Well, good morning. Another beautiful morning that we get to share in the presence of the Lord. All right. If you have your Bibles with you, if you want to open up to 2 Peter 3, 2 Peter 3, and we will be looking I'll read verses 10 through 13. We will not get through all of this. I started off thinking I was gonna be able to, I say that often, don't I? Anyway, but we're gonna be on verse 10 and a portion of 12. So 10 and 12B, I would say, 12B. All right, well, let me read it and then we'll pray and get into the study. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat. But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we come before you and grateful to you, O Lord, that we are able to come into your presence, Lord, to meet with you, to meet with one another, to glorify your name, Lord, and to meditate upon, to think about your word, Lord, the things that you have written and spoken to us, Lord, through your dear Apostle Peter. Lord, I just pray that you would please bless the reading of your word, Lord, that you would bless this teaching. Father, that you would help me to be clear, Lord, and there to be ears that listen, Lord, and for our hearts ultimately to see more of you and your greatness, Lord. and your coming judgment as well, but not without hope. We thank you, Father, in the name of Christ, amen. The day of the Lord. That's really what I want to focus on this morning as it's portrayed, as it's spoken of in verse 10 and 12b. I'll read those verses again. The day of the Lord will come like in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." And then the portion I want to concentrate on in verse 12, it's, the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat. There's a lot of burning, there's a lot of melting, there's passing away, and we'll get through all of that, Lord willing. But throughout this letter, we are reading, we read, We hear, we see what Peter writes about the second coming of Christ. And Peter has presented the truth of Christ's second coming from multiple angles. He's come at it in different ways. He began the first letter by first establishing the truth about those who are in Christ Jesus, reminding them, reminding us that we are ones who have escaped the corruption that is in the world, by lust that we belong to Christ. And that as we belong to Christ, we have become partakers of the divine nature. And because of this, we are to continue in the faith by diligently increasing in and possessing the qualities that are to be evident. They are to be an outflow from a life or faith or the faith that Peter mentions in the first chapter. And the faith that he even mentions in the very first verse of the letter, the faith of the same kind as ours, he says, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He encourages them and us to not lack in living in light of what has happened to us, in us, to not lack in the qualities that he mentions in verses five through seven of the first chapter, to not be blind, to not be short-sighted, He then presses on and says that we are to be all the more diligent to make certain about God's calling and choosing us. For as long as we practice these things, he says, we will never stumble. Rather, it is the way, it is in this way, he says, that the entrance into the eternal kingdom of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. So it is in this way by diligently adding to the faith and increasing in these qualities that we are now entering into the eternal kingdom. And so here we see him already in the first chapter making a reference to a most certain future event and place. An event that has an entrance into a place that one cannot and will not have the desire to exit. The entrance into the eternal kingdom that belongs to King Jesus. In other words, he is giving us the roadmap that lies ahead. And we know that this has not been fulfilled in its entirety, not yet. It's an already and not yet. In other words, all this hope of another world, a new heaven and a new earth has not taken place. One only needs to spend a few minutes in the world we currently live in, in the place that we reside, and see that it is not necessarily where righteousness dwells, not in its entirety, not in its fullness. But according to Scripture, to the word and the promises of God, there is a day that has not come, but will come. We know it as the day of the Lord, the second coming, And on that day, all that are found to be in Christ, meaning those who have trusted in the once and for all sacrifice of the unblemished Lamb of God, it is to those who have lived the life. He is the one that lived the life that we couldn't live, and so we trust him for that. He's the one that incurred the penalty and the punishment we deserved. It is to those. It is those whom he purchased that will be gathered together and meet him, Jesus Christ, in the air. But for those who have rejected the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, those who were taken captive, who followed after their own lusts, after their own desires, those who don't have the righteous one in their stead, those who have no covering, those who have no head, no mediator, no redeemer, but still remain in their sins. It is of those that the scripture speaks when it says that they will have to face the all-consuming, fiery wrath of God poured out on them in judgment. You may be saying, maybe I'm coming a little bit too strong right at the beginning, right out of the gate. But let me tell you something, this is a reality. And it really isn't something, there isn't a way to downplay this reality. As a matter of fact, whenever I may open my mouth and attempt to portray, to describe to you what this will be like, I'm already falling short of what will really take place. And this is because we're talking about the holiness of God against the wickedness, the darkness, the evil, the wretchedness of sin. And it isn't that our sin is so great, but that the holiness of God is so glorious and supreme. So how does anyone describe something so pure, so glorious, so holy? We can't. And so some choose to discredit and discount