1. Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders. I want to stir you up to think in a way that is pure.
2. I want you to remember the words the holy prophets spoke in the past. Remember the command our Lord and Savior gave through your apostles.
3. First of all, here is what you must understand. In the last days people will make fun of the truth. They will laugh at it. They will follow their own evil longings.
4. They will say, "Where is this 'return' he promised? Everything goes on in the same way it has since our people of long ago died. In fact, it has continued that way since God first created everything."
5. Long ago, God's word brought the heavens into being. His word separated the earth from the waters. And the waters surrounded it. But those people forget things like that on purpose.
6. The waters also flooded the world of that time. It was destroyed.
7. By God's word the heavens and earth of today are being reserved for fire. They are being kept for the day when God will judge. Then ungodly people will be destroyed.
8. Dear friends, here is one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years are like a day.
9. The Lord is not slow to keep his promise. He is not slow in the way some people understand it. He is patient with you. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.
10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. Fire will destroy everything in them. God will judge the earth and everything in it.
11. So everything will be destroyed. And what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives.