Presbyterian Teacher: springs without water

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Teaching Notes Book of 2 Peter Chapter 2 and 3

Hugh Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

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The first Quarantine in the USA since 1918 continues. It is Day 42.

I cannot get used to ZOOM Court, yet. Did Zoom at Toastmasters. Buckhead Toastmasters. Best Evaluator, but I don't know how that can be with only a 2" x 2" broadcast.

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"The grass withers and the flower [fades], but the word of [the Lord] endures forever." Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:24-25.

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Book of 2 Peter.

Papyrus 72 Martin Bodmer Library, Suisse

Papyrus 72 (Papyrus Bodmer VII-VIII) is the designation used by textual critics of the New Testament to describe portions of the so-called Bodmer Miscellaneous codex, namely the letters of Jude, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter. These books seem to have been copied by the same scribe, and the handwriting has been paleographically assigned to the 3rd or 4th century. Although the letters of Jude (P.Bodmer VII) and 1-2 Peter (P.Bodmer VIII) in this codex do not form a single continuous text, scholars still tend to refer to these three texts as a single early New Testament papyrus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_72

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II PETER

Chapter 2-15. Peter's Martyrdom Near

This seems like a reference to What Jesus had told him some

37 years before, John 21:18,19. Or, it may be that Jesus had

ecently appeared to him, 14; possibly the Quo Vadis appearance.

Peter had a premonition that Martyrdom was at hand, 14. Reminds

us of Paul's dying shout of Triumph, II Tim 4:6-8. “The Putting Off

of my Tabernacle", 14, is a Beautiful Scripture name for Death.

Chapter 1:16-21. Gospel ‘Testimony Sure

It seems that, in Peter's day, there were precursors of our

modern critics, who were calling the Story of Jesus and His

Mighty Works а set of Cunningly Devised Fables, 16. But Peter

had Seen With His Own Eyes, and he KNEW that what he told

about Jesus was TRUE. Over a period of three years he had seen

Jesus, with a word, Heal Multitudes of Sick People. He had seen

Him Walk on Water, and with a word Still the Storm. He had

seen Him Transﬁgured. Three times he saw Him Raise the Dead.

He Saw Jesus Alive after Cruciﬁxion. And, after Pentecost, Peter

himself, In Jesus’ Name, did multitudes of Mighty Miracles, Acts

5:15, and even Raised Dorcas from the Dead, Acts 9:40.

All this, conﬁrmed in marvelous detail in Old Testament

prophecies of the Coming Messiah, 1:19-21, see also pages 306-319,

gave Peter Full Assurance, and Made him Ready for approaching

‘Martyrdom. He Knew that, for him, the Door Of Glory was about

to open into the immediate presence of his Beloved Lord, never

more to leave.

Chapter 2. Church Apostasy

The Coming of False Teachers is spoken of again and again

in the New Testament. Jesus warned of Ravening Wolves who

Would come to the Church in Sheep’s Clothing, Matt 7:15, and

Lead Many Astray, Matt 24:11. Paul warned of Grievous Wolves

who would arise in the Church, Speaking Perverse Things, Acts

20:29.30. Again Paul Predicted that, before the Second Coming of

the Lord, there would be, in the Church, a Falling Away of

Appalling Magnitude and Satanic Nature, II Thes 2:1-12. Again

Paul Foretold the rise to Church Leadership of Ungodly Men,

Traitors and Hypocrites, who, with a Form of Godliness, would

ﬁll the Church With Doctrines oi Devils, I Tim 4:1-3; II Tim 321-9.

Jude seems to have been written mainly to Warn of an Ominous

and Deadly Trend toward Apostasy which, in his own day, he

saw rising in the Church, Jude 4-19. And, in Rev. 17, John gives

a detailed description of the Full-Grown Harlot Church.

Peter, in his First Epistle, wrote to encourage the Church to

bear up under Persecution from Without. Here, in this Second

Epistle, it is to Caution the Church to Guard against Corruption

from Within.

He warns of Coming Apostasy, when Leaders in the Church, for

money considerations, would permit Licentiousness and general

Wrong-Doing. He speaks of it as being in the future, 2:1. Yet

some of the language implies that False Teachers were already at

work within the Church.

He speaks of their Destructive Heresies, 1: their Pernicious Ways,

2; their Covetousness, 3; their Walking in Lust, 10; Brute Beasts,

12; Eyes full of Adultery, 14; Servants of Corruption, 19.

