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Scripture Reading 2 Pet. 3:10-12
In the books of 1 and 2 Peter only two chapters are crucial concerning the divine life. The first one and a half chapters of 1 Peter and the first half of chapter one of 2 Peter are important in this regard. The remainder of the material in these Epistles is related to God’s government.
In this message we shall consider 3:10-12, where Peter speaks concerning God’s judgment on the heavens and the earth. This, of course, is part of God’s governmental dealings. Although these verses are not directly related to the growth in life, they may help us to pursue the growth in life. Also, it will be helpful for us to understand properly what Peter has written in these verses.
In 3:10 Peter said, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements burning with intense heat will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.” The day of the Lord will come mostly in the sense of judgment (1 Thes. 5:2) for God’s government. Peter’s word about the day of the Lord is mainly a warning. In the New Testament the day of the Lord is mentioned mainly in relation to the Lord’s judgment (1 Cor. 1:8; 3:13; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; 2 Tim. 4:8). The day of the Lord for His judgment (1 Thes. 5:3-4) will come before the millennium (Rev. 18:1; 19:11; 20:4-6).
In the day of the Lord the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up. This will take place after the millennium (Rev. 20:7, 11). Peter’s word regarding the day of the Lord in verse 10 indicates that again he passes over the one thousand years of the millennium, just as he did earlier in this chapter when he spoke of the Lord’s coming in verse 4 and the judgment of the white throne in verse 7. The word “roar” indicates a rushing sound or noise. This may be a proclamation of a great change in the universe from the old to the new. The “elements” here are the physical elements of which the heavens are composed.
We may compare the words “dissolved” and “burned up” in this verse with “roll up” and “changed” in Hebrews 1:12, “fled away” and “no place found for them” in Revelation 20:11, and “passed away” in Revelation 21:1. The “burning with intense heat” to dissolve the heavens and the earth is the procedure God will use to roll up the heavens and the earth and put them away so that they may be changed from the old to the new (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1). This will be God’s final and consummate dealing with His creation in His government. All the material things in God’s final dealing will pass away, but His eternal word will abide forever (Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:25). The word of His prophecy will remain and be fulfilled at His appointed time for the accomplishment of His eternal will, regardless of the changes that occur in the physical universe.
In 3:10 “works” may include both God’s works of nature and man’s works of art.
We have pointed out that the term “the day of the Lord” mainly signifies judgment. Hence, the day of the Lord equals the judgment of the Lord. This day of judgment will come as a thief in the night.
Peter says in verse 10 that in the day of the Lord the heavens will pass away. As in 3:7, Peter passes over the millennium because he is dealing here with God’s governmental judgment. The millennium will not be for this purpose in God’s dispensation.
If we have a thorough study of both the Old and New Testaments, we shall see that the day of the Lord will probably last about seven years. It is nearly the same as the last week of the seventy weeks spoken of in Daniel 9:24-27. The first sixty-nine weeks, a period of four hundred eighty-three years, ended when the Lord Jesus was crucified, when He, the Messiah, was “cut off.” There is now a gap between the sixty-ninth week and the beginning of the seventieth week. We are not told in the Bible how long this interval will be. But we do know that after this interval, there will be a period of seven years, which will be the seventieth week, before the millennium. The coming of the Lord will take place during these years.
In 3:4 the mockers said, “Where is the promise of His coming?” The Greek word for “coming” is parousia, which literally means presence. According to the New Testament, the Lord’s parousia, His coming, will not last merely an hour or a day. Rather, it will last for a period of time. Through detailed study of the Scriptures we have come to see that the Lord’s parousia will probably begin at the middle of the seventieth week, that is, in the middle of the last seven years before the millennium. Furthermore, it will probably begin from the time the Lord leaves the throne of God in the third heaven and descends to the air wrapped in a cloud (Rev. 10). This means that the Lord’s parousia will take place during the last three and a half years of this age.
According to chapter twelve of Revelation, the man-child will be raptured to the throne of God. Revelation 12:5 says, “And she brought forth a son, a man-child, who was about to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.” To be “caught up” is to be raptured. The rapture of the man-child will be to the throne of God, and it will be before the one thousand two hundred sixty days (v. 6), which will be the time of the great tribulation of three and a half years (forty-two months, Rev. 12:14; 13:5; 11:2). After the rapture of the man-child, there will be a period of three and a half years, or forty-two months. We need to notice the fact that the man-child will be raptured not to the air, but to the throne of God, where the Lord Jesus is today. Therefore, for the man-child to be raptured to the throne of God means that the man-child will be in the presence of the Lord, in the parousia of the Lord. This proves that, in the midst of the seventieth week, the Lord Jesus will still be at the throne of God in the third heaven.
