Reading for April 8th

Read 2 Peter 3.14-18. In 3.14-18: Letter closing. Once more, the true tradition about the coming judgments yeilds pastoral results in the reform of human lives. In verse 14: We are to be without spot or blemish, just as Paul regularly announced to his churches (1 Thess 3.13; Phil 2.15). In verses 15-16: The reference to Paul indicates that some of his letters are known, possibly even collected by this time. Our author admits that Paul's letter are hard to understand; yet he cites them as support for God's patience or delay of judgment (Rom 2.4-5), Christian belief in the final judgment (Rom 14.10), the consequent need for spotlessness (1 Thess 3.11-13), and the coming of Christ like a thief in the night (1 Thess 5.2). In verses 17-18: The letter end with a final exhortation to shun the erroneous doctrine, which leads to lawlessness. The final doxology is addressed to Jesus, not God, which is very unusual. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 7th

Read 2 Peter 3.1-13. In verses 1-7: Another refutation. In verses 1-2: Peter claims that this is his second letter, but 1 Peter can hardly be the earlier one because it shares so little of ths author's vocabulary or themes. Moreover, by referring to what was said by your apostles, the author positions himself as a much later authority. This letter aims to remind the recipients of what their holy prophets and Lord and Savior said about the Day of the Lord which is the crux of the conflict. In verses 3-4: farewell addresses generally predict the future crisis; here scoffers redicule the prophecy of Jesus' return. "Where is the promise of his coming?" Delay serves as their chief argument against Jesus' coming andand God's judgment. In verses 5-7: The author refutes their scoffing by emphasizing the reliability of God's word. God's word created the world out of water and judged it (recall Noah, 2.5), that same word declares that God will judge by fire what is created. it was common to describe God's twobasic powers as creative power atthe world's beginning and executive power at its end. The Christian God is also confessed as having both powers, which the opponents here deny. In verses 8-13: Challenge and riposte. Peter challenges more scoffing statments from his opponents. In verses 8-9: The standard argument against divine judgment is its delay; sinners seem to escape, and faithful people seem not to get rewarded. Peter refutes this in two ways. First, God's time is not our time, as Ps 90.4 indictaes (one day is like a thousand years); morever, God's delay is a gift of time for repentance (Rom 2.4-5) because God doesnot want any to perish. In verse 10:yetthe traditional prophecy of the Lord coming like a their (1 thess 5.2;Rev 3.3) reminds us that the exact time cannot be known. In verses 11-13: Correct theology lead to correct behavior; hence, all who await the world's dissolution and recreation willlive upright lives guided by this truth. The idea of new heavens and a new earth reflects a technical idea in Greek philosophy called "regeneration" (see Mt 19.28). The Stoics, for example, claimed that the world would dissolve in fire but then be recreated. A claim, then, is made that all right-thinking people accept the idea of the world's end. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 6th

Read 2 Peter 2.10b-22. in 2.10b-22: Assorted attacks. In verses 11-14: Peter resorts to name-calling (bold, willful), accusing his opponents of insulting the angels who are predicted to accompany the divine judgment (Mt 24.30-31). More name-calling follows: irrational animals, blots and blemishes, adulterous and greedy. He continually pronounces judgment on them (caught and killed, will be destroyed, suffering the penalty for doing wrong)- a judgment they deny. In verses 15-16: Baalam (Num 22) provides another biblical example of a "false pophet" who was rebuked by his dumb donkey. In verses 17-18: More name-calling, but in terms of things that fail: waterless springs are all promise and no payoff. He accuses his opponents off base motives (first greed and now license) and argues that their doctrine cannot lead to moral integrity. In verses 19-20: In promising freedom, they proclaim freedom from fear of God's judgment and presumably God's law, but this preverse idea only leads to slavery, not freedom, and to corruption, not holiness. In verses 21-22: The opponents are likened to the most unclean animals in that culture, dogs and sows; after baptism and purification, they return to their privious vomit and mud. The opponents' doctrine, then, only leads to a bad end-roof that it is wrong. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 5th

Read 2 Peter 2.1-10a. In verses 1-3: First look at the opponents. Farwell addresses typically predicts the future crises ((Acts 20.29-30), here, the advent of false teachers. In verses 1-3: When they deny the Master, they declare that God does not judge, a common deviant doctrine among the Greek and Judeans. One reason for thinking this is the observation of the slowness of judgment: it is idle or God sleeps (3.8-9). In verses 4-10a: First response. Responding to a denial of divine judgment, peter cites proof from the Bible. Inverses 4-8: God did not spare evil angels; God saved Noah but brought a flood on the ungodly; God recused Lot but turned Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes. In verses 9-10: These examples prove that the Lord knows how to rescue the goodly and to keep the unrighteous until the day say of judgment, the author also defends the belief in survial after death, when God's judgment will reward the good and requite the wicked. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 4th

Read 2 Peter 1.12-21. In verses 12-15: Farewell address. Typical of farewell addresses, Peter announces his death. Such biblical forms generally have (1) announcement of death (1.14); (2) predictions of future crises (2.1-3; 3.1-7); (3) exhoratation to a specific virture (1.4-11; 3.1-2); and (4) legact (2.4-10; 3.8-10). This prediction echoes Jn 21.18-19; even as it confirms the tradition that Peter regularly received special revelations (Mat 16.16-17; 17.25-27). In verses 16-21: Transfiguration. Claiming to have been present at Jesus' transfiguration (Mt 17.1-8), Peter interprets thate vent as a prophecy of Jesus' return in glory. In verses 16-18: As an eywitness, he claims a role that confirms his authority to explain and defend other prophecies about Jesus, such as his return to judge the world. In verses 19-21: He defends the inspiration of both the prophet who receives prophecy and its interpreter. Prophecy is fully confirmed, or established because God is its author (This is my beloved Son) and God's Spirit inspires both prophet and interpreter. The prophecy confirmed is about the final judgment of the world. Christ, the morning star (Rev 22.16) brings light and hope, not fear. Comments and Questions..

Reading for April 3rd

Read 2 Peter 1.1-11. In verses 1-2: Sender and addressees. The sender's name, Simon Peter is a rare semitic variation of "Simon Peter" or simply "Peter." As servant and apostle he claims high status, for great Israelite figures were often called "servants of the Lord" (Moses: Ex 32.13; David: 2 Sam 7.5). No specific place is addressed; instead the recipients are indentified as all those who share a most valuable thing, such as faith in God and Jesus that is, correct faith. In verses 3-10: Thanksgiving. Letters often include "thanksgivings," which introduce themes to be developed. In verses 3-4: Peter singles out two blessings for praise: everything needed for life and goodness and precious and very great promises. In verses 5-8: Correct faith leads to purity, not corruption, and predicts a sharing in the divine nature in the afterlife. In support, Peter cites a chain of virtues that follow from correct faith (see Rom 5.1-5), thus illustrating the principle that "good doctrine leads to good behavior" and vice versa. Besides faith, endurance (hope) and mutual affection,virtues such as knowldege, self-control, and godliness point to topics developed later: correct doctrine, moral retitude, and justice toward God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 2nd

Read Ecclesiastes 12.9-14 In 12.9-14: Epilogue Likely added by an editor, these verses speak in third person and make the book more pious. In verse 13: Fear God, keep commandments: While not the opposite of previous ideas (5.6) this advice ends the book on at raditional note. In verse 14: The body of the book has been less clear about the distinct rewards of good and evil (8.13-14). Comments and Questions.