2 Peter 3 - What does the Lord want?
The Day of the Lord
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s wordthe heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 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 everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Footnotes:
- 2 Peter 3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up
- 2 Peter 3:12 Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come
Observation Questions
The Day of the Lord
Why is Peter writing this second letter? (verse 1)
What words does Peter want the believers to recall? (verse 2)
What command does Peter want the believers to recall? (verse 2)
What may scoffers do besides scoffing? (verse 3)
What will scoffers say? (verse 4)
What do scoffers deliberately forget? (verse 5-7)
How did the heavens come into being? (verse 5)
How was the earth formed? (verse 5)
What was deluged and destroyed? (verse 6)
How are the present heavens and earth reserved for fire? (verse 7)
What are we not to forget? (verse 8)
Is the Lord slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness? (verse 9)
Who is the Lord patient with? (verse 9)
What does the Lord want? (verse 9)
How will the day of the Lord come? (verse 10)
How will the elements be destroyed? (verse 10)
What will be laid bare? (verse 10)
What kind of people out we to be? (verse 11)
How ought we to live? (verse 11)
What will melt in the heat? (verse 12)
What are we looking forward to? (verse 13)
What are we to make every effort towards? (verse 14)
What does our Lord's patience mean? (verse 15)
Who gave Paul wisdom? (verse 15)
Do Paul's letters contain some things that are hard to understand? (verse 16)
What do ignorant and unstable people distort? (verse 16)
What is the outcome of ignorant and unstable people who distort things that are hard to understand? (verse 16)
What is one specific thing we to be on our guard against? (verse 17)
What are we to grow in? (verse 18)
Interpretation Questions
What stimulates wholesome thinking?
What does it mean to "speed its coming" in verse 12?
What does it mean to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him? (verse 14)
Can a believer be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from a secure position? (verse 17)
What does it look like to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? (verse 18)
Application
Write or read something that stimulates wholesome thinking
and be on your guard (verse 17)
Thoughts
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:
With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day.
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 everything done in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way,
what kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God
and speed its coming.
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire,
and the elements will melt in the heat.
But in keeping with his promise
we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,
where righteousness dwells.
Therefore, dear friends,
since you have been forewarned,
be on your guard
so that you may not be carried away
by the error of the lawless
and fall from your secure position.
But grow in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and forever!
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