Second Epistle of Peter
WORLD CHANGES BY WATER AND FIRE
Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3:5 (KJV)
Peter now starts his refutation of their statement regarding no changes since the creation. First of all, he brings to mind the fact that there were already changes in connection with the creation. At one time all was one fluid mass called "waters," and the earth came out of these. He speaks also of their willful forgetfulness (R.V.) concerning these changes.
"they willingly are ignorant"
It is difficult to convince people of truth when they do not want to believe. They immediately look for some reason to bolster their unbelief and they try to forget or sidetrack any reasons which may be advanced to make them believe. These men were willfully forgetting that at one time during creation things were altogether different than they are now, therefore it would not be impossible for things to be different again. In our last verse these scoffers professed to believe in creation. "All right," says Peter, "the story of creation itself proves your reasoning unsound. There were radical changes at that time. Does that not prove that it is possible for further changes to happen?" Our next verse tells how they were willfully forgetting that there were great changes in connection with the flood.
The scoffers wanted to forget these things in order to excuse their sin. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). Some folks attempt to twist the Word of God or seek out excuses for not applying it to themselves. Remember, willful ignorance or forgetfulness will be no excuse when unbelievers stand before the Lord.
"by the word of God"
Creation was not an accident, not a fortunate gathering together of atoms which developed and formed until we have this world and everything on it. It was all done by the Word of God. He commanded and it was brought into existence. In Genesis 1, nine verses start with the words, "And God said." "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Ps. 33:6). "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God" (Heb. 11:3). He spoke and it was done.
"the heavens were of old"
Peter here refers to Genesis 1:2-10. There we read not only of the creation of the world, but also of the sun, moon and stars. We read of the firmament in the midst of the waters and how the waters above were divided from the waters below, showing forth the heavens. There has been some discussion as to whether the heavens were actually created at that time or just manifested. It matters not, because they were all brought into being by the Word of the Lord. "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist" (Col. 1:17).
"the earth standing out of the water"
The last part of this verse speaks of the appearance of dry land on the earth (Gen. 1:9, 10). At one time this world was without form and void, and evidently completely covered with water. The Revised Version says, "and an earth compacted out of water," as though the earth was actually made out of the water.
Some have thought, and not without reason, that when it speaks of "waters" in Genesis 1:2, it does not mean water in our accepted sense today, but rather means "liquid." In other words, the earth at that time was a molten mass. Scientists claim that at some time in the distant past this was actually the earth's condition. Out of this molten mass the Lord caused the dry land to appear, as well as the water as we know it today. This could all be mere supposition, but it may also contain some logic – that the days of creation were not 24 hours, but long periods of time. This is not foreign to the thought of Scripture. Often in God's Word, "day" is used in this way. Notice verse 8 of our chapter, "that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years."
"and in the water"
Instead of "in the water" the Revised Version has "amidst the water." The earth's surface is now three-quarters covered with water and dry land is literally standing in the midst of water. Truly this water is a great blessing. The Lord's method of lifting it up from the earth into clouds and then sending it down to nourish plant, animal, and human life is truly wonderful and marvelous. This same water, which is such a blessing to man, was at one time used to cause their destruction, as our next verse relates.
Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3:6 (KJV)
Some apply this verse to a judgment which happened to the world before the creation of man. However, the flood of Noah's time it seems more logical. Peter has already made reference to this deluge in 2:5. This flood was one of the things the scoffers of our chapter were forgetting. They were forgetting the great changes which came in connection with creation itself, and they were also forgetting the geological upsets in connection with the flood. If they stopped and thought of the terrible flood which destroyed nearly all of mankind, they would not question that the Lord might interfere with the course of events in some other way.
"the world that then was"
Before the flood, people were exceedingly wicked. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). It was because of these sins that God brought on the judgment of the flood. He had a quarrel with man and the flood was His method of removing sinners from this scene. No doubt men scoffed and sneered about Noah's ark and the promised flood, but it came in spite of their unbelief.
That the sinners of Noah's day were utterly heedless of the warning is evident from Matthew 24:38, 39, "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew no until the flood came, and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Peter likens the time before the flood to the time before the coming of the Lord, just as our Lord Jesus did.
