Commentary on Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles John Calvin (continued)
John Calvin
7. But the heavens and the earth which are now. He does not infer this as the consequence; for his purpose was no other than to dissipate the craftiness of scoffers respecting the perpetual state of nature, and we see many such at this day who being slightly embued with the rudiments of philosophy, only hunt after profane speculations, in order that they may pass themselves off as great philosophers.
But it now appears quite evident from what has been said, that there is nothing unreasonable in the declaration made by the Lord, that the heaven and the earth shall hereafter be consumed by fire, because the reason for the fire is the same as that for the water. For it was a common saying even among the ancients, that from these two chief elements all things have proceeded. But as he had to do with the ungodly, he speaks expressly of their destruction.
8. But be not ignorant of this one thing. He now turns to speak to the godly; and he reminds them that when the coming of Christ is the subject, they were to raise upwards their eyes, for by so doing, they would not limit, by their unreasonable wishes, the time appointed by the Lord. For waiting seems very long on this account, because we have our eyes fixed on the shortness of the present life, and we also increase weariness by computing days, hours, and minutes. But when the eternity of God's kingdom comes to our minds, many ages vanish away like so many moments.
This then is what the Apostle calls our attention to, so that we may know that the day of resurrection does not depend on the present flow of time, but on the hidden purpose of God, as though he had said, ``Men wish to anticipate God for this reason, because they measure time according to the judgment of their own flesh; and they are by nature inclined to impatience, so that celerity is even delay to them: do ye then ascend in your minds to heaven, and thus time will be to you neither long nor short.''
2 Peter 3:9-13
2 Peter 3:9-13 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but world at that time, being overflowed with water, was destroyed.'' The objection to this view is, as justly stated by Macknight, that the correspondence between this verse and the following is thereby lost: the reservation of the world to be destroyed by fire is expressly ascribed, in verse seventh, to God's word; and to the same ought the destruction of the old world to be ascribed. This is doubtless the meaning required by the passage, but ``which'' being in the plural, creates a difficulty, and there is no different reading. Macknight solves the difficulty by saying that the plural ``which'' or whom, refers to ``word,'' meaning Christ, and ``God,'' as in the first verse of this chapter, ``in both which,'' a reference is made to what is implied in ``the second Epistle,'' that is, the first. He supposes that there is here the same anomalous mode of speaking. But the conjecture which has been made is not improbable, that it is a typographical mistake, {ὧν} being put for {οὗ} or for {ὃν}. Then the meaning would be evident; and the two parts would correspond the one with the other: 5. ``For of this they are wilfully ignorant, that the heavens existed of old and the earth (which subsisted from water and in water,) by 6. the word of God; by which the world at that time, being over7. flowed with water, was destroyed. But the present heavens and the earth are by His word reserved, being kept for fire to the day of judgment and of the perdition of ungodly men.'' By ``word'' here is meant command, or power, or the fiat by which the world was created; and by the same it was destroyed, and by the same it will be finally destroyed. Instead of {αὐτῶ} ``the same'' Griesbach has introduced into his text {αὐτοῦ}, ``His.'' --- Ed