“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:”
They deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God — the scoffers' willful ignorance (lēthe echomai) ignores the creation narrative itself. The formation from and through water (hydōr hydōr) references Genesis 1:2 and 1:6-9. The word of God (rhēma theos) as cosmic force parallels Hebrews 1:3 and reveals creation as precedent for eschatological transformation.
Church Fathers on 2 Peter 3:5
Let us now see what the Apostle Peter predicted concerning this judgment. There shall come, he says, in the last days scoffers. . . . Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. There is nothing said here about the resurrection of the dead, but enough certainly regarding the destruction of this world. And by his reference to the deluge he seems as it were to suggest to us how far we should believe the ruin of…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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