Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

He exhorts them to beware of such as say the day of the Lord is slack in coming. He urges them to lead a godly life, and to expect the Lord’s coming, whose long delay is salvation, because he would have none lost, but receive all to repentance.

3 This is the second epistle that I now write to you, beloveds, with which I stir up and warn your pure minds, ² to call to remembrance the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets, and also the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.

³ This first understand: that there will come in the last days mockers, who will walk after their own lusts ⁴ and say, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers died, all things continue in the same estate that they were in at the beginning. ⁵ This they are ignorant of (and that willingly): that the heavens a great while ago were, and the earth that was in the water appeared up out of the water by the word of God – ⁶ by which things the world that then was perished, overflowing with water. ⁷ But the heavens and earth which are now, are kept by the same word in store, and reserved for fire at the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.