2 Peter 3:3

knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts,

Wheaton declared that it is "likely"[11] that the mockers here are the same as the false teachers of the preceding chapter; and Dummelow considered it "probable";[12] but the view here is that they were almost certainly the same. This is indicated by two considerations: (1) They are sensual characters, walking after their own lusts, as were the false teachers; and (2) they are evidently people who were familiar with the "promise" of the Lord's coming, who had indeed once believed it, but then became mockers. From this, the deduction is that the great apostasy is still under consideration.

In the last days ... There is a difference in this expression from "latter times" (1 Timothy 4:1) "the last days" (2 Timothy 3:1);[12] from which Macknight concluded that, "Perhaps it means the last part of the days of the world's duration."[13] There is also a marked difference in the attitude of those mentioned in 2 Peter 2 and here. There, the approach is one of stealth and deception; here the opposition is bold and challenging. "Anthropocentric hedonism always mocks at the idea of ultimate standards and a final division between the saved and the lost."[14]

[11] David H. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1257.

[12] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1052.

[13] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, reprint, 1969), p. 560.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 129.