Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the Lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat?
προσδοκωντας και σπευδοντας την παρουσιαν της του θεου ημερας δι ην ουρανοι πυρουμενοι λυθησονται και στοιχεια καυσουμενα τηκεται
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Awaiting means with faithful hope. And hastening toward the coming means like virgins going to the bridegroom. In the Vulgate it is properantes in adventum, 'hastening toward the coming,' not 'desiring the coming,' as in the Synodal text.
According to the apostle, the end of the world will consist in the burning of the component substances, or elements, of earth and heaven.
“Looking for and hastening,” and so forth: they must constantly await the coming of this day of God, or of the Lord, or of Christ. It was foretold certainly and indisputably by Christ Himself (Mt 24:3, 27:37 and parallels). They must desire it (see Lk 21:28 and the note).
“The heavens, being set on fire,” and so forth: by insistently repeating the depiction of the destruction of the world being transformed, the apostle strengthens his discourse. He does this in order to impress this great image as deeply as possible upon Christian minds.
“They will melt”: like wax. This word occurs only here.
How the heavens and earth will be destroyed and new ones will appear is a mystery of God. The human mind has never penetrated it, and cannot penetrate it.
Concerning the earth itself, some of the best representatives of astronomical science, in agreement with this word of revelation, suppose on strictly scientific grounds that the earth will be destroyed by fire. This is one of the serious scientific hypotheses.
“Indeed, one may almost certainly suppose that the surface of the globe on which we build our cities and dwellings is no more than ten leagues thick. Beyond this thin layer all minerals are in a molten state.
“On the other hand, it has been proved by observatory recorders that this surface is constantly trembling. Not thirty hours pass without a more or less strong earthquake occurring.
“We therefore live on a thin raft that may sink at any moment. A momentary trembling of the ground is enough to destroy entire cities, as examples have already shown more than once” (Flammarion, History of the Heavens).
The character of the future transformation of the world (2 Pet 3:12-13). "The heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements, burning, will melt. Nevertheless, according to His promise, that is, God's promise, we await a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."
It should also be noted that the Apostle Peter says the present heavens and earth are kept for fire until the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. Yet, of course, the purpose of the fiery upheaval awaiting them does not consist in this destruction. The destruction of ungodly men will be only one of the accompanying events, or an additional consequence, of the fiery upheaval on the great day of universal judgment.
Its chief purpose must be considered a certain fundamental change or renewal of the universe. In this way it will be prepared for the revelation of the kingdom of glory and adapted to the new conditions of being and life of the blessed members of this kingdom (below, 2 Pet 3:13).
"But the day of the Lord will come," just as suddenly, "as a thief in the night. In it the heavens will pass away with a noise, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up." Because of it. That is, because of the coming of the day of God, "the heavens, being burned, will be destroyed, and the elements, being scorched, will melt" (2 Pet 3:10, 12-13).
What, then, will become of the earth and the heavens after such terrible destruction and burning by fire? They will not be turned into nothingness. Nor will they remain in their destroyed state. After being dissolved by the fiery process into their component and simplest elements, they will appear in a new, incomparably better and perfect form.
At the beginning of the world, from the formless and shapeless watery chaos, in the six days of creation, it was brought into a beautiful and well-ordered form (2 Pet 3:5). So also at the end of the world, from the fiery chaos, it will again be called forth by the same creative word of the Creator into an even more beautiful and more perfect being.
The word of God gives a very clear idea of this. The same holy Apostle Peter, after speaking of the fiery upheaval of the heavens and earth, immediately adds: "Nevertheless, according to His promise," that is, God's promise, "we await a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13).
In the Prophet Isaiah it is said in God's name: "Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into the heart" (Isa 65:17). Again: "The new heaven and the new earth which I will make shall always be before My face" (Isa 66:22).
In the Apocalypse, the seer of mysteries John also says that he "saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more" (Rev 21:1). The holy Apostle Paul also says that "creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God. For creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by the will of Him Who subjected it, in hope that creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the freedom and glory of the children of God" (Rom 8:19-21).
Among the Fathers of the Church, Blessed Augustine reasons about this more clearly and intelligibly than all. "The fire that will burn the universe on the last day will change the corruptible qualities of its component parts. Everything that was connected with our perishable bodies will receive new qualities corresponding to bodies already incorruptible. Thus the whole world will be renewed and adapted to the nature of risen men" (On the City of God, Book 20, ch. 16).
As for the appearance and form that heaven and earth will assume after the fiery upheaval, this is hidden from men. Likewise, no one can say wherein the perfection of the transformed world will properly consist or how it will be manifested. For example, will the present kinds of animals only be renewed, or will they disappear altogether? Will our eyes be gladdened by plants, and so forth? All this is hidden from human knowledge for the time being. So also is the nature of the glory of spiritualized human bodies after the resurrection.
Therefore let us remember only this: the blessedness of the future kingdom of glory will be so great and ineffable that "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9).
Pointing to the unexpectedness of the Lord’s coming, the apostle exhorts believers to prepare for it by a holy life. The Lord’s coming will be preceded by a swift change of the world (see Mt 24:29). Yet still more swiftly will the lightning-like coming of the Son of Man occur (v. 27).
The apostle calls this change of the world a destruction, because by the terrible power of fire everything combustible will be consumed. But afterward, in verse 13, he says that there will be a new earth with new heavens.
Thus this world will not be completely annihilated, but, so to speak, purified through fire (cf. Is 65:17; 66:22).
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).
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 18 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS