“Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:”
By means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished — the flood represents the first renewal (or destruction and replacement) of creation. The perishing (apollymi) of the then-existing world demonstrates that creation's stability is not absolute but subject to divine judgment. The historical precedent establishes the possibility of future cosmic transformation.
Church Fathers on 2 Peter 3:6
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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