Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ 2 Peter

[Head William]

What do you think of the heavens melting with fervent heat and the elements being burned up and sun moon and stars not giving their light and falling from heaven. whats your belief on these verses of 2 peter 3:12, matt 24:29 etc etc?

[jimwalton]

These texts are filled with apocalyptic language, and it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to know how literally to take it. The book of Revelation tells us there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and so we don’t really know if the universe is going to be literally, physically destroyed (one way to take it), or transformed, with the fire symbolizing judgment. Words like “the heavens” can refers to physical things or to spiritual realities. “Destruction” can mean “Destroy” or “loosen,” so it can go either way.

Regardless of how it plays out, what Peter and Matthew are talking about are a radical transition from this life to eternity. The existing creation will be completely remade, humans will be resurrected to different life (our eternal bodies will have to be different than these physical bodies of ours (1 Cor. 15). God will judge all creation, and renew creation. Unrighteousness and sin will be destroyed, physical elements will be renewed (either by destruction and recreation or transformative recreation), and we will all enter eternity.

Matthew 24.29 tells the same things as 2 Peter 3.12 (and many other texts). The disturbances in the heavens could just be symbolic of the End Times, or they may be literal. It seems that natural will be mirroring what is happening spiritually. Some scholars think that graphic language is not meant to be taken literally, but is poetic language for great devastations, both natural and of war. The “stars” were thought to be beings (they didn’t really know much about what stars are).

As to what I believe, I’m unsettled. At this point in time I don’t think the universe will be literally, physically destroyed, but I take the position that it will be radically transformed, but I’m always open to new information and new interpretations.