¹Beloved, I am writing this second of my epistles to you now, in which I am stirring your honest mind with a reminder, ²to remember the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and your apostolic command from the Lord and saviour, ³knowing this first of all, that in the latter days scoffers will come walking after their own desires, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, everything has been continuing this way from the beginning of creation.” ⁵For they willingly ignore the fact that the heavens have been in existence from long ago, and land came out of water and through water, and it holds together by the word of God, ⁶by which means the world of that time was flooded with water and perished. ⁷But the present heavens and earth, by his word, are kept in store, reserved to fire until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly men. ⁸Let not one of you fail to notice this one fact, beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day. ⁹The Lord will not delay with the promise, as some consider delay, but he is longsuffering towards us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ¹⁰For the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, on which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn up and will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be thoroughly burnt up. ¹¹Seeing that all these things are to be dissolved, then, what kind of people should you be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹²awaiting and eagerly seeking the coming of the day of God by means of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved and the elements will be burnt and melt? ¹³But we await new heavens and a new earth, according to his promise, places in which righteousness dwells. ¹⁴Therefore, beloved, while waiting for these things, be zealous to be found without spot and without blemish by him in peace. ¹⁵And consider our Lord's longsuffering as salvation, as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, ¹⁶as indeed in all his epistles, in which he speaks about these matters, matters in which there are some things that are difficult to understand which unlearned and unstable individuals pervert, as they also do with other scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷You, therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard that you are not led away likewise by the error of the unprincipled, and you fall away from your own steadfast ground. ¹⁸But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and throughout the age-abiding day. Amen.

Reference(s) in Chapter 3: v.8 ↔ Psalm 90:4 ● v.13 ↔ Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22.