In 2 Peter, the aged apostle repeatedly says that he is writing to remind believers of the truths we have already been taught in scripture. He goes on to warn of the harm caused by “false teachers” who promote “destructive heresies” which will eventually bring destruction and condemnation on them. The cure for this is to have full confidence in God’s word.
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:20-21, (cf Acts 1:15-21 and 2 Timothy 3:16)
Peter then reminds us of the fall of satan and his angels, the flood in Noah’s day and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in the time of Abraham and Lot. Jesus spoke of the destruction of Sodom in a way that is especially important for us today. Speaking of those who rejected the witness of his disciples he says,
But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.
“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Luke 10:10-16.
As fierce as the destruction of Sodom was, it is going to be worse for those who have been presented with the Gospel of Christ yet persist in refusing him as Lord and King. “To whom much is given…” Those who died in Sodom will still be raised to stand before God at the judgment. Their eternal sentence will not be as bad as those who sat in church year after year and heard the Gospel but refused to repent.
Finally, Peter concludes this letter by again reminding us that the final judgment is coming. Just as surely as the world in Noah’s day was destroyed by water, “the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” vs 7.
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.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 10-13
The purpose of these warnings is not to terrify us but to warn us of the certainty of coming judgment. There is a perfect refuge for all who trust in Christ.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
