2 Peter 3 King James Version (KJV)
Peter identifies who he is writing to...not as you say...those who are perishing- no He is writing this second epistle to the beloved...the elect.
How do we know?
Easy...He says it is the SECOND epistle! So that links us to the first epistle...correct??? How were these strangers addressed the first time?
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
They are foreknown by God...WHOM HE DID FOREKNOW He also did predestinate etc
He is reminding these elect believers of what Is promised in the Covenant salvation they have been called to.
Scoffers have come mocking the faith once delivered to the saints....This is the CONTEXT OF THIS WHOLE CHAPTER.
Peter is addressing to things....what the promise of God is to those who are in Covenant with Him....as opposed to the ungodly scoffers who are trying to discourage them and question the certainty of the Churchs Victory in Christ.
This speaks to the whole OT ...the Covenant promises being fulfilled in Jesus. It speaks of God's electing love and the 100% certainty of what God has purposed to do by Electing and saving grace in all the prophets....Isa 40-66, ezkiel 34-44, Jer 31 joel 2-3 etc....
Now the contrast by the enemies..
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.
He states what will happen to the wicked in his day, is what happened to the wicked in times past...the died in unbelief and went into the righteous judgement of God.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
In reminding the elect in this second epistle....he does not want them to be ignorant...so pay attention ...because you still are according to what you have posted......
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
He is addressing the Beloved...those being saved by God...he is telling them...do not worry about the time that has passed by...God has a plan for the whole age....
he is speaking of God's promise to His people...he would be their God, they would be His people.....
The some men...are the scoffers from vs 3-7...read it again read it as many times as you like...it will not change-
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The long suffering of God leads to the salvation of all the elect from all time....the US WARD..... which you want to ignore or explain it away.
If the lord returned in Peters day...none of us today would have been saved...we would never have been born....Thankfully because we were part of God's plan...he waited then and he waits now, until all the elect will be born and drawn savingly to Jesus.
Not one of the people spoken of here...the beloved who were already saved, the elect beloved who were yet to be born,,,, not ONE WILL Perish....each and every person who is meant to be saved will be....NO More/No less.
A word study will reveal two words used in the greek which you discount all the time...Bulemai, and thelo...are words used to describe the term willing....The way they are used here is that God has decreed destined and purposed that none of the beloved will perish...not ONE!
This is what is taught and to clinch it we just have to continue in context and read the rest of the chapter....
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
he is still speaking to believers exhorting them to required holiness
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 .
He is still speaking of the Beloved, Foreknown ,ELECT....WE ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE.......
Do you begin to see how badly you have totally missed the whole passage??? Wait there is even more!
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation;
This not only clinches this truth, but Peter now appeals to Pauls writing about God's election and long suffering toward His elect people tying in Romans and Pauls other writings on this topic.
Not only are you dead wrong on calvinism but your dispy ideas get flushed in this passage....
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
You have to come to grips with this chapter and revamp your wrong ideas or the warning found here as do other members of team anti-cal Jihad.