2 Peter 1; 2 Peter 2; 2 Peter 3; Jude 1

2 Peter 1

1 I, Simon Peter, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am his apostle. I am sending this letter to you who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received it because our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right and fair for everyone.

2 May more and more grace and peace be given to you. May they come to you as you learn more about God and about Jesus our Lord.

3 God's power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life. All of that has come to us because we know the One who chose us. He chose us because of his own glory and goodness.

4 He has also given us his very great and valuable promises. He did it so you could share in his nature. He also did it so you could escape from the evil in the world. That evil is caused by sinful longings.

5 So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness, add knowledge.

6 To knowledge, add the ability to control yourselves. To the ability to control yourselves, add the strength to keep going. To the strength to keep going, add godliness.

7 To godliness, add kindness to believers. And to kindness to believers, add love.

8 You should possess more and more of those good points. They will make you useful and fruitful as you get to know our Lord Jesus Christ better.

9 But what if some of you do not have those good points? Then you can't see very well. You are blind. You have forgotten that your past sins have been washed away.

10 My brothers and sisters, be very sure that God has appointed you to be saved. Be sure that he has chosen you. If you do everything I have just said, you will never trip and fall.

11 You will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom that lasts forever. It is the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

12 So I will always remind you of these things. I'll do it even though you know them. I'll do it even though you now have deep roots in the truth.

13 I think it is right for me to remind you. It is right as long as I live in this tent. I'm talking about my body.

14 I know my tent will soon be removed. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me.

15 I hope that you will always be able to remember these things after I'm gone. I will try very hard to see that you do.

16 We told you about the time our Lord Jesus Christ came with power. But we didn't make up stories when we told you about it. With our own eyes we saw him in all his majesty.

17 God the Father gave him honor and glory. The voice of the Majestic Glory came to him. It said, "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him."(Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35)

18 We ourselves heard the voice that came from heaven. We were with him on the sacred mountain.

19 The word of the prophets is made more certain. We have that word. You must pay attention to it. It is like a light shining in a dark place. It will shine until the day Jesus comes. Then the Morning Star will rise in your hearts.

20 Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture ever came from a prophet's own understanding.

21 It never came simply because a prophet wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So prophecy comes from God.

2 Peter 2

1 But there were also false prophets among the people. In the same way there will be false teachers among you. In secret they will bring in teachings that will destroy you. They will even turn against the Lord and Master who died to save them. His death paid for their sins. They will quickly destroy themselves.

2 Many people will follow their shameful ways. They will give the way of truth a bad name.

3 Those teachers are never satisfied. They want to get something out of you. So they make up stories to take advantage of you. They have been under a sentence of death for a long time. The One who will destroy them has not been sleeping.

4 God did not spare angels when they sinned. Instead, he sent them to hell. He put them in dark prisons. He will keep them there until he judges them.

5 God did not spare the world's ungodly people long ago. He brought the flood on them. But Noah preached about the right way to live. God kept him safe. He also saved seven others.

6 God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He burned them to ashes. He made them an example of what is going to happen to ungodly people.

7 God saved Lot. He was a man who did what was right. He was shocked by the dirty, sinful lives of people who didn't obey God's laws.

8 That good man lived among them day after day. He saw and heard the evil things they were doing. They were breaking God's laws. And his godly spirit was deeply troubled.

9 So the Lord knows how to keep godly people safe in times of testing. He also knows how to keep ungodly people under guard until the day they will be judged. In the meantime, he continues to punish them.

10 Most of all, this is true of people who follow the evil longings of their sinful natures. They hate to be under authority. Those false prophets are bold and proud. They aren't afraid to speak evil things against heavenly beings.

11 Angels are stronger and more powerful than those people. But even angels don't bring to the Lord evil charges against heavenly beings.

12 Those people speak evil about things they don't understand. They are like wild animals. They do what comes naturally to them. They are born only to be caught and destroyed. Just like animals, they too will die.

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to have wild parties in the middle of the day. They are like spots and stains. They enjoy their sinful pleasures while they eat with you.

14 They stare at women who are not their wives. They want to have sex with them. They never stop sinning. They trap those who are not firm in their faith. They have mastered the art of getting what they want. God has placed them under his curse.

15 They have left God's way. They have wandered off. They follow the way of Balaam, son of Beor. He loved to get paid for doing his evil work.

16 But a donkey corrected him for the wrong he did. Animals don't speak. But the donkey spoke with a human voice. It tried to stop the prophet from doing a very dumb thing.

17 Those false prophets are like springs without water. They are like mists driven by a storm. The blackest darkness is reserved for them.

18 They speak empty, bragging words. They make their appeal to the earthly longings of people's sinful nature. They tempt new believers who are just escaping from the company of sinful people.

