II Peter 3

1. Now, beloved, I am writing this second epistle to you; in both, I am stirring up your pure minds by causing you to remember

2. In order for you to be mindful of the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and Savior, spoken by us, the apostles;

3. Knowing this first, that in the last days there will come mockers, walking according to their own personal lusts,

4. And asking, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the forefathers died, everything has remained the same as from the beginning of creation.”

5. But this fact is hidden from them—they themselves choosing to ignore it—that by the Word of God the heavens existed of old, and the earth came forth out of water and amid water,

6. By which the world at that time, having been deluged with water, had itself been destroyed.

7. But the present heavens and earth are being held in store by His Word, and are being reserved for fire in the day of the judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8. Now, beloved, do not let this one fact be hidden from you: that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

9. The Lord is not delaying the promise of His coming, as some in their own minds reckon delay; rather, He is longsuffering toward us, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10. However, the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heaven itself shall disappear with a mighty roar, and the elements shall pass away, burning with intense heat, and the earth and the works in it shall be burned up.

11. Since all these things are going to be destroyed, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12. Looking forward to and striving for the coming of the day of God, during which the heavens, being on fire, shall be destroyed, and the elements, burning with intense heat, shall melt?

13. But according to His promise, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14. For this reason, beloved, since you are anticipating these things, be diligent, so that you may be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.

15. And bear in mind that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, exactly as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has also written to you;

16. As he has also in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things; in which are some things that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable are twisting and distorting, as they also twist and distort the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17. Therefore, beloved, since you know this in advance, be on guard against such practices, lest you be led astray with the error of the lawless ones, and you fall from your own steadfastness;

18. Rather, be growing in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and into the day of eternity. Amen.