A question answered for one of our readers:
What does the Bible mean when it says God desires that none should perish? Is that speaking of the elect?
Good question. I’m assuming that you are asking about 2 Peter 3:9. Below is a few thoughts.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
1) God’s longsuffering that brings repentance is for “usward.” Who are the usward? They are those to whom Peter was writing in both of his epistles. They are the blood bought elect (1 Peter 1:2). They are those to whom are given faith through the righteousness of Christ (2 Peter 2:1).
2) The term ‘all should come to repentance’ signifies that all of God’s children will be given a quickened, penitent heart.
3) The meaning of this passage then is that God is not willing to let any of the elect perish. God will not destroy this present existence until the last elect child of God is born again.
4) If this passage did mean that God was waiting for people to decide for themselves to be born again before the world could end, then the world would never end because there would always be someone who had not came to repentance for whom God was long-suffering.