Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Peter 3:10

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up." — 2 Peter 3:10 (ASV)

But the day of the Lord. This refers to the day of the Lord Jesus—that is, the day in which He will be manifested. It is called His day because He will then be the grand and prominent object as the Judge of all. .

Will come as a thief in the night. This means it will come unexpectedly and suddenly. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:2).

In which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. This refers to what appears to us as the heavens. It cannot mean that the holy abode where God dwells will pass away, nor should we suppose that this declaration extends to the starry worlds and systems as disclosed by modern astronomy.

The word is undoubtedly used in a popular sense—that is, as things appear to us. The fair interpretation of the passage would require only such a change as would occur through the destruction of this world by fire. If a conflagration were to take place, encompassing the earth and its surrounding atmosphere, all the phenomena described here would occur. If this is so, then this is all that can be proven to be meant by the passage. Such a destruction of the elements could not happen without "a great noise."

And the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The Greek is, "the elements being burned, or burning, (kausoumena), shall be dissolved." The idea is that the cause of their being "dissolved" will be fire, or that a conflagration extending to what are here called the "elements" will produce the effects described by the word "dissolved."

There has been much difference of opinion regarding the meaning of the word rendered here as elements (stoicheia). The word occurs in the New Testament only in the following places: Galatians 4:3, 9 and 2 Peter 3:10, 12, where it is rendered elements; Colossians 2:8, 20, where it is rendered rudiments; and Hebrews 5:12, where it is rendered principles.

The word denotes the rudiments of anything: the minute parts or portions of which anything is composed, or which constitute the simple portions from which anything grows or of which it is compounded. Here it would properly denote the component parts of the material world, or those parts that enter into its composition and of which it is made up.

It is not to be supposed that the apostle used the term with the same exact meaning that a chemist would use today, but in accordance with the popular use of the term in his day. In all ages and in all languages, some such word, with more or less scientific accuracy, has been employed to denote the primary materials from which others were formed, just as in most languages there have been characters or letters to denote the elementary sounds of which language is composed.

The ancients generally supposed that the elements from which all things were formed were four: air, earth, fire, and water. Modern science has entirely overturned this theory and has shown that these, far from being simple elements, are themselves compounds. However, the tendency of modern science is still to show that the elements of all things are, in fact, few in number.

The word, as used here by Peter, would refer to the elements of things as then understood in a popular sense. It would not now be an improper word to apply to the few elements of which all things are composed, as disclosed by modern chemistry. In either case, the use of the word would be correct.

Whether applied to the ancient or modern understanding of elements, science has shown that all are capable of combustion. Water, in its component parts, is highly inflammable, and even the diamond has been shown to be combustible. The idea contained in the word "dissolved," is, properly, only the change that heat produces.

Heat changes the forms of things: it dissolves them into their elements, dissipates those that were solid by driving them off into gases, and produces new compounds, but it annihilates nothing. It could not be demonstrated from this phrase that the world would be annihilated by fire; it could only be proven that it will undergo important changes. As far as the action of fire is concerned, the form of the earth may pass away and its aspect be changed; but unless the direct power that created it interposes to annihilate it, the matter that now composes it will still exist.

The earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.

This means all works, whether of God or of humankind—the whole vegetable and animal creation, and all the towers, towns, palaces, productions of genius, paintings, statuary, and books that humans have made.

"The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
And all that it inherits, shall disrobe,
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Leave not one wreck behind."

The word rendered "burned up," like the word used just before and rendered fervent heat—a word of the same origin, but here intensive—means that they will undergo such a change as fire will produce, not necessarily that the matter composing them will be annihilated.

If the matter composing the earth is ever to be destroyed entirely, it must be by the immediate power of God, for only He who created can destroy. There is not the least evidence that a particle of matter originally made has been annihilated since the world began. There are no fires so intense, no chemical powers so mighty, as to cause a particle of matter to cease wholly to exist.

As far as human power is concerned, and as far as one portion of matter can prey on another, matter is as imperishable as mind, and neither can be destroyed unless God destroys it. Whether it is His purpose to annihilate any portion of the matter He has made does not appear from His word, but it is clear that He intends for the universe to undergo important changes.

Regarding the possibility or probability of such a destruction by fire as predicted here, no one acquainted with the disclosures of modern science about the internal structure of the earth can have any doubt. Even ancient philosophers, for some reason, supposed that the earth would eventually be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:7). Modern science has made it probable that the earth's interior is a melted and intensely heated mass of burning materials.

Furthermore, it is probable that the habitable world is merely a comparatively thin crust or shell over these internal fires. Earthquakes are likely caused by the vapors engendered by this heated mass when water comes into contact with it, and volcanoes are but openings and vent-holes through which these internal flames make their way to the surface.

Whether these fires will make their way everywhere to the surface and produce a universal conflagration perhaps cannot be determined by science. However, no one can doubt that the simple command of God would be all that is necessary to pour these burning floods over the earth, just as He once caused the waters to roll over every mountain and through every valley.

Regarding the probability that such a change produced by fire, bringing the present order of things to a close, will occur, it may be further remarked that there is reason to believe such changes are indeed taking place in other worlds. "During the last two or three centuries, upwards of thirteen fixed stars have disappeared. One of them, situated in the northern hemisphere, presented a peculiar brilliancy and was so bright as to be seen by the naked eye at midday. It seemed to be on fire, appearing at first of a dazzling white, then of a reddish yellow, and lastly of an ashy pale colour. La Place supposes that it was burned up, as it has never been seen since. The conflagration was visible for about sixteen months."

The well-known astronomer Von Littrow, in the section of his work on "New and Missing Stars" (entitled Die Wunder des Himmels oder Gemeinfassliche Darstellung des Weltsystems, Stuttgart, 1843, § 227), observes: "Great as may be the revolutions that take place on the surface of those fixed stars which are subject to this alternation of light, what entirely different changes may those others have experienced, which, in regions of the firmament where no star had ever been before, appeared to blaze up in clear flames and then to disappear, perhaps forever." He then gives a brief history of those stars that have excited the particular attention of astronomers.

"In the year 1572, on November 11th," he says, "Tycho, while passing from his chemical laboratory to the observatory through the court of his house, observed in the constellation Cassiopeia, at a place where before he had only seen very small stars, a new star of uncommon magnitude. It was so bright that it surpassed even Jupiter and Venus in splendour and was visible even in the daytime. During the whole time it was visible, Tycho could observe no parallax or change of position. At the end of the year, however, it gradually diminished, and at length, in March 1574, sixteen months after its discovery, it entirely disappeared, since which all traces of it have been lost. When it first appeared, its light was of a dazzling white colour; in January 1573, two months after its reviving, it became yellowish; in a few months, it assumed a reddish hue, like Mars or Aldebaran; and in the beginning of 1574, two or three months before its total disappearance, it glimmered only with a gray or lead-coloured light, similar to that of Saturn." (See Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. III, p. 181).

If such things occur in other worlds, there is nothing improbable or absurd in the supposition that they may yet occur on the earth.

"Shall pass away" (Psalms 102:26; Isaiah 51:6; Revelation 20:11).

"Fervent heat"; "Great".