10. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. 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. 11  Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives   12   as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  13   But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

The prophecies about the second coming of Jesus reveal there will be peril and great destruction. It will be a sudden surprise, unexpected for many, yet it is visible to all, heard by all. Someone asked me how that is possible. In our day and age did not the whole world watch the downfall of Egypt? Or previously over and again wasn’t  there the replaying of the crashing of the Twin Towers on 9-11-01? What will be invented in the future will be even more mind-boggling as the world closes in to The Day.           

There will be judgment. Peter reminds us of the cosmic explosion, the destruction by fire, and even the heavens, the stars, like stated in Joel's prophecy will be blackened. It will be catastrophic. The heavens will pass away with a great noise. While "the heavens" could refer to the atmosphere, I believe it could also refer to the way we see the universe including the stars.           

The peril in the earth is that elements will be destroyed by fire, and earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Listen to a couple similar passages Mark 13:24,25 "But in those days following that distress the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; The stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shakened."    

Jesus further tells John to write in Rev 6:12-14 "I watched as he opened the 6th seal there was a great earthquake, the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to the earth, the sky receded like a scroll rolling up and every mountain and island was removed from its place." That certainly sounds to me like total destruction. That is the end of this world as we know it. 

Doyle Evans, an astrophysicist of Los Alamos Scientific Lab in New Mexico, noted that an explosion occurred in a nearby galaxy known a N- 49 of a gamma radiation that lasted for only 1/10 of a second. If that had occurred in our galaxy, it would have instantly vaporized earth.   

Should this be cause for despair? Not at all, for Peter also tells us that it will usher in a new order. We look forward to this "new heavens and new earth" because of God's promise.           

Application:  Friend, that's the point of Peter message. If you want to escape destruction you had better “get on the ball”. The words of this prophecy are not conditional. It isn't that it might happen if we do not straighten up, but that it will happen this is a promise just as assured and real as Jesus’ first coming. If destruction is complete and inevitable then how are we investing our energies?  This is the Lord's call for personal holiness, inner peace, evangelistic zeal, and doctrinal steadfastness by growth in grace and knowledge.

Prayer:  Lord, we look forward to Your coming and a new heaven and a new earth.   Because You said it, we believe it.