Chapter fourteen of Revelation speaks of the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruit. Revelation 14:1 says, “And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” These one hundred forty-four thousand “who have been purchased from the earth” (Rev. 14:3) have been “purchased from among men as firstfruit to God and to the Lamb” (v. 4). These will be the first ripe ones in God’s field and will be reaped before the harvest as firstfruit to God and to the Lamb. The harvest will be reaped later in verses 14 through 16. This means that the one hundred forty-four thousand will be raptured to the heavens before the harvest, just as the firstfruits of the good land were reaped and brought into the temple of God before the harvest (Lev. 23:10-11; Exo. 23:19). The events recorded in Revelation 14:6-13, all of which will take place during the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), indicate clearly and prove strongly that the firstfruit in Rev. 14:1-5 will be raptured before the great tribulation, and the harvest in verses 14 through 16, which includes the majority of believers, will be raptured after the great tribulation. The firstfruit will be raptured to the heavens and will be with Christ there. After this rapture, there will be a period of three and a half years, the second half of the seventieth week.
Revelation 12 and 14 both speak of the same period of time. These chapters give us the ground to say that, at the earliest, the parousia of the Lord will begin from the middle of the seventieth week. After the raptures of the man-child and of the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruit, the Lord Jesus will leave the third heaven with these overcoming saints and descend to the air. Instead of coming directly to the earth, He will remain in the air enclosed in a cloud. In Rev. 10:1 Christ is clothed with a cloud, but in Rev. 14:14 He is on the cloud. This latter verse corresponds to 1 Thes. 4:17 and indicates that the Lord’s coming back is then to be made public. This means that first the Lord’s parousia will be hidden. Then, according to 2 Thes. 2:8 there will be the appearing of His parousia. The Lord’s coming, therefore, will be hidden before it appears openly. His coming involves a period of time. First it will be in secret, and then it will appear to the public. It will be probably at the end of the seventieth week that the Lord’s parousia will appear. At this time the Lord will no longer be clothed with the cloud, as in Revelation 10, but will be sitting on the cloud, seen openly, as in Revelation 14. That will be the appearing of His parousia, the appearing of His coming. The best way to translate 2 Thes. 2:8 is to follow a literal rendering and speak of the appearing of His coming.
If we have at least a general idea concerning the Lord’s coming, we shall know why Peter says that the day of the Lord will come as a thief. Not only will the Lord Himself come as a thief, but even the day of the Lord will come in this way. The coming of that day will be hidden, not open.
We have pointed out that in 3:10 Peter says that in the day of the Lord the heavens will be burned. This will take place after the millennium. The day of the Lord will come before the millennium, but the burning of the heavens will be after the millennium. This is the reason we say that here Peter passes over the millennium, a period of a thousand years, and regards the burning of the heavens and the earth as the last matter that will take place in the day of the Lord.
At this point I would ask you to consult the chart printed on page 111. On this chart we can see a diagram of the seventy weeks of Dan. 9:24-27. First we have a period of seven weeks, then a time of sixty-two weeks, and finally, after a gap of undetermined length, the last week, the seventieth week. The seventieth week will be followed by the thousand years of the millennial kingdom. At the end of the millennium two events will take place, perhaps at the same time: the burning of the heavens and the earth, and the judgment at the white throne. According to the diagram, the day of the Lord will begin preliminarily at the start of the last seven years, and the Lord’s parousia will begin at the middle of these years. Before the middle of the seventieth week, certain natural calamities will take place, as in the sixth seal. The Lord’s day, as we can see from the diagram, will be open and will not be completed until the end of the millennium, at which time there will be the judgment on Gog and Magog.
Now we can understand that the day of the Lord is a day of judgment. This day of judgment will begin from the start of the last week, the seventieth week. During this period of time, God will judge heaven, earth, and those living on earth, according to what is written in the book of Revelation. Then in the middle of the seventieth week the man-child and the one hundred forty-four thousand will be raptured to the third heaven. Following that, the Lord’s parousia will begin. The Lord will bring His presence down to the air, and He will be concealed for a time in the cloud. This will be the hidden part of His parousia. Then, probably at the end of the seven years, the Lord’s parousia will be made public, and the Lord Himself will descend to earth to exercise judgment upon Antichrist and his army. The Lord will also cause Satan to be bound and cast into the abyss, where he will be kept for a thousand years. Also, the Lord will sit on His throne in Jerusalem to judge the nations. Through that judgment, the situation of those on earth will be cleared up. The Christians will have been judged at the judgment seat of Christ, the Jews will have been judged, and the nations will have been judged at Christ’s throne of glory. As a result, everything will be made ready for the peaceful kingdom that will last for a thousand years. However, at the end of the millennium, Satan will be released from his prison and will instigate the rebellion of Gog and Magog. Christ will then judge Gog and Magog, and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. This will take place at the end of the millennium. Then there will be the judgment at the white throne and the burning of the heavens and the earth. After this, the day of the Lord will be completed, and eternity will be ushered in with the new heaven and the new earth.
