“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which 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.” 2 Peter 3:10 (KJV)

Many years ago, when I was a young man this verse was a puzzle to me. Why would God create such a beautiful place as our earth, just for it to be burned up?

I was not brought up in a particularly Christian environment. Back then Australians mainly followed general ‘Christian’ principles and words or verses from the Bible were ‘picked up’ as we went about our normal daily lives.

Later in my life, still without an answer to my ‘burned up’ question, I married and had children. In the late 1950’s our house was often door knocked by various religious groups seeking our interest in their particular form of Christianity. In those days there seemed to be more interest in Christianity and the Bible, my wife and I included, as we were regular church attenders. 

That ‘burned up’ verse still puzzled me and I couldn’t get an answer that worked for me from the local minister. So my wife and I looked deeper and eventually found our answer. In summary the answer is this: the earth will indeed be ‘burned up’. But this is referring to all the evil and bad things in the world – the current order. God will replace this order with everlasting perfection. 

Two great examples come from the Old Testament book Isaiah: “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17, NIV) and “‘As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so will your name and descendants endure.’” (Isaiah 66:22, NIV)

There are many other verses that tell us of that future time of peace and blessedness.

Looking back, I am very grateful that ‘burned up’ was a concern to me as it caused me to look into this verse further and from there, into the Bible in general. I found what God intends for this world and how this can include me.

My hope is that you will do the same!