the fact that such a loving God would do such a thing against his own creation. So they come up with other solutions that scripture doesn't support, be it annihilationism, which is just simply put, there is no hell. Be it universalism, where all are saved from the wrath of God and enter into the eternal kingdom. Be it that there is not a second coming of Christ, and therefore no judgment against sins. We've heard that over and over again, and even in our last study. The mockers are the false teachers, what they say. Where is the promise of his coming, all continues just as it was from the beginning. This is what they mock. This is what they ridicule of. But saints, this wasn't happening in their day alone, and we know that. I would argue that this has been the mindset from the very beginning. And it's what is going through, and it's the way of life throughout the ages as well, even up to ours. Sure, it's wrapped in a different paper package, but the package still remains the same. People love their sin and will try to avoid, ignore, downplay the reality of it in light of God's promise that one day all will be held accountable, all will be accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ. He will judge both the living and the dead. So one day the all-consuming fire of God will swallow up all those who did not trust in the only way, in the only truth, and the only life, which is Jesus Christ. But that day we don't know when it will be. So here we are thousands of years later and still no coming. I want to ask you a question. Is the mocking of the mockers sounding all the louder and surer with every passing day? Is there some validity to what they're saying because we've been waiting for so long? Well, scripture will have us say, no, that's not true. On the contrary, the Lord is patient and kind. He is not slow about the second coming of Christ. He hasn't forgotten or has delayed. He is on time. He's always on time. He hasn't come yet because they are still those who have not repented and believed. He is still calling and drawing sinners to repentance and into his glorious kingdom. So the gospel call goes out, repent and believe while the patience of God is still made manifest. That is why Paul says, if you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts. For as long as today is called today, then today is the day of salvation for you. But it will not always be so. This is what Peter's getting at there in verse 10. It's not always going to be that way. Notice how Peter continues in verse 10, bringing the contrast to the patience of God, what we just finished. There's the patience of God, and then he begins with the contrastive word, but. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. In other words, there will come a day, in a moment, the patience of God against sin, against evil, against wickedness will end. What a sobering thought for those that are not in Christ Jesus. His patience with those who are not in him, those who are not saved, will dry up and they will not experience a loving and merciful God. He will judge according to His holiness and righteousness. And tell me, who can stand? Nobody. Not without the righteousness of Christ. You cannot stand. Nobody can stand. Regardless of what anyone may think about the coming of Christ, we do know that this is not just a possibility. It's a truth, it's a reality. It will take place. Peter states that the Lord will come will come like a thief. This is the language of the Bible. It's not one of ambiguity or uncertainty. And as it pertains to the coming of the Lord as a thief in the night, this is a very common and well-known statement found within scripture. And even in our day, if you walk up to somebody and say, the Lord Jesus Christ, he's coming like a thief in the night. Have you heard that before? they would probably agree with you and say, yeah, we have heard that before. Jesus Christ coming like a thief in the night. Although I don't think it's contemplated as often as it should or understood. This phrase of thief in the night, Christ really exposits for us in Matthew 24 in one of the areas, in one of the Gospels, Matthew 24 verses 42 through 44. Let me read it. Therefore, be on the alert for you do not know which day your Lord is coming, but be sure of this." So there's no day that we know, but he's saying, be sure of this one thing, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason, you also must be ready. For the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will. It is a very interesting and very fitting illustration that Jesus uses. A thief. A thief. Have you ever wondered why a thief and not like a diplomat or a long lost loved one that is finally coming home or some famous person or king or whatever, fill in the blank. Because this picture of a thief arouses or stirs in us both an alertness and an expectation that a positive picture of a long lost loved one, it doesn't produce. It can't produce. I think this is because with this illustration, if I may use the term, you now have skin in the game. Meaning it gets more personal. There's more at stake. when waiting for a thief rather than a loved one. You're more on alert. You see, the moment you drift away, become distracted, pursue after other things, all your possessions and even your own life is at risk. And hence the negative picture of the thief as it relates to Christ's coming, be on the alert. But there is also a healthy and correct expectation to all of this. The second coming of Christ shouldn't be, it should not be a surprise to those who are on the alert. It will be sudden, but not an unexpected event. And Paul lets us in on that. He says it well in 1 Thessalonians 5, four through six. He says, but you brethren are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief. You see, he's bringing this all together here. