Elements Melting & Dissolving
"10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (II Peter 3: 10-13 )
In the last chapter we began to answer the first question on our list of questions regarding the passing away of the heavens and earth and the creating of new heavens and earth and that question was - "How will they be destroyed?" In the last chapter we focused primarily on the prophecy of the apostle Peter from his second epistle, third chapter, where he describes the manner of destruction or passing away.
The earth was born or created out of water, was immersed in water (via the Flood), and will yet be immersed in fire. This is essentially what Peter says in his third chapter of his second epistle.
In the above texts, the presence of the Lord in the time of the day of wrath and judgment, and in the day of perdition and destruction of lawless men, in the day when Christ returns, brings about destruction by fire. It is a fire arising from God's presence being fully manifested on earth, particularly as a "consuming fire," a fire that burns up the wicked and the works of men, yet does not harm those sheltered by the Lord. Recall the verse we cited in the previous chapter:
"The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel 3: 16)
So, in the days and years that make up "the great tribulation," or "the day of wrath," or in the days when the world is on fire, or when the tares (weeds, representing all the unrepentant wicked sinners of that period of time, as we saw in earlier chapters) are burned in the fire, and heavens and earth are mightily shaken, and when the noise of battle between God and Satan (including their followers and agents) is loudest and near its end, some will be sheltered and kept from the destruction, and this would include living believers who are caught up into the sky with resurrected bodies of saints, and those few remaining peoples who were not destroyed by the judgments of that great day. These few will have been sheltered or otherwise preserved in their physical lives and these will be separated when Christ sits on the throne of his glory on earth in Jerusalem. Some of them will be judged to be goat nations and rejected from entering the millennial kingdom of Christ, while others will be judged to be sheep nations and blessed and chosen to enter into the millennial kingdom. These people are "the nations" that we read about who enter the millennial kingdom and are ruled over by the glorified redeemed who have immortality and spiritual bodies. In previous chapters we focused on showing forth these things.
Consider also that if God plans to have the whole planet on fire, as if it were in a furnace, then people on it must be removed safely from it while it burns or be sheltered in the fire in some manner. How were the few (or remnant of humanity), "the nations" who remain after the destruction of the day of wrath, and are judged as being sheep nations, sheltered from the fires of the day of the Lord?
Consider also the fact that the rapture of living believers, occurring in conjunction with the resurrection of the bodies of the righteous dead, occurs at the sounding of "the last trump" or the last of the seven trumpets of the Apocalypse, and therefore near the end of the time of the great tribulation and day of wrath. So, unless the Lord shelter them (as he did for the Israelites who were Egypt when the plagues were sent upon the Egyptians by Jehovah) so that they are not harmed by the fires, earth quakes, and other destructions ordained by God, "the Judge of all" (Heb. 12: 23; et als), for that last evil generation of our planet and race.
Let us discern what is meant by "the elements," and heaven and earth, being "burned up" and made to "melt with fervent heat" and being "dissolved."
The Greek word for "elements" is stoicheion and is used twice by Peter in the above text, and twice by Paul in Galatians chapter four. To summarize W.E. Vine, James Strong, Thayer, and other Greek word scholars, the word denotes the basic or fundamental parts of a composite whole, particularly like a foundation (because it is a part of the whole and what part must precede in existence the other parts), so that I can translate as "building blocks" or as "component parts" or other such manner. Twice in Colossians Paul uses that word and it is translated by the word "rudiments" in the KJV. (Col. 2: 8, 20). It is also in the same translation translated as "first principles" in Hebrews 5: 12.
The question is whether the melting of the elements denotes melting of the physical elements (as listed on the periodic table, being now about 118 elements). So, is this a prophecy of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, etc., melting? If so, what is the effect of this melting? Are all the elements made into one? How will any person survive? Could it be like a lava flow?
As we know, a lava flow melts everything as it moves along. We see this happen regularly to those who live in Hawaiian islands or in Iceland. If people survive the end time lava flow of the destruction of the present heavens and earth, they will have to hope it does not cover the globe all at once, or the Lord provides a shelter, so that people can stay ahead of it until parts of it cool. We see this kind of literal lava flow mentioned prophetically by Isaiah the prophet.
"Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence." (Isa. 64: 1-3 kjv)
One of the similes for this "melting" of the heavens and earth is the melting of wax. Wax generally or normally takes time to fully melt. It is rarely melted by cremation.
In the previous chapter we cited from Micah chapter four where this melting at the presence of the Lord is also mentioned. There it is written:
"behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up." (4: 1)
In chapter one Micah writes these words: "And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place." (1: 4 ESV)
We also cited from Isaiah chapter sixty four, verses 1-4, where this scene is also described. Also, consider again this verse from Nahum the prophet that we cited in the previous chapter:
"God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry." (Nahum 1: 2-10 kjv) (See also Psalm 97: 5 that we also previously cited)
Melting not only takes time, but it doesn't annihilate substance. It changes its form. It breaks apart compounds (made up of chemical bonds). You break apart the elements of water, disconnecting the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen from each other, and they no longer exist as parts of water molecules.
"Shall melt" is used twice by Peter and they are not translated from the same word. The first instance is from the Greek word "λύω lýō" and the second is from "τήκω tḗkō."
