2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
It's not a question of when since it will happen, though that too is apparently debatable as to when, what I want to focus on in this thread is how this is fulfilled. Such as. Should we take all or some of this in a literal sense? Or should we take none of it in a literal sense?
2 Peter 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Some interpreters take verse 5 and 6 to be referring to Genesis 1:1-2, thus allegedly supporting their gap theory. But is that what Peter took it to mean? To determine that one must look at some of what Peter said in his earlier writings. Such as the following.
2 Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
No interpreter is going to get confused here and think verse 5 is pertaining to Genesis 1:1-2 and an alleged gap. It is crystal clear that Noah's flood is meant here. This verse helps us to correctly interpret 2 Peter 3:5-6, where most of us already correctly interpret 2 Peter 3:5-6 to begin with, yet some don't. I know that for a fact because I have encountered interpreters in the past, even on this board, taking 2 Peter 3:5-6 to be involving Genesis 1:1-2 rather than Noah's flood.
In light of 2 Peter 2:5, 2 Peter 3:5-6 should be understood like such.
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was(the old world, the world of the ungodly), being overflowed with water, perished
In 2 Peter 3:5-6, world and earth are not the same Greek word. World is this Greek word--kosmos
kosmos
kos'-mos
probably from the base of komizw - komizo 2865; orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively (morally)):--adorning, world.
Earth is the Greek word ge and is meaning the land. It is not the land that perished, it is the world of the ungodly that perished. And how did they perish? By literally being drowned to death via literal water by way of rain. None of this involved 24 hours or less, though. This involved days. We need to keep this in mind since this could mean 2 Peter 3:10-12 also involves more than a single 24 hour day or less.
Now we come to verse 7 in 2 Peter 3.
2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
We know that during Noah's flood that it involved literal water accomplishing the task. Does that automatically mean, since fire is mentioned in verse 7, the fire will be just as literal as the water was? Except this time no one will be drowning to death, they will be burning to death, thus cremated, thus leaving nothing but ashes remaining.
Assuming that scenario, are there any other passages in the OT or the NT that support that, that at the 2nd coming everyone but the saved will be cremated, therefore leaving nothing but ashes remaining? I can maybe see Revelation 20:9 supporting one being turned to ashes, but is Revelation 20:9 even involving what 2 Peter 3:10-12 is involving?
Let's assume it might be. I don't see how any of that would have to involve the entire planet going up in flames, though. That passage doesn't have animals, for example, coming against the camp of the saints. Why does the entire planet need to be ablaze which would mean animals are being punished as well? And what about infants and children up to a certain age? Would they be coming against the camp of the saints as well? Probably not, right? So why would they deserve to be burned to death with the rest, this assuming the entire planet is literally ablaze?
Keeping in mind, per Noah's flood God spared no one but those aboard the ark. Actually though, He obviously spared some not on the ark as well unless one wants to think there were sharks, whales, every kind of fish, so on and so on, also aboard the ark. Can you even drown creatures when water is their natural habitat to begin with?
Here are some quick observations on my part which might connect some of 2 Peter 3, some of Revelation 6, and some of Isaiah 34 with each other, or maybe not. I'm guessing that no one would take any of these things recorded in Revelation 6 and Isaiah 34 in a literal sense, so why take any of what is recorded in 2 Peter 3:10-12 in the literal sense if there is a connection between all these accounts?
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved(2 Peter 3:12)----And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved(Isaiah 34:4)----and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll(Isaiah 34:4)----And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together(Revelation 6:14)----and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree(Isaiah 34:4)---And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind((Revelation 6:13).