Mission Venture Ministries

In the following verses we read about catastrophic events on earth, one that already happened and two still to come.   

⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 

The first devastation came when the Flood covered the earth in the days of Noah, saving only eight righteous people (Genesis 6:8, Genesis 7:23). Afterwards, God promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth by a flood (Genesis 9:13); nevertheless, two more events in the Bible predict that God will yet again devastate the earth. 

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. 

Peter is telling us that the ancient world was destroyed by water, just as the present world is going to be destroyed by fire. He says that it is “by the same word.” What he means is that the Old Testament tells of the flood in the past and warns of the destruction by fire in the future. 

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. 

Peter does not say that one day is a thousand years; he says that one day is like a thousand years. In other words, he is using figurative language to make his point. The point is that the passing of time has no bearing on God’s faithfulness to His promises. Therefore, we need to wait as patiently for the Lord as the persecuted believers of the first century did, and as they, “live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God” (verses 11–12). 

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. 

Peter explains that one reason for the delay in the Lord’s coming is that He is patiently giving sinners the opportunity to repent. But it would be a huge mistake to conclude that because He delays, He will not come at all. He will come; there is no doubt about it! 

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. 

When Peter speaks of the day of the Lord he is not only repeating the words of Jesus in (Matthew 24:42-43), but he is also describing it in terms of the Old Testament doctrine of the Day of the Lord. 

The Day of the Lord is a certainty which runs all through the prophetic books of the Old Testament. It was to come without warning. It was to be a time when the universe was shaken to its foundations. It was to be a time of terror as stated by OT prophets like Isaiah, Joel and Zephaniah. 

• “Behold the Day of the Lord comes, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. The stars of the heaven and their constellations shall not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light…. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger” (Isaiah 13:9-13).
• “The Day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and of thick darkness” (Joel 2:1-2).
• “The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Joel 2:30-31).
• “A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Zephaniah 1:14-18). 

When we fit together other prophecies, such as Isaiah 65 and Revelation 20, we see that when Christ returns after the 7 years of tribulation, He will reign upon earth on the throne of David for 1,000 years after the earth is restored from the devastation of the tribulation period. During that time, there will be unprecedented peace all over the earth. But at the end of that time, Satan will lead a final rebellion and God will destroy His enemies with fire (Revelation 20:9). As we understand, this is the day that will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat, that Peter speaks of in verse 12. 

Although Christ has not yet returned in judgment, that frightening day will come, with disastrous consequences for all who have not repented of their sins. The day of the Lord will come; there isn’t any doubt about it and it will certainly happen for each one of us the day we die, because: “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). 

There is no reincarnation, where you get another chance to improve yourself. There is no purgatory, where if enough of your relatives pray and light candles and give money to the church, you eventually get into heaven. Rather, you have an appointment to die and face God in judgment. 

Are you ready for that appointment?

Peter continues: 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. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  

Peter urges the need to get right with God before this awful, inescapable day comes on the whole world by asking what kind of people we ought to be! He wants Christians to reflect on their behavior and to obey God, in light of the reality of the coming judgment and eternity. And by doing so he encourages Christians to eagerly hope for the day of God which refers to the eternal state. 

Therefore, our life should be marked by holy and godly living as a testimony to those who do not know the Savior, and we should be telling others about Him so they can escape the terrible fate that awaits those who reject Him; as we wait in eager anticipation of God’s  Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). 

The whole natural earth in its present form, with its entire universe will be consumed (Isaiah 24:19-20; 34:4) at the very end; and then the wicked will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, cast into the Lake of Fire, while His redeemed will enter the eternal state to be with the Lord forever. 

Knowing that heaven and earth will pass away should give us a great desire to obey and please God; realizing that this world is not our home and that “we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). 

Jesus tells us to have the right priorities: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. . . . But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19–20). 

And Peter, after reminding us of the temporary nature of this world, says, “Dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him” (2 Peter 3:14).

Remember, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.”  (Hebrews 10:31) 

Christ is coming back suddenly and unexpectedly, so make sure that your life is clean and ready for His coming!

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