In 2Peter 3:7 Peter tells his readers in the first century AD that “the heavens and the earth” were at that time held in store for the fiery judgment and destruction of ungodly men. Modern, futurist commentators of the Bible have repeatedly understand Peter’s words to mean the literal destruction of **our** heavens and earth. However, I have been demonstrating in a number of recent studies on 2Peter chapter 3 that such an understanding is completely false and illogical. Neither does such an interpretation take first century AD audience relevance into consideration. Rather, they presume to read a modern literal meaning onto the text, which is completely unwarranted.
Moreover, I have also mentioned that Peter’s second epistle is a rewording of his first epistle, because he tells us in 2Peter 3:1 that he is reminding his readers of what he has already conveyed in his first writing. But, where is Peter getting his information? Let’s consider the following:[1]
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:1-8 – emphasis mine)
Notice first that the prophet is speaking of Jerusalem (Isaiah 40:1), and he says in verse-7 “the people is grass” and they wither and fade away, because the Lord “blows upon them” (implying judgment). So, judgment seems to be predicted against Jerusalem, which has received a double portion for her sins (verse-2), and this is shown to us again in Revelation 18:6 for the judgment of the great harlot, mystery Babylon (Jerusalem). The prophet concludes with: “the word of God shall stand forever” (verse-8).
Notice now how Peter brought this same context into his first epistle:
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. (1 Peter 1:23-25)
Notice the similarity of the texts. The grass fades away but the word of God (the Gospel) continues forever. This is very similar to what Jesus claimed in Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” The heaven and earth (the Old Testament system of things—the Temple, the Law, the Levitical priesthood, the people etc.) answer to the grass of Isaiah 40:6-8, while the word of God in the same text answers to Jesus’ word in Matthew 24:35. The one is corruptible, while the other is not. The ‘heavens and earth’ (the Old Covenant or world) will pass away, but the Gospel continues on. Let’s consider these things from another text in Isaiah:
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation. (Isaiah 51:6-8)
Notice that the prophet is drawing an analogy from the ‘heavens and the earth’. The heavens will pass away, similar to how Peter describes in 2Peter 3:7. Peter uses fire to describe how they pass, while Isaiah uses smoke, and where there’s smoke there’s fire. But, notice Isaiah 51:8, that God’s righteousness is forever and his salvation “from generation to generation”, thus indicating that the destruction of the universe and the space time continuum was not Peter’s consideration. That interpretation is imposed upon the text by modern commentators. The prophet claims God’s salvation (via the Gospel, 1Peter 1:25) continues from generation to generation. Peter is talking about the covenants of God, not his literal creation (the universe). The one covenant passes away at Jesus’ coming cir. 70 AD, while the other continues on forever, being firmly established in 70 AD.
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[1] This study is derived from Dr. William Bell’s You Tube video: Isaiah 40 and Matthew 24.
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