2 Peter 3:3–16

³Above all, you must understand that in the last days^m scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.^{n 4}They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?^o Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”^{p 5}But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word^q the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.^{r 6}By these waters also the world of that time^s was deluged and destroyed.^{t 7}By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,^u being kept for the day of judgment^v and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.^{w 9}The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,^x as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient^y with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.^z

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.^a The heavens will disappear with a roar;^b the elements will be destroyed by fire,^c and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.^ad

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward^e to the day of God and speed its coming.^bf That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.^{g 13}But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,^h where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blamelessⁱ and at peace with him. ¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience^j means salvation,^k just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.^{l 16}He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable^m people distort,ⁿ as they do the other Scriptures,^o to their own destruction.