This study deals with the nature of the "world" or "heavens and earth" whose destruction is linked to the second coming of Christ. We are especially considering Peter's prophecy about the heavens and earth being destroyed by intense fire (2Pe 3:1-18)

What World Would God Destroy? (Part 1)

The question is whether the heavens and earth destroyed at the second coming of Christ are the same heavens and earth that God created in six days (Gen 1:1-31, 2:1-4).

1 Let's Start With a Riddle

We are told that God loved the world (Jhn 3:16). In another place, we are told that it is wrong to love the world (1Jn 2:15). Why did God love the world if it is wrong to love the world?

I'm sure you solved the riddle easily. The term "world" is used in different senses. We are all aware that, in natural language, a word may not mean the same thing every time it is used. To understand a statement, one must have regard to the different meanings and usages of words.

Unless we attribute the proper sense to words, we can turn a statement into nonsense, as in the above riddle where God seemed to have done something wrong. You could look at the lesson The Meaning of Words if you would like to know more about this matter.

2 The Language of 2Peter 3

Those who hold to the "AD70 doctrine" feel that 2Peter 3, being a prophetic chapter, uses language that is not meant to be taken in its natural and literal sense. In their view, Peter should be understood as speaking in a highly figurative manner.

They don't think that he is really speaking of three successive literal worlds in the sense of dwelling places or habitats. Rather, says the theory, Peter is speaking symbolically of three ages or systems, namely the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian ages.

Some teachers draw attention to the figurative or symbolic senses in which the terms "world" or "heavens and earth" or "the creation" are used in Scripture. They conclude that the Bible's prophecy of a fiery destruction of the "heavens and earth" must be taken as figurative and symbolic language.

They do not think that the Lord's return involves a literal fiery destruction of the physical heavens and earth. They say that the "heavens and earth" and the "fire" are figurative of something else, namely the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70.

3 Particular Words in 2Peter 3

2nd Peter chapter 3 employs a variety of words in reference to the world. Let's note these in the order in which they occur.

• The creation (2Pe 3:4). This word has a flexibility of meaning in Scripture. We note, however, that Peter uses this word to refer to the heavens and the earth created in the beginning.
• The heavens and earth (2Pe 3:5). This phrase is used extensively in the Bible. It appears in the very first sentence, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). We note that Peter uses this term, just as Genesis does, to refer to the sky and land which God created. Peter however discusses three distinct "heavens and earth" and later we will come back to this in detail.
• The cosmos (2Pe 3:6). In English, when we speak of the cosmos, we refer to the material creation or physical universe. However in New Testament Greek the word kosmos is not so restricted in meaning, and has a variety of senses just like our English word "world" does, as illustrated by our riddle. Having said that, we note that Peter uses this word with reference to the world created by God out of the water and which he destroyed by flooding it with water.
• The eon (2Pe 3:18). In New Testament Greek, aion has a broader range of meanings than in English. It can mean three different things:
• an age, era, historical period,
• the world (in the aspect of time),
• eternity.
• We looked at "eon" in our previous lesson, This Age and the Age to Come.

Lesson continues —Discusses “the Heavens and the Earth”