"overflowed with water"
No conscientious Bible student will question that there was a great flood on this earth. Both Old and New Testaments attest to this fact. If there was no flood then the Bible cannot be trusted. Even the words of Christ Himself are not trustworthy, because He mentions it on more than one occasion. Some seem to think that rain only brought on the flood, but the Scripture is very plain in stating that the "fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened" (Gen. 7:11). Evidently great tides swept up from the oceans and overflowed the land.
Of course, the Lord could bring on the flood with just a Word from His mouth, but He could also use other means if He desired to do so. It is interesting to note that we never read a word about rain before the time of the flood. We do read in Genesis 2:6 that the earth was watered by a mist.
Perhaps the Lord brought on the flood by a change in location of the earth's poles. We all know how the moon's gravitation brings the tides. The Lord could have brought the flood by the gravitational influence of some mighty comet which He permitted to get close to the earth's orbit. One way or another, the Lord brought on the flood.
There are evidences that at one time this earth knew a mighty flood. They say that coal is formed by tremendous pressure being applied to vegetable matter. It would appear that immense forests have been suddenly leveled and then buried under tons and tons of earth, thus forming these giant coal deposits. A mighty surging flood could easily be the reason for this. Fish fossils have been found miles and miles away from any body of water, some on high ground. Huge tidal waves may have swept fish far inland and then buried them under tons of earth. Human skeletons have been found deep down in the ground far lower than any would normally be buried. These and many other things give indication that there once was a great water catastrophe in the history of the world.
The flood was no accident of nature. While the Lord may have used some means to bring it on, yet it came at His direct command. Creation came by the Word of the Lord and the flood did the same. He at one time divided the waters (Gen. 1:6-8). At the time of the flood, He ordered them back into a heap to destroy man and beast. This all shows His great power, but also His fierce anger against the sin of man. If scoffers today could be made to realize that at one time God swept away a whole world of sinful men, they would not question that future judgment is coming, but would quickly flee to Christ for salvation. Only eight souls entered the ark and were saved from God's wrath. Sorry to say, only a few today have fled to Christ for refuge and are safe from the wrath to come.
The Lord has promised that there never again will be a worldwide flood (Gen. 9:8-11). Whatever He used to bring it on, He will not use it again, at least not for the same purpose. But that does not mean He cannot use other agencies as He sees fit to bring on universal destruction. He has said that someday He will use fire for this purpose. Perhaps some said to Noah, "This world has been going on for many years since Adam; nature has been steadfast; it will continue to be so." Many are saying similar things today. They say the laws of nature have been fixed and unchanged for thousands of years and there is no reason to believe that there will be any change in the near future. When reminded of the flood, they do not believe there ever was one. They are apt to be caught by the God's judgment, even as the antediluvians were caught by the flood. Remember, the world was destroyed by water; it can and it will be destroyed by fire.
Water and fire are both great blessings to us. We could not do without either. They are great friends of man and we use them for many purposes. Yet water was used to destroy the old world and fire will be used to destroy the present world. These great friends will become enemies because of man's sin.
"perished"
The old world perished by water. Since the old world was not completely annihilated, the word does not necessarily mean annihilation. Some have suggested that "perish" means this in John 3:16. While the old world perished, yet a new one grew up out of the old. Animal and human life came out of the ark to repopulate the earth. Life in the seas as well as plant life survived the flood. Let no man say that the man who dies in his sins will be annihilated; he will die, but his spirit will live in hell forevermore.
Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3:7 (KJV)
Here Peter tells us that someday this present world will be destroyed by fire. He seems to imply that the earth is stored with fire, waiting for the day when the Lord will call it forth to do its appointed work. He says that this judgment, like the flood, will be because of the ungodliness of men.
"the heavens"
It may be that the Lord will use some heavenly orb, such as a great comet to upset our world in its routine circuit and cause it thereby to melt with fervent heat. This could easily affect our whole solar system and cause great confusion in the skies. There was a book written several years ago entitled, "Worlds in Collision." In it the writer claims that a large heavenly body whizzed around in our solar system for centuries before it was finally trapped by our sun and became the planet now called Venus. He further claims that it was this comet which caused the sun and moon to stand still in Joshua's day, and also was the reason for many other miraculous events in Old Testament times. While we are certainly not in a position to say that such conclusions are correct, still, this book convincingly demonstrates that strange things can happen in the heavens and that it is not impossible for stranger things to happen. In other words, just because the laws of our solar system seem stable and fixed now is no indication that they will always remain so.
