“From this we learn that the epistles of the Apostle Peter are only two. "I stir up by way of reminder in them" means: in these epistles or by these epistles I stir up your pure mind. For it is characteristic of a pure mind to remember what has been heard or commanded for salvation, and to be stirred up to fulfill this in deed with all strength and zeal.”

“I am writing to you, dear ones, in these letters, in which I stir up your sincere mind in remembrance: that you should be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior Jesus. From these, we learn that there are two universal letters of Peter. Furthermore, what he says, "in which I stir up your sincere mind by way in remembrance," is to be understood in this way: In which letters, that is, through which letters, I stir up the sincere mind that is in you. For it is the nature of a sincere and pure mind to remember and be stirred up with all virtue and readiness of spirit regarding what has been heard or the useful things that have been deposited, in order to repeat the actions of these. However, these have been deposited through prophetic sayings and apostolic preachings. For this reason, Paul also says: "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets:" (Eph. 2:20) For all of them announced the coming of the Lord, both the first and the second, and it is not right to doubt such great and numerous witnesses. And what do I say, he asks, about the prophets and apostles, who announced both the first and the second coming of the Lord? And this is how the order should be taken: that you should be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior. For the preposition ὑπὸ is taken from the common, that is, "by". And why Peter should order this remembrance to be stirred up, he adds: Because those who live addicted to passions according to their own desires, seeing the coming of God, are afraid, which the Lord himself also announced along with others divinely inspired, and therefore despising their dishonorable life: then also seeing that the words do not immediately take effect, but are delayed for the salvation of many, they approach the faithful as if they were deceivers, and say:”

“And this was commanded through the preaching of the prophets and apostles. Therefore Paul also says: "having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets" (Eph. 2:20). For they all proclaimed the coming of the Lord. And one cannot disbelieve so many witnesses. But why do I speak of prophets and apostles? Because they proclaimed both the first and the second coming of our Lord and Savior Himself. The order of the speech is as follows: "that you may remember the words formerly spoken (ὑπό) by the holy prophets," "the commandment (ὑπό) of your apostles," "according to (ὑπό) the commandment of the Lord and Savior." For the preposition ὑπό (from/by) applies to all. But why does he command to revive the memory of this? Because, he adds, those who live passionately according to their own lusts shamelessly attack believers and mock them, seeing that some fear the coming of the Lord, which together with the prophets the Lord Himself also foretold, and therefore they abhor their impure life, and especially because the event does not immediately follow the prediction, but for the salvation of those inscribed in the book of the saved, an interval has been permitted.”

“The all-merciful and beneficent Father has bowels [of compassion] towards those that fear Him, and kindly and lovingly bestows His favours upon those who come to Him with a simple mind. Wherefore let us not be double-minded; neither let our soul be lifted up on account of His exceedingly great and glorious gifts. Far from us be that which is written, "Wretched are they who are of a double mind, and of a doubting heart; who say, These things we have heard even in the times of our fathers; but, behold, we have grown old, and none of them has happened unto us." Ye foolish ones! compare yourselves to a tree: take [for instance] the vine. First of all, it sheds its leaves, then it buds, next it puts forth leaves, and then it flowers; after that comes the sour grape, and then follows the ripened fruit. Ye perceive how in a little time the fruit of a tree comes to maturity. Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, "Speedily will He come, and will not tarry;" and, "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom ye look."”

“Because the coming of the Lord does not immediately follow upon His words, for the salvation of many who are written in the book of the living, insolent people attack the faithful with mockery and say: "Where is the promise of His coming?" But because one promise has not yet been fulfilled, for the aforementioned reason, it is unjust to disbelieve the other saving commandments of the Lord as well, as malicious people wish and strive to do. Thus babbled the Gnostics of that time, namely: the Naassenes, the Lampetians, and the Euchites. All of them, he says, are ignorant; for they willingly shut their eyes before the truth. Of what then are they ignorant? Of the fact that the heavens, according to the book of Genesis of Moses, were made from water — for, in his words, God Himself commanded "let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters" (Gen. 1:6) — and likewise the earth by His command appeared from the waters in which it had previously been submerged; that since heaven and earth consist of waters, the flood came unexpectedly; and that just as during the flood destruction followed through water, so now all things are destined to be destroyed through fire, and together with this the ungodly shall also perish. The two principal elements of the universe are water and fire, from which two further elements receive their existence: air from the evaporation of waters, and earth from the condensation of waters; and this evaporation and condensation are produced by fire, which anyone possessing reason will believe, for such power the nature of fire received from the Creator God Himself. Therefore, if there are only two elements, and the first destruction of the ungodly was through water, then it is absolutely necessary, he says, that the second destruction of the ungodly be accomplished through fire.”

