Preached Sunday, April 27, 2014 from 2 Peter 2 Peter 3:10-13
Theme: God’s plan for this created order should affect the way we live our Christian lives in it.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
As we continue our study of 2 Peter this morning, we consider a truly remarkable passage. It’s remarkable because it tells us what God would want our perspective to be of this world while we’re living in it.
This passage—and the perspective it presents to us—is found in 2 Peter 3:10-13. And in it, the apostle Peter writes;
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:10-13).
I believe it would be hard to find a perspective that is more relevant than the one this passage presents to us—especially in times such as ours! And I believe you can put it this way, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; unless you and I embrace this perspective from God’s word as our own, we will neither see things as they really are, nor live for our Lord in this world as God wants us to.
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Now obviously, this is not the perspective of things that most of the people around us hold to. Most of the folks around us believe that the world has always been pretty much as it is now. They live as if the way things are now is how they will always be. They live as if the Lord Jesus will never come, as if there is no day of judgment coming, and as if this created realm will never come to an end.
The Christians to whom Peter wrote these words were living in times much like that. They lived in the midst of an unbelieving culture that focused on the perspective of things “here and now”. And these Christians were pressured by the world around them—and even by false teachers that had made their way into the midst of the church—to adopt that strictly “here and now” perspective. And these early Christians needed to be “reminded” of the things that had been taught them, and to be urged to hold on to them.
At the beginning of Chapter three, the apostle Peter told them;
Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:1-4).
Peter reminds them that, in fact, things have NOT always been as they are now. Unbelieving people don’t recognize this fact. Peter went on to write,
For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (vv. 5-7).
He told them that the seeming-delay in the return of the Lord was not out of neglect, but rather was because of mercy. He wrote,
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (vv. 8-9).
And it’s then, at the beginning of this morning’s passage, that Peter urges his readers—in spite of the seeming delay, and in spite of the pressure they may feel—not to give up their trust in the promise of God’s word. He says, “But the day of The Lord will come . . .”
When Peter speaks here of a “day”, he speaks of more than merely a literal twenty-four hour cycle. He’s speaking of a period of time—a series of events. The “day of the Lord” was simply another name for the final stages of this present period in God’s great redemptive program for the ages. It involves the series of events that precede the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth, His glorious reign on earth after that return, and the culmination of His reign in the creation of new heavens and a new earth.
So, this created order does have an end. It’s end occurs in what the Bible calls “the day of the Lord”. And it’s in this context that Peter calls us to hold on to this perspective of things. The created order of things in which we now live will, in fact, come to an end. The day of the Lord, Peter affirms, will come—and with it will come the end of the created universe as we now know it!
So; think of what a remarkable passage this is! In it, God graciously gives us a perspective of this world that could not—in any way—have come to us from this world! In it, God graciously lets us in on His plan for the future! He lets us know that this fallen order of creation is only temporary—that it’s present form will be demolished, and it will be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells! And He lets us know that, by virtue of our being “in Christ” by faith, it is our joyful destiny to live forever in that new heavens and new earth with Him!
And understand, dear brothers and sisters; this isn’t meant to be merely theoretical. The thing that this passage affirms to us is meant to be very practical. It’s meant to affect our daily lives. Look at what he says in verse 11; “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be . . .?” God’s plan for this created order should affect the way we live our Christian lives in it. The character and quality of our Christian profession truly will be governed by whether or not we rightly embrace this remarkable perspective of things!
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So then; let’s look closer at Peter’s words, and examine this perspective in greater detail. You can break it down into three very applicable propositions. And the first is that . . .
1. GOD HAS SCHEDULED THIS CREATED ORDER FOR DEMOLITION (vv. 10, 12b).
As far as the people of this world might be concerned, that sounds like a horrible thing to believe—that it sounds like the kind of perspective that would make life on earth “gloomy” and “depressing”. But, it is nevertheless true—given the revealed promise of God from His word—that you cannot really even begin to live on this earth as God wants you to live, unless you learn to see everything in this created universe as destined to pass away. Based on what the Bible tells us, the only things of God’s created universe that will endure forever are unfallen angelic beings and redeemed human beings. Everything else in His created universe is stamped with the words “scheduled for demolition”.
Peter tells us, first of all, that “the heavens will pass away with a great noise”. Think of that! The very heavens! Peter isn’t speaking here of “heaven” in the singular—which is the glorious abode of God. Rather, he’s speaking of “the heavens” in the plural. He is speaking of the very sky above us, and the very reaches of space around us—and of all the created things that they contain!
This is a revelation from God’s word that is truly staggering! One of the advantages we have of living in our time has been the invention of the Hubble Telescope. Because it orbits above earth’s atmosphere, it has given astronomers a clearer picture of the universe than would have ever been possible before. And the images it has sent back to earth are beyond description! No one could have ever thought that the reaches of space were so vast, and so beautiful, and so full as they are! And yet, as marvelous and as vast as it all is, it is only a temporary showcase of God’s creative glory. It is not meant to last forever.
