"They (the scoffers) are deliberately ignorant and purposefully forget that God made the heavens by the Word of His command, brought the earth out from the water, and surrounded it with water. He then used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood." 2 Pet. 3:5, 6 NRSV

Many people then and now choose to forget or willfully block out the memory of God's first world-wide judgment upon man from which only Noah and his family escaped. God placed the rainbow in the sky as a permanent reminder of His promise not to destroy earth again by water. Unbelievers will not entertain the thought that God would ever judge and destroy the world a second time. Well, guess what? He will, and it may be sooner than we think. A Holy God must judge sinful man, and His next universal judgment will not be by water, but by fire. "And by the same Word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless" (2 Pet. 3:7).