“"In the beginning you, O Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands," said the psalmist. If you did not know from the beginning, O Lord, who laid the foundation of the earth, and if the heavens were not the work of your hands, it would be impossible for them to be changed or to be transformed into anything else. If they had not been created, they would have to remain incomplete forever. But since you were their maker, you can do whatever you want to with them. They are made of destructible matter and did not exist at all until you made them by your will and power. There is only one that is eternal and can never be removed and that is you, the only maker of everything that exists.”

“For this is hidden from them willingly, that the heavens existed long ago and the earth, out of water, etc. The earth consists out of water, for at the beginning of creation God said: "Let the waters be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so (Gen. I). It consists also by water by the word of God, because by divine arrangement the veins of water fill the whole depth within, just as we see the bodies of living creatures overflowing with veins of blood, lest they fail in dryness if the irrigation of water ceases. Finally, we see that with the heat of summer, the lands with their absorbed moisture wither away, and soon are turned into dust which the wind casts. Another Edition has: "The heavens existed long ago out of water and through water." But it signifies this humid and cloudy air. For Scripture is accustomed to call this air, and sometimes the heavens. Whence it is written: "The hawk in heaven knows its appointed time" (Jerem. VIII).”

“"Out of water," as the material cause, and "by water," as the perfecting cause, for water holds the earth together, binding its dust and giving it solidity, and were it not for this, the earth would turn into dust and air. Some idle talker might perhaps object to us: why did God, who created the visible world, not create it solid from the beginning, so that it would be necessary to bring it to perfection under Noah through the flood, and at the end of the world, as Peter now says, through fire? To such a person we shall say, first of all, that the world cannot be unchangeable. For how can that which received its being through change possess unchangeability (for it was brought into being from non-being, which no sensible person would call non-change)? And since the change toward the worse reached the very worst, the Creator of the world, in order to bring it toward the better, of necessity accomplished its purification under Noah by means of water, and at the end will accomplish it by means of fire. We too are accustomed to subjecting certain things to the action of fire, not in order to destroy them, but in order to give them purity and luster. Of this, probably, no one will doubt. Something similar God also promises to do at the end of the age by means of fire: what is superfluous and useless for the future state of mankind He will destroy—for example, plants, cattle, forests. Thus creatures not needed for incorruptible life will be destroyed. But if this is so, then those who assert that this visible world was incorruptible from the beginning are talking idle nonsense. And if someone were to reason the same way about intellectual beings, since they too were brought into being from non-being, let such a person understand that their very simplicity (non-compositeness) guarantees their indestructibility and their closeness, by their very being, to the blessed and divine nature.”

“At that time the world perished, being flooded by water. At that time, referring to the heavens and the earth which he had previously mentioned. For through these things the world that had existed was destroyed. For the higher parts of the world were in no way touched by the flood. Therefore the earth perished, because being submerged and covered by waters, it not only lost the state of fruitfulness inherent to it for such a long time, but also, as we have taught above, in many places it received a different face from that which it had initially. The heavens likewise perished to the extent of this airspace. "For the water increased," as Saint Augustine says, "and occupied this entire space where birds fly." And thus certainly the heavens close to the earth perished, as it is said "the birds of the heavens." But there are also (he says) the heavens of the heavens higher in the firmament, but whether they too are to perish by fire, or if only these which perished by the flood will do so, is a rather more precise debate among the learned.”

“The world perished through heaven and earth. The earth released water from its depths, and the floodgates of heaven poured water down upon the earth. "Perished" should be understood not of the entire world, but only of the living creatures, which constitute, as it were, the whole world: for the world created without them would not even be a world.”

