1 D ear friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. In both of them I have tried to get you to remember some things.

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),

2 Y ou should remember the words that were spoken before by the holy early preachers. Do not forget the teaching of the Lord, the One Who saves. This was given to you by your missionaries.

that you 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 Savior,

3 F irst of all, I want you to know that in the last days men will laugh at the truth. They will follow their own sinful desires.

knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,

4 T hey will say, “He promised to come again. Where is He? Since our early fathers died, everything is the same from the beginning of the world.”

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 creation.”

5 B ut they want to forget that God spoke and the heavens were made long ago. The earth was made out of water and water was all around it.

For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,

6 L ong ago the earth was covered with water and it was destroyed.

by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

7 B ut the heaven we see now and the earth we live on now have been kept by His word. They will be kept until they are to be destroyed by fire. They will be kept until the day men stand before God and sinners will be destroyed.

But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8 D ear friends, remember this one thing, with the Lord one day is as 1, 000 years, and 1, 000 years are as one day.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

9 T he Lord is not slow about keeping His promise as some people think. He is waiting for you. The Lord does not want any person to be punished forever. He wants all people to be sorry for their sins and turn from them.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The Day of the Lord

10 T he day of the Lord will come as a robber comes. The heavens will pass away with a loud noise. The sun and moon and stars will burn up. The earth and all that is in it will be burned up.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

11 S ince all these things are to be destroyed in this way, you should think about the kind of life you are living. It should be holy and God-like.

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12 Y ou should look for the day of God to come. You should do what you can to make it come soon. At that time the heavens will be destroyed by fire. And the sun and moon and stars will melt away with much heat.

looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

13 W e are looking for what God has promised, which are new heavens and a new earth. Only what is right and good will be there.

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Be Steadfast

14 D ear friends, since you are waiting for these things to happen, do all you can to be found by Him in peace. Be clean and free from sin.

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

15 Y ou can be sure the long waiting of our Lord is part of His plan to save men from the punishment of sin. God gave our dear brother Paul the wisdom to write about this also.

and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

16 H e wrote about these things in all of his writings. Some of these things are hard to understand. People who do not have much understanding and some who are not strong in the faith change the meaning of his letters. They do this to the other parts of the Holy Writings also. They are destroying themselves as they do this.

as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

17 A nd so, dear friends, now that you know this, watch so you will not be led away by the mistakes of these sinful people. Do not be moved by them.

You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;

18 G row in the loving-favor that Christ gives you. Learn to know our Lord Jesus Christ better. He is the One Who saves. May He have all the shining-greatness now and forever. Let it be so.

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.