I hope you can join us tonight as we begin a study of 2 Peter 3. Tonight I plan to cover the first eight verses. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

NOVEMBER 5, 2025

2 Peter 3

pt. 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. 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

bodiesa will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.b

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness

and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens

will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his

promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or

blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother

Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks

in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant

and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved,

knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and

lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To

him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

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v 1 – “sincere mind” – eilikrinés – judged by sunlight

Peter is both affirming with also a bit of challenge—“stirring up” meant to wake fully, to arouse

from sleep

v 2 – “predictions of the holy prophets”—probably referring to the OT prophets, although prophets were

still recognized in NT times

the “commandment”—this is probably a “collective singular,” meaning that Peter is referring to

all of the teachings of Christ—the way we might refer to the law [singular] of the land, or the

law of Moses, referring actually to many laws. Another way of understanding it is “so that in

a Or elements; also verse 12 [ESV]

b Greek found; some manuscripts will be burned up [ESV]

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any situation in which you find yourself, you will remember the commandment [which

applies to this situation] of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.

v 3 – “knowing this first of all …”

Scoffers … with scoffing” may seem redundant, but it is a picturesque way of speaking. The

words are closer together in Greek—the way we might say “scoffers with their scoffing.” Or

here come the critics with their criticizing …”

These are people who mock, ridicule – same as now.

“following their own sinful desires” – the actual motive behind much scoffing – then, and now.

“in the last days” – Peter is referring to the then current days (and now,) i.e. we are in the “last

days.” This is frequently made evident in the NT. That is why Peter was reminding

Christians about it—this was existential, not something just to know about a future age.

v 4 – “They will say …”

Yes, and they are still saying it.

vv 5-6 – “For they deliberately overlook the fact …”

more lit. “for this escapes them being willing” (Robertson). They cannot claim ignorance; they

are willfully disregarding important and relevant truths. And those truths have to do with a

Creator God who remains sovereign over His creation.

“the heavens existed long ago …”

God’s creative act (Gen. 1:1)

“and the earth …”

the earth “out of water and through water was fashioned” –God separated the water from the dry

land. At the same time, water remains an indispensable component of living things and is

essential for and beneficial to life in countless ways.

“and that by means of these …” – water and the word of God

more lit. “the world at that time, having been deluged with water, was destroyed [perished].”

Peter is reminding his hearers that that the very God who created the earth [gé]—out of and

through water—also destroyed the world [kosmos], once again using water.

So things have not continued “as they were from the beginning of creation,” as the scoffer say (v

4).

v 7 – “But by the same word …”

And just like God has once enacted a great physical and spiritual judgment on the world, he will

do it again.

“the heavens [ouranos] and earth [ge] that now exist” – this time the judgment will include all of

God’s creation

more lit. “But now, the heavens and the earth, by the same word having been stored up are…”—

and it is God who has stored them up

more lit. “for fire—being kept unto the day of judgment and of destruction of ungodly men.”

This teaching is exactly what it sound like, expanded on later in this chapter and in other parts of

Scripture.

It has not always been the case, but the current “Western” Church, has failed in its messaging on

this clear teaching of Scripture. We have contributed to a generation of people who live with

no fear of God.

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v 8 – “But do not overlook this one fact …”

more lit. “This one thing, however, let not be hidden from you, beloved …”

This is directly in contrast to v 5, using the same language—that we not be like the scoffers

“that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day …”

This is a remarkable teaching—not just in answer to those who mocked the idea of Christ’s

Second Coming

God is eternal, the Creator. And God does not experience (or view) time in the same way that we

do.

“a thousand years” is a figure of speech. Peter could have said “a million years” or “a billion

years” to make the same point.

This helps us, as we read the promises of Scripture, to keep in mind that God’s perspective—

heaven’s perspective—on time is within a context of eternity, and it bears little resemblance

to the way we think about and anticipate time-related matters on the earth.

“Peter applies the language of Psalms 90:4 about the eternity of God and shortness of human life

to ‘the impatience of human expectations’ (Bigg) about the second coming of Christ. ‘The

day of judgment is at hand (1 Peter 4:7). It may come tomorrow; but what is tomorrow?

What does God mean by a day? It may be a thousand years’ (Bigg).”—from Robertson,

Word Pictures in the New Testament