2 Peter 3
International Children’s Bible
Jesus Will Come Again
3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. I wrote both letters to you to help your honest minds remember something. 2 I want you to remember the words that the holy prophets spoke in the past. And remember the command that our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles. 3 It is important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. 4 They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died. But the world continues the way it has been since it was made.” 5 But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. God spoke and made heaven and earth. He made the earth from water and with water. 6 Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. 7 And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change his heart and life.
10 But the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the skies will be destroyed by fire. And the earth and everything in it will be exposed.[a] 11 In that way everything will be destroyed. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God. 12 You should wait for the day of God and look forward to its coming. When that day comes, the skies will be destroyed with fire, and everything in the skies will melt with heat. 13 But God made a promise to us. And we are waiting for what he promised—a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives.
14 Dear friends, we are waiting for this to happen. So try as hard as you can to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God. 15 Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 Paul writes about this in all his letters. Sometimes there are things in Paul’s letters that are hard to understand. And some people explain these things falsely. They are ignorant and weak in faith. They also falsely explain the other Scriptures. But they are destroying themselves by doing that.
17 Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Do not let those evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful so that you will not fall from your own strong faith. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and forever! Amen.
Footnotes
- 3:10 And . . . exposed. Some Greek copies read “And everything in it will be burned up.”
2 Peter 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
The Fact of Christ’s Return
The Day of the Lord Will Come.[a] 1 Beloved, this is now the second letter I have written to you. In both of them I have tried to stir up your memories for a clear understanding 2 so that you might remember the words spoken in the past by the holy Prophets and by the apostles at the command of our Lord and Savior.
3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will appear who have led lives of indulgence. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ that was promised? Ever since our ancestors[b] died, everything has remained just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
5 [c]These people deliberately ignore the fact that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and that the earth stands out of water and in water. 6 Furthermore, by these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and the destruction of sinners.
8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved: with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord does not delay in keeping his promise, as some think in terms of delay, but he is patient with you. It is not his wish that any should perish but rather that all should be brought to repentance.
10 However, the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a mighty roar,[d] and the elements will be dissolved in flames, and the earth and all that it contains will be disclosed.
11 Wait for and Speed the Day of God.[e] Since everything is to be destroyed in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be, living holy and saintly lives. 12 Wait for and speed the coming of the Day of God,[f] on which the heavens will be set ablaze and all the elements will melt because of the intense heat. 13 We eagerly await the promised new heavens and a new earth[g] in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, in expectation of all this, do everything possible to lead blameless lives that are above reproach so that he will find you at peace. 15 Think of our Lord’s patience as your opportunity to be saved;[h] our beloved brother Paul told you this when he wrote to you with the wisdom that was given to him, 16 speaking of it[i] in all his letters. In them, there are some things that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and the unstable distort in the same way that they distort the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Conclusion
17 Guard against Error and Grow in Grace. Therefore, beloved, you have been forewarned about this. Take care that you are not led astray by the errors of unprincipled people and thus lose your secure position. 18 Rather, grow in the grace and the knowledge[j] of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Doxology. To him be glory both now and for all eternity. Amen.
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 3:1 We know the spectacle of an immutable universe; the days fly by and the seasons return. Could the fate of the world change someday? Christians of that day are loath to think of it and quick to deny it. To eliminate this uncertainty, the author first of all recalls the teaching of the Prophets, the Apostles, and Christ himself about the end of the world. Furthermore, in the Bible there are two or three passages that make us reflect: the manner in which the cosmos rises in the midst of the initial disorder as well as the drowning of everything at the Flood; hence, our world does not have the promises for eternity.
What then is the reason for the long delay? There are two reasons: first, the Lord does not count time as we do; above all, his mercy is immense and he awaits the conversion of everyone. But the announcement of the end remains such as was taught by the Gospels (see Mt 24:43; Lk 12:39-40; 1 Thes 5:2). In the face of the unforeseeable character of history and the unforeseeable plan of God, there is the temptation to take refuge in the name of the perpetuity of the cosmos. - 2 Peter 3:4 Our ancestors: the faithful of the first Christian generation.
- 2 Peter 3:5 God created the world by his word, and that word will be just as active in the final conflagration.
- 2 Peter 3:10 The Day of the Lord . . . a mighty roar: this “Day” is also mentioned in Acts 2:20, 1 Cor 5:5, and 1 Thes 5:2 and refers to Christ’s Second Coming, repeating the sayings of the Prophets (e.g., Joel 2:1; Zeph 1:7). This coming is certain, but the time is known only to the Father (see Mk 13:32). It will arrive suddenly, unexpectedly, and without warning (see 1 Thes 5:1-3), ushering in the solemn judgment (see Acts 17:31). The heavens will disappear with a mighty roar: this is apocalyptic, figurative language like that of the Books of Daniel and Revelation.
- 2 Peter 3:11 What is it that is delaying the coming of the Messiah? The sins of human beings. This is what many thought among the Jewish circles, and our author shared that conviction. He wishes above all to encourage Christians to stand fast and make progress in the faith. Their eyes are not fixed on a hazy horizon; rather, they live from the promise of an unimaginable renewal of humankind and the world through the Christ who comes.
- 2 Peter 3:12 Day of God: synonymous with “Day of the Lord.” The idea of a final conflagration, found only here in the New Testament, was common in apocalyptic writings and in Greco-Roman thought.
- 2 Peter 3:13 New heavens and a new earth: promised by Isaiah (65:17; 66:22) and confirmed by Revelation (21:1).
- 2 Peter 3:15 Your opportunity to be saved: literally, “salvation.”
- 2 Peter 3:16 Speaking of it: the teaching just set forth in this Letter, which is also found in Paul: God’s saving will (see Rom 2:4; 9:22f; 1 Cor 1:7f); Christ’s return (see 1 Thes 4:16f; 1 Cor 15:23-52); getting ready for the judgment (see Col 1:22f; Eph 1:4-14; 4:30; 5:5-14); God’s just judgment (see Rom 2:5-9); and God’s forbearance as time to repent (see Rom 2:4). Other Scriptures: this comparison of Paul’s Letters with the rest of Scripture indicates that Christian writings are on a par with the Old Testament Books (see 2 Pet 1:21; 2 Tim 3:16).
- 2 Peter 3:18 Grow in . . . knowledge: the author closes by stressing knowledge once more (see note on 2 Pet 1:2). To him be glory: this doxology corresponds to the one in 1 Pet 5:11.
2 Peter 3
King James Version
3 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