“Then further concerning Him, that He alone is powerful, both to institute judgment on the deeds performed in life, and on the ignorance of the Deity [displayed by men], I can adduce witnesses from your own ranks; and first Sophocles, who speaks as follows: "That time of times shall come, shall surely come, When from the golden ether down shall fall Fire's teeming treasure, and in burning flames All things of earth and heaven shall be consumed; And then, when all creation is dissolved, The sea's last wave shall die upon the shore, The bald earth stript of trees, the burning air No winged thing upon its breast shall bear. There are two roads to Hades, well we know; By this the righteous, and by that the bad, On to their separate fates shall tend; and He, Who all things had destroyed, shall all things save."...”

“Many people think that these words refer to changes and revolutions which will take place here on earth. They say that heaven and earth were once both water and that they were formed out of water by the Word of God. What had been the world up to then perished in water, and what are now the heavens and the earth are based on the Word but are being kept for destruction by fire. By these words the preacher is saying that what we now see before us will be consumed by fire. For he says that the day of judgment will come as a thief in the night, and that on that day the heavens will implode, and the elements will be burnt by the resulting fire. Afterward there will be new heavens and a new earth, in which the righteous will possess righteousness and the promises of God in their own dwellings. However, it must not be forgotten that this letter is counterfeit, and although it may be published, it does not form part of the earliest list of recieved writings.”

“That the destruction of the present world will be by means of fire is a thought not of Christians alone, but also of pagan sages. But someone will say: why create the world if it must again turn to corruption? To such a person we will say that the world will not be utterly annihilated, but will be destroyed in order to be renewed, which is why the prophet also says: "and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth" (Ps. 104:30). The sensible creation, when made by God, was "very good" (Gen. 1:31), but because of man's transgression, this very creation "was made subject to vanity" (Rom. 8:20), that is, it lost the firmness of its existence. Then, when at the time of the flood there were few God-fearing people on earth, the world was, as it were, restored a second time and received a new beginning through Noah and the other living creatures preserved in the ark, so that they might serve as the seed of a new state of the world. Meanwhile, the human race did not improve even then, but went on to worse things than before, from which neither the law given through Moses nor the coming of the Lord turned it back. Therefore, since the calling to salvation was manifold, and the perdition from disobedience was of many kinds, a flood of fire will be necessary, that is, a destruction, though not a total one — a destruction not of souls, but also not of bodies. "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 upon itself what it did through the body? For it is not fitting for a righteous Judge, when two have sinned in one and the same thing, to forgive one and lay the entire weight of guilt upon the other. Let us say, secondly, also this: that we too customarily purify unclean things from admixture by means of fire and restore their brightness. "Are reserved unto the day of judgment and perdition" (2 Pet. 3:7). "Judgment" means the same as condemnation.”

“Fire will precede the face of the Judge, by which the face of the earth will be burned up, so that the figure of this world will perish by the conflagration of worldly fires, just as the flood came about by the inundation of waters. Just as the world was previously destroyed and in a certain way purged by the element of water, which is cold, against the heat and filth of lust; so the final world will be purged by fire on account of the cooling of charity and the coldness of malice and avarice, which will reign at the end as if in the old age of the world itself. Because these are of the greatest adherence, it is necessary that the purging agent be of intimate, violent and accelerated action; which is not found in any other element than fire. And therefore, just as the flood was brought about by an inundation of waters, so by the action of fire the face of this sensible world will be burned up.”

“Now we have understood that the expression used among these words, 'According to the days of the tree [of life] shall be the days of my people; the works of their toil shall abound' obscurely predicts a thousand years. For as Adam was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would die, we know that he did not complete a thousand years. We have perceived, moreover, that the expression, 'The day of the Lord is as a thousand years,' is connected with this subject.”

