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Second Peter, part 8, Reminders of God's Patience

Peter begins this final chapter by reminding his readers that his purpose is not to present new doctrines but to awaken their memory. 2 Peter 3:1, 2 says,

¹ This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Greek word translated “sincere” (eilikrinēs) carries the idea of something pure, unmixed, and tested by sunlight. Peter believes that truth is often preserved not by novelty but by faithful remembrance. From a practical standpoint, what we know is not merely what we have studied but what we remember afterward when communicating it with others.

The advantage that teachers have is that when they teach others, they discover how much they remember and how much they have forgotten. They can then gauge their practical knowledge of the truth and can also go back and review the points that they had forgotten. This is also why I do not mind repeating the truths and principles that I taught in earlier writings. Each new repetition comes in a new context, which integrates each truth into new situations and settings.

Peter places two authorities side by side: the holy prophets (Old Testament revelation) and the apostles of Christ (New Testament revelation). This is important because Peter is affirming the unity of Scripture. The apostles were not inventing a new religion; they were explaining and fulfilling what the prophets had foretold in previous centuries.

Short-Sighted Mockers

2 Peter 3:3, 4 says,

³ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming [parousia]? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Men have always tended to think short-term. This is mostly due to their mortality, which limits their perspective to a mere lifetime. Their lack of faith makes them near-sighted, for they have difficulty contemplating an afterlife as well as long-term prophecy. Few prophecies come to pass immediately, and even if they do, these often establish patterns for further fulfillment in later times.

A good example of this is the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5:25-28, which prophesied of the fall of Babylon. This was fulfilled that same night. However, if you add up the monetary values of Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Peres, the total comes to 2,520 gerahs, suggesting that we should watch for another fulfillment 2,520 years later.

Unbelievers inevitably discount prophecy because they have remained ignorant of both history and prophecy. Often, this problem is enhanced by prophecy teachers who do not truly understand history and prophecy by the mind of God.

Peter’s warning was similar to what we find in Jude 17, 18,

¹⁷ But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”

These mockers are not merely intellectual skeptics. Peter says they are “following after their own lusts.” Their theology is driven by the desires and wishes of the soulish mind (“old man”). They reject the prophecies of divine intervention because they wish to live without accountability. The true underlying issue is the unwillingness to submit to God's authority.

Their argument rests on what we today would call uniformitarianism—the assumption that because nature appears stable now, it has always operated in exactly the same way. Peter will answer this argument in the next verses by pointing to two divine interventions: Creation itself (3:5) and the Flood of Noah (3:6)

The mockers deliberately ignore both events because they demonstrate that God has intervened dramatically in history before and therefore can do so again.

Genesis 21:9 speaks of the original pattern of the child of the flesh as a mocker:

⁹ Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.

The Hebrew word is metsaheq (מְצַחֵק), from the root tsachaq (צחק), "to laugh." Depending on context, it can mean laughing, jesting, mocking, or ridiculing. Sarah evidently perceived Ishmael's behavior as hostile enough that she demanded Hagar and Ishmael be sent away.

Paul interprets this event prophetically. Ishmael represented the “flesh,” while Isaac represented the promise (Galatians 4:28, 29). Thus Ishmael's mocking became a pattern of fleshly opposition to the children of promise. Ishmael was the son of Hagar, who represented the Old Covenant (Galatians 4:24). Hence, the son of Sarah (the New Covenant) was an irritant to those of the Old Covenant. The two covenants come from two different roots and are therefore incompatible. Fleshly thinking leads to contempt for God’s promises.

In 2 Peter 3:3, the Greek term is empaiktai, “mockers,” from a word meaning those who ridicule, scoff, or deride. Peter's mockers ridicule the promise of Christ's coming. Like Ishmael, they stand outside the promise and ridicule those who trust it. The allegorical “Ishmael” was the prototype of all Old Covenant believers who remain attached to the desires of the flesh. Paul also makes it plain that those who consider the earthly Jerusalem to be the spiritual mother of the church have identified themselves as children of Hagar.

These include those who promote the interests of the earthly Jerusalem, believing that this city is in a covenant relationship with God and will never be destroyed. Their faith, then, is in the Old Covenant, and their faith actually binds them to the ultimate fate of the earthly Jerusalem.

In addition, Old Covenant believers tend to mock or ridicule the children of promise—the Isaac company, allegorically speaking. See also my book, The Two Covenants.

https://godskingdom.org/studies/books/the-two-covenants/

If one follows Paul's allegorical treatment in Galatians 4, Ishmael can indeed be viewed as the prototype of those who reject and ridicule the promises of God. In that sense, the mockers of 2 Peter 3 belong to the same spiritual lineage—not necessarily by genealogy, but by character.

This fits a common Hebrew pattern where “sons” are identified by behavior rather than descent. Just as Jesus spoke of some being “sons of the evil one” (Matthew 13:38) and told certain opponents that they were of “your father the devil” (John 8:44), Peter's mockers may be viewed typologically as spiritual descendants of Ishmael's mocking spirit.

So while Peter himself does not explicitly connect the mockers of 2 Peter 3 with Ishmael, there is a legitimate biblical typology that sees Ishmael as an early pattern of those who ridicule God's promises and oppose the heirs of promise (overcomers).

Noah’s Flood

In regard to the mockers’ proposition that “all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4), the apostle’s answer is found in 2 Peter 3:5, 6,

⁵ For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

Peter says of the mockers, “it escapes their notice.” The Greek is stronger than mere ignorance. The idea is that they willfully overlook or deliberately ignore certain facts. Peter answers their argument that history itself disproves their claim. He cites two great divine interventions: Creation and Noah’s Flood.

The universe came into existence “by the word of God.” Existence itself is a response to the word of God. In Romans 4:17 (NASB) we read, that “God calls into being that which does not exist.” Nature itself, being subject to the Creator, responds to His word. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made.” Likewise, the world is not self-existing. It is the product of divine command.

The same water that played a role in creation became the instrument of destruction.

Peter then points to Noah's Flood: “the world at that time was destroyed.” The Greek word translated “world” here is kosmos, the ordered world-system of that age. Peter does not mean the planet ceased to exist, but that the civilization and order of that era were swept away under divine judgment.

The mockers claim that God never intervenes in history. Peter answers: He created the world. He judged the world. He can do so again. Humans measure delay according to calendars and lifespans. God sees all history from a perspective beyond human limitations. What appears long to man may appear brief to God.

God’s Patience and Mercy

2 Peter 3:7-9 continues,

⁷ But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day [Psalm 90:4]. ⁹ The Lord is not slow [bradyon, “tardy, negligent”] about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient [makrothymei, “long-suffering, patient”] toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

What men perceive as slowness is, in fact, God’s patience, giving men time to repent. The delay is not due to failure, forgetfulness, or inability. God has not missed His appointment. The apparent delay of judgment is actually evidence of mercy, not indifference. God takes no pleasure in destruction. His desire is repentance and life.

The mockers interpret delay as proof that God's promise has failed. Peter interprets the delay as proof of God's long-suffering character. What unbelief calls procrastination, Peter calls mercy.