2 Peter 3:5
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: 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:
By the word of God the heavens and earth of old were formed, with the earth brought up out of water and set amid water. Those same waters of creation became the means of judgment when the world that then was was overflowed and perished, and by that same word the present heavens and earth are kept and reserved for fire against the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. The willingly ignorant are scoffers in the last days who dismiss the promise of Christ's coming and shut their eyes to God's Word, His past acts, and the evidence in creation. Such ignorance is sin and inexcusable guilt, for sinners perish not for lack of evidence and plain direction but for refusing the means God provides to know His will. The unbelief and mockery that met Noah's and Enoch's warnings will be repeated toward God's last-day message amid abounding wickedness and violence as in the days of Noah, calling all to understand Scripture, learn to know God, and live in humility, prayer, and righteousness rather than follow human wisdom against Bible truth.
Creation and Flood Background
By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth was formed standing out of the water and in the water, emerging from the waters and surrounded by them. Willing ignorance of this work of creation is willing ignorance of God's word and of the evidence it gives, the trouble caused by deceptive ideas, a condition found also in the church today. That reminder of creation opens the account of the Flood, for the same waters in which and from which the earth was established became the instruments by which the world that then was was overflowed with water and perished. Rejecting the warning then left men without the refuge they had been urged to seek.
God who made nature rules it and can use it to carry out His purpose. Human philosophy and claims about nature cannot limit His power to fulfill His word, and appeals to the laws of nature cannot cancel the prophecy that the present heavens and earth are to be destroyed by fire.
Before that destruction by water, the antediluvian generations were given time, probation, and testing through the warnings of Noah and of Enoch. Some who heard appeared to heed, even helping to build the ark and for a time renouncing sin, but they did not truly turn to God and afterward turned from the truth and joined in mockery. The multitudes mocked the solemn message, persisted in corruption and polygamy and sinful passions, went on more boldly in evil ways, and failed their probation before the Flood came.
Scoffers in Last Days
The willingly ignorant are scoffers who dismiss the promise of Christ's coming, failing to heed God's Word and the Lord's past acts. They willingly ignore God's word and the evidence of creation, that the heavens were formed by God's word and the earth was established in relation to the waters. This ignoring belongs to Peter's warning about people who cause trouble through deceptive ideas, a condition that also occurs in the church today. The Noah account shows that some who heard the warning and helped build the ark later turned from the truth and became scoffers.
By the word of God the world that then was was overflowed with water and perished, and by that same word the heavens and the earth which are now are kept in store and reserved for fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Another storm is coming when the earth will again be swept by the desolating wrath of God and sin and sinners will be destroyed. God who made and rules nature can use it to carry out His purpose, so appeals to nature's laws cannot cancel the prophecy that the world will be destroyed by fire.
As Noah's contemporaries mocked his warning, people in the last days will ridicule solemn warnings as well. The unbelief and mockery that met Enoch's solemn warning in the antediluvian world will be repeated in the last days. Some who heard Enoch gave heed and renounced their sins, but the multitudes mocked the solemn message and went on more boldly in evil ways. In the same way God's servants bear a similar message to the world in the last days that is received with unbelief and mockery as the last generation makes light of the warnings of the Lord's messengers.
The verse foretells the abominations and crimes and wickedness that would prevail during the last days, now fulfilled in the state of the world, and calls true Christians to live lives of humility and prayer. As the close of this earth's history approaches, selfishness and violence and crime prevail as in the days of Noah when the old world perished in the waters of the Flood, so Bible believers need to take their position for righteousness and truth. Bible truth alone is worth living for because it upholds God and His glory against any pleasing sophistry of human wisdom.
In the last days, people who reject the message likewise will fail to endure. At judgment they will recognize that God's message could have been their life and salvation if they had accepted its evidence and obeyed its conditions.
Guilt and Faithful Response
To be willingly ignorant is to not know the will of God when full opportunity to know it has been given. Where directions are made plain without confusion of sound and all have the same opportunity to obtain the knowledge imparted, pleading ignorance of the requirements is no excuse. Sinners perish not for lack of evidence but because they refuse the means God provides to learn His will, so their ignorance is inexcusable. Failure to give attention and learn is a person's own fault, and the sin of not knowing and not understanding is as great in the sight of God as hearing and then transgressing, and receives just punishment for transgression. Willing ignorance is sin and brings guilt, and is not a matter to be trifled with or passed off with a jest.
People may be willingly ignorant of matters concerning eternal life even when light and knowledge are abundant. This holds of many who profess to be wise, and also of those of like precious faith who do not take in the light available to them. The ignorance is of the mysteries of the plan of salvation, which the wisdom of God alone can unfold. It is ignorance of the complete pardon signed by the Majesty of heaven that Jesus came at infinite cost to bring to the human race standing under the penalty of the broken law. Parents in particular illustrate this, being ignorant of the knowledge they need and failing to put it into practice in married life.
Human wisdom and attainments may or may not be valuable and may be missed, but the wisdom of God is indispensable. Bible truth alone is worth living for, upholding God and His glory against any pleasing sophistry of human wisdom. Faith in the pardon brought at infinite cost must be had, for if accepted there is salvation and if rejected there is loss. All wisdom attained on earth will perish with those who reject it.
The verse is a warning not to follow such ignorance, but to understand Scripture and keep learning to know God. True Christians are called to live lives of humility and prayer, and Bible believers need to take their position for righteousness and truth. Special accountability rests on those who teach the truth to others and should be shepherds of the flock, who will be held accountable for willing ignorance and disregard of nature's laws. This applies especially to a people who have had much light and have not appreciated and improved the light given upon health reform. It applies likewise to parents of like precious faith who fail to practice needed knowledge in married life.