“Now he died on the same day in which he did eat. For God said, "In that day on which ye shall eat of it, ye shall die by death." The Lord, therefore, recapitulating in Himself this day, underwent His sufferings upon the day preceding the Sabbath, that is, the sixth day of the creation, on which day man was created; thus granting him a second creation by means of His passion, which is that [creation] out of death. And there are some, again, who relegate the death of Adam to the thousandth year; for since "a day of the Lord is as a thousand years," he did not overstep the thousand years, but died within them, thus bearing out the sentence of his sin. Whether, therefore, with respect to disobedience, which is death; whether [we consider] that, on account of that, they were delivered over to death, and made debtors to it; whether with respect to [the fact that on] one and the same day on which they ate they also died (for it is one day of the creation); whether [we regard this point], that, with respect to this cycle of days, they died on the day in which they did also eat, that is, the day] of the preparation, which is termed "the pure supper," that is, the sixth day of the feast, which the Lord also exhibited when He suffered on that day; or whether [we reflect] that he (Adam) did not overstep the thousand years, but died within their limit,-it follows that, in regard to all these significations, God is indeed true. For they died who tasted of the tree; and the serpent is proved a liar and a murderer, as the Lord said of him: "For he is a murderer from the beginning, and the truth is not in him."”

“Therefore let the philosophers, who enumerate thousands of ages from the beginning of the world, know that the six thousandth year is not yet completed, and that when this number is completed the consummation must take place, and the condition of human affairs be remodelled for the better, the proof of which must first be related, that the matter itself may be plain. God completed the world and this admirable work of nature in the space of six days, as is contained in the secrets of Holy Scripture, and consecrated the seventh day, on which He had rested from His works. But this is the Sabbath-day, which in the language of the Hebrews received its name from the number, whence the seventh is the legitimate and complete number. For there are seven days, by the revolutions of which in order the circles of years are made up; and there are seven stars which do not set, and seven luminaries which are called planets, whose differing and unequal movements are believed to cause the varieties of circumstances and times. Therefore, since all the works of God were completed in six days, the world must continue in its present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years. For the great day of God is limited by a circle of a thousand years, as the prophet shows, who says "In Thy sight, O Lord, a thousand years are as one day." And as God laboured during those six days in creating such great works, so His religion and truth must labour during these six thousand years, while wickedness prevails and bears rule. And again, since God, having finished His works, rested the seventh day and blessed it, at the end of the six thousandth year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years; and there must be tranquillity and rest from the labours which the world now has long endured.”

“Scripture says that human life is short and full of trouble, but you belong to the unseen and eternal one. And a thousand years are like a single day, or even like a watch of the night. It is during the fourth watch that those who are entrusted to guard it are divided, and it was during that watch that the Lord came to the holy apostles. If he has spoken this way about a thousand years, it is clear that the lifespan of a man is extremely short. The day of the Lord is like a thousand years, and yet it is undivided. No one lives for a thousand years, but no one has known a full day of the Lord either.”

“Having concluded the discourse on the end of the age — that it will certainly come and will come through fire (which we also explained at length) — the apostle turned to the extension of the time of the world's end and says that "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering" (2 Pet. 3:9), awaiting our salvation and the fullness of those who are to be saved, and that before Him, the infinite One, no amount of time is lengthy, but that for Him "a thousand years are as one day" (2 Pet. 3:8); indeed, according to the words of David, there is not even a multitude of days, for he speaks thus: "a thousand years in Thy sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night" (Ps. 90:4). When he likens a thousand years to a watch of the night, he has in mind the very shortest span of time. And the night is divided into four intervals. Thus the Lord, according to the words of the Gospel (Matt. 14:25), came to His apostles "in the fourth watch of the night."”

“Now, as to Philo the deacon, a man of Cilicia, of high reputation, who still ministers to me in the word of God, along with Gaius and Agathopus, an elect man, who has followed me from Syria, not regarding his life,-these also bear testimony in your behalf. And I myself give thanks to God for you, because ye have received them: and the Lord will also receive you. But may those that dishonoured them be forgiven through the grace of Jesus Christ, "who wisheth not the death of the sinner, but his repentance."”

