2 Peter 3:1-13 - The Coming Day Of The Lord

¹ This is the second letter, dear friends, that I have now written to you, in the effort to arouse your unsullied minds ² to remember the things foretold by the holy prophets, and the command of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. ³ First of all, you must understand this, that in the last days mockers will come with their mockeries, going where their passions lead ⁴ and saying, "Where is his promised coming? For ever since our forefathers fell asleep everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation!" ⁵ For they wilfully ignore the fact that long ago there existed heavens and an earth which had been formed at God's command out of water and by water, ⁶ by which also that world was destroyed, through being flooded with water. ⁷ But by the same command the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, and are kept for the day when godless men are to be judged and destroyed.

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, dear friends, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow about his promise, in the sense that some men think; he is really showing his patience with you, because he does not want any to perish, but wishes all men to be brought to repentance.

¹⁰ The Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on it the heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth and all its works will melt away. ¹¹ If all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what holy and pious lives you ought to lead, ¹² while you await and hasten the coming of the Day of God, which will cause the heavens to burn up and dissolve and the heavenly bodies to blaze and melt. ¹³ In fulfilment of his promise we expect new heavens and a new earth, where uprightness will prevail.