2 Peter 3 is a passage that has caused a lot of confusion among pre-millennialists. Peter seems to speak of the burning of this present earth, and a "new heavens and a new earth," at the time of Christ's second coming. He speaks of the "Day of the Lord" coming "as a thief," in which the dissolution of the present earth and heaven will take place. He speaks of a "new heaven and new earth" in which righteousness dwells. This seems to follow immediately on the second coming in Peter's eschatology. Yet, Revelation speaks of a "new heaven and new earth" at the end of the Millennium, placing a 1,000 year interval between the second coming and the "new heavens and new earth."
The typical solution is to claim that the "Day of the Lord" is the entire Millennium. The burning be said to occur in the extreme end of the "Day of the Lord." But, such a view destroys Peter's whole point, that the Day of the Lord and the burning of the earth is threatening the scoffers who say, "where is the promise of His coming?"
There are 2 prominent issues that we must address:
1). What is the purpose of the earth's dissolution by fire?
2). When is this dissolution to take place? This last question is inextricably tied into the manner of the Lord's Second Advent!
The Foundations of the Earth will not be destroyed:
"Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever" (Psalm 104:5). Some versions render it "He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever." Totter means, "to refrain from moving out of place."
The Earth shall pass away, be destroyed, melted, and dissolved:
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up" (II Peter 3:10).
"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (II Peter 3:7).
"That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat" (II Peter 3:12).
"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (Isaiah 65:17).
The Bible is not self-contradictory.....therefore we must interpret the Word of God with sound hermeneutics and with an revering grammatical exposit. The Bible declares the "foundations of the earth will never be removed i.e. destroyed." It also proclaims that this "earth shall pass away....be dissolved.....melt.....burn.....laid bare....destroyed...etc....."
This can be solved along with the above stated dilemma with a solid exposition of 2 Peter 3.
What is the purpose of the earth being destroyed by fire?
What is the premise by which the Lord will take flaming vengeance upon this world and cause the elements to melt in the heat of His fury?
".....in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thessalonians 1:8).
".....the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7), states the purpose of this present earth being destroyed by fire......judgment of the wicked!! To purify this earth of sin and unrighteousness!! Does that sound familiar???
"By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed" (2 Peter 3:6)
"The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time" (Genesis 6:5).
"So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth" (Genesis 6:13).
God said He destroyed the earth at that time with water and Peter reiterates that same premise. We know that God did not create a new earth after He destroyed it with water.......to purged it from its present wickedness. The earth following the flood was the same earth, but a new earth in respects to its cleansing....in much the same way, God will purge this earth once again from its sin and wickedness, but will do so with a baptism of fire, instead of water. God will not create a brand new planet, but it will be a new earth in which righteousness shall dwell after its cleansing!! For the destruction of this earth and the fiery judment of the wicked upon the Second Advent of Christ are inextriably woven together!!
The foundations of this earth will never be removed (Psalm 104:5), but the surface of this world and all of its elements shall be destroyed just like in the flood of Noah, which Peter alludes to, "By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed" (2 Peter 3:6). There is no contextual premise by which we need to abandon the notion that the destruction of the earth by fire is in the same manner of the destruction of the earth by water in Noah's day!
When is this dissolution to take place?????
If you are a pre-millennialist, there are only a select few possibilities:
1). There is no literal 1,000 year reign of Christ known as the Millennium and the Post-Millennial and A-Millennial advocates have been right all along. That is to say, upon the second advent of Christ he immediately destroys the heavens and the earth and subsequently creates the new heavens and the new earth, followed immediately by the judgment of both righteous and unrighteous, and then the consignment of the eternal state of both are administered.
2). Upon the Second Advent of Christ He immediately destroys the heavens and the earth and immediately creates the new heaven and the new earth for us to dwell upon during the millennial reign.
3). The Day of the Lord extends throughout the entire millennial kingdom and the destruction of the present heavens and earth takes place followed by the creation of the new heavens and the new earth. And this event would take place at the very extreme end of the Day of the Lord, thus forcing a 1,000 year gap within 2 Peter 3:10, "But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief (1,000 year gap) the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare"
4). The new heavens and new earth is meant to be taken in a figurative fashion and not in a literal sense. That is to say, God will not create an entirely new heavens and an entirely new earth, but will be a renovation of this present heavens and earth.
In what manner will the Lord return to earth to inaugurate His Millennial Reign? For, how you answer this questions weighs heavily upon the timing of the earth's dissolution.
