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Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
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that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
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knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
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and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
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For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
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by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
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But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
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But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
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The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
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But 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 melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
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Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
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looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?