2 Peter 3:7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
God’s word is all powerful. The Bible records the power of God’s word. When God gives a promise or warning, we can be sure that it will come to pass because this has happened in the past. In verses 5-6 Peter draws upon the past events of the creation of great flood to show the power of God’s word. This verse looks to the future with the predictive word issued in the form of a warning. We get a glimpse of how judgment will take place through fire. The early Christians believed Jesus would come again with blazing fire (2 Thess 1:7; Heb 10:27). Peter will develop this idea further in the coming verses. This fire will cleanse creation of evil and ungodliness. This is a time of grace when the gospel is going out into the world. This is when God offers salvation. But there will come a day when human action will be judged on a corporate level. It does no good to speculate about this, how it will happen, what comes before or after. This verse should simply serve as a warning to us of the dangers of following the path of ungodliness. The word “ungodliness” refers to the opposite of piety, being in proper relationship with God, living a life of love and devotion. The ungodly give no care to the things of God or ignore God. In the case of the false teachers about whom Peter has written in this letter, they also distort the gospel. They deny the second coming of Jesus. There are many people today who fit this category. They have departed from orthodox Christianity. They reject God and the gospel. They live as if there is no God. The list could go on. Their destiny is destruction. There is no room for universalism in Peter’s thinking here nor anywhere in the Bible. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This verse should be enough to awaken us from spiritual laziness and apathy and get us refocused on what matters most in life.
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