2 Peter - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

KW 2 Peter 3:12 Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of
which [day] heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and elements burning up are being
melted.
KJV 2 Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
TRANSLATION HIGHLIGHTS
As growing, maturing believers who are residing and functioning inside the divine
system, we should be looking for the coming day of God (Imperatival Participle) with
expectation and anticipation. The durative present means this expectation should be
continuous, not just a one-time realization which we forget like the false teachers. The
Greek word “speudo” actually means we should be cheering for its quick arrival. The
sooner that day arrives, the sooner we will get our resurrection bodies and be ready to
live in the new heavens and new earth after the millennium. The day of the Lord and the
day of God overlap. The day of the Lord includes the judgment of human good and other
production on the earth, while the day of God begins after that judgment and is focused
on the destruction of the “old” universe we live in now. Since this destruction is by God,
His methods may or may not resemble destructive forces we discovered in the 20 th
century.
During the day of God (and the last part of the day of the Lord), the heavens, being on
fire, will be destroyed by a form of nuclear fission. The elements – known as air, water,
earth, and fire – which are being consumed by heat, will be melted by a form of nuclear
fusion. There are many differences between fission and fusion; the two most important
distinctions are described in the Greek here. Just a coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
Fission is an explosion, fusion is an implosion. Fission creates a burning fire, fusion
generates intense heat. I find it astounding, humanly speaking, that the Word of God
which was written thousands of years ago gives us such an accurate description of the
difference between fission and fusion. Observe how many centuries it took man to arrive
at the point of scientific knowledge where we can actually create both scenarios that the
omniscient God may have been describing so long ago.
RELEVANT OPINIONS
Because of the destruction of the present heaven and earth, the judgment of the great white
throne apparently takes place in space. (J. Walvoord) We cannot hasten that day, which is
fixed in the counsels of God, but we can be more eager and earnest in our looking for it. (E.
Bullinger) The new creation of the heavens and the earth (Rev. 21:1; Isa. 65:17, 66:22) does
not refer to a renovation of the old creation, but a new order. Peter tells us to look for the
total destruction of the present order and the creation of a new heavens and a new earth.
Similarly, the “old man” was crucified. He no longer exists, and we are a new man in Christ.
(J. Dillow) For this reason, I do not personally believe that God will permit sinful men to
engage in an earth-destroying atomic war. He will, I believe, overrule the ignorance and
foolishness of men including well-meaning but unbelieving diplomats and politicians, so that