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness, so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. You see that. He's saying you're not gonna be shocked. You're not gonna be surprised at the coming of the Lord because you're gonna be on alert. You're expecting him. You're eagerly awaiting for him to come. But then Paul, he transitions, right there in 1 Thessalonians 5, he transitions as to what being alert and sober looks like. He says, this is what it looks like. If you're gonna be part of the day, if you're gonna be on the alert, if you're gonna watch out and expect the Savior to come, You need to be dressed with the breastplate of faith and love, with the helmet, the hope of salvation. Being dressed, ready to meet the King. It's beautiful how John actually ties this in, I think, together in Revelation 16, 15. I'll read it for you. Behold, he says, Christ, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes. Oh, that's a beautiful picture there of what just Paul just said, what you need to be dressed in. And then here's John saying, you need to be alert and you need to also have your clothes on so that you, he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame. You see that? That's the preparedness, that's the alertness, that's the awaiting for the day of the Lord. even though he comes like a thief. We could go on with this, but I want to leave you with this. Be ready. Be ready, brethren. Be ready, saints, for the coming of the Lord. Expect him to come. His word says he's coming. You believe him on other aspects of his word, believe him on this as well. He can be trusted. He is faithful to his word. You can and should prepare for this day in which you will meet with the Lord Jesus Christ. and the way that we are to prepare will go through in the next Bible study, verses 11 and 12 and 13, what we are going to enter into. But we must move on. Notice that Peter attempts to give us a glimpse into what will happen when the day of the Lord comes. What's gonna take place? This is probably one of the most detailed and no less difficult description in New Testament of what will take place to the physical world at the coming of Christ. He says, the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will burn up with intense heat. The earth and all its works will be burned up or exposed. Now, some of you may have the ESV. It says exposed or laid bare. Some of you may have the NASB. I don't know what the King James says, but the NASB says burned up. But we'll get through that at the end. We'll get to that at the end. I'll cover that. what that really means. But what Peter is somewhat building on is what he previously said in verse seven. Remember that he began that verse with the contrastive again, but. And what he was doing up to that point, up to verse seven in chapter three, he was actually mentioning the flood and the destruction of the present world and moving on to speak of the present heavens and earth being reserved by the word of God, but yet reserved for the destruction by fire. So he's somewhat correlating the two. And he says that it's reserved for the judgment of the ungodly men, ungodly people. As a side note, I want to mention this as I go through this study. I want you to keep in mind that that you don't let your mind wander or think about what will happen to the godly during this time. Because the godly during this time are, I believe, rescued and out of this judgment of this fiery fire, this wrath. Remember what Peter said, in 2 Peter 2.9. He says, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, trials, or troubles, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment. Remember, the fire is reserved for those who are ungodly men, verse seven. And so here in verse nine of chapter two, he keeps the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. That's the day of judgment. All right, back to verse 10. And what I will do is combine it with verse 12b, which has a similar depiction of what will take place. The heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat. There's a lot here, but let's see if we can break this down to understand it better. I think it might be best to first describe the objects. So describe the objects that are passing away, the objects that are being destroyed, the objects that are being burned up, exposed, or laid bare, or melting. And then we'll move to what will happen to these objects and how, as far as we can discern, how far, to what extent this burning will take place or this melting. But just in case anyone gets confused through all of this, I will try to simplify it in the end so that all may understand. So hang in there. You're going to have to think with me this morning, okay? Okay, what are the objects? The objects, they are the heavens. He says the heavens. the elements, the earth, and its works. And again in verse 12, the heavens and the elements. We see some repetition here between verse 10 and verse 12b. And this is because ultimately what Peter has in mind are these two things, the heavens and the elements. When he mentions the earth and its works, he's really expanding that phrase there. He's expanding on what the heavens and the earth contain. We discussed back in verses five and seven about the heavens and concluded that what it's being referred to are the physical heavens that we can perceive that is the first and the second heavens, if you remember that. And so when it is coupled with the earth or used together, as one commentator mentions, he says, it refers to all that God has created in the universe. On the other hand, the elements, the stoicheia, carries the meaning, various meanings on different levels throughout scripture. the elementary spirits or angels that rule over the natural world. Well, we immediately dismiss this meaning because it really doesn't flow in the context. It doesn't flow. Another meaning of the word is when it is referring to the heavenly bodies, heavenly bodies, which pertain to the celestial constellations, which mean the star, the moon, the sun, galaxies and planets and so on. This could be what he meant because in this heavenly body is the earth as well, but to me it is a bit repetitious to say heavens and then elements. Lastly and probably the most fitting definition or meaning is that Peter is referring to the substances that underlie the natural world. The