Chapter 3

Purpose of This Letter

1 This is now, abeloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am bstirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

2 that you should aremember the words spoken beforehand by bthe holy prophets and cthe commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

3 aKnow this first of all, that bin the last days cmockers will come with their mocking, dfollowing after their own lusts,

4 and saying, “aWhere is the promise of His bcoming? For ever since the fathers cfell asleep, all continues just as it was dfrom the beginning of creation.”

5 For 1when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that aby the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was bformed out of water and by water,

6 through which athe world at that time was bdestroyed, being flooded with water.

7 But by His word athe present heavens and earth are being reserved for bfire, kept for cthe day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, abeloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and ba thousand years like one day.

9 aThe Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but bis patient toward you, cnot wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

10 But athe day of the Lord bwill come like a thief, in which cthe heavens dwill pass away with a roar and the eelements will be destroyed with intense heat, and fthe earth and 1its works will be 2burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12 alooking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which bthe heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the celements will melt with intense heat!

13 But according to His apromise we are looking for bnew heavens and a new earth, cin which righteousness dwells.

14 aTherefore, bbeloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be cfound by Him in peace, dspotless and blameless,

15 and regard the apatience of our Lord as salvation; just as also bour beloved brother Paul, caccording to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of athese things, bin which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and cunstable distort, as they do also dthe rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17 You therefore, abeloved, knowing this beforehand, bbe on your guard so that you are not carried away by cthe error of dunprincipled men and efall from your own steadfastness,

18 but grow in the grace and aknowledge of our bLord and Savior Jesus Christ. cTo Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.