Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

a. It is not so much a particular event as it is a period of time. ...it is not a term that applies to a twenty-four hour period, but rather the whole program of events.... (Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come).

b. It is associated with the Rapture (1Co 1:8; 5:5; Php 1:10).

c. It is associated with the 2nd Coming (Joe 2:30-31; Acts 2:17-`21; 1Th 5:2).

d. It is associated with Judgment (2 Pet 3:10, 12). It is Peter who identifies the “Day of the Lord” with the Second Coming (cf. 2Pe 3:3-4), after the Millennium, and before the eternal state (2Pe 3:10, 12-13).

e. The Day of the Lord extends from after the Rapture (1 Co 5:5; Phil 1:10), at the beginning of the Tribulation (1Th 5:2), and up to and including the final judgment (2 Pet 3:10; Rev 21:1-7). It is concluded that the day of the Lord is that extended period of time beginning with Gods dealing with Israel after the Rapture at the beginning of the Tribulation period and extending through the second advent and the millennial age unto the creation of the new heavens and the new earth after the millennium (Pentecost, Dwight, Things to Come, p. 230-31).

f. Most premillennialists view the end time events in the following order:

1) Rapture (1Th 4:13-17)

2) Tribulation (Mat 24:21; Dan 9:24-27)

3) 2nd Advent (2Ti 4:1; Rev 1:7; Rev 19:11)

4) Battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:13-16)

5) The Millennium (Rev 20:2-7)

6) Judgment of Satan (Rev 20:10)

7) Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-13)

8) Lake of Fire (Rev 20:14)

9) New Heaven and New Earth (Rev 21:1-4; 2Pe 3:10, 12-13)

3. But the overwhelming point is that the Lord will come. Peter’s context has been the Second Coming in which Christ will bring judgment. Christ will come just assuredly as God created the heavens and the earth, brought the flood upon the earth, Christ died and rose again for salvation, the present heavens and earth will be destroyed, and assuredly as a new heaven and new earth will be created. It will come in spite of man’s ignorance, refusal to believe, or mockery.

B. Demonstrable as a Thief

1. Not only will the day of the Lord come, but it will come like a thief. The reference was used with two shades of meaning. The first is the element of surprise and the second is the need for readiness.

2. The element of surprise is illustrated by a thief who comes at a time in which no one is expecting him (Mat 24:43; Luk 12:39; Rev 3:3). Not that Christ is a thief, but He will inevitably come when the masses have no belief or clue of His appearance.

3. The other meaning is logical in that everyone (especially the believer) should be ready for the Lord’s coming (Mat 24:44; Luk 12:40; 1Th 5:2, 4; Rev 16:15).

4. In addition to being ready for the coming of the Lord, the believer is to be expecting and longing for the Lord’s coming (Tit 2:13; 2Pe 3:12-13; Jud 1:21).

C. Destruction of the Heavens

1. The heavens and the earth were created together (Gen 1:1; 2:1, 4; Exo 20:11) and they will be destroyed together (2Pe 3:7, 10, 12).

2. The apostle Peter made reference to the heavens (ouranoi, plural from ouranos). By heavens is meant the atmospheric heavens (Isa 55:9-11; Mat 6:26; Act 14:17), the interstellar universe (Gen 1:14; Deu 4:19; 1Co 15:40), and the abode of God (Isa 63:15; Psa 102:19; Act 17:24). Peter’s reference is to the first two aspects of heaven.

3. The apostle Peter declared the truth that the heavens will pass away. The Greek word for “pass away” is parerchomai and means “to come to an end and so no longer be there, pass away, disappear” (BDAG). This can happen through a natural course (Jam 1:10) or by immediate divine intervention.

a. Jesus predicted the same judgment in the Olivet Discourse (Mat 24:35; Mar 13:31; Luk 21:33).

b. The apostle John also attested to the passing away of the heavens (Rev 21:1).

4. Peter stated that the heavens will disappear with a roar (rhoizêdon - made by violent movement that produces noise, described as whirring or rushing. “Here only in N.T., onomatopoetic, whizzing sound of rapid motion through the air like the flight of a bird, thunder, fierce flame.” RWP). This describes the future destruction of the heavens that is accomplished with incredible power and accompanied by earth-shattering (heaven-shattering) noise.

5. Scripture refers to the heavens being shaken at the destruction of the heavens (Heb 12:26-27 cf. Hag 2:6-7 cf. Isa 2:19; Isa 13:13; Joe 3:16).

6. This will be a total destruction and disintegration of the heavens for the elements will be destroyed with intense heat.

a. The “elements” (stoicheion - lit. “in a row,” beginning elements of knowledge (Heb 5:12) or of the physical elements of material world, Gal 4:3), refer to the very basic foundational substance of all matter.

b. Applied to the material world it means the elements, the basic elements that make up chemical composure of the universe, the components into which matter is ultimately divisible. Even further down, into atomic structure; down to the very elements that make up the universe, the atoms, the neutrons, the protons, the electrons (Mac Sermon).

c. The heavens and earth will literally and totally be “destroyed” (luō - loose or destroy). They will be destroyed by “intense heat” (kausoō - only time used in NT) which refers to that which is consumed by the highest intensity of heat or fire.

D. Destruction of the Earth

1. It is not just the heavens that will be destroyed. The earth will also be destroyed.

2. Not only the earth, but all its works. “Works” (ergon) could refer to God’s work of creation as in the OT phrase “the earth and its fullness” (Deu 33:16). The would suggest total destruction.

3. The earth will be burned up. Though the phrase makes solid contextual sense (2Pe 3:7, 12), some manuscripts support the meaning “will be laid bare” from eurethêsetai. The meaning for some would suggest, "the earth and the works [done by men] in it will be stripped bare [before God]" (NET note). But since the context in every other case suggest “burned up,” it may be just as well to leave it at that.

II. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God endures forever.

1. Jesus mentioned this truth as did Isaiah and Peter. In fact, Jesus said in Luk 16:17, " it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”

2. The word of God is eternal, secure, and established in heaven (Psa 119:89). Though the heavens will be destroyed, the Word of God will never be destroyed. It will be fulfilled, a point that the false teachers missed.

3. How much more than should we as Christians based our beliefs and behavior on the word of God. It is the only solid ground of truth. It endures forever (Isa 40:8 cf. 1Pe 1:25; Mat 24:35; Mar 13:31; Luk 21:33).

B. Heaven and earth will pass away.

1. Since we are told in the word of God that the heavens and the earth will be destroyed, do we not have an obligation to tell a lost and dying world of its future?

2. Like Peter we should 1) refute false teachers who lead its people into perdition, 2) warn unbelievers in hope that they might see the light of the gospel, and 3) encourage believers that there will be a new heaven and earth. The description of the New Heaven and Earth will be “without sea” (Rev 21:1), includes the “New Jerusalem” (Rev 21:2), emphasizes the “tabernacle of God” among men (Rev 21:3), and will be without “tears,” “pain,” or “death” (Rev 21:4).

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516