“The Lord does not delay His promise, etc. Therefore, He who knows all times, the latest and the ancient, does not delay His promise, but indeed shows this at the time which He predestined before all times to come. And therefore He still defers, so that the full number of the elect, which He decreed with the Father before the ages, may be fulfilled. Hence, in the Apocalypse, the souls of the martyrs who longed for the coming of His judgment and resurrection heard that they should rest yet a little time, until the number of their fellow servants and brethren should be completed. But those who understand the aforementioned judgment of blessed Peter as if he were saying that the day of judgment would last as long as a thousand years, refer this to the cause that it is necessary for those who depart from the body with some sins, yet are predestined to the lot of the elect, to be purged by fire for such a time, and then finally, with all sins forgiven, to come to life. But these do not see how impudent it is to believe that such a great company of the perfect and just, having received blessed and immortal bodies in the blink of an eye, would have to wait in the air or on earth for the end of the judgment for a space of a thousand years, and then finally, with their companions fully prepared, to hear the long-desired judgment: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom" (Matt. XXV).”

“Besides, the belief that everything was made from nothing will be impressed upon us by that ultimate dispensation of God which will bring back all things to nothing. For "the very heaven shall be rolled together as a scroll; '" nay, it shall come to nothing along with the earth itself, with which it was made in the beginning.”

“Like a cloak, every body grows old with time. But although it grows old, it will be renewed again by your divine will, O Lord. The heavens will not be destroyed, but rather they will be changed into something better. In the same way our bodies are not destroyed in order to disappear altogether but in order to be renewed in an indestructible state.”

“For all the things which exist here in appearance pass away and are dissolved, according to the teaching of the Book; and all things which are promised and are about to come into being for the true believers, abide for ever, and they neither pass away nor are destroyed. Believe not then with that faith which is in thee in what passeth away, and deem it not an abiding thing, but thou shalt make use of faith in its fitting order, and shalt believe by it in spiritual things.”

“To explain the obscurity and unexpectedness of the Lord's coming, the apostle compares it to the coming of a thief and of the night. The night indicates obscurity, and the thief indicates unexpectedness; for no one who expects a thief is ever robbed. Therefore the Lord also says that "as in the days of Noah people were devoted to feasting and to marriages, until the flood overtook them, so too the coming of the Lord will overtake the ungodly unexpectedly" (Matt. 24:37–39). "With a great noise" means with a crackling, and such crackling usually occurs when something is burning. Note: The apostle said, "the earth and the works on it will be burned up," and not "people"; consequently, he speaks only of the destruction of the ungodly or of their ungodly works; for "the way of the ungodly shall perish" (Ps. 1:6), and not the ungodly person himself.”

“Through the action of that fire all flammable elementary things will be consumed, plants and animals; the elements will be purged and renewed, especially air and earth; the just will be purged and the reprobate will be burned; and when these things have been accomplished, the motion of the heavens will also cease, so that, with the number of the elect completed, there may come about a certain renewal and rewarding of worldly bodies. Since fire has especially the power of expelling an extraneous form, and also has a refining power akin to celestial nature: therefore through it there ought to occur purgation and renewal at once, such that, since it has a twofold efficacy, with respect to the one it precedes the coming of the Judge, but with respect to the other it must follow. And since the renewal is toward a newness that no longer returns to oldness—and thus toward an incorruptible newness, which it is not in the power of any creature to bestow—hence it is that, although in that purgation and renewal fire accomplishes something by its natural power, such as igniting, purging, rarefying, and refining, nevertheless it is necessary that together with that natural power there be a power operating above nature, by whose command the beginning of the conflagration will occur, and by whose power the completion will likewise be brought about.”

“For all the things which exist here in appearance pass away and are dissolved, according to the teaching of the Book; and all things which are promised and are about to come into being for the true believers, abide for ever, and they neither pass away nor are destroyed. Believe not then with that faith which is in thee in what passeth away, and deem it not an abiding thing, but thou shalt make use of faith in its fitting order, and shalt believe by it in spiritual things.”

“In which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt in fervent heat but [we look for] new heavens and the new earth, has this as its purport, that with a great noise, as in the twinkling of an eye, all the elements, being on fire as in a furnace and being thus purified, undergo the change for the better. And as regards the heavens and the earth—these shall be made new and the conditions of life in them shall be changed in accordance with the saying of Paul: The fashion of this world passeth away; as if he said: the present order of things shall be changed, the succession of day and night shall cease, the stars shall no longer accomplish their courses and the air shall no longer be in motion, and neither the water nor the earth shall any more produce their harvests, but a new state of things shall be introduced suitable for immortal and incorruptible men and angels.”