basic elements, the building blocks, from which everything in the world is made and of which it is composed. Simply put, the stuff of which the physical things in the world are made up of. It's hard to define exactly what Peter meant by these words, though. But what we can know is that there in verse 12b, he uses the two terms together, the heavens and the elements. And in one sweep, I think what he's doing is he's helping us understand that he is talking about all that exists. Some of you may be asking now, what about the mention of the earth and its works, and how will that be all burned up, and how does that all interplay? And that's a good question. The earth is referring to the planet we live on, and its works is referring to all things that have been performed or accomplished on this earth. And we'll get into those details of the phrase at the end, as I said. But I want us to move to the action words. So we have the objects that have taken place. I want to move to the action words, the verbs, that give meaning to what will take place to these objects that we have just covered. Peter says that they will pass away. They will pass away. They will burn up. They will be destroyed. And again, in verse 12, the destruction by burning and melting by intense heat. All right, what does this all mean? Well, we're told that the heavens will pass away with a roar. a sound produced by something moving rapidly, very fast. If you've ever sat under a jet engine passing overhead, Jeff could tell us all about that. But passing overhead, you see how it's broken the sound barrier and the speed of sound and the sound follows, right? But it's more like this roar. It's a rushing wind, a whoosh. Whatever it is, it isn't lingering. It's swift. It's a swift passing away. But what about this passing away? You know, Jesus mentions the very thing, doesn't he? When he compares this present world with the word. He says, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. There he is, he's saying heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not pass away. In other places within scripture, we read that heaven and earth will perish, and will wear out like a garment, Hebrews 1.11. But what follows in the next verse, in Hebrews 1.12, it says, it really sheds some light as to what's being taught. They will roll up like a scroll, and like a garment, they will also be changed. This is all from Psalm 102 and Isaiah 51. In 1 John 2.17, John says this, the world and its desires are passing away, but those who do the will of God will live forever. Similarly, Paul in 1 Corinthians 7.31 is saying that the present form of this world passes away. Both these statements, and what I believe Peter is referring to as well, teach that the world in its present sin-filled form is vanishing. But then there's this intense heat. burning up. What do we do with that? Well, this is most likely referring to a fire that will consume everything that is in its path. We don't know in what form or method this fire will come. There certainly have been suggestions by many from the super volcanoes to the atomic bombs to Meteorites and simply even just the sun moving closer and burning everything up. Whatever it is, we know that it will change completely the world we know and we live in. However, as it pertains to what the fire will accomplish, the extent of the burning, how much will it burn, we don't know for certain what Peter had in mind. Schreiner, commentator, presents it as two possibilities. He says this, if Peter had the thought of the purification and renovation of this world by fire, so that's one option, that he had this purification, this renovation that the fire will bring upon this earth, or if he had in mind the complete destruction of this present world and the creation of a new one. So I don't know if you follow me. What he's saying is that either this present earth will be renewed and redeemed or by the fire, purified by the fire, or that this present earth will be completely destroyed and another one will be created. To that, I want to ask the question, and actually entertain it a bit based on my other readings and conclusions as it pertains to this burning up of the heavens and the earth. I figured it's a Bible study, let's go down this road and let's travel a little bit on this topic. Will the earth be completely destroyed to non-existence or not? Well, my thought is that this earth will not be extinct. I don't think it will be annihilated or non-existent. but I also don't know how much of it will remain. So there you go. No, we'll go more into it. But the truth of the matter is we can't be dogmatic on this, but I'm gonna try to tie in different scriptures and bring it together as to why I think this, and I think I have pretty good backing as far as theologians are concerned. All right, the thought of fire burning. We know based on our observations of fire, right? We know that fire, burns, but the burning up is not total annihilation. Even in verse 12, we see how there is a melting with intense heat. Melting with intense heat. That word to melt carries the meaning of causing something to become liquid. To quote Clement of Rome, I want to go to Clement of Rome. He's an apostolic father. He's there in the first century. He's the first bishop of Rome. He is known as a personal acquaintance of Peter, possibly knowing both John and Paul as well. He wrote, actually, to the Corinthians, following up what Paul wrote, as well, in 1 Clement. But this is 2 Clement, which is, we don't take this as the inspired word of God, but he is one that lived during that time and knew Peter. And you'll be able to hear this as I read what he wrote. in 2nd Clement. It's something similar to what Peter is saying here in the 3rd chapter. And both references are derived actually from the Old Testament from Malachi 3 and Isaiah 34. So I'm going to read 2nd Clement 16 1-3. Therefore, brethren, since we have found no small opportunity for repentance, seeing that we have time, let us turn again unto God that called us, while we have still one. that receiveth us. He's talking about Christ, right? For