Bible Truth #86 - 2 Peter 3:1-9

2 Peter 3:1-9
1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Since some I have debated frequently accuse me of taking Scripture out of context I want to make sure I do not do that. So even though I want to concentrate on verse 9, I have sent the preceding verses also - as they're necessary to provide context.

In verse 1 Peter makes it clear to whom he is writing, Christians. He writes “beloved,” then “your pure minds.” The lost do not have pure minds.

In verses 3-7 he writes about those in the world, the lost: scoffers, their, they, ungodly men. Every noun and pronoun in those verses indicates he is NOT speaking of Christians, but TO Christians about the lost.

Then he does a 180 degree turn in verse 8 - he starts by writing “But.” This word is a conjunction and is used to introduce something of contrast to the preceding verses. How much more contrasting can anything be than the saved and lost? Then he proves his contrasting point by writing “beloved” once again. So he is now back to addressing Christians, the Elect of God.

Now look at the verse which many, so many, take out of context. Verse 9, He is long-suffering toward US, not wanting any [of us] to perish, but all [of us] to come to repentance. The context of these verses is clear. Verses 1-2 he is writing to Christians, about Christians; in verses 3-7 he is writing to Christians ABOUT the lost; and in verses 8 & 9 he is back to writing to Christians about Christians. The Lord is long-suffering, patient, with who? With us! His Elect! God is long-suffering toward His Elect, not willing that any of His Elect should perish, but that ALL of His Elect should come to repentance... and because God always gets His way, we all WILL come to repentance. The reason He is patient is because all are not yet saved! At the time Peter wrote this, most of those God chose had not yet even been born, much less saved.

Those who wish to argue the grammar and syntax with me, please continue reading. You may argue that “any” and “all” in verse 9 are indefinite pronouns and since there is no antecedent in verse 9, “any” and “all” are referring to the entire human race. While it is true there is no antecedent in verse 9, in matters that are vague you never correctly conclude a matter on one verse! For the very reason “any” and “all” are indefinite pronouns and there is no antecedent in verse 9, you must look at the context of the entire passage. Since verse 8 began with the contrasting conjunction “But” followed by the noun “beloved,” it should be clear to all that in this passage, “beloved” is the antecedent to which the pronoun “us” in verse 9 is referring, as well as the indefinite pronouns “any” and “all.” The Arminian may continue by arguing that since God loves everyone, “beloved” still refers to the entire human race.

That is wrong on two counts:

FIRST, God does not love everyone. Please go back and read Bible Truth #66 regarding whom God loves and whom God hates, I will not again discuss the point here.

SECOND, when Peter wrote “beloved,” it is clear that he was addressing the Elect of God, NOT everyone in the human race. Go back to 2 Peter 1:1 where the author (one of the Elect of God) identifies those to whom he is writing - “...to them that have obtained like precious faith with us...” which clearly is not all mankind. And then in verse 3 he also uses the pronoun “us.” So to whomever he is writing, he includes himself in the group, hence he is writing to the Elect. I use the word Elect because Peter himself uses it in the first letter he wrote, 1 Peter 1:1-2. Since Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:1 that this is the second letter he wrote to them, and in the first letter he identifies the recipients as God’s Elect, although he does not use the term “Elect” in the second letter, it is safe, and accurate, to say he is writing to God’s Elect in the second letter as well.

Now to believe, or worse yet, suggest, that in verse 9 Peter was writing about every man, woman, boy, and girl who ever lived or will live is eisegesis - i.e. reading INTO the text what you want it to say. In verse 9 Peter is writing to Christians, about His Elect, and ONLY His Elect, not the entire human race.

As a side note, the NASB, NIV, ESV, and ASV all have an incorrect translation. They have translated verse 9 in the same manner: “...but is long-suffering toward you, ...” instead of “...but is long-suffering toward us, ...” The Greek word translated as “you” in these versions is the Greek word hemas which, if you follow the link, clearly means us or we. I do not understand why the translators of those versions used “you” instead of “us” as the King James Version does.

Bottom line, my point is that nowhere in Chapter 3, or for that matter, anywhere in 2 Peter, is Peter writing about, or to, the entire human race inclusively - he always writes to us, or about them. So to assume that “any” and “all” in 2 Peter 3:9 refers to the entire human race is to infer something that appeases and pleases the flesh. The context of this letter alone clearly implies that fact, not to mention this exegesis reconciles perfectly with the rest of God's Word.