The Day of the Lord Will Come
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This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them 1I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
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2that you should remember the predictions of 3the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,
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knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come 4in the last days with scoffing, 5following their own sinful desires.
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6They will say, "Where is the promise of 7his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
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For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth 8was formed out of water and through water 9by the word of God,
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But by the same word 12the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and 13destruction of the ungodly.
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But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and 14a thousand years as one day.
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15The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise 16as some count slowness, but 17is patient toward you,a18 not wishing that any should perish, but 19that all should reach repentance.
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But 20the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then 21the heavens will pass away with a roar, and 22the heavenly bodiesb will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.c
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Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, 23what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
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24waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and 25the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
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But according to his promise we are waiting for 26new heavens and a new earth 27in which righteousness dwells.
Final Words
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28Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him 29without spot or 30blemish, and 31at peace.
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And count 32the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as 33our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you 34according to the wisdom given him,
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as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. 35There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, 36as they do the other Scriptures.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)