Without doubt, in the Day of Judgment there will be great changes in the heavens.
"the earth"
Obviously, the earth will be the chief target of attack on this terrible day of judgment – it will again become a molten mass (see vv. 10, 12). Our verse gives the purpose, i.e., once and for all the Lord will rid this world of sinful men. Out of this molten mass He will produce a new heaven and a new earth, from which sin will be completely eliminated, and wherein righteousness will dwell (vv. 12, 13). "And I saw a new heaven and new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea" (Rev. 21:1).
"by the same word"
The expression "by the same word" refers back to verse 5. There we have "by the word of God the heavens were of old." Creation came about by the Word or command of God. Peter is saying that by the same command they will be destroyed by fire. Many think our world exists because of the laws of nature. But nature is only the method by which the Lord works; and it acts according to His will. As God desires, He can change or even suspend them. A single Word from Him, as our Lord Jesus spoke to a raging sea, can change everything.
"kept in store"
Instead of "kept in store," the Revised Version has "stored up for fire." The margin reads, "stored with fire." A literal translation could read, "are treasured up with fire." Peter's thought seems to be, the heavens and the earth are stored up with fire awaiting the Day of Judgment. There is great heat in the bowels of the earth. Volcanoes and earthquakes prove this. Our sun is an example of great heat in the heavens. Every star visible to the naked eye, apart from the few which are planets of our solar system, are bodies stored up with great heat. The heavens are certainly stored up with fire.
"reserved unto fire"
Our verse indicates that both the heavens and earth are being kept in readiness for this great judgment of fire. The fire is only awaiting God's time and God's Word. Scoffers are hereby warned that although God may delay His judgment, it is not because He cannot immediately execute it. Thanks be to God, it is not yet the time when He wills to do so. His means are ready at hand to be used whenever He sees fit.
"fire"
Today, most people realize that complete destruction by fire is not impossible. Two small atom bombs practically wiped off the map two large Japanese cities. The heat generated by just one of these bombs is great enough to melt rocks and fuse sand. Then came even greater hydrogen bombs and who knows what else has been devised by man for war. Some have even shared the fear that these bombs could actually wipe all life from the earth. If man can make such powerful weapons of fire, certainly it will not be difficult for the Lord to do so. Yes, awaiting God's Word there is stored up an even greater power to be used the Day of Judgment.
Uncontrolled fire can truly be awful. We shudder at the thought of whole families being burned to death – how much more terrible to think of the whole world destroyed in this way. The flood must have been terrible, but fire will be much worse. Our world is a ready-made tinder box. It is stored with immense quantities of coal and oil. The thought of God having atomic power of His own which is able to melt rocks, adds to the general conflagration.
Judgment by fire is God's threat hanging over every unrepentant sinner. The Lord Jesus says, "Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). "Therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire" (Matt. 13:40). "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:14; also 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 10:27; Rev. 21:8).
"the day of judgment"
Peter calls this terrible day, "the day of judgment." We have this same expression often in the Word (Matt. 10:15; 11:22; 12:36). It usually refers to the great white throne judgment of the wicked. We read that the graves and the sea shall give up their dead to be judged according to their works. We have fire coming down from heaven in Revelation 20:9 and 21:1 we have the new heaven and the new earth. In 1 John 4:17, speaking to Christians, the Scriptures say, "That we may have boldness in the day of judgment."
"perdition"
In the Revised Version "perdition" is translated "destruction." It could also be translated "ruin" or "loss." It does not necessarily mean annihilation. To be found an ungodly man in that day, will certainly bring great loss. It will mean to suffer the same fate as the man of sin, "the son of perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3), and the beast of Revelation 17:11, who "goeth into perdition." How wise is the man who, before it is too late, flees to the Lord Jesus for safety. It is much better to be ready for glory than to end in perdition.
"ungodly men"
As the flood was the result of ungodliness in man, so this final judgment will be also. It will not only entail burning of the earth, but it will be a sweeping off of this earth all wickedness and all wicked men. What a day that will be!
Some are momentarily looking for the end of the world. Peter does link this judgment with the coming of Christ. The scoffers of Peter's day were saying in connection with the coming of Christ, "all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." Peter first reminds them of the great changes in connection with creation itself, then reminds them of the great changes in connection with the flood, and now reminds them of the great change still to come with the judgment of fire.
