2 Peter - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

KJV 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:
TRANSLATION HIGHLIGHTS
Because the scoffers want history to continue unchanged (Durative Present tense), with
no prospect of future evaluation or judgment, some very obvious things have escaped
their attention (Gnomic Present tense). A long time ago, the universe came into existence
(Dramatic Imperfect tense) by the Word of God. In Genesis 1:7, God “restored” the
atmosphere from the chaotic condition which spoiled it in Genesis 1:2. He restored the
atmosphere by separating it from the waters above (vapors and clouds) and the waters
below (on the surface of the earth). It became the “empty space” between the two waters.
The original creation in Genesis 1:1, which included the original heavens (atmosphere),
is described in the Hebrew by the Qal Perfect tense – because the original creation was
perfect. The restored atmosphere in Genesis 1:7 is described in the Hebrew by the Qal
Imperfect tense, because it was not the original creation but a refashioning of chaotic
materials. The heavens or atmosphere in this passage came into existence in the Greek by
the Dramatic Imperfect tense; this means the atmosphere in question was the restored
version in Genesis 1:7 rather than the original atmosphere in Genesis 1:1.
In addition, the earth, standing out of the water (Dramatic Perfect tense), also came into
existence by means of water. The last phrase, “by means of water,” refers to the land
coming into existence by means of the waters “being gathered together” into one place.
In other words, the means of land coming into existence was by the restoration of the
chaotic waters into their original boundaries. Peter did not use a second verb for the
restoration of the waters here because it is understood elliptically by the prior Dramatic
Imperfect tense. As a result of the imperfect restoration of the atmosphere to its original
boundaries, the earth “stood out” from the waters in imperfect condition. But before the
waters were “gathered together into one place,” the earth existed in pristine condition
(Descriptive Perfect tense) in the midst of them. Every nutrient necessary for plant life
still existed, ready for God’s Word [Jesus Christ] to cause plant life to grow once again.
To summarize, in case I lost you here, the earth was mixed with water as a result of the
chaotic “waste and wild” in Genesis 1:2. It sprang back into existence when the waters
were restored to their original boundaries during the refashioning process.
While reading commentaries, I found some who interpret this pericope as a reference to
the flood in Noah’s day. There is no mention of Noah here; the references to the creation,
heavens and earth, etc. point in another direction. It is totally unnecessary, except for
those with a shaky view of the original creation in Gen. 1:1, including the fall of Satan
and the resultant state of waste and wild in 1:2, and the refashioning that took place
afterwards. 2 Peter 3:5 discusses the heavens; 2 Peter 3:7 discusses the heavens. The
heavens are included, at least by implication and contextual flow, in verse 3:6 as well.
The heavens (atmosphere/universe) were not destroyed by the Noahic flood, therefore
this cannot be a reference to that flood – unless you want to cite fictional accounts as
backup. Also, the comparison is between complete destruction in the past and in the
future, one by water and the other by fire. Earth was totally uninhabitable in Gen. 1:2 and