19 They promise to give freedom to the new believers. But they themselves are slaves to sinful living. A person is a slave to anything that controls him.

20 They may have escaped the sin of the world. They may have come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But what if they are once again caught up in sin? And what if it has become their master? Then they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

21 What if they had not known the way of godliness? That would have been better than to have known it and then to have turned their backs on it. The way of godliness is the sacred command that was passed on to them.

22 What the proverbs say about them is true. "A dog returns to where it has thrown up."(Proverbs 26:11) And, "A pig that is washed goes back to rolling in the mud."

2 Peter 3

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.

12 Live like that as you look forward to the day of God. It will make the day come more quickly. On that day fire will destroy the heavens. Its heat will melt everything in them.

13 But we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. Godliness will make its home there. All of this is in keeping with God's promise.

14 Dear friends, I know you are looking forward to that. So try your best to be found pure and without blame. Be at peace with God.

15 Remember that while our Lord is waiting patiently to return, people are being saved. Our dear brother Paul also wrote to you about that. God made him wise to write as he did.

16 He writes the same way in all his letters. He speaks about what I have just told you. His letters include some things that are hard to understand. People who don't know better and aren't firm in the faith twist what he says. They twist the other Scriptures too. So they will be destroyed.

17 Dear friends, you already know that. So be on your guard. Then you won't be led down the wrong path by the mistakes of people who don't obey the law. You won't fall from your safe position.

18 Grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Get to know him better. Give him glory both now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1

1 I, Jude, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am a brother of James. I am sending this letter to you who have been chosen by God. You are loved by God the Father. You are kept safe by Jesus Christ.

2 May more and more mercy, peace, and love be given to you.

3 Dear friends, I really wanted to write to you about the salvation we share. But now I feel I should write and ask you to stand up for the faith. God's people were trusted with it once and for all time.

4 Certain people have slipped in among you in secret. Long ago it was written that they would be judged. They are godless people. They use the grace of our God as an excuse for sexual sins. They say no to Jesus Christ. He is our only Lord and King.

5 I want to remind you about some things you already know. The Lord saved his people. He brought them out of Egypt. But later he destroyed those who did not believe.

6 Some of the angels didn't stay where they belonged. They didn't keep their positions of authority. The Lord has kept those angels in darkness. They are held by chains that last forever. On judgment day, God will judge them.

7 The people of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them also did evil things. They gave themselves over to sexual sins. They committed sins of the worst possible kind. They are an example of those who are punished with fire. The fire never goes out.

8 In the very same way, those dreamers pollute their own bodies. They don't accept authority. They speak evil things against heavenly beings.

9 But not even Michael did that. He was the leader of the angels. He argued with the devil about the body of Moses. But he didn't dare to speak evil things against the devil. Instead, he said, "May the Lord stop you!"

10 But those people speak evil things against what they don't understand. They are like wild animals. They can't think for themselves. They do what comes naturally to them. Those are the very things that destroy them.

11 How terrible it will be for them! They followed the way of Cain. They rushed ahead and made the same mistake as Balaam did. They did it because they loved money. They are like Korah. He turned against his leaders. Those people will certainly be destroyed, just as Korah was.

12 They are like stains at the meals you share. They eat too much. They have no shame. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. They are blown along by the wind. They are like trees in the fall. Since they have no fruit, they are pulled up. So they die twice.

13 They are like wild waves of the sea. Their shame rises up like foam. They are like falling stars. God has reserved a place of very black darkness for them. He will keep them there forever.

14 Enoch was the seventh man in the family line of Adam. He gave a prophecy about those people. He said, "Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones.

15 He is coming to judge everyone. He is coming to sentence all ungodly people. He will judge them for all the ungodly acts they have done. They have done them in ungodly ways. He will sentence ungodly sinners for all the bad things they have said about him."

16 Those people complain. They find fault with others. They follow their own evil longings. They brag about themselves. They praise others to help themselves.

17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said was going to happen.

18 They told you, "In the last days, some people will make fun of the truth. They will follow their own ungodly longings."

19 They are the people who separate you from one another. They do only what comes naturally. They are not led by the Holy Spirit.

20 Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Let the Holy Spirit guide and help you when you pray.

21 The mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ will bring you eternal life. As you wait for his mercy, remain in God's love.

22 Show mercy to those who doubt.

23 Pull others out of the fire. Save them. To others, show mercy mixed with fear. Hate even the clothes that are stained by the sins of those who wear them.

24 Give praise to the One who is able to keep you from falling into sin. He will bring you into his heavenly glory without any fault. He will bring you there with great joy.

25 Give praise to the only God. He is our Savior. Glory, majesty, power and authority belong to him. Give praise to him through Jesus Christ our Lord. Give praise to the One who was before all time, who now is, and who will be forever. Amen.