Note: these expressions are used as referring, not to the World,

but to Leaders Within the Church.

It is a sorry picture. Even within the Apostolic generation the

World and the Devil had succeeded in making heavy onslaughts

on—the Purity of the Church. And, even now, in our own en

lightened age, the Gospel of Christ, in its original beauty and

simplicity and Purity, in many sections of the Church, still is

buried and hid from view by the rubbish of forms and doctrines

heaped upon the Church, through the ages, by the World and

the Devil.

It is a terrible Sin to Corrupt the Church. All the Ungodly shall

be Destroyed. This is an unceasing note of Scripture. But One of

the worst of Sins is, in the Name of Christ, to Foist Lies upon

the Church in substitution for Christian Truth. Let those who do

it take warning from what happened to the Fallen Angels, 4, and

to the world of Noah’s time, 5, and to Sodom and Gomorrah, 6.

Chapter 3. Delay of ¡he Lord's Coming

Jesus had said things which might have been construed to

imply His Return in that generation, Matt 16:28; 24:34. The

Apostles used expressions which indicated His Near Appearance,

Rom 13:12; Heb 10:25; Jas 5:8; Rev 1:3.

Yet Jesus hinted that His Return might be After a Long Time.

Matt 25:19; and suggested that it would be Wise to prepare for

3 Delay, Matt 25:4. Paul expressly stated<that it would not be

Thes 2:2-3. Peter in the present.

Until After the Apostasy

This chapter, hints that it might, in human expectation, be in the

thousand years to a day, 8. God does not count proportion of time

as man does. With God a thousand years are as yesterday,

Psa 90:4. He will keep His promise according to His Own chron

ology. These passages put together seem to indicate that God

designed that each successive generation should live in constant

expectation of the Lord’s Coming.

What bearing should all this, after 2000 years of Delay. have

on our thought about the Lord’s Coming? Should we abandon

hope? NEVER. At least, His Coming is 2000 years nearer than it

was. The night is far spent. Day may be nearer than we think.

Who knows but what the Lord’s Train, at long last, may, even

now, be whistling for the Grand Central Station, with Angels

ready to shout, All Aboard? Or airplaines? maybe.

One of the subjects ridiculed by False Teachers mentioned in

Chapter 2 is the Lord’s Second Coming, 323,4. But the Lord Will

Come, 3:10. And it will be a day of Destruction for the Ungodly,

3:7, like the Flood in the days of Noah. Next time it will be by

Fire. This is very plainly stated, 3:10. Whether by Explosion, or by

Collision with some other heavenly body, we do not know. Both

of these things, astronomers tell us, do happen. There are such

as “Novae", new stars, which appear suddenly, grow

things rapidly brighter, then slowly wane, then disappear. The Earth

is now one of these, or rather a fragment of one, once thrown.“

off from the sun a burning mass. When God’s plans are ready,

it may, by explosion from within, or by collision with some other

heavenly body, again ﬂare into a seething mass of ﬂame.

But, from it all, God’s People will be delivered, and for them

there will be a New Heavens and New Earth, 313,14.

In closing, Peter mentions Epistles of Paul, 15, and classes

them as Scripture, 16. And, as in his First Epistle Peter spoke of

the Word of God as being the Source of Birth, I Pet 1:23, and the

Means of Growth, I Pet 2:2, for the Christian, so, in this Epistle

foretelling Apostasy in the Church, Peter insists that Knowledge

of Christ through His Word will help us make our calling .and

election Sure. 1:2,4,10; and that the way for the Church to combat

Apostasy, and Keep itself Pure and Free from Worldly

Corruption, is to Hold Fast to the Word of God as given by the

Prophets and Apostles, 1:19; 3:2.

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2 Peter

The Bible Project

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2 Peter 2 New International Version (NIV)

False Teachers and Their Destruction

2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from[d] the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[e] 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,[f] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[g] and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

Footnotes:

2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus

2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons

2 Peter 2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18.

2 Peter 2:11 Many manuscripts beings in the presence of

2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts

2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor

2 Peter 2:22 Prov. 26:11

2 Peter 3 New International Version (NIV)

The Day of the Lord

3 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Footnotes:

2 Peter 3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up

2 Peter 3:12 Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come

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New International Version (NIV)

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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia

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END

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Teaching Notes Book of 2 Peter Chapter 2 and 3