2 Peter 3:1-7
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Summary
- In the last days, people will want to do as they please.
- They will deliberately ignore the historical facts of the Creation and the Flood, and claim that things have always gone on the way they do today. (They will deny that God has any involvement in the affairs of this world.)
- On the basis of this false claim (that things continue as they always have), they will mock the promise of Jesus' future return and of a future judgment.
- However, the very facts that they deliberately ignore demonstrate that God has the power to do what he has promised. And it will be a judgment of fire.
Comments
The mockers' denial
- People who want to do as they please don't want to face the reality of a future judgment for their conduct. The easiest way to get ease their consciences is to simply deny that there is a God who is involved in the affairs of this world. But in order to do this, they also have to deny the historic fact that God has been involved in the past.
- The modern-day expression of this false claim is probably best described as the "theory of uniformitarianism," which says, "the present is the key to the past." This false claim is the foundation for modern-day evolution.
The historical facts
- God spoke and the earth was formed out of water and with water. God spoke and the earth was deluged by a worldwide flood. Both occurred by the spoken word of God. (This fact does not deny the possibility that catastrophic events in nature could have been used by God to cause the Flood.)
The future judgment
- God will speak again, and there will be a fire judgment. The present heavens and earth will be consumed (melted, according to a later passage). Ungodly people - the mockers - will be destroyed.
Scripture
2 Peter 3:1-7 – Depraved mockers – mock creation, flood, and Jesus' return
| Scripture Passage | Comments and Links |
| 2Pe 3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you;
2Pe 3:2 that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior: |
A reminder: Pay attention to what the prophets and the apostles say. In this context, that would include their warnings about those who mock the promise of a future coming judgment. |
| 2Pe 3:3 knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts, | An issue of primary importance that we need to remember: In the last days, depraved mockers will come. (The content of their mocking is given in the following verses.) |
| 2Pe 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." | They will mock Jesus' future coming. They will claim that everything goes on as it always has (with no outside intervention). |
| 2Pe 3:5 For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God;
2Pe 3:6 by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. |
They will deliberately ignore the historical facts of the creation and the flood. Both occurred simply because God spoke. |
| 2Pe 3:7 But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. | And the future judgment will also occur, simply because God will speak. |
1:12-15 • 3:1-7 |
Scripture Passages
(Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.)
Genesis • Exodus • Leviticus • Numbers • Deuteronomy • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • 1 Samuel • 2 Samuel • 1 Kings • 2 Kings • 1 Chronicles • 2 Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther • Job • Psalms • Proverbs • Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Isaiah • Jeremiah • Lamentations • Ezekiel • Daniel • Hosea • Joel • Amos • Obadiah • Jonah • Micah • Nahum • Habakkuk • Zephaniah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi Matthew • Mark • Luke • John • Acts • Romans • 1 Corinthians • 2 Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Philippians • Colossians • 1 Thessalonians • 2 Thessalonians • 1 Timothy • 2 Timothy • Titus • Philemon • Hebrews • James • 1 Peter • 2 Peter • 1 John • 2 John • 3 John • Jude • Revelation |
—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——
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The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.
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Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
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