2 Peter 3
1 My friends, this is my second letter to you. In both of them I've tried to stir you up and remind you to think clearly with pure minds.
I indeed, beloved, write unto you this second epistle; in which I stir up your pure mind by remembrance:
2 Remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and what the Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.
to remember the words which have been spoken hitherto by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour by your apostles:
3 Above all you should know that derisive people will come in the last days, full of mockery and following their own evil desires.
knowing this first, that at the last days mockers will come forth in scoffing, walking according to their own lusts,
4 “So what happened to this coming he promised?” they ask. “Right from the time our ancestors died, everything's continued as it always has, ever since creation began.”
and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for from the day when the fathers fell asleep, all things remain as from the beginning of creation.
5 But they deliberately ignore the fact that by God's command the heavens were created long ago. The earth came into existence from the water, and was surrounded by water.
For they willingly forget this, that the heavens were in the olden time, and the earth standing out of the water and through the water, by the word of God;
6 It was through water that the world that then existed was destroyed—through being flooded by water.
by which the world at that time, being flooded with water, perished:
7 But by means of that same divine command the heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for destruction by fire at the day of judgment when the wicked will be destroyed.
but now the heavens and the earth have been kept according to the same word, being reserved for fire in the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly people.
8 However, my friends, don't forget this one thing: that for the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.
But let not this one thing be forgotten, beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not delaying the fulfillment of his promise, as some define delay, but he is being very patient with you. He doesn't want anyone to be lost, but everyone to come and repent.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some people count slackness; but is long-suffering for your sakes, not wishing that any should perish, but all come to repentance.
10 However, the day of the Lord will come, unexpectedly like a thief. The heavens will explode with a thunderous roar, and the elements will be destroyed as they are burned up. The earth and everything in it will vanish.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements being scorched up will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burnt up.
11 Since everything is going to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? You should be living lives that are pure, dedicated to God,
Then all these things being dissolved, what kind of people does it behoove you to be in holy deportment and godliness,
12 waiting expectantly and being eager for the coming of the day of God. That day the heavens will catch fire and be destroyed, and the elements will melt in the heat.
looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens being on fire will be dissolved, and the elements being scorched up are melted?
13 But as for us, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth that God has promised where everything is good and right.
But, according to his promises, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, wherein righteousness dwells.
14 So, my friends, since you're anticipating these things, make sure you'll be found pure and blameless, and at peace with God.
Therefore, beloved, looking for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless unto him in peace:
15 Remember that it is our Lord's patience that gives the opportunity for salvation. That's what our dear brother Paul was explaining to you in all his letters with the wisdom given to him by God.
and consider the longsuffering of the Lord's salvation; as our beloved brother Paul according to the wisdom which was given unto him has written unto you;
16 He spoke about these things, though some of what he wrote is certainly hard to understand. Some ignorant and unbalanced people have twisted what he wrote to their own loss—just as they do other scriptures.
as also in all his epistles, speaking in the same concerning these things; in which there are some things hard to understand, which the unlearned and unestablished wrest, as they also do the other scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 My friends, since you already know this, make sure that these errors of the wicked don't lead you astray, and you don't fall from your firm position.
Then you, beloved, foreknowing watch, lest, having been led away by the delusion of the ungodly, you may fall from your own stedfastness:
The World is Destroyed by Water
