2 Peter 3
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 64 – AD 68 · The early church · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
18 verses · 458 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen
The Coming Judgment
1Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking 2by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
5But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by Godʼs word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6through which the world of that time perished in the flood. 7And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
The Day of the Lord
8Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
10But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness 12as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with Godʼs promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Final Exhortations
14Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.
15Consider also that our Lordʼs patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. 16He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Amen.
Footnotes (9)
- a v3 See Jude 1:18.
- b v6 NA through whom
- c v8 See Psalm 90:4.
- d v10 Or dissolved; also in verses 11 and 12.
- e v10 Or will not be found. BYZ and TR will be burned up; SBL, NE, and WH will be found, i.e., will be unable to hide.
- f v14 Or to be found by Him in peace, without spot and without blemish.
- g v16 Or in all the letters
- h v16 NA will distort
- i v18 NE, WH, and NA do not include Amen.
Study notes on this chapter · 1
New heavens and a new earth
Isaiah promises that God will create new heavens and a new earth, and former things will not be remembered. Peter says believers wait for these according to his promise, and John sees a new heaven and earth with no more sea. Christians differ on whether the new creation renews this world or replaces it.
When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; 2 Peter, c. AD 60–68; Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Ways people read this (3)
- Renewal: the present creation is transformed and purified, as a resurrected body is continuous with the old.
- Replacement: the present heavens and earth are destroyed and a new creation takes their place.
- Isaiah 65:20 describes death and birth in the new age, which some take as symbolic and others as a stage before the final state.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.