This Article: (3 Pages)
- 1. Popular Belief About The Earth's... Future
- 2. New Heavens and a New Earth as... Used in the Bible
- 3. The Earth Designed to Endure
3) The Earth Designed to Endure
Scriptural references indicate that the earth was designed to endure and was not destined for destruction. Consider carefully the following references and the agreement among the writers.
Ecclesiastes states that 'The earth abides forever.' (Eccl. 1:4)
In Isaiah 14:18 the creator's intention is stated as , 'He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited.'
And Numbers 14:21 declares that, 'The whole earth shall be filled with His glory.'
Yahweh has a purpose with this earth and with mankind and there appears to be no evidence in the written records that suggests the earth will be destroyed.
When the Psalmist observed the world around him he declared, 'Heaven and earth show forth His handiwork.' Don't the wonders of creation amaze us? To our own eyes the wonders of creation must reflect its perfection in the natural things that we see around us and the intricacies of even the smallest plant or creature. Why should such magnificence be destroyed? We are told that the lion and lamb shall lie down together and the parched lands will again blossom and become productive. 'The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose,' is a well known passage that depicts the regeneration of the parched lands on this sphere. (Isaiah 35:1)
Consider also the flood of Noah's time and the promise in Genesis 8:21.
Yahweh 'will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, neither will I again smite any more everything living as I have done.'
Are we to believe this promise? The rainbow stands as a sign of this ancient pledge, even for us today. Matthew 24:37-39, warns us that our present civilisation faces a similar crisis as in the days of Noah and we have been given the assurance, that Yahweh would never again destroy mankind completely. If the earth was to be destroyed, how could this promise stand and the promise that the earth is to be filled with Yahweh's glory?
The earth abides forever.(Ecclesiastes 1:4)
Peter's Prediction Examined
Peter refers to the flood in 2Pet. 3:6 and compares it to the world as perishing or being destroyed.
'Whereby the world that then was , being overflowed with water perished.'
We know that the earth did not perish, it remained. It was civilisation that was destroyed, not the physical earth. The literal earth remained. Peter also states the following.
'the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.' (2Pet.3:10).
The phrase 'burned up' is from the Greek 'to burn down to the ground.' The N.I.V. Translates this verse as follows.
'The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.'
This translation does not suggest that the earth itself will be burnt up .In 2Pet.2:5, Peter states that 'he spared not the old world.' Peter is here referring to the time of the flood. It was civilisation that was destroyed, not the earth. The 'elements' that Peter speaks of refer to 'rudiments and principles' as in Clossians 2:20.
'Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances?'
This is referring to the removal of present day ordinances and civilisation and does not prove that Peter believes that the earth will be destroyed. The same idea and same word occur in Galatians 4:3.
'Even so we , when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.'
The word is again used in verse 9, 'how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye again desire to be in bondage?'
These particular 'elements' are not physical things or tangible things, but they are social and ideological aspects, and laws of the civilised world.
Peter 3:7 states that 'the heavens and the earth are now ... reserved unto fire against the day of judgemant and perdition of ungodly men.'
This is a very similar situation to that described in Isaiah 66 that was referred to earlier. The most logical explanation for this verse is that the heavens and the earth represent the rulers and the people. They are the ones to be judged, not the physical heavens and earth.
Heavens & earth represent rulers & people who will be made new
Peter was familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures and the symbology used. This verse follows directly on from where he said that the 'world...perished' at the time of the flood. It would be a logical transition to the next verse and the latter day judgement that will come on mankind. Again the 'kosmos' or the society as we know it is referred to, and, it is the world's social institutions that will be destroyed and changed, but the earth will remain, as occurred in the time of Noah.
Isaiah is in complete agreement with Habbukuk 2:14 and Numbers 14:21, when he states,
'They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.' (Isaiah 11:9)
Show All
