"Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly" (2 Peter 3:3-7, NIV).
I think this verse by Peter says a lot about the times that we live in today. In his first sermon to the people after he and the other disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter declared that they were now living in the last days as prophesied by Joel (see Acts 2:14-21). We have, in fact, been living in the last days for the last 2000 years or so. Christians throughout the centuries have been looking for and forward to the return of Christ since He left the earth; and yet, we are still here.
For the many who love the Lord this is not necessarily a problem because we believe what He said and know that He will eventually return. And if He doesn't return in our lifetime, then when we die we will be with Him in heaven. So either way it is a win for us.
But there is a group of people who are not looking forward to His return and don't believe He is coming back at all. Peter calls them scoffers. Scoffers are people who are more than just agnostic or are unsure of what they believe. Scoffers are people who are actively against Christianity, Jesus, and everything they stand for. Many of these people are atheists and they are trying to eradicate Christianity (and other religions as well) from the world.
The weapon that many of these people try to use against Christianity is evolution. Just as Peter says in the above Scripture, they ask where Jesus is because, they believe, since the beginning of time everything is going on just as it has. This sounds a lot like uniformitarianism, which is the assumption that the natural laws that now operate have always operated this way and always will. Nothing will ever change.
But Peter says these people think this way because they deliberately forget or suppress the knowledge that the world came into existence through God's Word as told in the book of Genesis. Not only this, they deliberately forget or suppress the knowledge that the world of long ago was once destroyed by a deluge of water in a little thing called Noah's flood.
Many atheists and scientists will look at a planet like Mars and speculate that it was once entirely covered by water (and it very well could have been at one time). But these same people will look at Earth, a planet that is still three-fourths covered by water, and say that at no time did a world-wide flood occur. Why would they do this? The answer is in the next part of the verse.
These people do not believe in or acknowledge the Creation or the Flood because if they did, they would have to also acknowledge the coming Fire. If they were to acknowledge the coming Fire, then they would have to admit that they are not the masters of their own lives and that there is One to whom they would be accountable. They don't want to be accountable to a Creator for they want to do what they want to do and don't want anyone telling them otherwise.
True repentance in our hearts requires that we admit that we have fallen short of a standard; but that standard has to come from some where. To the Bible-believing Christian that standard comes from God, the One who created us, who cannot lie, who is unchanging, and who is holy. To the scoffer who believes in evolution, that standard is arbitrary and based on the words and ideas of fallible man. In the end the fight is all about being accountable to God. There are those who accept that accountability and those who don't, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (see Romans 1:18-32).
But to those who have made themselves accountable to God, Peter gives a promise in the next verses:
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV).
The Lord will keep His promise and is coming back. The Lord lives outside of time and is not bound by it so whether a day or a thousand years passes by for us before His promise of returning is fulfilled is immaterial to Him. (That is all that this verse means. It is not trying to say that a day of creation is a thousand years as some try to paint it. He just got done saying that scoffers don't believe the straightforward word of God, why would he then turn around and say the opposite?) But the Lord is merciful and wants everyone to come to repentance. He is giving us all a chance to make ourselves accountable before He has to do it for us. In other words, there is still hope for all of us. There is still time to come to Jesus before He comes to us. Let us all take advantage of this mercy before it is too late.
Phillip
I would like to thank and acknowledge the ministry of Answers in Genesis who has provided a wonderful website that views the world through the eyes of the Bible. They have been an excellent resource for me over the years and have provided the answers to many of my questions. They truly respect God's Word and use it to help understand the wonderful world that He has created for us.