Author : Tommy Thornhill
reprinted by permission from “Etna Enlightener”
The A.D. 70 proponents not only teach that the final judgment spoken of in the Bible occurred in A.D. 70 but this date also marked the fulfillment of 2 Peter 3:10 in which Peter had declared that “the heaven will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” According to King, “the world marked for destruction in prophecy, the end of which involved the second coming of Christ and resulted in the true redemption of Israel was the Jewish world, Therefore it is the end of the Jewish world and not this material earth on which we live today.” (SOP. 83). In other words, the world Peter talked about that was to “pass away,” along with the elements being melted with “fervent heat” and “the earth and the works in it burned up” is not the literal, material world, but the Old Covenant Jewish world, which included the Law of Moses and the Jewish system, was destroyed in A.D. 70.
As with the previous events discussed, Max King simply redefines words in 2 Peter 3 to force them into supporting his ideas. He sees the “fire” of v.7 as symbolic, as opposed to the literal “water” in the flood vv. 5-6. He makes the word “world” refer to the Jewish/Mosaic age of past time, destroyed in A.D. 70, rather than the literal, material world that we live in. In fact he finds “three worlds in 2.Pet.3” (SOP. 130), i.e., the world that perished in the days of the flood, the “Jewish world,” and the third one which was that perfect, complete something that followed after Judaism fell. He also twists the word “elements” to mean the rudimentary principles of the Old Mosaic Law, and the “works” to be the works of that law. Needless to say, his imaginary definitions do not fit the context, nor are they the proper use of Biblical hermeneutics.
Just what does 2 Peter 3 really teach about the end of the world? 2 Peter 3:10 teaches that when Jesus returns it will be destroyed by fire. In fact, God has determined that the whole universe will be burned up at that time. Just as in the days of Peter, there are those today who don’t believe what is written, so they laugh at the idea of a universal judgment and destruction of the world. But Peter reminded his readers that the passing of time does not disannul the truth. For those who doubt, an examination of Peter’s words should dispel that notion. In 2 Peter 3:1-4 he addresses those who scoff at the idea Jesus will be returning again. He reminds them of the universal flood of Noah’s day (vv. 5-7). If God destroyed the world once He can do it again. Then he deals with the delay (vv. 8-9). The passage of time does not void Jesus’ promise. Time is not the consideration as to when He returns but the longsuffering of God is. The salvation of souls is at stake. But it will happen one day (vv. 10-13). Note also Hebrews 1:10-12 in this connection. Here the writer is drawing a contrast between Christ, the Creator and the material universe. Christ the creator is eternal, the universe is material. The material will perish (v. 11). What will perish? The things He created in the beginning (v. 10). So, when the world ends it will be in God’s time, His decision, not man’s. Those who speculate with doomsday scenarios as to how this world will end, whether by plague, asteroid, nuclear bomb, exploding sun, or something else, all contradict Biblical truth. The Bible reveals how this world will end. God created it (Genesis 1:1), and He will end it with literal fire when He decides, since He controls this universe (Colossians 1:16-17). He proved His ability to do this when He set the time for the destruction of the world by water (Genesis 7:23; 2 Peter 3:5-7). Now, He has also determined the day for the complete destruction of the world by fire. Yet, people read these words and tell us the earth will not be destroyed, it will remain. They read verse 13 and “look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
Isn’t it amazing that Max King and his crowd, along with the JW’s and other millennialists, ignore the context of verses 10-13 and conclude that the present earth will simply be renovated for God’s people to dwell on, just as after the flood. The context does not teach a renovation of the present earth for it will be “burned up” (v. 10) and “dissolved” (v. 12). The text is teaching the creation of a new heavens and new earth where God’s saints will live forever. The expression “new heavens and a new earth” is a figurative expression that describes a new spiritual and moral order or arrangement. Isaiah foretold there would be a new order, after the present order (the Jewish dispensation) passed away (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22). His prophecies were fulfilled in the present dispensation (order) of Christ, i.e. Christianity (Ephesians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Peter is looking beyond the present time in which we now live, to the future time when Christ returns. At that time the present order of things will be “burned up” and “dissolved “and “a new heaven and earth in which righteousness dwells” (v. 13), will be ushered in. This new order is beyond the judgment, after the present world is destroyed, but where? The answer is found in Revelation 21:1-2 where Peter’s fellow apostle John, in a vision, sees “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away … and I saw the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” John says that the first heaven and earth are passed away, Peter says they will be burned up (2 Peter 3:9). Where will the new order be? It will be in heaven, not on the earth. The text is not teaching a renovation; rather the passing of one thing to make way for a new. The new is new, not renovated; it is a new home for the resurrected saints, dwelling in heaven. Notice also Revelation 20:11, “the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them.” In other words, the heavens and the earth and all its inhabitants vanished. If this transpired in A.D. 70 why are the heavens, earth and people still around? Certainly it was not a localized event since it involves the whole of mankind, not just Jerusalem (v. 12).
Not only this but consider the fact that if the water is literal, then so is the fire. The flood was universal and so is the fire that destroys the world. It was not localized. Then they try to twist the word “elements” to simply mean the rudimentary principles of the Old Law and “works” to be the works of the law. What a travesty. Elements are the things from which all things come, the material cause of the universe, fire, air, earth, water as well as the planets. Of course the works of the law were ended at the cross.
