1This is now , beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you ; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance ; 2that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets , and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles: 3knowing this first , that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts , 4and saying , Where is the promise of his coming ? for , from the day that the fathers fell asleep , all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation . 5For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old , and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water , by the word of God ; 6by which means the world that then was , being overflowed with water , perished: 7but the heavens that now are , and the earth , by the same word have been stored up for fire , being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men .
God's Patience and the Day of the Lord
8But forget not this one thing , beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years , and a thousand years as one day . 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise , as some count slackness ; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance . 10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief ; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise , and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat , and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up . 11Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved , what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness , 12looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God , by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved , and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? 13But , according to his promise , we look for new heavens and a new earth , wherein dwelleth righteousness .
Living in Light of His Return
14Wherefore , beloved, seeing that ye look for these things , give diligence that ye may be found in peace , without spot and blameless in his sight. 15And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation ; even as our beloved brother Paul also , according to the wisdom given to him , wrote unto you ; 16as also in all his epistles , speaking in them of these things ; wherein are some things hard to be understood , which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest , as they do also the other scriptures , unto their own destruction. 17Ye therefore , beloved, knowing these things beforehand , beware lest , being carried away with the error of the wicked , ye fall from your own stedfastness . 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ . To him be the glory both now and for ever . Amen.