2 Peter 3:5 (KJV)

Passage

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:

Nearby Context

2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

2 Peter 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

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:

2 Peter 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "willingly", "ignorant", "word", "heavens", "earth", "standing", and "water". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "willingly" and "ignorant", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And saying Where is the promise of..." into verse 6's "Whereby the world that then was being...", so "willingly" and "ignorant" belong inside that flow. In 2 Peter context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "willingly" and "ignorant" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.