2 Peter 3:1-9 ESV

(1) This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them
I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
(2) that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the
commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,
(3) knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing,
following their own sinful desires.
(4) They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers
fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of
creation."
(5) For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and
the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,
(6) and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water
and perished.
(7) But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for
fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
(8) But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
(9) The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should
reach repentance.

3:1, 2. Peter clearly places the holy prophets of the Old Testament on the same level of
inspiration and authority as the apostles of Christ in the New Testament, emphasizing the
inspiration of all Scripture. King James Version study Bible

And may I add – that we should study both old and new testaments! Peter, Paul, James
and John all referred to Scriptures as including Genesis to Malachi as well as that written
after Jesus ascended.

When false teachers cannot accomplish their devious purposes with lies, they start to
scoff and ridicule the Word of God. They want you to forget that the very Word they
deride is in control of God’s universe. God created everything by His Word, and His
Word holds it together (Col. 1:16–17; Heb. 1:1–2). His Word caused the Flood (Gen. 6–
9), and His Word will one day bring a judgment of fire to the ungodly world (vv. 7–10).
Whoever robs you of God’s Word robs you of your future. People who have no
future hope have no motivation for life today. No wonder Peter closes with “Beloved, be
diligent!” (v. 14) and “Beloved, beware!” (v. 17). We live in dangerous days, but the
opportunities have never been greater. God is patiently waiting for the lost to trust Christ
(v. 15), but he needs you to share the gospel with them.
With the word Bible commentary

Beware of those who “scoff” at the word of God. The word of God will stand forever –
the mystical dreams and experiences of the new age will fade. Where will you stand?

3:3 The united testimony of the prophets and apostles was that scoffers would come
in the last days, following their own lusts. Christians should remember this. They
should not be bowled over by the arrogant and blasphemous denials of these men. Rather
they should see in them a definite indication that the end of the age is nearing.
These mockers follow their own passions. Having rejected the knowledge of God,
they fearlessly indulge their appetites. They advocate permissiveness with total disregard
of any impending judgment.
3:4 Their primary scoff has to do with the coming of Christ. Their attitude is, “Where
is the promise of His coming?” meaning, “Where is the fulfillment of the promise?” But
what do they mean by His coming?
Do they mean Christ’s coming for His saints, which we speak of as the Rapture (1
Thess. 4:13–18)? It is doubtful that these scoffers know anything about this first phase of
the Lord’s return.
Do they mean Christ’s coming with His saints to set up His universal kingdom (1
Thess. 3:13)? It is possible that this could be included in their thinking.
But it seems clear from the rest of the passage that they are thinking of the final
judgment of God on the earth, or what is commonly called the end of the world. They are
thinking of the fiery destruction of the heavens and earth at the end of the Millennium.
What they really say is this: “You Christians have been threatening us with warnings
about a terrible judgment upon the world. You tell us that God is going to intervene in
history, punish the wicked, and destroy the earth. It’s all a pack of nonsense. We have
nothing to fear. We can live as we please. There is no evidence that God ever has
intervened in history; why should we believe that He ever will?”
Their conclusion is based on the careless hypothesis that “since the fathers fell
asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” They say
that nature invariably follows uniform laws, that there are no supernatural interventions,
that there is a natural explanation for everything.
They believe in the law of uniformitarianism. This law states that existing processes
in nature have always acted in the same manner and with essentially the same intensity as
at present, and that these processes are sufficient to account for all the changes that have
taken place.
There is a vital link between the law of uniformitarianism and the usual theories of
evolution. The theory of the progressive development of living organisms from pre-
existing types depends on the supposition that conditions have been fairly uniform. If this
earth has been racked by cataclysms and catastrophes, then some of the presuppositions
of Darwinian evolution are affected.
3:5 The scoffers deliberately ignore one fact—the flood. God did intervene at one
time in the affairs of men, and the specific purpose of His intervention was to punish
wickedness. If it happened once, it can happen again.
It is a withering indictment of these men that they are willfully ignorant. They pride
themselves on being knowledgeable. They profess to be objective in their reasoning.
They boast that they adhere to the principles of scientific investigation. But the fact is that
they deliberately ignore a well-attested fact of history—the deluge. They should take a
course in geology!
Believer's Bible Commentary

This was a great synopsis of this passage and one I can’t improve on.
Verse 9 indicates that it is God’s will for all men to come to repentance and that none
should perish. Even though it’s God’s will – He still prophesied through the prophets of
old that judgment would come to those who refuse His offer of grace. This verse is
parallel to one of Paul’s:

1 Timothy 2:4 ESV

(4) who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

What can we learn from this? That’s God’s will is not always carried out on the earth.
Even God recognizes that not everyone will accept His offer of salvation. Yet, it is still
God’s will for everyone to be saved. It is amazing to me what a simple reading of
scriptures can do for us and our ways of thinking!