Fervent Heat

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10, NKJV). In my youth these words of Peter communicated plainly to me that this planet I live on will not last forever. This interpretation posed no doctrinal conflict in my mind because my church at that time taught very little regarding the distant future other than Christ’s return. As I aged and studied Revelation nearly every year John’s words reinforced my understanding of this planet’s temporality. I also learned what the Bible meant by heaven and heavens. It appeared to me at first that the Earth’s atmosphere would succumb to fervent heat along with the Earth; however, then my understanding developed into its inclusion of the entire universe. John wrote, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them… and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them” (Rev. 20:11, 13, NASB). It appeared clear to me from these words that no current place in heaven or earth would remain for anyone, alive or dead. Once again, the destruction of the entire universe, Earth, and the temporal dwelling places of the dead posed no theological problems for me. After all, immediately following this event comes a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1).

I was dismissive the first time I read about an alternate interpretation that described the future universe and Earth as being renewed and not new. This view teaches that our current universe and planet are eternal, and that Jesus will one day remove sin from it and make it like new. Few Christians (I thought) must believe in this theory because the Bible’s words seemed so clear to me. Shocked was I one Sunday morning when hearing my pastor preach of a renewed heaven and Earth. The more I studied, the more I realized that this interpretation is shared by many believers. Thus, I undertook the research to learn what the Bible as a whole teaches on the subject.

I analyzed all relevant passages in the attempt to find a biblical answer for, “Is the new heaven and earth new or renewed?” The result was that I could find nothing to support that they are renewed. However, knowing my predisposition, I could have been unintentionally interpreting the scriptures to support my current beliefs. For this reason, I read those authors who supported an idea of renewal in the hopes of understanding the places in the Bible where they draw their conclusions from. Unfortunately, most of the cases supporting renewal were not biblical but logical. In other words, they defended their position because it made sense according to their theology. One common example is found in the idea of resurrection. Paul teaches that our bodies die perishable but raise imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42). The idea is that Jesus will raise, regenerate, and animate our dead corpses into the form they were prior to death and then transfigure them by removing the sin and making them like new (1 Cor. 15:52-53). The conclusion is that since He renews our old bodies into new bodies, He will likewise regenerate the earth supernaturally.

The authors who supported renewal often failed to answer my questions. Here is a bit of advice to those who write on theological positions: address the real concerns of other interpretations using scriptural evidence and not on superior logic alone. In response to the previous example, I wondered how those authors would explain how the natural body is to be renewed if it is only the spiritual body that is raised and inherits the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:44, 50).

The more I looked in the Bible for renewal, the more Scripture I found for new. In addition to the passages already mentioned are verses that appear to clearly indicate that the old heaven and earth will be completely destroyed and replaced by a newly created heaven and Earth:

So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist, he will not awake nor be woken from his sleep (Job 14:12, NASB).

In time of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will pass away (Psalm 102:25-26, NASB).

All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree (Isa. 34:4, NIV).

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind (Isa. 65:17, NASB).

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away (Matt. 24:35, NASB).

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 (2 Peter 3:12-13, NASB).

And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away (Rev. 21:4, NASB).

Please note that there are many other scriptures that I feel support my position; however, those who believe in a renewed heaven and Earth suggest that those scriptures are merely spiritual metaphors. Therefore, I have omitted them from the above list, which contains what I believe to be clearly literal statements (although some use metaphors to describe the literal statements).

In the end, my research resulted in strengthening my belief in a new and not renewed heaven and Earth. I am not afraid to return to Scripture and make major overhauls to my views as I have in the past with topics like the extent of Noah’s Flood, eschatology, Scripture inerrancy, the Trinity, and Creationism. This is one belief that I am content to continue endorsing for two reasons. First, the term, “fervent heat” has become meaningful in my family as a reminder that all physical beings in this universe will not last. With this in mind, we are reminded to make choices that have eternal significance: those things that share the light of Christ, advance the Lord’s kingdom, showing compassion to the least of these, and teaching all of Christ’s commands to believers. Second, the possibility and honor of witnessing the Lord’s new creation is overwhelming. It is His pleasure to create a future universe that exceeds the grandness of the current one. Although I cannot imagine the awe that such an event will inspire, I look forward to it with all of my heart.

May 7, 2022