When "Destruction" is not Destruction

I have written in the past that I thought 2 Peter 3:12, “the elements will melt with a fervent heat,” was a prediction of a massive explosion as the elements loosed their nuclear bonds. I thought if Christ “holds all things together,” when He lets go, there will be universal release of energy: BOOM! Peter mentions this event in his discussion of the end of this world and the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. Recently, a friend asked me about this verse, so I looked at it in the original Greek. I was surprised at what I found.

First, as always, I looked at the larger context of the verse. Peter is responding to “scoffers” who were denying that Jesus would return. Their argument was that nothing had changed since the creation of the world. Peter points out that God made a major change when He flooded the earth with water. The Greek word he used for “destroyed” and “destruction” in verses six and seven means “not extinction but ruin; loss, not of being, but of wellbeing” according to Vine’s Dictionary. The planet was not destroyed; it was cleansed of the ungodly people. Peter says that the coming “destruction” in the last day will be for a similar purpose: to remove the ungodly.

We sometimes use “destroy” this way in modern English. We might say that a person who suffers a tragic emotional loss is destroyed. Obviously, we don’t mean they died; they were crushed in spirit. Similarly, a team that wins a massive victory is said to have destroyed their opponent. This type of usage follows what Vine’s says is “loss of well-being,” not utter destruction.

After the comforting thought that God is delaying the last day because He “does not want any to perish,” Peter warns his readers that there will be no warning when the day does finally come; it will sneak up like a thief. Peter’s first note is that “the heavens will disappear with a rushing noise.” In Peter’s first century understanding of the cosmos, “heavens” would mean what we call the atmosphere and possibly outer space. His usage of “disappear” could be translated as “swept aside.” Whoosh! The reason they are swept aside or averted or neglected (literal Greek) is explained by Peter a couple verses later.

Peter’s next phrase is where the real surprise comes. “The celestial bodies will be destroyed being burned up.” (LEB) Most translations say “the elements” will be destroyed. The Greek word Peter used is stoichion (στοιχει̂ον). Using “elements” in this case is another incidence of the English word not clearly translating the Greek thought. Of the seventeen Bible versions I have on my computer, only the LEB translates the word correctly. Stoichion means elemental in the sense of first principles. The LEB correctly uses “celestial bodies” because Peter’s audience would have thought of elemental spirits when they read stoichion. As the chart below shows, other occurrences of this word in the New Testament most often follow the LEB.

Vine’s Dictionary says stoichion refers to “the delusive speculations of Gentile cults and of Jewish theories, treated as elementary principles, “the rudiments of the world,” and spoken of as “philosophy and vain deceit.” (Colossians. 2:8 KJV) This clearly has nothing to do with the “elements” of the periodic table as I used to think. Vine’s Dictionary continues by explaining, “[stoichion] were presented as superior to faith in Christ; at Colosse the worship of angels, mentioned in [Col 2:18], is explicable by the supposition, held by both Jews and Gentiles in that district, that the constellations were either themselves animated heavenly beings, or were governed by them.” This makes it plain that the things being “swept away” are not planets, moons, and stars, but spirit beings who were thought to hold sway over circumstances on earth.

The next thing in Peter’s chronology of the Day of the Lord is “the earth and the deeds done on it will be disclosed.” This is his first mention of things on earth, and it does not say earth will be destroyed. It seems that with the “elemental spirits” having been “swept away,” the machinations and motivations of the people on earth will be revealed or “found out by inquiry” according to Vine’s Dictionary. That leads Peter to advise that those who are believers ought to be living holy, godly lives as they wait for the day of God. Since it comes without warning, there won’t be time to straighten things up ahead of time. The Apostle Paul seems to be referring to the same thing when he tells the Corinthians that their works will be revealed by fire on the day of judgment.

Then in verses twelve and thirteen, Peter explains why the celestial bodies, the elemental spirits are going to be swept away. He uses different terms but makes the same point as he did in verse ten. He says the result of the heavens being burned up is the celestial bodies melting (τήκω). Imagine the sun thawing an icy body. It would have been obvious to Peter’s readers that the elemental spirits (stoichion) are opposed to God, and He must get them out of the way so He can renew the heavens and the earth

The new heavens and earth are not just “new” in the sense of later in time. They are of an entirely new type (καινός). In one sense, they are not new but are of an older type: they are the same as God created them in the beginning. Peter says they will be a place where righteousness makes its home (κατοικέω). This is another way of saying that the evil “god of this age” who led the “elemental spirits” will have been swept off his throne, and the rightful king will take his place. All the beautiful imagery of the prophecies concerning God’s kingdom on earth will be fulfilled. The lion will dwell with the lamb; swords will be beaten into plowshares; pain and sorrow will be no more.

Peter’s fiery imagery is reminiscent of the Old Testament passages alluding to God’s ultimate judgment of His creation. As Peter reminds us, God did judge the entire world once before using water. God promised never to do that again, but He did say He would execute judgment once and for all using fire as a metaphor. Even though the earth is not doomed to destruction as I had thought, there is power Peter’s proclamation: judgment is coming; get straight or get burned.

Related Posts: And the Light was Good; The Patience of God