“Yet there will be new heavens and a new earth. He did not say different heavens and a different earth, but the old and ancient ones to be changed for the better, according to what David says: In the beginning, you founded the earth, Lord, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain, and all things will grow old like a garment, and like a cloak you will change them, and they will be changed (Psalm 102). Therefore, those which will perish, grow old, and will be changed will certainly be consumed by fire, soon, with the fire departing, they will resume a more pleasing form. For the figure of this world has passed away, not the substance, just as the substance of our flesh does not perish, but its form will be changed, when what is sown is a natural body, it will rise a spiritual body (I Cor. 15). Concerning fire and water, we read nothing of the sort, but rather we have in the Apocalypse: And the sea is no more (Apoc. 21). We have in the prophets: And the light of a lamp will shine in you no more (Apoc. 18).”

“The Lord will establish a new heaven and a new earth, "new" not in essence and substance; for if someone builds a new house, this does not already mean that he builds it from material that did not exist before. No, God once created matter and formed it into every possible kind and composition, and what was necessary only for this present life, but useless and superfluous for the incorruptible life to come, He will abolish, while to what is useful He will give a new form with incorruptible and unfading beauty, and will allow it to fill another and incorruptible world.”

“Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. "According to his promise." For He promised the faithful, saying: "I will come and take you, etc. (Jn. 14:33) "In my Father's house there are many mansions." (Jn. 14:2) Therefore, Paul also says that, when the angel shall sound the trumpet from heaven, and the dead shall rise immortal (1 Thess. 4:15), they themselves will also meet the Lord in glory, signifying immortality by what he said about glory. But if they are immortal or incorruptible, surely they will also be new. If, however, these are new, it is evident that a new creature has been born to be changed along with the establishment of men: corruptible indeed because of the corruptible downfall of men, but incorruptible because of the renewal of men. Consider, moreover, that both the delay of time until the Lord's coming and the long-suffering expectation itself are said to effect our salvation.”

“Everything in creation was made for our enjoyment, and it will be remade along with us.… This new life is for all who believe, and not just for Israel, for the Lord has exalted the Gentiles, lifting us up by the cross toward himself. Has he not provided for believers? Indeed he has. He has lifted them up and carried them and placed them in the many mansions which there are in the Father's presence.”

“Wherefore, my beloved, as you wait for these things, strive to be found spotless, etc. These are the holy vigils of which the Lord said: Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he comes shall find watching (Luke XII). Indeed, he is watchful who keeps himself free from the defilement of vices, who, as far as it depends on him, has peace with all men, who, using the most blessed peace within himself, submits all the allurements of the flesh to the rule of the spirit. And rightly, when he said: Strive to be found spotless and blameless, he added before him, that is, before the Lord, because only he who is clean in the judgment of God is perfectly clean. Hence in praise of good spouses, it is said: They were both righteous before God (Luke I). Well, before God, because human judgments often fail.”

“These things, brethren, I write to you concerning righteousness, not because I take anything upon myself, but because ye have invited me to do so. For neither I, nor any other such one, can come up to the wisdom of the blessed and glorified Paul. He, when among you, accurately and stedfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of those who were then alive. And when absent from you, he wrote you a letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be the means of building you up in that faith which has been given you, and which, being followed by hope, and preceded by love towards God, and Christ, and our neighbour, "is the mother of us all." For if any one be inwardly possessed of these graces, he hath fulfilled the command of righteousness, since he that hath love is far from all sin.”

“Peter, in his second epistle, urged us to holiness in living and character, declaring that this world would pass. New heavens and a new earth are expected which will be given to the just to inhabit.… Some people had used certain obscure passages from Paul's writings in order to excuse their lack of concern to live well, on the ground that they were secure in their salvation. Peter was saying that some of the things which Paul said are hard to understand and that these people were twisting them to their own ruin.”