The heavens are made to exist by our Father’s providential hand. They are, as Psalm 8:3 tells us, ‘the work of His fingers’. But one day, He will remove His hand; and with “a great noise”, the heavens will pass away! In verse twelve, Peter says that, because of the coming of “the day of God”, these very heavens—that we are only beginning to learn about—will “dissolve” or “be destroyed”! Look up at the moon; and know that it’s only temporary! Look up on a clear night and see the stars; and know that they, too, are only temporary. Look up on a clear afternoon and see the sun shining in the sky; and know that even it is temporary.
Second, Peter tells us that “the elements will melt with fervent heat”. The word that Peter uses here means the basic fundamental principles of a thing. And though some translations of the Bible render this word “heavenly bodies”, it seems that, in this context, it refers to the foundational elements of the created universe. The Bible, of course, doesn’t speak to us in the detailed language of modern molecular physics; but the idea seems clear.
On this future “day of the Lord”, the most basic building blocks of the material universe will fly apart from one another and, and the elements will burn up “with fervent heat”. In verse twelve, we’re told that they will literally “melt” or “dissolve” or “liquefy”. The structure that these basic elements had maintained in this created order will be gone—never to be seen again. If I may put it this way—hopefully without sounding irreverent—it will be as if all of creation had been a giant, cosmic “Etch-a-Sketch” drawing; and at the time of His choosing, God will have turned it all upside-down and shaken its present form away.
Third, Peter even says that “both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up”. In some translations, it has it that the earth and its works will be “laid bare” (as in the New International Version), or “exposed” (as in the English Standard Version). This reflects the fact that, in some ancient manuscripts, a different Greek word is being used. And if this is the correct word, than this would speak of the fact that, in that great day of the Lord, all things that are hidden in the works of men will be fully revealed. It would be the ultimate fulfillment of Hebrews 4:13; where it says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
But if the word that is translated “burned up” is the correct one, then this is saying something more like what it says in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15;
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
And so, taken all together, Peter is telling us—through the enabling of the Holy Spirit—that the day of the Lord will come. And on that day, the universe, as it now is, will come to an end. All that is of this created order will dissolve and pass away with a great noise and in fervent heat. We’re told that it will come “as a thief” upon the people of this world; that is, suddenly and unexpectedly—just when they think that they have this world structured and ordered the way they want it. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3;
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).
And you and I cannot even begin to live as we should in this temporal world until we embrace that fact.
Just think of how profoundly relevant this is to our own time! Think of how people today look to the things of this temporal world for ultimate happiness, security and fulfillment. They look to the governments, and politicians, and rulers of this world to make the things right for them. They hope to make themselves secure by having enough money or goods tucked away for the future. They keep pinning their hopes on something good that might happen in this world one year from now—or five—or ten! They hope that, maybe, science will one day invent a ‘miracle pill’ that will take away all sickness and disease. They hope that, maybe, our philosophers and sociologists will one day come up with a solution for world peace and to end hunger. And they hope that, perhaps, there’s a solution in space; that maybe one great day, we’ll be able to start all over again on another planet somewhere.
And yet, all of these things that men place their hopes in are “scheduled for demolition”. In all their searching, people are looking for a solution apart from the only One who can give it; and in all their looking, they’re hoping for some way to preserve what God Himself has said will not last. They did this in Peter’s day; and we are two-thousand years closer today to the destruction of these things than they were—and people are still doing it!
Ultimate happiness and security can never be found in anything in this temporary created order. Only what is safe in our Lord Jesus Christ will endure forever. And you and I will only be happy and secure, in an ultimate sense, when we finally come to understand that all these created things are destined to be dissolved. You and I will only be happy when we finally realize that the only enduring place to have our hope and trust for happiness and security is in Him who is eternal.
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Now; as I said earlier, all of this talk about destruction of the present heavens and earth would indeed sound very gloomy if it weren’t for another important thing that Peter points out to us . . .
2. GOD PROMISES THAT NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH WILL TAKE THEIR PLACE (v. 13).
In the original language of verse thirteen, Peter puts the matter emphatically; “But new heavens and a new earth, according to the promise of God, we look for . . .” And again, what a staggering thing this is to think about!
Will it be “new” in the sense of something completely unconnected to the old? Will it be that God will completely wipe away all traces of the fundamental elements of the first creation and make a new one, as it were, “from scratch”—utterly unconnected to the old creation? Some theologians have believed this is so. They have suggested that, because of the fall of Adam in sin, the whole of the created order has been spoiled and contaminated by the introduction of sin; and that it must now be done away with completely. But I don’t believe this is so. It seems to me that to believe that would be to admit that the devil succeeded in so spoiling that which God, at the very beginning, declared to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31) that our mighty God is now not capable of restoring that which was ruined.
