2 Peter 3:3 (DRB)

Passage

Knowing this first: That in the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Nearby Context

2 Peter 3:1 Behold this second epistle I write to you, my dearly beloved, in which, I stir up by way of admonition your sincere mind:

2 Peter 3:2 That you may be mindful of those words which I told you before from the holy prophet and of your apostles, of the precepts of the Lord and Saviour.

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

2 Peter 3:4 Saying: Where is his promise or his coming? For since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

2 Peter 3:5 For this they are wilfully ignorant of: That the heavens were before, and the earth out of water and through water, consisting by the word of God:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "knowing", "first", "last", "days", "shall", "come", "deceitful", and "scoffers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "knowing" and "first", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "That you may be mindful of those..." into verse 4's "Saying Where is his promise or his...", so "knowing" and "first" 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 "knowing" and "first" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.