“The same first of the apostles, when he was admonishing his disciples about many things and recognized that some were disparaging Paul's writings, says: "Just as our most dear brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking in them about these matters in which there are certain things difficult to understand, which the unlearned and unstable distort, as they do the other scriptures, to their own destruction." Behold, Paul wrote in his Epistles that Peter was reprehensible, and behold, Peter asserts in his Epistles that Paul was to be admired in what he had written. For certainly unless Peter had read Paul's Epistles, he would not have praised them. But if he read them, he found that he himself was called reprehensible there. Therefore the friend of truth praised even that by which he was reproved, and this very thing pleased him, because in those matters he had not pleased in which he had thought otherwise than he ought.”

“Now, unquestionably, the Divine Scriptures are more fruitful in resources of all kinds for this sort of facility. Nor do I risk contradiction in saying that the very Scriptures were even arranged by the will of God in such a manner as to furnish materials for heretics, inasmuch as I read that "there must be heresies, which there cannot be without the Scriptures.”

“False religious systems, therefore, have been attacked by more sagacious men, because they perceived their falsehood; but the true religion was not introduced, because they knew not what and where it was. They therefore so regarded it as though it had no existence, because they were unable to find it in its truth. And in this manner they fell into a much greater error than they who held a religion which was false. For those worshippers of fragile images, however foolish they may be, inasmuch as they place heavenly things in things which are earthly and corruptible, yet retain something of wisdom, and may be pardoned, because they hold the chief duty of man, if not in reality, yet still in their purpose; since, if not the only, yet certainly the greatest difference between men and the beasts consists in religion. But this latter class, in proportion to their superior wisdom, in that they understood the error of false religion, rendered themselves so much the more foolish, because they did not imagine that some religion was true. And thus, because it is easier to judge of the affairs of others than of their own, while they see the downfall of others, they have not observed what was before their own feet. The sum of the matter is this: The unlearned and the foolish esteem false religions as true, because they neither know the true nor understand the false. But the more sagacious, because they are ignorant of the true, either persist in those religions which they know to be false, that they may appear to possess something; or worship nothing at all, that they may not fall into error, whereas this very thing partakes largely of error, under the figure of a man to imitate the life of cattle. To understand that which is false is truly the part of wisdom, but of human wisdom. Beyond this step man cannot proceed, and thus many of the philosophers have taken away religious institutions, as I have pointed out; but to know the truth is the part of divine wisdom. But man by himself cannot attain to this knowledge, unless he is taught by God.”

“If it is both true and clear that those lacking in good works will be thrown into the fire, without doubt another interpretation of Paul's sayings must be sought and his teaching must be adapted in those matters which the apostle Peter says are difficult to understand but ought not to turn people to their own destruction, so that, contrary to the most obvious testimony of Scripture, they make the most wicked confident of obtaining salvation, although they most stubbornly cling to their sin and are not changed by correction or penance.”

“He says "hard to understand," which the ungodly preach in a distorted sense, for this means "they twist." Let us present one example from all their false interpretations. The Apostle Paul said: "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20). The distorters gave the words of the Apostle Paul this meaning: let us sin more so that we may receive greater forgiveness. They do this to their own destruction. For just as those who killed the prophets and apostles, so also those who perversely interpret their words are subject to one and the same condemnation. As those who did not desire the benefit and salvation of their disciples killed them, so also those who do not desire that anyone should receive salvation through them twist their words.”

“Peter has to warn his people so that they will not be deceived. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself warned us for our safety, that we should "beware of those who come to us in sheep's clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves." And again: "Take care that you are not deceived. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will deceive many." And Paul cries: "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers claiming to believe in the Lord Jesus." For those who deform the truth by their doctrines of ungodliness and works of evil are like those who killed the prophets and apostles. Indeed, they are worse, because they have killed not only the living but those who have been saved as well.”

“You therefore, brothers, being forewarned, be on guard, etc. Being forewarned, because foolish ones will introduce various errors, some denying the future judgment, some falsifying divine words, some interpreting wrongly, some loosening the restraints of luxury, others deceiving the hearts of the wretched with other fraudulent deceptions, be on guard, lest by any cunning of deceivers you might fall from the firmness of your faith.”

“Therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, take care that you are not led astray by the error of the wicked and fall from your own commitment, but grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. Truly, he calls faith in the Lord its own commitment. And just as he concludes in his other Epistle with prayer, so in this one, he prays for an increase in faith in the Lord for them.”