The Bible Says
2 Peter 3:10 Meaning

2 Peter 3:10 tells us that although God is withholding judgment due to His long-suffering mercy, judgment is certain. Although some will mock God’s prophetic Word that a day of accountability and judgment will ever come, Peter reminds his readers, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up (v.10).

Peter begins verse 10 with But to show a contrast to the thinking of the mockers from 2 Peter 3:3-4, who claimed there would be no day of judgment. Peter asserts to the contrary, that it is a certainty that the day of the Lord will come. The phrase the day of the Lord is a technical term used to describe times when God intervenes to bring judgment in human history.

Since this alludes to the last days, the phrase the day of the Lord could include all that happens in the period Jesus called “a great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21). This time period begins with the Abomination of Desolation predicted by Daniel (Daniel 11:31, Matthew 24:15). This appears to occur during the middle of a seven-year period that begins with the signing of a treaty between the beast and “the many” (Daniel 9:27). Therefore, the “great tribulation” period is three and a half years, or one thousand two hundred and sixty days, or forty-two months (Revelation 11:2, 12:6, 13:5).

That the day of the Lord is said to come like a thief indicates that this period of judgment begins in a manner that is surprising or unlooked for. This indicates that the signing of the agreement between the beast and “the many” may look innocuous to most, and it will not be until the “abomination of desolation which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet” that it is known that the day of the Lord has arrived.

At or toward the end of this period Jesus will return to earth (Revelation 19:11-21, Zechariah 14:4). Some time after the thousand-year messianic reign of Christ there will be a fiery destruction of the universe (2 Peter 3:7, 10). The phrase will come means that this outcome is certain to happen as God predicted it would. That the day comes like a thief means it will come unexpectedly (1 Thessalonians 2:5, Revelation 3:3).

The detailed destruction at the culmination of the day of the Lord is described in which the heavens, referring to the whole universe, will pass away, meaning to come to an end and disappear, (Matthew 24:35, Revelation 21:1). This end will come with a roar, referring to a crash or loud rushing noise. This might indicate that the end (pass away) will be sudden and dramatic.

Not only will the universe be destroyed, also the elements, referring to everything the heavens and earth are made of, will be destroyed. The Greek word “lyo,” translated will be destroyed, is a verb meaning to undo that which was held together. For context “lyo” is elsewhere translated “annuls” (Matthew 5:19), “loosed” (Matthew 16:19), “untie” (Matthew 21:2), “removed” (Mark 7:35), and “released” (Luke 13:16). The idea seems to be that the elements of the universe are disassembled.

The messianic kingdom is followed by “a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away” (Revelation 21:1). Isaiah 65:17 anticipates a new heaven and new earth, so this is not a new idea in scripture. That the elements are disassembled might indicate that they are then reassembled into the new heaven and earth.

Romans 8:21 speaks of creation being “set free from its slavery to corruption” which might indicate that the new heaven and new earth are a remaking, like the image of Jeremiah 18:6 where God remakes a pot of clay. That the world was “formless and void” in Genesis 1:2 could indicate that the earth had been created (in Genesis 1:1) then judged and remade.

If so, the new heaven and earth in Revelation 21:1 could mark the third making of the heavens and earth, and reflect the triune nature of God. In any event it will be this new earth that is the one in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). It could also be that the melting of the elements described in 2 Peter 3:12 indicates that God will make something completely new with completely new materials.

The Bible tells us that God holds everything together by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17). Modern science says that four fundamental forces hold the elements together: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. These forces are described but not understood, which fits with these scriptures. When the elements are destroyed their destruction will be attended with intense heat.

This idea of immense heat is repeated in 2 Peter 3:12, which says the heavens will be “destroyed by burning” and “the elements will melt with intense heat.” Modern science holds that were the nuclear forces that hold all things together to be released it would be like a universal-scale nuclear explosion. Since God holds all things together, it seems to follow that all that would be required for this vast melting event would be for God to remove His steadying hand (Colossians 1:17).

In addition to the universe being wiped out of existence, and that which holds the elements together being loosed with intense heat, we are told, and the earth, apparently including its remaining people and its works, referring to everything that humans have built or constructed on earth, will be burned up, meaning to be consumed with fire.

Peter told us in 2 Peter 3:1 that his purpose was to stir up believers. In painting this picture of looming judgment in which all that is in the earth will melt away, Peter exhorts believers to set aside lusts and pleasures that will pass away and instead focus on laying up lasting treasures in heaven.

In Genesis 8:22, God promised that as long as “the earth remains” He would ensure that the earth continues to have seasons and day and night. This tells us that the earth’s orbit, axis, and distance from the sun will not vary sufficiently to end the seasons, so long as “the earth remains.” It also tells us that there will come a time when the earth will no longer remain. This coming “day of the Lord” will be that time.