ISB ~ 2 Peter 3 v8 - 13

Peter foresees the final catastrophe of history, when the structure of the visible universe will melt down in flames. The goal of this judgment is not annihilation of the world per se; rather, it is the dramatic prelude to the “new heavens” and “new earth” that God will unveil in the end (3:13).

• Scenes of cosmic catastrophe were used by the OT Prophets as metaphorical depictions of spiritual and political upheaval. In a sense, the ultimate end of the world was prefigured on a smaller scale every time Yahweh laid waste to a wicked nation. Judgments on the ungodly are thus envisioned as world-shaking events, e.g., the destruction of Babylon (Is 13:9-13), the fall of Edom (Is 34:1-5), the overthrow of kingdoms (Hag 2:21-22), and the devastation of Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 4:23-28). Peter employs the same type of apocalyptic language used by the Prophets, only he foretells the end of the world as we know it on a truly cosmic scale.

• God delays the destruction of the world on account of Christians. Were it not so, the fire of judgment would come down and dissolve all things, just as in former times the flood left no survivor except Noah and his family. Thus we claim that there will be a conflagration (St. Justin Martyr, 2 Apology 7).