There are a relatively small number of people nowadays who do believe that the world is going to be destroyed one day. But they don’t believe it in the context of the coming of the Lord Jesus. They believe it in the context of some kind of disastrous, accidental self-destruction of the world as a result of environmental concerns.
Now, we don’t set aside all environmental concerns that people raise—and we do seek to be good stewards of this earth—we need to know that even those who are campaigning for us to be made aware of the imminent destruction of this world as a result of climate change are still doing what Peter is talking about here because they’re avoiding the essential detail in all this, which is the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to return. That’s what they lack. This world is not going to be destroyed by some accident of self-destruction, but rather this world is going to be destroyed by a very deliberate act on the part of the Lord Jesus Christ…
The present heavens and earth—verse 7—are reserved for fire. There is a deliberate preparation being made; there will be a day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. So, whoever you are—whether you’re a climate change obsessive or a climate change sceptic—if you’re not thinking about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have missed the point.
Remember, this kind of thing has happened before. If you want to read about what it will be like, then read chapters 6 to 9 of Genesis. The world was destroyed by water, and it will be destroyed by fire.
