2 Peter 3:5-6

2 Peter 3:5-6 For this day they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

Expanded Translation

For they, because of their desire to do so, purposely and wilfully ignore and let go unnoticed the fact that by (through) the word of God the heavens of long ago were brought into being, and an earth was put togetherpart of it sticking up out of water and part of it in the midst of waterthrough which means (words and actions of God) the world which existed at that time perished and was brought to ruin, being (as it was) flooded over with water.

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For this they wilfully forget

Literally, For this goes wilfully unnoticed to them.; that is, the facts of history as recorded by Moses (Genesis 6:1-22; Genesis 7:1-24; Genesis 8:1-22). The word wilfully (thelo) includes the thought of desire, along with volition or exercising the will.[73] What had previously happened to the world had escaped the attention of their minds, not because they had never been told or were uninformed upon the subject, but because the thought of it was painful to them! It is a well-known axiom that history repeats. Of this truth they were aware. The thought of God again bringing woe and destruction upon the earth grated upon their minds. They found a simple solutionignore it and refuse to let the mind dwell upon it! How Satan has succeeded in keeping many people from responding as they should to the truth of God's word, BY TELLING THEM TO FORGET IT. God asks a man to reason concerning divine things (Isaiah 1:18). If he stubbornly refuses to consider the facts, salvation is impossible. Sinners wilfully forget many things to their own damnation: the brevity and uncertainty of life, the knowledge that all men must die and give an account for their deeds, etc. These very truths, if kept in mind and thought upon, would cause them to look upon life more seriously, and prepare for the life to come as they should. The thoughts they avoid and neglect are the very thoughts that would be of everlasting benefit to them!

[73]See Thayer's extensive note under thelo. Also see comments under 2 Peter 3:9, wishing (boulomai).

that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God

The word compacted (sunistemi) is from sun, together, with, and histemi, to make it stand, set, place. The world was put together, i.e., put together by way of composition or combination (Thayer). But a key question concerning this passage has been, Is Peter telling of the materials used when the earth (land) was made, or simply the manner of its creation? In the original, either idea is possible, kai ge ex hudatos kai di-' hudatos may be rendered and the land out of water and by means of water, or and the land (stood) out of water and in the midst (or between) water. In view of the fact that we have no record of God using water in the composition of land (that is, that God composed the earth from water), the last idea is preferred. It also accords with the Genesis record: And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so, And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:9-10), The earth was compacted out of water only in the sense that it rose up above the water.

by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished

The pronoun which here is in the plural (hon, from hos) and may not only refer to the flood itself, but to the edict of God to cleanse the world by such a means. Or perhaps the Apostle is referring to waters here, for in the historical account both the waters from above and below combined to bring about the deluge (Genesis 7:11).

PERISHEDThis verb (apollumi) is quite common to Peter: 1 Peter 1:7, 2 Peter 3:9; as in the noun form (apoleia, destruction): 2 Peter 2:1 (twice); 2 Peter 2:3, 2 Peter 3:7; 2 Peter 3:16.

The thought of annihilation is not inherent within this word. The idea is not extinction, but ruin. It is the loss not of being but of well-being (Vine). Gold that perishes (1 Peter 1:7) is gold that is so utterly worn or ruined that it can no longer be of usefulness to society. When the sheep was lost (apollumi) in the parable of Jesus (Luke 15:3-6) he surely did not fade into nothingness. Neither did the lost (apollumi) son (see Luke 15:24; Luke 15:32). Jesus said if a man would put new wine in old skins they would perish (apollumi). Disappear? Disolve into non-existence? Go up in a puff of blue smoke leaving no trace behind? No. They were made totally useless for their intended purposeruined. The same was true of the ancient world. The flood did not cause either the globe itself or the sinful people who dwelt thereon to be annihilated. The people of that age perisheddied prematurely and were lost eternallyunable to enter their intended home with God.[74]

[74] The force of Peter's argument is not particularly lost if we only take the word perished in the sense of died, as in Matthew 8:25. But the word's normal sense in the middle voice (here) is to perish eternally, lose one's salvation, and suffer the agonies of hell, as in 2 Peter 3:9.