if we bid farewell to these enjoyments and conquer our soul in refusing to fulfill its evil lusts, we shall be partakers of the mercy of Jesus. But ye know that the day of judgment cometh, even now as a burning oven, and the powers of the heavens shall melt, and all the earth as lead melting on the fire, and then shall appear the secret and open works of men." That was pretty on par with what Peter's saying there. And just to make a note of that last portion there that he says that will expose, uncover the secret and open works of men, it really falls in line with the phrase that Peter uses there, the earth and its works shall be exposed. I think it sheds some light on that. But then there are other reasons as well that I think that the earth will not completely vanish. However, because of time, I'm gonna quickly distill my thoughts and let you ask questions afterwards if you have any. And I'm gonna try to answer because this is deep. Anyway, but one of the passages are really in this very chapter, in chapter three, where Peter likens the events that accompany the day of the Lord with the flood. In the flood, we are told that the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. Being flooded with water. The water, in a sense, cleansed the earth of its filth. The wicked are destroyed. And in a way, the Lord wiped out everything. And we are seeing a recreation, a new start, a new beginning. Not an eradication. Not a complete destruction vanishing. Similarly, yet on a more intense and larger scale, with more permanence, I believe, to it, the fire will also purge, it will purify, it will cleanse, burn, but not destroy, to utter ruin, to utter unnoticeableness. I don't even know if that's a word. But we also find in Romans 8, Romans 8, that interesting phrase there, and I'm gonna, it's a telling thought of what even creation is waiting for, anxiously, yet in hope. of the glory that awaits. Let me read Romans 8, verses 18 through 25. Paul says, for I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. There's a joint Collaboration, there's a collaboration there. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves. Creation was groaning, we're groaning, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body, the redemption of our body, the redeeming of our body, the renewal of our body, the new body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. And here we are led to believe that the whole earth is awaiting the redemption of the sons of man. In many of these passages, what we see is a renewal. This is where I want to spend just a little bit of time, a renewal, a rebirth. This is something that we find true within the pages of scripture, and I think can be applied here as well. God continues to show himself as the God of redemption. We know of the rebirth that occurs by the wonderful and miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, giving new life to an individual who was dead in sin. This is the work of God. This is the new birth. But there is also the rebirth or restoration of the whole world to its original intent and completeness. God created the world in six days. And he said it was good. And he said it was very good. Keep that in mind. But to quote Bavink, a great theologian, Dutch, rebirth encompasses the entire scope of recreation from its very beginning in the heart of people to its ultimate completion in the new heaven and new earth. God is about his glory and all that he does will demonstrate again and again his majesty, his goodness, his infinite wisdom, his love, his power to redeem, to make things new, to restore that which was broken, Here's a little longer quote for Boving. I think this will shed some light. God's honor consists precisely in the fact that he redeems and renews the same humanity, the same world, the same heaven, and the same earth that have been corrupted and polluted by sin. Just as anyone in Christ is a new creation in whom the old has passed away and everything has become new, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, So also this world passes away in its present form as well, in order, out of its womb, at God's word of power, remember Peter says that a lot, doesn't he? The power in the word of Christ. He uses that. But at God's word of power to give birth and being to a new world. So just as in the case of an individual human being, so at the end of time, rebirth of the world will take place as well. And he cites Matthew 19 verse 28. I want to read to you Matthew 19, 28 because I think it's apropos. I think it fits greatly and it's the scripture he references here. I'll read 28 through 30 to get the context. And Jesus said to them, truly I say to you that you who have followed me Listen to this, in the regeneration when the son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms for my name's sake will receive many times as much and will inherit eternal life. And look how he ends there, Christ. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. I think I missed a portion. No, that's it. So the regeneration, did you notice the words there, in the regeneration? In the regeneration. That word regeneration there carries the meaning of the state of being renewed with a focus on the cosmic experience as a renewal. Here's another good theologian, Gerhard de Spass. from his Reformed dogmatic says, analogy speaks for change. The body of man too is not annihilated and a new body created in its place. The old is changed or glorified. One should assume then that this will also take place in the wider sphere with the entire groaning creation. This is Paul's theology as well. Redemption, resurrection, renewal, a glorification by the God who takes things that are broken and perishing and gives eternal life. Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 15, 42 through 44. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body. It is raised an imperishable body. