EDITOR’S NOTE: This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com.
The apostle Peter writes:
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed…. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:10-13).
Before Jesus introduces us to new heavens and a new earth, he must first deal with the sinful corruption of the universe as we know it. This “day of the Lord” comes suddenly and unexpectedly, the way a thief uses the element of surprise to plunder the goods of unsuspecting victims. But, once that day comes, the Lord introduces it with great fanfare.
Jesus declares, “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt. 24:35). The writer of Hebrews picks up Old Testament language that describes heaven and earth wearing out like clothing (Heb. 1:11; cf. Ps. 102:26; Isa. 51:6). And the prophet Isaiah offers a similar view: “All the stars in the sky will dissolve. The sky will roll up like a scroll, and its stars will all wither as leaves wither on the vine, and foliage on the fig tree” (Isa. 34:4).
The heaven and earth to which biblical writers refer are the entire created order. The Hebrew has no word for “universe,” so the phrase “heaven and earth” are meant to depict the full physical realm.
But do the fires of judgment annihilate or refine? This is a key question about which Bible commentators disagree. And it’s a question that’s central to our understanding of 2 Peter 3:10-13 and John’s vision of “a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Rev. 21:1).
Some notable commentators see the fleeing of earth and heaven as the uncreation of the universe. They believe earth and heaven are not refashioned; they go completely out of existence. That’s why John writes that “no place was found for them” (Rev. 20:11). This view is known as the annihilation and replacement model.
American theologian Donald Barnhouse comments: “There is to be an end of the material heavens and earth which we know. It is not that they are to be purified and rehabilitated, but that the reverse of creation is to take place. They are to be uncreated. As they came from nothing at the word of God, they are to be sucked back into nothingness by the same word of God.”
But is this the case? Does the universe, which Christ spoke into existence out of nothing and declared “very good indeed,” truly return to nothingness? Consider the following arguments against annihilation of the physical realm and in favor of restoration at Christ’s return.
First, Jesus speaks of “the renewal of all things” (Matt. 19:28), not the annihilation and replacement of all things.
Second, the words Jesus, Peter, and John use to describe this event do not mean heaven and earth vanish into nothingness. At the same time, Peter and John’s use of “new” is the Greek kainos, which means new in quality, not new in existence.
Third, the annihilation of the present heavens and earth would run contrary to God’s promise to restore the cosmos. The flood of Genesis 9 shows the earth completely covered with water but not uncreated. In a similar way, Peter compares the destruction of the present heaven and earth by fire with the destruction of the earth by water in Noah’s day (see 2 Pet. 3:5-7).
Fourth, annihilation of the cosmos would cast doubt on Christ’s work of redemption, which necessarily includes the cosmos. After dying for our sins, Jesus rises physically from the dead as the “firstfruits” of all believers who die (1 Cor. 15:20). While Christ’s glorified body is a significant improvement over his pre-passion body, it is still his body, which the Father renovates in resurrection.
Fifth, annihilation implies that God’s good creation is not fixable. Although God declares his entire creation “very good indeed” (Gen. 1:31), he allows rebellious angels and wicked people to poison it. But God has abandoned neither his creatures nor their environment. He enters the physical realm as the God-Man, lives among us, and redeems us. Satan does not get the last word in the destiny of the cosmos.
To summarize, Peter is not arguing in favor of the annihilation of the universe at Christ’s return. He’s saying the fires of judgment are intended to remove the dross from a fallen world and purify what remains. In a similar way, we must remember that salvation is holistic; it’s intended for the full human being – body, soul, and spirit.
God is not going to uncreate what he created and called “very good.” He’s going to redeem believing humans and restore our sin-wrecked world.
Next: New heavens and a new earth
