Postmillennial Worldview

PMW 2026-011 by Daniel J. Ragusa

Gentry note:
This posting is an excerpt drawn from an excellent commentary on 2 Peter by Daniel J. Ragusa, Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path. To read his whole exposition, complete with footnotes omitted here (except for one note explaining what a “merism” is), you may purchase it as at: Reformed Forum.
https://reformedforum.org/product/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path-redemptive-historical-bible-studies/

Now for Ragusa’s explanation of 2 Peter 3 and “the Day of the Lord” (pp. 113–118):

The Day of the Lord
Peter … describes what the day of the Lord will be like in [2 Peter] verse 10: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies [or elements, Gk. stoicheial will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” We have already considered the Old Testament background to the day of the Lord as a day of finality and double features — punishment and deliverance, judgment and salvation. It “will come like a thief” in keeping with the sovereignty of the Lord of the promise over its fulfillment.

The thief image highlights the inevitability and suddenness of its dawn for the ungodly. According to verse 7, “the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly.” While it remains stored up for a time, according to the Lord’s sovereign and saving purposes, it will not be so forever. What follows in verse 10 is a three-fold description of the events of the day: The release of the unstoppable, stored-up fire from the heavens to the heavenly bodies then to the earth and the works that are done in it.

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Ed. by Ken Gentry and Bill Boney
This is a collection of several key eschatological studies by the renowned Reformed theologian Geehardus Vos. We have modernized Vos’ grammar and syntax and updated his layout style according to modern publishing conventions (shorter sentences and paragraphs). We did this without changing any of Vos’ arguments.

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Elements (Stoicheia)
The Greek word translated as “heavenly bodies” is stoicheia. It is found seven times in the New Testament (Gal. 4:3, 9; Col. 2:8, 20; Heb. 5:12; 2 Pet. 3:10, 12). The following four interpretations have been proposed: (1) material elements of the universe, like earth, air, fire and water; (2) heavenly bodies, like constellations of stars; (3) fundamental principles of any science, art, or discipline; and (4) elemental spirits.

The second interpretation, “heavenly bodies,” may find support in Isaiah 34:4, “All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree.” Some have also pointed out that the stoicheia relate to the heavens in the same way the works relate to the earth, and so should be understood as heavenly bodies. However, the structure of 2 Peter 3:10 is not so neat. We might translate it woodenly as,

The heavens, with a rushing noise, will pass away,
The stoicheia, burning up, will be dissolved,
And earth and the works in it will be exposed.

These three clauses could be literarily arranged in at least two ways. First, it could be chiastically ordered:

      A. The heavens, with a rushing noise, will pass away,
          B. The stoicheia, burning up, will be dissolved,
      Aˈ. And earth and the works in it will be exposed.

Accordingly, the stoicheia are situated within the merism of “heaven and earth.” [1] This would make the stoicheia common to both. It would likely then be referring to the material elements of the universe.

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Second, there could be understood an intensification to the events of the day of the Lord:

     A. The heavens, with a rushing noise, will pass away,
             B. The stoicheia, burning up, will be dissolved,
                 C. And earth and the works in it will be exposed.

All the protective layers of the cosmos that man may have relied upon to shield him from the divine judgment are stripped away until what he has done is exposed and the heart of the matter exposed. Not even the mountains will serve as a safe hiding place (Hos. 10:8; Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16). In this second ordering, the stoicheia may also refer not to the heavenly bodies but to the material elements in which man may have trusted as idols for protection. This is reflected in the mythologized thought nature of the Greek gods who were up of those elements (e.g., Poseidon as the god of water).” “They to control certain elements but were themselves made exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). Finally, the fact that fire and water, two of the material elements, have already played a dominant role in Peter’s thought in this chapter further suggests interpreting stoicheia as material elements from which idols are fashioned (see Deut. 32:21-22).

Footnote

[1] A merism is a rhetorical device in which two contrasting parts refer to the whole. [KG note: the “heavens and earth” merism is effectively a Hebrew reference to the universe, a word which Hebrew does not contain].

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A study guide for personal or small group Bible study. Deals with the Christian doctrine of salvation from a Reformed theological perspective. It opens with a study of God as loving Creator, the shows how the first man fell into sin. Shows God’s righteousness requires that sin be dealt with. Presents Jesus as both God and man so that he can be man’s Savior. Includes review questions and questions for further study.Twelve chapters are ideal for one quarter of Sunday School.

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