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Well, to end, I want to go back to what I said. I hope that that gives some, sheds some light at least into thinking about even this world we live in, this earth, and just thinking about the power that God has and the ability he has to make things new. You think that what you see with your eyes is beautiful, you wait to see what he does with the new earth. Because when the fire comes through and it purges and it purifies, it gives way to what Christ will do on the new earth and the new heavens. And we'll get into that next time. But the new heavens coming down from heaven onto earth in the new Jerusalem. But to end, I do want to go back to what I said I would. Remember the phrase, the earth and all its works will be burned up or exposed, laid bare? In verse 10, the last portion, this is the result. This is the consequence that comes out of the burning of the heavens and the earth as we just covered. This is something that is difficult to understand what its true meaning is. Schreiner says, and he says this, that some scholars despair of finding any meaning for this verse. So that gives us maybe little hope, right, if the scholars are despairing to find it. This is partially because of the different renderings in certain manuscripts. There's about four different renderings that you could take from this verse, from these words. If we were to translate that phrase in the Greek using one of those manuscripts, it would read, and the earth and the works in it shall be found. What's confusing is that another manuscript says not found, another manuscript says destroyed or burned up, and you just begin to see, okay, what is going on here? Well, without getting into textual criticism, and that would be something that you would study the manuscripts at hand, and you would see which one is the one that is more relevant, the more used, the more popular, the more that would have the least amount of scribal errors, and so on and so forth. It's a study that scholars would do. But there is support from reliable sources for both, and probably the most reliable sources for both the burned up or the exposed, or that it shall be found. I would agree I'm going to say this, but I would agree with the ESV on this one. I'm an NASB fan, but I will agree with the ESV on this one. They seem to get it right. The earth and its works will be exposed or made manifest, laid bare. But what we need to understand and see is that this is language that is depicting divine judgment. That's what it's showing, divine judgment. We see this same format or pattern in verse seven. We see that by his word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. You see, that's the result. That's the result, the consequence. The heavens will pass away, the elements will burn, the earth and its works were gonna be laid bare. All things are seen as they really are before God. We already know that one day all will be revealed. Hebrews 4.13, there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. There will be nowhere to hide. It's going to be too late. The earth will be exposed in all its works. All that has been made and done, it will also be exposed and God will judge these works by and through fire. This burning up, this melting, this passing away, this destruction, of what we see and what has been done on this earth is meant, it's really meant to terrify us. That's Peter's intention here. He's not throwing you a little softball or something like, hey, consider this. It's to terrify you or anyone else who hears it. And we can only understand it to really a degree because it will be much worse than we can actually imagine. Isaiah 13, 13 says, therefore I will make the heavens tremble or shake, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of his burning anger. Burning anger. The heavens trembling, this shaking of the earth reminds us actually of Hebrews chapter 12, 27 through 29, which is very applicable. This expression, yet once more, says the writer to the Hebrews, denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things. He tells us what the things that can be shaken are. They're created things. It's the earth and its works. So that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom, and he's gonna tell you what can't be shaken, which cannot be shaken. The kingdom of God cannot be shaken. This is what he's getting at. Let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. And how does he end? For our God is a consuming fire. Very interesting. If you try to correlate the two together, consuming fire, things that shake and unshaken, the things that shake in the earth and all its works, I hope you see the correlation there. Saints, there is hope though in this present day. and the future. And I want to end with this. If you belong to that which cannot be shaken, the eternal kingdom of our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, right there is your hope. He is the living hope. Your life is hidden in Christ and not exposed or laid bare for judgment. And what we'll see in our next study in verses 11 through 13 is that Peter leaves us with some moral implications, some practical things that we can do and that should actually arise in light of all of this along with a promise from God, a new heaven and a new earth that is coming and reserved for those who are in Christ. It's the place where righteousness shall dwell That's what makes us so new. No sin. All of Christ. So it's going to be a blessed and happy day. And we'll go through that next time. Let's pray. Father, we come before you. And Lord, there's just much that was covered. Ultimately, what we do is we rest in you. Lord, we know that this world is coming to an end. how it's going to happen, to what extent, we really don't know, Lord, but we do know that you are coming and this is coming to an end as we know it. But glory be to you that you don't leave us there, but that you have promised us through your word that where you are, we will be also. So Lord, comfort us with these words. Help us, Lord, to be encouraged this very day, but help us to live in light of this very truth that all these things will be gone, burned up. Let us live in light of that and look for your coming as a thief in the night. In Christ's name, amen.