In verse 11 Peter goes on to say, “All these things being thus dissolved, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness.” All things, both in the heavens and on the earth, have been defiled by the rebellion of Satan and the fall of men. Although all things whether on earth or in the heavens have been reconciled to God through Christ by His blood (Col. 1:20), the heavenly things having been purified by the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:23), they still need to be cleared up by being burned up in God’s governmental dealing so that they may become new in nature and appearance in God’s new universe (2 Pet. 3:13). Thus, what kind of persons ought we, the children of the holy God, to be in holy manner of life and godliness; that is, what kind of transformation ought we to have to live a life in the manner of God’s holy nature and godliness to express Him so that we may be qualified to match His holy government? How wonderful that the divine power has provided us with all things that are needed to live such a life in the holy manner and godliness (1:3).
In verse 12 Peter says, “Expecting and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements burning with intense heat are melted.” While we live a transformed life in a holy and godly manner, we are expecting, awaiting, and hastening the coming of the day of God. Knowing that God is so holy as to dissolve all things, we ought to be in a holy manner of life and godliness as we expect and hasten the coming of the day of God. Not only do we expect the day of God — we would hasten it.
The day of God is the day of the Lord (v. 10), and the day of the Lord is the day of Jehovah to the children of Israel in the Old Testament (Isa. 2:12; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obad. 1:15; Zeph. 1:7, 14, 18; 2:2-3; Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:1, 5). The “day” in such terms is mainly used in the sense of judgment for governmental dealings. Before the Lord comes it is “man’s day” in which man judges until the Lord comes (1 Cor. 4:3-5). Then it will be the “day of the Lord,” which will begin from the Lord’s parousia (with all its judgments) and will end with the judgment upon men and demons at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). The Lord’s parousia will start when the overcoming saints will be raptured to the throne of God in the heavens before the great tribulation of three and one-half years (Rev. 12:5-6; 14:1). Then, with the overcomers, His parousia will come to the air (Rev. 10:1). Along with that, all the natural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets will be meted out to smite the heavens with their heavenly bodies and the earth with the things on it (Rev. 6:12-17; 8:7-12).
Then the great tribulation will begin; it will last for three and one-half years with the woes and plagues of the last three trumpets and the seven bowls (Matt. 24:21-22, 29; Rev. 8:13; 9:1-21; 11:14; 15:5-8; 16:1-21). That will be a time of trial to the inhabitants of the whole earth (Rev. 3:10), including the Jews (Isa. 2:12; Zech. 14:1-2; Mal. 4:1, 5; Joel 1:15-20; 2:1, 11, 31) and the believers in Christ who will be left in the tribulation (Rev. 12:17). Before the end of the great tribulation, the dead saints will be resurrected and raptured together with the majority of the living believers, who will have passed through the great part of the tribulation, to meet with the Lord in the air (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16-17; Rev. 14:14-16). Following this, all the believers will be judged by the Lord at His judgment seat in the air (2 Cor. 5:10).
About this time, the great Babylon will be destroyed on the earth (Rev. 17:1—19:3). Then the Lord will have His wedding feast with the overcoming saints (Rev. 19:7-8). Immediately after this, the Lord with His bride, composed of the overcoming saints as His army, will fight and defeat the Antichrist and his army, the army of Satan. They will seize the Antichrist and his false prophet and cast them alive into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-21). Following this, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss, the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1-3). Then the Lord will come with His saints to the earth (Zech. 14:4-5; Jude 1:14; 1 Thes. 3:13) and will judge the nations (the living — Matt. 25:31-46; Joel 3:2). After this will be the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4-6).
Following the thousand years, Satan will be loosed from the abyss to instigate part of the nations, Gog and Magog in the north of the eastern hemisphere, to rebel the last time against God. They will be subdued and burned, and the deceiving Devil will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10). Following this, the heavens and the earth will be fully cleared up by being burned up (2 Pet. 3:7, 10). Then will come the final judgment upon men (the dead) and demons, and probably also the fallen angels, at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). That will be God’s consummate dealing with His old creation in His universal government, in addition to so many judgments and dealings executed within the day of the Lord to clear up the old universe. Then a new universe will begin with a new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 21:1), in which there will be no more judgment of God’s governmental dealing, for no unrighteousness will be there. Therefore, not counting the one thousand years, the day of the Lord will be very short, probably not more than seven years, of which the last week (seven years) of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 will be the main part.
It is not correct to consider the day of God and the day of the Lord as two different days and claim that the day of the Lord ends with the millennial kingdom and that the day of God begins with the burning of the heavens and the earth followed by the judgment of the great white throne. Actually, because the judgment of the great white throne will still be executed by the Lord Jesus (Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1), it will also be in the day of the Lord. God does not judge anyone; He has given all judgment to the Lord (John 5:22).
In 3:12 the relative pronoun “which” refers to the coming of the day of God. The coming of the day of God is to execute judgment upon every part of the old creation to clear it up. On account of the coming of such a day, the heavens will no longer be able to stand and remain as they have been, but will be dissolved, their elements melting in the intense heat of the burning fire. Therefore, Peter says that “the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements burning with intense heat are melted.”
