SUMMARY
In a brief description of the day of the LordThe Day of the Lord, in prophetic writing, is the day of judgment when God will intervene directly in world affairs. As described in Zephaniah, for instance, God will sweep everything away. In Matthew's gospel God is described as gathering the elect on the day... More that is unique among biblical literature, the author informs readers that judgment will involve fire. In fact, the elements of the universe themselves will be “dissolved with fire.”
ANALYSIS
One of the things false teachers will deny is the reality of the Lord’s return and the subsequent judgment. They will note that things continue to occur as they always have, without God intervening. Against that, the author contends that creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More has never been an ever-perpetuating system. The evidence for this is the story of the floodThe flood refers to the catastrophic deluge in Genesis. In the biblical account Noah, his family, and selected beasts survive the flood in an ark; thereafter they received a rainbow in the sky as a sign of God's promise. Many other cultures also have flood... More, during Noah’s time.
The next instance of God’s judgment upon the world and its people will not come with water but with fire, the author insists. Before a new heaven and a new earth can appear, the present ones need to be incinerated.
The argument of this passage anticipates an objection, that the flood was long ago and there are no signs of an imminent conflagration. Is Jesus really going to return? To head off the objection, an allusion to PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. More 90:4 promises that a single day and a thousand years are about the same from God’s perspective. Our timing is not God’s timing, and so no one should accuse God of being slow to intervene. The author also asserts that the perceived delay in the day of judgment is a consequence of God’s patient mercyMercy is a term used to describe leniency or compassion. God's mercy is frequently referred to or invoked in both the Old and New Testaments. More. God would rather provide time for more people to repentRepentance is a central biblical teaching. All people are sinful and God desires that all people repent of their sins. The Hebrew word for repent means to "turn away" from sin. The Greek word for repentance means to "change on'e mind," more specifically, it means... More, because God wants none to “perish.” Life, as we know it, is therefore a time of mercy granted by God. Even with all of the book’s us-versus-them dualism, 2 Peter never fully lets go of a belief in God’s graciousness.
