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Many early Christians were disappointed when Jesus did not return immediately to bring final salvation and judgment to the world. The false teachers, in turn, denied the reality (and no doubt the necessity) of the Second Coming. That Jesus had not come meant that he would not come. This logic, in turn, suggested that he did not need to come. The false teachers who used this logic promised full and final redemption here and now and consequently mocked the notion of a Second Coming.
Peter’s response is helpful in dealing with the modern as well as ancient scoffing at the idea of Christ’s second coming. He reminds us that the holy prophets predicted not only the Second Coming but also the appearance of scoffers in the last times who would deny the Lord’s coming. Therefore the appearance of these scoffers suggests that the readers are living in the time just before the coming of Christ. Ironically, despite themselves, these scoffers actually confirm the Second Coming!
Peter meets the challenge of the scoffers by affirming that God’s word of promise is always effective. God created and sustains the world by the authority of his word. If his word has always vindicated itself in the past, at Creation and in the Flood, it will vindicate itself in the future. In other words, when God speaks, it happens. Peter’s first answer to the scoffers is that God can stand on his record—when he promises a final coming of Christ to judge and save the world, he can be trusted to keep his word. Peter declares the certainty of the Lord’s coming.