Scripture Daily

Context No. 1999 of 4322 · 2 Peter

Context · Reflection

2 Peter 3:1-7: in context

1This 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 2that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts 4and 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.” 5For 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, 6by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished. 7But the heavens that exist now 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.

Peter warns of scoffers who will come in the last days, following their own desires and mocking the promise of Christ's return. Where is the promise of his coming? they will say. For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation. They reason that because the promised day has not come, and life goes on as it always has, it will never come. But, Peter says, they willfully forget that God has acted before, in the flood, and will act again in judgment.

The scoffers' argument is one we still hear: where is the promise of his coming? Everything continues as it always has; the promised day has not come; therefore it never will. They reason from the continuance of ordinary life, from the delay of the promised judgment, to the conclusion that God will not act, that the promise is empty, that we may live as though there were no coming reckoning. Because the day has not come, they say, it will not come. And Peter identifies the flaw: they willfully forget. They deliberately overlook that God has acted before, that the world once went on as normal until the flood came and swept it away, and that the God who acted then will act again. The delay is not denial; the continuance of ordinary life is not proof that judgment will never come. There is a warning here against a deception we are all prone to. Because God's promised reckoning has not yet come, because life continues as it always has, we can slide into living as though it will never come, as though the delay meant the promise was empty and there were no coming day of account. The scoffers make this explicit; but the same reasoning tempts us quietly, lulling us into presuming on the delay, living carelessly because the day seems far off or unreal. Peter's answer is that the delay is not denial. God has acted before; the world went on as normal until it did not; and the God who acted then will act again, in his time. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, Peter says a little later, as some count slowness, but is patient; the delay is mercy, room for repentance, not evidence that the promise will fail. This calls us not to presume on the delay. Because the day has not come, we are tempted to live as though it never will; but the day is coming, and the delay is only patience. Though it takes time, wait for it, Habakkuk says; it will surely come. We are not to be like the scoffers, reasoning from the delay that the promise is empty, living carelessly because the reckoning seems far off. The delay is not denial; the day is coming; and the wise live in readiness rather than presuming on a patience that will not last forever.

Am I tempted, because God's promised reckoning has not yet come and life continues as it always has, to live as though it will never come, presuming on the delay as if the promise were empty, or can I heed Peter's warning that the delay is not denial but patience, that God has acted before and will act again, and live in readiness rather than presuming on a patience that will not last forever?

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