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2 Peter 3

Peter confronts mockery of Christ’s return by setting God’s patience alongside certain judgment and the promise of a righteous world.

Peter addresses beloved readers whose confidence in Christ’s promised coming faces mockery. The mockers point to the world’s apparent continuity; Peter answers with creation and the flood, both governed by God’s word. He explains the delay in terms of God’s patience and warns that judgment will come without warning. The letter closes with the promise of new heavens and a new earth, a warning against twisting Scripture, and a call to grow in Christ.

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1This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you
2that you should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
3knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts
4and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
5For they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water by the word of God,
6by which means the world that existed then, being overflowed with water, perished.
7But the heavens that exist now and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat; and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
11Therefore, since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness,
12looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
13But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, be diligent to be found in peace, without defect and blameless in his sight.
15Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you,
16as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17You therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware, lest being carried away with the error of the wicked, you fall from your own steadfastness.
18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
2 Peter 3:9God’s patience explains the apparent delay in Christ’s coming and leaves room for repentance before judgment.
2 Peter 3:10The sudden arrival of the Lord’s day overturns the mockers’ claim that the world will continue unchanged.
2 Peter 3:18The closing command directs readers toward growth in Christ’s grace and knowledge as they resist error and await his coming.
Where this chapter reaches

Isaiah and Revelation share the promise of new heavens and a new earth, while Psalm shares the comparison between a thousand years and a day in God’s sight. Matthew shares the thief image for an unexpected coming and the warning drawn from the flood.

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After reading the whole chapter

How does Peter’s account of God’s patience challenge or clarify your thoughts about waiting for Christ’s return?

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What connection do you see between the promised world where righteousness dwells and Peter’s commands for life now?

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Questions people ask about 2 Peter 3

Does 2 Peter 3:8 mean one day equals a thousand years?

Peter compares a day and a thousand years in both directions to show that God’s relation to time differs from human expectations. The context concerns mockers who treat the passing years as evidence against Christ’s return. The verse supplies no formula for calculating the date of that return.

Why does 2 Peter 3 say God is delaying judgment?

Peter explains the apparent delay through God’s patience and desire that people come to repentance. Verse 15 tells readers to regard that patience as salvation. Yet the warning remains: the day of the Lord will come without warning, and the present world is reserved for judgment.

Does 2 Peter 3 call Paul’s letters Scripture?

Peter says that people twist Paul’s letters as they do “the other Scriptures,” placing those letters alongside Scripture. He also acknowledges that some passages in them are hard to understand. The chapter does not identify which letters the readers possess or list the full collection being discussed.

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2 Peter · 3 chapters
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What the Bible says about patience →What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about doubt →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).