The Lord Desires Repentance for All

False teachers choose to ignore what they do not want to believe.

To encourage his readers, Peter reminded them to look on life from God's perspective. Believers must not make the same mistake the false teachers do in ignoring or overlooking the crucial truth of the coming of the Lord. When false teachers use the passing of time as a basis for corrupting the truth about the Lord's return, it is critical for the believer to remember God's perspective on time is very different from that of man.

God is working according to His perfect plan and this is a time of grace as He is providing time for people to repent and escape the coming judgment. A serious and somber warning is issued to not presume upon the patience of God. Readers are warned not to be deceived into thinking that judgment will not come because it has not yet. The fact of God's longsuffering does not mean “the day of the Lord”, the period of time that will encompass God's judgment, will not come. The events of “the day of the Lord” include the seven year tribulation, the series of judgments, the millennial kingdom, the great white throne judgment, the destruction of the heavens and the earth, and the coming of the new creation of the heavens and the earth. Peter makes mention of a couple of these events as he warns that the coming of “the day of the Lord” will come, and come unexpectedly.

Choosing to ignore the warning of coming judgment will not make it go away. It will come exactly when God has planned and how God has planned. God has provided this day and this time for sinners to repent and escape this judgment.