Instead, I believe that a good analogy of what “new” would mean could be drawn from our Lord Jesus Himself. When He was born into the human family, He was made from the material of this present created order; being made, in His humanity, from the real substance of His mother Mary. And He lived in that same body of this created order throughout His life on this earth. When He died on the cross, He also died in that same body. And when He rose in glory, He rose in the same body in which He had lived. He even bore, in His resurrected body, the prints of the nails in His hands (John 20:25-27). He ascended to the Father in that body. And He sits—even now—at the Father’s right hand in the very same body that was made from the material substance of this present created order.
Jesus lives forever, in heavenly glory, in a body made from the substance of this created order. But it is a body that has been ‘renewed’ in glory. It has real continuity to the material body that died on the cross; but it is radically different in form. It has been raised in glory. And it will be in that same body that our Lord will return to this earth on “the day of the Lord”—a body composed of the same material substance taken from this created order of things; but that is in a glorified, eternally “renewed” form. And I believe that, in the same way, we are to look for new heavens and a new earth—not “new” in the sense of having no connection to the old whatsoever, but “new” in the sense of its material substance being gloriously “renewed”.
We could consider our own salvation in Christ a good analogy too. The Bible says that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When you placed your trust in Jesus, God truly made you a new creation. But it’s not that there’s no connection to the old ‘you’. You still have the same family. You still live in the same house. All your old clothes still fit. But the ‘you’ that ‘was’ has been ‘renewed’ into a brand new ‘you’—possessing real continuity with the “old”, but radically different in glory.
And think, dear brothers and sisters, of what the Bible tells us about our future hope of resurrection because of our salvation in Christ. We’re told, “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). It’s not with an entirely different body that we will be ‘raised’. It’s the same body in terms of its having material continuity with the substance of this old created order. But it’s one that is dramatically different in form from what it was. The same body that is “sown” is also “raised” with real continuity with that which was “sown”, but as a wondrously glorified body that is fit to live eternally in God’s presence. And in the same sense, the “new” creation will have real, material continuity with the “old” one—but as a created order that is “new” in complete and glorious renewal.
I believe that seeing the “new heavens” and “the new earth” in this way helps us understand more clearly the amazing words that the apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:19-22;
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now (Romans 8:19-22).
It is this created order—the one in which we now live—that eagerly awaits and groans after its renewal. And it will be so gloriously different from its present, fallen condition that it will be as “new” heavens and a “new” earth! And just think of what a greater glory this brings to our mighty God! He doesn’t utterly scrap the old created order and make a new creation. He takes that which mankind, under the influence of the devil, has ruined in a point of time through sin, and “renews” it into a gloriously new created order!
As Peter tells us, this will be in accordance with God’s own promise. Back in Isaiah 65:17—some seven and a half centuries before Peter wrote these words—God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said; “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” The new will be so glorious that the old will not even come to remembrance. What victory!
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Now; I ask you to notice one of the great differences that will distinguish the new from the old. In verse thirteen, Peter tells us that we, according to God’s promise, look for new heavens and a new earth “in which righteousness dwells”. Righteousness does not characterize this present created order. Rather—as we all sadly know—what characterizes it is the damage our sin has brought upon it, and the consequence of death that permeates it.
But if I may, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let me read the glorious description we’re given—on the last few pages of the Bible—of our life in this wonderful “new” heavens and “new” earth:
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:1-5).
That’s our prospect, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. We live for a time in this present created order. It’s our home for a season. It’s the theater of His glory as we live in it; and we are to enjoy it, and use it honorably, and thank Him for it. We shouldn’t mistreat this created order or despise it; because our wonderful Father made it “very good”. What’s more, the renewal of this present created order will be our glorious inheritance in the future. “He who overcomes,” our God promises, “shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Revelation 21:7).
But though we live for a time in this present created order of things, we are to live in it with a perspective that is radically different from that of the unbelieving people of this world. We know, from God’s own promise, that this created order is only temporary. Everything about it, and everything that we see in it—including the sin and death that sadly permeate it—is marked with the words “scheduled for demolition”. We don’t live for this world as it is now. We’re not held captive to the present order of things—things that are doomed to pass away. Instead, we live for God’s glorious renewal of this created order—and for our own renewal with it on His great day.
And that leads us to our last point—really, the main proposition of this whole passage . . .
3. WE SHOULD LIVE HOLY LIVES NOW IN THE LIGHT OF THIS FUTURE PROMISE (v. 11-12a).
As Peter says, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming day of God . . .?”
As he goes on to write;
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen (2 Peter3:14-18).
May Peter’s closing exhortation, then, sink deeply into our hearts. And may it transform the way we live. Because how we live for Christ on this earth today is going to be determined by whether or not our hearts are captivated by the prospect of new heavens and a new earth yet to come!