The KJV translates the former in the following manner: loose (27x), break (5x), unloose (3x), destroy (2x), dissolve (2x), put off (1x), melt (1x), break up (1x), break down (1x).
It translates the latter in the following manner it as "melt" for it is only used once in the new testament. Melt is the best English word to convey the meaning.
Wrote Dr. J.A. Seiss in "The Apocalypse" (See here - LECTURE XLVIII. CHAP. 21:1-8. pg. 371):
"The dissolving of which Peter is made to speak, is really a deliverance rather than a destruction. The word he uses is the same which the Saviour employs where he says of the colt, "Loose him" and of Lazarus 'when he came forth with his death-wrappings, "Loose him, and let him go;" and of the four angels bound at the Euphrates, "Loose them;" and of the Devil, "He must be loosed a little season." It is the same word which John the Baptist used when he spoke of his unworthiness to unloose the Saviour's shoestrings, and which Paul used when he spoke of being "loosed from a wife." It is simply absurd to attempt to build a doctrine of annihilation on a word which admits of such applications. The teaching of the Scriptures is, that the creation is at present in a state of captivity, tied down, bound, "not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope;" and the dissolving of all these things, of which Peter speaks, is not the destruction of them, but the breaking of their bonds, the loosing of them, the setting of them free again to become what they were originally meant to be, their deliverance. (Compare Romans 8 : 19-23.)"
The dissolving is actually both a deliverance and a destruction, just as the day of the Lord is good for the saved peoples of earth but bad for the unsaved peoples (as we have seen).
"Dissolved" is not a good translation. Other translations use the word "destroyed" instead of "dissolved." But, though it is not often translated as "unloosed," that is the better translation. In fact, "loose" or "unloose" are the predominant words chosen to convey the meaning of the Greek word, being used thirty times, while the word "dissolve" is only used twice. This is one of the problems with the KJV version.
So, what is the effect of unloosing or breaking apart of the elements (or building blocks) of the cosmos? I see mainly destruction as the effect, and not salvation, although the cleansing of the planet by fire could be a means in its salvation.
Since the word "elements" (stoicheion) carries the idea of fundamental building blocks (or parts), so it seems most appropriate that their "dissolving" would be a "breaking apart," an "unloosing" of things bound together, and this being so, it means the opposite of what is meant when the scriptures say that by the Son of God "all things consist." (Col. 1: 17) The Greek word for "consist" is "synistēmi" and means, as many bible teachers also affirm, that Christ holds all things together, including every atom or particle of the cosmos.
Fire, fervent heat, burning up the heavens and earth, and melting of elements and mountains, are all means whereby the heavens and earth which are now are "purged." Fire is a cleanser or purifier. So, it can be at the same time a means for salvation (purification or riddance of what is bad) and a means of destruction. To destroy the bad leaves only the good.
Notice also from the above text in Isaiah chapter sixty four (cited above) that the coming down of the Lord's presence has several effects on the heavens and earth. There is the "rending" of "the heavens" and the burning, melting, and quaking of the earth and everything upon it.
So, in conclusion we affirm these things about the destruction of the heavens and earth that Peter foretold would occur at the end of this present evil age and of the coming new heavens and earth:
1. The destruction is not a total annihilation of the substance or essence of physical things but a drastic alteration of them, being made new, although there is an annihilation of previous form and characteristics.
2. The Millennial age of the kingdom will enjoy a partial fulfillment of being the promised new heavens and earth foretold by the prophets and apostles.
3. The "ages of the ages" that follow the Millennial age of the kingdom will be the complete or superlative fulfillment of the promised new heavens and earth.
4. The passing away of the present heavens and earth takes place in the years spanning the day of the Lord, as described in the Book of Revelation and in other prophecies we have cited, and does not occur in an instant.
5. Deliverance as well as destruction for the whole creation (heavens and earth), for the cosmos, is realized by the ending of the present age and the start of the next thousand year age.
Now, in closing this chapter, let us review the "Questions" introduced in chapter 46.
1. When will the present heavens and earth be destroyed, perish, or end?
2. How will they be destroyed?
3. When will the new heavens and earth be created?
4. What will be new about the new heavens and earth?
5. Is the Millennial Kingdom age the prophesied new heavens and earth?
6. Why is John's new heavens and earth different than Isaiah's?
7. Does Peter see the Millennial age as the new heavens and earth?
8. Who are "the nations" of the Millennium or of the new heavens and earth?
9. Where will the resurrected children of God live in the new heavens and earth?
10. How will they be involved with the ongoing human race?
We have answered questions numbered 1-3, 5, 7, 8; And we have partially answered question number 4, 6; We have not yet focused on addressing questions number 9-10.
Think of all the good that will come when all the toxic waste is annihilated by the melting! Including all the garbage, junk yards, etc.! Recall that the purpose of both the shaking of heavens and earth and the burning of them is to remove things that can be destroyed by earth shaking, and things that can be consumed by fire and heat, so that what is immovable and imperishable only remains.
How do the animals survive? We have queried that in regard to any humans on earth when the earth is melting and the heavens and earth are breaking apart, becoming out of joint or place. God provided an ark of salvation (including deliverance and preservation) for the few who entered the ark, and that included both humans and animals. But, we will discuss these things more in upcoming chapters.
"Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven,
when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble.
The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts,
so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."
(Malachi 4: 1)
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