2 Peter 3
Peter addresses scoffers who mock the promise of Christ's return. God is not slow about His promise, with the Lord a day is like a thousand years. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. Peter urges believers to live holy lives and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.
2 PeterChapter 3 of 318 versesBerean Standard Bible
If God speaks to you through 2 Peter 3, record what He said in Doxa and come back to it.
Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking
by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
“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.”
But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
through which the world of that time perished in the flood.
World destroyed by water — world that then existed was deluged and destroyed
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.”
Read Genesis 7:11›And 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.
Beloved, 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.
With the Lord a day is like a thousand years
“For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.”
Read Psalms 90:4›The 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.
But 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.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness
as 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.
But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth
“For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”
Read Isaiah 65:17›In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and new earth
“For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”
Read Isaiah 65:17›Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.
Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.
He 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.
Therefore, 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.
But 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.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for 2 Peter 3
“For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.”
“who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?”
“so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,”
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
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If God speaks to you through 2 Peter 3
Doxa is where you record what God has said to you, in the words it came in, weigh it against Scripture with people you trust, and come back to it in the years that follow.
