The Willful Amnesia of the Wicked
Introduction: The Unchanging Taunt
We live in an age that prides itself on its sophistication, its scientific advancement, and its supposed liberation from ancient superstitions. And yet, the central argument of the modern unbeliever against the Christian faith is as old, tired, and dusty as the hills. It is precisely the argument that the apostle Peter identifies and dismantles here. The taunt of the scoffer has not been updated in two thousand years. It is the same old song, sung in a different key.
The argument is simple: "Things have always been this way, therefore they will always be this way. Where is this great cataclysmic return of Christ you keep talking about? The sun comes up, the sun goes down. The seasons turn. People are born, they live, they die. Everything continues in its predictable, naturalistic course. Your promise is an empty one." This is the doctrine of uniformitarianism. It is the official creed of the secularist, the materialist, and the naturalist. It is the foundational assumption of those who wish to live without God.
But Peter tells us that this position is not the result of high-minded intellectual inquiry. It is not a conclusion reached after a careful weighing of the evidence. It is a position adopted to provide cover for a particular way of life. It is a worldview constructed as a hideout for rebels. And the only way to maintain it is through a determined, deliberate, and willful act of historical amnesia. In order to deny that God will intervene in the future, you must first forget that God has intervened, massively, in the past.
This passage is therefore a call to memory. It is a pastoral exhortation to stir up our minds, to remember what God has said and what God has done, so that we will not be rattled or shaken by the persistent, plausible-sounding mockery of a world that is running from God as fast as it can.
The Text
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, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles, knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." 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, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being deluged with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
(2 Peter 3:1-7 LSB)
The Anchor of a Sincere Mind (vv. 1-2)
Peter begins by stating his purpose.
"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, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles." (2 Peter 3:1-2)
The Christian mind is not meant to be a stagnant pond. It is to be stirred up. The word here means to awaken, to arouse fully. And what is the stick that stirs the drink? It is reminder. The Christian life is largely a matter of being reminded of what we already know, of what has been delivered to us. We are forgetful creatures, and the world works tirelessly to make us forget.
And what are we to remember? Two things, which are actually one thing: the unified Word of God. We are to remember "the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets," which is the Old Testament, and "the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles," which is the New Testament. Peter places the authority of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles on the same level. They are both the Word of God. This is our anchor. A "sincere mind" is not a mind free of doubt in some sentimental sense; it is a mind that is unmixed, unadulterated by the philosophies and foolishness of the world. It is a mind that holds fast to the objective, revealed truth of Scripture.
In an age of skepticism, this is our foundation. We do not stand on our feelings, our experiences, or the shifting consensus of the culture. We stand on the immovable rock of God's prophetic and apostolic Word.
The Lustful Logic of the Last Days (vv. 3-4)
Next, Peter gives us the diagnostic profile of the opposition.
"knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'" (2 Peter 3:3-4 LSB)
Notice the tight connection between the mockers' behavior and their theology. They come "following after their own lusts," and consequently, they say, "Where is the promise of His coming?" This is not an intellectual problem in search of a solution. This is a moral rebellion in search of a justification. Unbelief is almost never a matter of the head; it begins in the heart, or more accurately, the gut. They do not want the Master of the house to return because they are enjoying their sin and do not want to be called to account. Their eschatology is a direct byproduct of their ethics. If you want to live like there is no judgment, it is very convenient to believe there is no Judge.
Their argument is an appeal to the status quo. "All continues just as it was." This is the argument from normalcy. It is the lie that the future will be an endless extrapolation of the immediate past. They look at the regularities of the natural world, the very regularities that God established and sustains for our benefit, and they weaponize that stability against Him. They take God's kindness in providing a predictable world and use it as evidence that He does not exist or does not act. This is like a tenant who, after years of the landlord not visiting, concludes that he has no landlord and can do as he pleases in the house.
The Deliberate Forgetting (vv. 5-6)
Peter's response is to accuse the mockers of a calculated and culpable ignorance.
"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, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being deluged with water." (2 Peter 3:5-6 LSB)
The phrase "it escapes their notice" is too soft. The Greek implies a willful, deliberate forgetting. They choose to ignore the evidence because it is inconvenient to their worldview. And what do they forget? Two foundational acts of God that utterly demolish the idea of uniformitarianism.
First, they forget Creation. The heavens and the earth did not get here by some slow, uniform process from eternity past. They were spoken into existence "by the word of God." The universe had a beginning, and it was a supernatural, divine intervention. The very fabric of reality upon which the mockers stand was created by the God they deny. The laws of nature they observe are nothing more than the regularities of God's providential speech.
Second, they forget the Flood. Not only did God intervene to create the world, He intervened to judge it. The "world at that time was destroyed." This was not a local flood. This was a global, cataclysmic de-creation. And notice the beautiful irony Peter points out. The earth was formed "out of water and by water," and it was through that very same water that God brought His judgment. The instrument of creation and sustenance became the instrument of destruction. This one historical event, which they deliberately forget, proves that God can and will interrupt the "normal" course of affairs to execute His righteous judgment.
Reserved for Fire (v. 7)
The same Word that created and destroyed in the past has a purpose for the present.
"But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:7 LSB)
The current stability is not a sign of God's indifference. It is a sign of His settled purpose. The present world is being "reserved" or "stored up" for fire. The same divine Word that holds the planets in their orbits and keeps the seasons turning is the Word that has appointed a day for the final judgment. The world is not coasting on its own; it is being actively kept by God for a future appointment.
The first judgment was by water; the final judgment will be by fire. Water washes and cleanses the surface, but fire purifies and consumes down to the elements. This will be a final, unmaking of the old order, preparing the way for the new heavens and the new earth. And the purpose of this day is explicit: it is the "day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." The mockers who asked, "Where is the promise of His coming?" will have their question answered, but not in the way they hoped.
Conclusion: Remember and Live
So what is the takeaway for us? It is profoundly simple. We must be a people who remember. The world is engaged in a project of systematic, willful amnesia. They must forget God the Creator and God the Judge in order to live as they please.
We, in contrast, are called to stir up our minds by way of reminder. We remember Genesis 1, that God spoke this world into being. We remember Genesis 6 through 9, that God washed this world clean of its violence and corruption. And above all, we remember the cross and the empty tomb, the ultimate divine intervention into the course of human history, where God judged our sin in His Son and triumphed over death.
The mockers see the present stability and conclude that God is absent. We see the present stability and conclude that God is patient, holding all things together by His powerful Word. Their worldview leads to licentiousness and a terrified surprise on the last day. Our worldview, anchored in the whole counsel of God, leads to holiness, confidence, and a joyful expectation of the day when our Lord returns.
Do not be shaken by their taunts. Their arguments are not new, and they are not clever. They are the ancient, desperate rationalizations of men who love their sin more than their Maker. Hold fast to the Word. Remember what God has done. And be ready for what He has promised He will do.