The Day of the Lord Will Come

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them (A)I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, (B)that you should remember the predictions of (C)the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come (D)in the last days with scoffing, (E)following their own sinful desires. (F)They will say, “Where is the promise of (G)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth (H)was formed out of water and through water (I)by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed (J)was deluged with water and (K)perished. But by the same word (L)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and (M)destruction of the ungodly.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and (N)a thousand years as one day. (O)The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise (P)as some count slowness, but (Q)is patient toward you,[a] (R)not wishing that any should perish, but (S)that all should reach repentance. 10 But (T)the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then (U)the heavens will pass away with a roar, and (V)the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, (W)what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 (X)waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and (Y)the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for (Z)new heavens and a new earth (AA)in which righteousness dwells.

Final Words

14 (AB)Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him (AC)without spot or (AD)blemish, and (AE)at peace. 15 And count (AF)the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as (AG)our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you (AH)according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. (AI)There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, (AJ)as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, (AK)knowing this beforehand, (AL)take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But (AM)grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (AN)To him be the glory both now and to the day of (AO)eternity. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 3:9 Some manuscripts on your account
  2. 2 Peter 3:10 Or elements; also verse 12
  3. 2 Peter 3:10 Greek found; some manuscripts will be burned up

This is now, my dear friends, my second letter to you. In both of them, I have tried to inspire you to a sincere and pure way of thinking by reminding you of what you already know. Remember the words spoken earlier by God’s holy prophets and the commandment that our Lord and Savior gave to you through your emissaries.[a] Above all, be sure to remember that in the last days mockers will come, following their own desires and taunting you, saying, “So what happened to the promised second coming of Jesus? For everything keeps going just the way it has since our ancestors fell asleep in death; since the beginning of creation, nothing’s changed.”

These believers face persecution every day and eagerly await the day when Jesus will return and judge their enemies. But what is taking so long?

When they make fun of you, it’s as if the scoffers are deliberately forgetting that long ago when God spoke the word, the heavens came into existence and the earth formed from water and by water. The waters later flooded and destroyed that world. By that same word, the heavens and earth we see now are being reserved for destruction by fire, preserved until the time comes for the godless on the day of judgment.

Don’t imagine, dear friends, that God’s timetable is the same as ours; as the psalm says, for with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.[b]

Scoffers use the delay in His second coming to question if He is going to return at all. Peter responds by saying that God’s perspective on time is not like ours. What seems long from a finite, human perspective is incredibly short from an eternal one. Peter also describes how God is not slow, but patient. God wants to allow the time needed for as many sinners as possible to turn from their sinful ways. Unlike some depictions of God as vindictive and enjoying inflicting punishment on people, the God we see here desires that all be saved and not destroyed. If we had true spiritual insight, we would not be amazed by the severity of eternal judgment but by the intensity of God’s mercy.

Now the Lord is not slow about enacting His promise—slow is how some people want to characterize it—no, He is not slow but patient and merciful to you, not wanting anyone to be destroyed, but wanting everyone to turn away from following his own path and to turn toward God’s.[c]

10 The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night; and on that day, the sky will vanish with a roar, the elements will melt with intense heat, and the earth and all the works done on it will be seen as they truly are.[d] 11 Knowing that one day all this will come to pass, think what sort of people you ought to be—how you should be living faithful and godly lives, 12 waiting hopefully for and hastening the coming of God’s day when the heavens will vanish in flames and the elements melt away with intense heat. 13 What will happen next, and what we hope for, is what God promised: a new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns.

14 So, my friends, while we wait for the day of the Lord, work hard to live in peace, without flaw or blemish; 15 and look at the patience of the Lord as your salvation. Our dearly loved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, has written about this. 16 He says essentially the same in all of his letters, although uneducated and unstable readers misinterpret the difficult passages, just as they always misread Scripture, to their spiritual ruin.

17 So hear my final words, my friends. Now that I have warned you about what’s ahead, keep up your guard and don’t let unprincipled people pull you away from the sure ground of the truth with their lies and misunderstandings. 18 Instead, grow in grace and in the true knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Anointed, to whom be glory, now and until the coming of the new age. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. 3:2 Literally, apostles
  2. 3:8 An allusion to Psalm 90:4
  3. 3:9 Literally, repent
  4. 3:10 Other manuscripts read “be burned up.”