"....This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven, in blazing fire with his powerful angels" (II Thessalonians 1:7).
"....but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God" (Hebrews 10:27).
"....let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them" (Isaiah 26:11).
"For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many" (Isaiah 66:15-16).
"A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them" (Joel 2:3).
"For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up" (Malachi 4:1).
".....in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thessalonians 1:8).
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up" (II Peter 3:10). What manner will the Lord return???? In the Day of the Lord as a "thief" suddenly upon the ungodly....."in which" this earth shall be destroyed.
There is no contextual nor Scriptural reason to abandon what the Bible clearly states here and that is when the Lord returns He does so in a manner of fiery destruction upon the ungodly and the sinfulness of this world! His judgment is immediate and pronounced! This judgment of destruction does not occur 1,000 years later; there is no Scriptural basis for such an allegation! It is only an assumption and/or a lack of hermeneutic proficiency!
It is quite obvious that when the Lord descends to earth to usher in His Millennial Reign, He does so in a manner of pure fury! The Lord returns in flaming vengeance to destroy the wicked and unrighteous of this world. In doing so, this earth shall be completely devoured by His Righteous Fire and dissolved by His heat of vengeance! The judgment of the wicked and the destruction of this earth are inextricably woven together! When the Lord returns He shall devour this earth with His fire and purge this world of its unrighteousness, much in the days of Noah! The earth that shall emerged from the ashes of His flaming passion shall be a new earth in respects to its thorough cleansing!
There will be no brand new created planet, but it shall be this same earth, but a purged and cleansed earth after proceeding through the refiners fire of righteousness! I believe that Scripture clearly portrays this exposition from the passages I have share with you.
Remember, Peter's terminology regarding the flood was total destruction of the earth, just like God said in Genesis, followed by a new heaven and a new earth. Here Peter used precisely the same type of language to describe the day of destruction of the scoffers by fire. Peter was saying that the earth will not be totally destroyed (for Psalm 104:5 says that will never happen) any more than it was totally destroyed by the flood. Rather, he was borrowing from Old Testament terminology where purging fire and destruction accompanies the Second Coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord.
Again, remember what Peter said in verses 1,2 that he was REMINDING them of what they already knew from the Old Testament prophets. That they were already familiar with this is also evident in his comments that his readers were presently looking for a new heaven and a new earth in verses 13,14. This strongly implies Peter was relying heavily upon Old Testament prophecy, and was NOT given them new revelation previously unknown to his readers.
One contextual reason why this destruction of the earth cannot take place after the millennium is found in 2 Peter 3:3-4 where scoffers come and say "where is the promise of His coming?" The wicked scoff and will be overtaken suddenly by the day of fiery judgment....if it happened after the millennium, 1,000 years later....??? what's the point? the scoffers are long gone, Christ has returned, righteousness is reigning??? The scoffers can only be made foolish to their question of His coming AT HIS COMING, not AFTER HIS COMING!! And their fiery judgment can occur AT HIS COMING, not AFTER HIS COMING!! For the fiery judgment of the wicked and the destruction of this earth are one and the same event!! "By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7)!!!
Just an added note:
"As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me, declares the Lord, so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me says the Lord. And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me, their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind" (Isaiah 66:22-24).
How could the dead bodies of the unrighteous being lying around if this new earth is an entirely newly created planet???? The answer is obvious, because it is the same earth, an earth that has been purged by fire, purged from all the sin and unrighteousness; exactly in the same manner that God purged all the sin and unrighteousness with the flood when He destroyed the earth at that time!!! There is no contextual premise by which we need to abandon the notion that the destruction of the earth by fire is in the same manner of the destruction of the earth by water in Noah's day!
Scrolling back to the 4 options of when this dissolution takes place:
1). I am a pre-millennialist and this particular email is not set about to support this premise of pre-millennialism. So, just for the sake of making this even longer, that just content that pre-millennialim is the true existing foundation.
2). This closely resembles what Scriputure supports, the only factor contrary to it is that God will not literally create an entirely brand new planet.
3). I believe from Scriptural support and the preceding defense.....the Day of the Lord cannot extend throughout the Millennial Reign.
4). The Scriptural support of this view I believe is quite obvious and supporting from internal evidence of Peter, Paul, and God from the days of Noah!
May the love of God reign in your hearts!!
Only By His Grace,
Roger
