![]() Peter’s readers knew that Christ’s return will involve rapturing all believers out of earth and then seven years of Tribulation. Verse 9 explains why Jesus had delayed fulfilling His promise to return and establish His kingdom. Though we may think thatģ3 years is not very long to wait, we must understand that the first century believers thought it likely that Jesus would return in their lifetimes (as we do in the twenty-first century). When Peter is writing, it is around AD 66, or 33 years after Jesus ascended to heaven with a promise to return. Peter says, “The Lord…is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Many people see that as an obvious statement that repentance is the condition for escaping eternal condemnation.īut the issue in 2 Pet 3:1-8 is the timing of “the promise of His coming.” In v 4 Peter says the mockers were saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”Ī point often missed is that v 9 starts with the words, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. “Perishing” in 2 Peter 3:9 Refers to Premature Death, Not Eternal Condemnation The context in 2 Peter 3 is radically different than John 3:16. While clearly in John 3:16 apollumi refers to eternal condemnation-the context there is what makes that clear (see John 3:17-18). Normally it refers to some sort of loss or destruction, including physical death. I showed that it refers to eternal condemnation less We Should Not Assume That “Perish” in 2 Peter 3:9 Means What It Does in John 3:16Įlsewhere I have analyzed every occurrence of the verb apollumi (perish) in the NT. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). By Bob Wilkin From the forthcoming book The Power of Repentance ![]()
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