Jesus Will Come Again

3 ·My friends [^LBeloved], this is [^Lnow] the second letter I have written you [^Cthe first is probably 1 Peter] to ·help your honest minds remember [^Lawaken/arouse your sincere understanding/intentions with a reminder]. ² I want you to ·think about [remember; recall] the words the holy prophets spoke in the past, and remember the command our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles [Jude 17]. ³ It is most important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. ·People [^LScoffers] will ·laugh at [scoff at; ridicule] you. They will ·live doing the evil things they want to do [indulge their own desires/lusts; Jude 18]. ⁴ [^LAnd] They will say, “·Jesus promised to come again. Where is he [^LWhere is his promised coming]? [^LFor] Our ·fathers [ancestors] have ·died [^Lfallen asleep], but ·the world [^Lall things] continues the way it has been since ·it was made [it began with creation].” ⁵ But they ·do not want to remember [willfully forget/ignore] what happened long ago. By the word of God heaven ·was made [came to be; Gen. 1:3–20; Ps. 33:6; 148:5; Heb. 11:3], and the earth was made from water [Gen. 1:2; Ps. 24:2] and with water [Gen. 1:6–7, 9; Ps. 33:7; 136:6; Prov. 8:27–29]. ⁶ ·Then [^LThrough these; ^Ceither the water and the word of God, or the heavens and earth which poured forth their water; Gen. 7:11] the world was flooded and destroyed ·with water [^Lbeing deluged with water; Gen. 6—9]. ⁷ And that same word of God is ·keeping [reserving; holding in store] heaven and earth that we now have in order to be destroyed by fire [Deut. 32:22; Is. 66:15–16; Zeph. 1:18; Mal. 4:1]. They are being kept for the judgment day and the destruction of ·all who are against God [^Lthe ungodly/impious people].

⁸ But do not forget [ignore; miss] this one thing, ·dear friends [^Lbeloved]: To the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day [^Cour perception of time is not the same as God’s; Ps. 90:4]. ⁹ The Lord is not ·slow [or late] in doing what he promised—the way some people understand ·slowness [lateness; Hab. 2:3]. But God is being patient with you [Ex. 34:6]. He does not want anyone to ·be lost [perish], but he wants all people to ·change their hearts and lives [^Lcome to repentance].

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief [^Cwith surprise and danger]. The ·skies [heavens] will ·disappear [pass away; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17; 21:33] with a loud noise. ·Everything in them [^LThe elements; ^Ceither everything in the cosmos or specifically the heavenly bodies] will be ·destroyed [or dissolved] by ·fire [heat; burning], and the earth and ·everything in it [or all the deeds done on it] will be exposed.^{[a] 11} In that way everything will be ·destroyed [or dissolved]. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and ·serve God [be godly/pious], ¹² as you wait for and ·look forward to [strive for; or hurry; hasten] the coming of the day of God. When that day comes, the ·skies [or heavens] will be ·destroyed [or dissolved] with fire, and ·everything in them [the elements; 3:10] will melt with ·heat [fire; burning]. ¹³ But God made a promise to us [Is. 65:17; 66:22], and we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where ·goodness [righteousness] ·lives [makes its home].

¹⁴ [^LTherefore] ·Dear friends [^LBeloved], ·since [or while] you are waiting for this to happen, ·do your best [make every effort; strive] to be [^Lfound] without ·sin [^Lspot] and without ·fault [^Lblemish; ^Cthe characteristics of the false teachers in 2:13]. ·Try [Make every effort; Strive] to be at peace with God. ¹⁵ ·Remember [Consider; Bear in mind] that ·we are saved because our Lord is patient [^Lour Lord’s patience is our salvation; ^Chis delay in coming allows more to be saved]. Our ·dear [^Lbeloved] brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes about ·this [^Lthese things] in all his letters. Some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand, and people who are ·ignorant [untaught] and ·weak in faith [unstable] ·explain these things falsely [^Ltwist/distort them]. They also ·falsely explain [^Ltwist; distort] the other Scriptures, ·but they are destroying themselves by doing this [or which will lead to their destruction].

¹⁷ [^LTherefore] ·Dear friends [^LBeloved], since you already ·know [are forewarned] about this, be ·careful [on guard]. Do not let those ·evil [lawless; unprincipled] people lead you away ·by the wrong they do [or by their deception; or into error]. Be ·careful [on guard] so you will not fall from your own ·strong faith [stability; firm position]. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and ·forever [^Lto the day of eternity]! ·Amen [So be it].