies to distort, to put to the rack, to torture, to overstretch and dislocate the limbs; and hence the persons here intended are those who proceed according to no fair plan of interpretation, but force unnatural and sophistical meanings on the word of God: a practice which the common simple Christian is in no danger of following. I could illustrate this by a multitude of interpretations from popish writers.

Verse 17. Seeing ye know—before] Seeing that by prophets and apostles you have been thus forewarned, beware, puλaooεole, keep watch, be on your guard; cleave to God and the word of his grace, lest ye be led

on this Epistle.

away from the truth delivered by the prophets and apostles, by the error of the wicked, abroμwv, of the lawless-those who wrest the scriptures to make them countenance their lusts, exorbitant exactions, and lawless practices.

Fall from your own stedfastness.] From that faith. in Christ which has put you in possession of that grace which establishes the heart.

image and favour of God; every grace and divine Verse 18. But grow in grace Increase in the influence which ye have received is a seed, a heavenly seed, which, if it be watered with the dew of heaven He who continues to believe, love, and obey, will grow from above, will endlessly increase and multiply itself. in grace, and continually increase in the knowledge

of Jesus Christ, as his sacrifice, sanctifier, counsellor is a growth; he is at first born of God, and is a little preserver, and final Saviour. The life of a Christian child; becomes a young man, and a father in Christ. Every father was once an infant; and had he not grown, he would have never been a man. Those who content themselves with the grace they received when converted to God, are, at best, in a continual state of infancy: but we find, in the order of nature, that sickly and soon dies; so, in the order of grace, those the infant that does not grow, and grow daily too, is who do not grow up into Jesus Christ are sickly, and will soon die, die to all sense and influence of heavenly things.

There are many who boast of the grace of their conversion; persons who were never more than babes, and have long since lost even that grace, because they did not grow in it. Let him that readeth

understand.

To him] The Lord Jesus, be glory—all honour and excellency attributed, both now-in this present state, and for ever, is iμεpav auros, to the day of eternitythat in which death, and misery, and trial, and darkness, and change, and time itself, are to the righteous for ever at an end: it is eternity; and this eternity is one unalterable, interminable, unclouded, and unchangeable DAY!

Amen.] So let it be! and so it shall be! Though this word is wanting in some reputable MSS., yet it should be retained, as it has here more than usual authority in its support.

Subscriptions to this epistle in the VERSIONS: The end of the Second Epistle of Peter the apostle SYRIAC.

The Second Epistle of Peter the apostle is ended.SYRIAC PHILOXENIAN.

Nothing in the printed VULGATE.

The end of the epistles of blessed Peter the apostle, the rock of the faith.-ARABIC.

The Second Epistle of Peter is ended; and glory be to God for ever and ever!-ETHIOPIC. Nothing in the COPTIC.

The end of the Second Catholic Epistle of St. Peter.-COMPLUTENSIAN POLYGLOT.

The end of the Second Epistle of St. Peter.-BIE. LAT., Edit. antiq.

Concluding observations

Subscriptions in the MANUSCRIPTS :

Of the Catholic Epistle of Peter.-CODEX EPHREM. The Second Epistle of the holy apostle Peter.

-Other MSS.

We have now passed over all the canonical writings of Peter that are extant; and it is worthy of remark that, in no place of the two epistles already examined, nor in any of this apostle's sayings in any other parts of the sacred writings, do we find any of the peculiar tenets of the Romish church: not one word of his or the pope's supremacy; not one word of those who affect to be his successors; nothing of the infallibility claimed by those pretended successors; nothing of purgatory, penances, pilgrimages, auricular confession, power of the keys, indulgences, extreme

church, transubstantiation. Now, as all these things have been considered by themselves most essential to the being of that church; is it not strange that he, from whom they profess to derive all their power, authority, and influence, in spiritual and secular matters, should have said nothing of these most neces| sary things? Is it not a proof that they are all false and forged; that the holy apostle knew nothing of them; that they are no part of the doctrine of God; and, although they distinguish the church of Rome, do not belong to the church of Christ? It is no wonder that the rulers of this church endeavour to keep the scriptures from the common people; for, were they permitted to consult these, the imposture would be detected, and the solemn, destructive cheat at once exposed.