2 Peter 3:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then, when in the time of the flood there were few pious people on earth, the world was, as it were, restored a second time. It received a beginning through Noah and the other living beings preserved in the ark, so that they might serve as the seed of the world's new condition.

Yet even then the human race did not improve, but went toward something worse than before. Neither the law given through Moses nor the coming of the Lord turned it back.

Therefore, since the calling to salvation has been manifold and the destruction from disobedience has been manifold, a fiery flood will be necessary. That is, a destruction will be necessary, though not total: not a destruction of souls, yet not of bodies either.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), not without bodies and with souls alone, but together with incorruptible bodies.

For how can the soul alone be punished apart from the body, when it bears what it did through the body? It is not fitting for the righteous Judge, when two have sinned in one and the same thing, to forgive one and lay the whole weight of guilt upon the other.

Second, we will also say this. We ourselves commonly cleanse impure things by fire from admixture and restore their brightness.

They are kept for the day of judgment and destruction. Judgment means the same as condemnation.

The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Then the heavens will pass away with a noise, the elements will be dissolved with burning heat, and the earth and all the works on it will be burned up. Since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy life and piety, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements, burning, will melt? Nevertheless, according to His promise, we await a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:3-13).

He says nothing here about the resurrection of the dead, but he says enough about the destruction of this world. In mentioning the flood that had taken place before, he seems in some way to define the extent in which we should imagine the destruction of this world at the end of the present age. For, according to his words, the world that then existed also perished at that time. This means not only the earthly globe, but also the heavens. By them, of course, we understand these aerial heavens, whose place and space were covered by the water rising at that time.

Therefore all, or almost all, of this air that forms the winds, which he calls heaven or heavens, was turned into moisture. Of course, he means these lower heavens, not the higher heavens in which the sun, moon, and stars are placed. Thus it perished together with the earth, whose original appearance was completely destroyed by the flood.

"But the present heavens and earth," he says, "kept by the same Word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men." Therefore these heavens and this earth. That is, this world, restored from the same water in place of the world that perished by the flood, are in turn reserved for fire until the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. He speaks without hesitation about the future destruction of men, though their nature will be preserved even in eternal torments.

But perhaps someone will ask: "If, after the judgment is completed, this world is embraced by flame, then before the new heaven and new earth replace it, where will the saints be during this fire? Since they have bodies, they must necessarily be in some place suitable for a body." To this we may answer that they will be in the higher regions, where the flame of that fire will not reach, just as the water of the flood did not reach there. For they will have such bodies that they will be wherever they wish. Moreover, having become immortal and incorruptible, they will not fear even the fire itself. The corruptible and mortal bodies of the three men were able to remain alive in the burning furnace (Dan 3:24).

Where does the force of the Apostle's discourse on the flood lie, in contrast to the speech of the revilers or mockers? The heavens existed from the beginning, and the earth existed from the time of its creation. One might suppose that it would always be so, and that everything would remain the same afterward. Yet the terrible action of the flood, which destroyed the entire earthly world of that time, revealed something other than what could have been expected.

It was revealed that the pre-flood world was destroyed through the action of the heavens and the earth. These, it seemed, ought to have remained eternally in the state in which they were ordered from the beginning. If such a terrible change for the earthly world occurred in them with respect to the earth, then such a thing can happen again. It may happen not only with respect to the earth, but also to the heavens. It will not be by the action of water, for there will be no more flood, according to the word of the Lord (Gen 9:11-15), but by the action of fire.

"Thus, as at the time of the flood destruction came through water, so now everything is destined to be destroyed through fire. The two chief elements of the universe are water and fire. From them the other two elements receive being: air from evaporating waters, and earth from waters that thicken. This evaporation and thickening are produced by fire. Therefore, if there are only two elements, and the first destruction of the impious was through water, then it is entirely necessary, he says, that the second destruction of the impious be accomplished through fire" (Theophylact).

Thus everything depends on the action of divine omnipotence. If by the word of God the earth was formed out of water and by water, and the pre-flood world perished by water, then by the same word of God the whole world can be destroyed. Not only the earth, but the heavens also, that is, the whole universe, can be destroyed and will be destroyed by fire. This will indeed happen, for the present heavens and earth are kept for fire.

"Are kept," that is, preserved, according to the original text. The word keeping means the careful guarding of a treasure. The meaning of this keeping points partly to the promise that God gave immediately after the flood (Gen 9:15). It points partly to the fact that the heavens and the earth are truly the wondrous work of God's hands (Ps 104:24). It points partly to the redemption of the world by Christ, since it is precious in God's eyes through the precious Blood of Christ.

"Preserved": they are kept as something precious, yet preserved for destruction. This is a powerful juxtaposition in thought and expression.

"For fire": as fire has always been and is an instrument of judgment for the world, so also it will be the instrument of the world's destruction at the Last Judgment (cf. Gen 19:24; Amos 7:4; Isa 66:15; Dan 7:9; 2 Thess 1:8; Mt 3:12; Mt 25:41; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10). This is explained more fully in verse 10.

"For destruction": not for complete and final annihilation, but for punishment and eternal death. It is noteworthy that the destruction of impious men is not limited here to the earth alone. Thus, by God's judgment, "a fiery flood will be necessary. That is, there will be destruction, though not total destruction, and not destruction of souls, yet not of bodies either. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), not without bodies, with souls alone, but together with incorruptible bodies. For how can the soul alone be punished without the body, when it bears what it did through the body? It is not proper to a righteous judge, when two have sinned in one and the same matter, to forgive one and lay the whole weight of guilt upon the other" (Theophylact).

By speaking of the creation of heaven and earth by the Word of God (v. 5), and of the production of the flood by the power of that same Word (v. 6), the apostle shows that even now the world waits only for the dread word of God to begin the great destruction.

It is as though the world carries within itself the possibility of destruction. If by God's word "Let it be" all that exists was brought into being, then by the word "Let it not be" all can be destroyed.

Only by forgetting the world's dependence on God can one speak of its eternity. But only insolent heretics can forget this, and for them the fire of Gehenna is the inevitable portion.

After this, when the heavens have been completely cut off, there will be new heavens and a future new earth. There, in their dwelling, the righteous will possess righteousness and the promises of God.

Therefore one must not be ignorant that the present epistle is false. Though it is circulated, it does not belong to the canon.