2 Peter 3:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Take note. The apostle said, "the earth and the works on it will be burned up," not people. Therefore he speaks only of the destruction of the ungodly or of their ungodly works. For "the way of the ungodly shall perish" (Ps 1:6), not the ungodly man himself.

This does not mean that the heavens and the elements will vanish, but that they will be reconstituted and renewed. They will pass into a better and incorruptible state.

What I say is again clear from the words of the same Apostle Peter, who says: “According to His promise we await new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pet. 3:13). That is, according to the promise of Christ our God, who said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Mt 24:35).

By the passing away of heaven He means its change. Heaven will be changed, but My words will not change. They will remain forever unaltered.

The holy prophet David foretold the same when he said: “Like a garment You will roll them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail” (Ps 101:27).

What else is manifest from such words, if not what I have said?

“They will say to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Rev 6:14-17).

We see that then all who have died from the beginning of the world will rise from their graves. “Those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation” (Jn 5:28-29).

"The day of the Lord": below it is called the day of God (2 Pet 3:12). Therefore the day of the Lord and the day of God are one and the same name. It is so called in both the Old and New Testaments (cf. Joel 1:15; Isa 2:12; Ezek 13:5; Jas 5:7). In the New Testament there is also mention of the day of Christ (2 Thess 2:2), and the day of the Lord Jesus (2 Cor 1:14).

This day will come as a thief comes at night. Christ Himself used this image when He spoke of the coming of that day (Mt 24:43; Lk 12:39). The Apostle Paul used it also (1 Thess 5:2), as did the Apostle John in the Apocalypse (Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15).

A thief usually comes at night, when people usually sleep, so that no one may notice him. Therefore he usually comes unexpectedly and suddenly for people. For this reason fear and alarm accompany him. For those who do not spiritually slumber, but watch, this day will of course be fearful and overwhelming. They are attentive to their spiritual state and understand the signs of the times (Mt 16:3). Yet for them it will also be joyful (Lk 21:28 and note). It will not be wholly unexpected, for it has been foretold (cf. 1 Thess 4:16).

With this image there is also a secondary thought. Those sunk in sinful sleep and carelessness will lose, at this decisive event, everything they have acquired and possessed. For the thief will snatch it all away and destroy it (Mt 13:12; Jn 10:10).

"At night": the word does not mean that the event will occur at night, that is, the coming of Christ and the judgment. This will be a day. The word "at night" refers to the thief and is joined with that word, not with the word "will come."

"The heavens will pass away with a noise": the word "with a noise" is used when one speaks of a strong wind or storm, a thundering chariot, a roaring waterfall, or a sea surging terribly. It is used of a roaring beast, a raging fire, a collapsing building, and of everything that acts with extraordinary and immeasurable noise.

"Will pass away": they will come to an end. The same word is used by the Lord Himself in the same sense (Mt 24:35; cf. Isa 34:4; Rev 20:11).

"The elements, being burned up, will be dissolved": the elements are the simplest fundamental component parts of nature. It goes without saying that the elements are not understood in the sense of modern chemistry. They are understood in the sense of the ancient conceptions, according to which, as is well known, there were four basic elements: fire, water, air, and earth (cf. Wis 7:17; Wis 19:17). Earth is understood not as the earthly globe in general, but as one of the component elements of that globe.

"Being burned up": the destruction will come chiefly through the action of fire (cf. 2 Pet 3:7).

"Will be dissolved": but not annihilated. There will follow the destruction of the old heaven and the old earth, which will be renewed by transformation. When the almighty sustaining power of God, which supports the universe as the soul supports the body, is withdrawn from it, it will be like a dead corpse. But when restored, it will live again and appear in a new form.

"The earth and the works": the earth and everything on it, nature and human art, trees, plants, minerals, animals, cities and houses, tools, institutions, and so forth (cf. Hab 2:13), will all be terribly destroyed by the action of fire.

"Observe: the Apostle said, the earth and the works on it will be burned up, and not men. Therefore he speaks only of the destruction of the impious and their impious works. For the way of the impious will perish (Ps 1:6), but not the impious man himself together with it" (Theophylact).

Many modern scholars affirm that the present world must perish by fire, and terrifying volcanic eruptions make the possibility of such destruction intelligible. It is enough, for example, to recall how in 1885, through the eruption of Krakatoa on the island of Java, 23,000 people suddenly perished.

Yet the destruction of this world can be even more intelligible to those who consider what a mass of fire the various heavenly bodies contain. By merely touching the earth, they could melt it and reduce it to ashes.

The apostle names righteousness as the distinguishing mark of the new earth. “Everlasting righteousness shall be brought in” (see Dan 9:24), the ancient prophet said of the times of the Messiah.

Christ brought righteousness into our world, but the world did not fully receive it. Then it will have the fullness of its manifestation everywhere and in all things: in the truth of understanding, and in the complete holiness and righteousness of its inhabitants. For then God will be all in all (1 Cor 15:28).

And it seems as though they are right. Our fathers and forefathers waited, and the day did not come. We see nothing that would make us think it will come in our days. Therefore we do not think of it, and we do not wait.

What wonder is it, then, if with such a disposition the day of the Lord falls upon us like a thief? We shall be like the inhabitants of a city whom the governor promised to visit today or tomorrow.

They waited for him an hour, then another, then a whole day. Afterward they said, “Surely he will not come,” and went away to their homes. But as soon as they had dispersed and given themselves to rest, he was there.

So it will be with us. Whether we wait or do not wait, the day of the Lord will come, and it will come without warning. For the Lord said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Mt 24:35; Lk 21:33; Mk 13:31).

Would it not be better to wait, so as not to be overtaken unawares? For this will not pass without cost to us.