John Calvin 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 will come. This has been added so that the faithful may always be watching and not promise themselves tomorrow. For we all labor under two very different evils — too much haste and slothfulness. We are seized with impatience for the day of Christ, already expected; at the same time, we complacently regard it as far off. As, then, the Apostle has previously reproved an unreasonable ardor, so he now shakes off our sleepiness, so that we may attentively expect Christ at all times, lest we become idle and negligent, as is usually the case. For why is it that flesh indulges itself, except that there is no thought of the near coming of Christ?

What follows afterwards, respecting the burning of heaven and earth, requires no lengthy explanation, if indeed we duly consider what is intended. For it was not his purpose to speak in a refined way about fire and storm and other things, but only that he might introduce an exhortation, which he immediately adds, namely, that we ought to strive for newness of life. For he reasons thus: that as heaven and earth are to be purged by fire so that they may correspond with the kingdom of Christ, therefore the renovation of human beings is much more necessary. Mischievous, then, are those interpreters who expend much labor on refined speculations, since the Apostle applies his doctrine to godly exhortations.

Heaven and earth, he says, shall pass away for our sakes; is it fitting, then, for us to be engrossed with earthly things and not, instead, attend to a holy and godly life? The corruptions of heaven and earth will be purged by fire, even though, as God’s creatures, they are pure. What then ought we to do, who are full of so many pollutions? Regarding the word godlinesses (pietatibus), the plural number is used for the singular, unless you take it as meaning the duties of godliness. Concerning the elements of the world, I will only say this one thing: they are to be consumed only so that they may be renovated, their substance still remaining the same, as can be easily gathered from Romans 8:21 and from other passages.