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.
the day.
Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joel 2:1,31 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; …
as a.
Matthew 24:42,43 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…
Luke 12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
in the which.
Psalm 102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
the elements.
2 Peter 3:12 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?
melt.
Psalm 46:6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Psalm 97:5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Amos 9:5,13 And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt…
the earth.
2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
The heavens will disappear with a roar,
The "heavens" here likely refer to the sky or the celestial realm, which in biblical cosmology is often seen as the abode of God and the angels. The "roar" suggests a cataclysmic event, possibly indicating the immense power and noise associated with the transformation or dissolution of the current order. This aligns with prophetic imagery found in Isaiah 34:4 and Revelation 6:14, where the heavens are described as being rolled up or vanishing.
the elements will be destroyed by fire,
The "elements" could refer to the basic components of the physical universe, such as earth, air, fire, and water, or possibly the heavenly bodies like the sun, moon, and stars. The destruction "by fire" is a common biblical motif for purification and judgment (e.g., Malachi 4:1, 1 Corinthians 3:13). Fire symbolizes God's holiness and the purging of sin, as seen in the refining process of metals. This imagery connects to the final judgment and the renewal of creation described in Revelation 21:1.
and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
The "earth and its works" refers to the physical world and human achievements, which will be exposed and judged by God. The phrase "laid bare" suggests a revealing or uncovering, indicating that nothing will be hidden from God's sight (Hebrews 4:13). This aligns with the theme of divine judgment where all deeds, good or evil, are brought to light (Ecclesiastes 12:14, 2 Corinthians 5:10). The ultimate purpose is to establish a new creation where righteousness dwells, as anticipated in Revelation 21:1-4.
• “But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:10a).
• The picture is of sudden, unanticipated arrival—no forewarning for the unprepared. Jesus used the same image in Matthew 24:43–44; Paul echoed it in 1 Thessalonians 5:2.
• God’s timetable is exact (Acts 1:7). Because the moment is unknown, believers live alertly (Mark 13:35–37), resting in the certainty that the promise will literally be fulfilled.
• “The heavens will disappear with a roar” (2 Peter 3:10b).
• This is a literal cosmic upheaval: the present heavens—sun, moon, stars, space itself—will vanish in a dramatic, audible collapse. Isaiah 34:4 foretold, “All the stars of heaven will be dissolved.” John saw a similar scene: “The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up” (Revelation 6:14).
• The “roar” underscores overwhelming power; the God who spoke creation into existence (Genesis 1) will speak it out of existence to make room for the new (Revelation 21:1).
• “The elements will be destroyed by fire” (2 Peter 3:10c).
• “Elements” refers to the basic building blocks of the physical universe. Peter already said, “The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire” (2 Peter 3:7). Malachi 4:1 describes a day “burning like a furnace.”
• Fire here is literal and purifying, not merely symbolic. It serves both judgment and renewal, paralleling how God once cleansed the world by water (Genesis 7) and will next cleanse it by flame.
• “The earth and its works will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:10d).
• Every structure, achievement, and hidden deed will be exposed. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.”
• For unbelievers, this unveiling means judgment (Revelation 20:12–13). For believers, it means testing and reward (1 Corinthians 3:13–15).
• Knowing this motivates holy conduct: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?” (2 Peter 3:11).
Peter assures readers that a literal, decisive Day of the Lord is coming—sudden as a thief, cosmic in scope, fiery in judgment, and exposing every work. Because God’s word is sure, we anchor our hope in His promise of new heavens and a new earth and pursue lives of watchfulness, purity, and obedience while we wait.
(10) The certainty and possible nearness of Christ's coming is the basis of the preceding warning and of the exhortations which follow.As a thief in the night.--Suddenly and without warning. The words are an echo of Matthew 24:43, a saying which St. Peter certainly heard (Mark 13:3), or possibly of 1Thessalonians 5:2, which may easily be included in the Epistles referred to below in 2Peter 3:16. The words "in the night" are here wanting in authority.
The heavens shall pass away.--Again an apparent reminiscence of the discourse in Matthew 24 (where comp. Matthew 24:35)--the third such reminiscence in this chapter (see preceding Note, and on 2Peter 3:7). This repeated reproduction of words and ideas from one of the most impressive of Christ's discourses, which only St. Peter and three others seem to have heard, may fairly be added to the evidence in favour of the authenticity of the Epistle. . . .
Verse 10. - But the day of the Lord will come. The word ἥξει, will come, stands emphatically at the beginning of the clause; whatever the mockers may say, whatever may happen, come certainly will the day of the Lord. "The day of the Lord" meets us often in the prophets; it is usually associated with the thought of judgment (see Isaiah 2:12; Ezekiel 13:5; Joel 1:15; Malachi 3:2). In the New Testament it signifies the second advent of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:2). As a thief in the night. The best manuscripts omit here "in the night." St. Peter is evidently echoing the Lord's words in that great prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives, which must have made such a deep impression upon the apostles. This illustration of the sudden coming of the thief is repeated not only by St. Peter here, but also by St. Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:2), and twice by St. John (Revelation 3:3 and Revelation 16:15). In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The Greek for "with a great noise (ῤοιζηδόν)" occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is one of those remarkable poetic forms which are not unfrequent in this Epistle: the noun ῤοῖζος is used of the whizzing of arrows, of the rush of wings, of the sound of mighty winds or roaring waters. It may be understood here of the crash of a falling world or of the roar of the destroying flames. The word rendered "pass away" is that used by our Lord in the prophecy just referred to (Matthew 24:35; also in Matthew 5:18 and in Luke 16:17). And the elements shall melt with fervent heat. It is uncertain whether by "the elements" (στοιχεῖα) St. Peter means the four elements (in the old and popular use of the word), or the great constituent parts of the universe, the heavenly bodies. Against the first view is the assertion that one of those elements is to be the agent of destruction. But the word rendered "melt" means "shall be dissolved" or "loosed;" and it may be, as Bishop Wordsworth says, that "St. Peter's meaning seems to be that the στοιχεῖα, elements or rudiments, of which the universe is composed and compacted, will be loosed; that is, the framework of the world will be disorganized; and this is the sense of στοιχεῖα in the LXX. (Wisd. 7:17 Wisd. 19:17) and in Hippolytus, 'Philos.,' pages 219, 318. The dissolution is contrasted with the consistency described by the word συνεστῶσα in verse 5. The heavens are reserved for fire, and will pass away with a rushing noise, and, being set on fire, will be dissolved; the elements will be on fire and melt, and he reduced to a state of confusion; the earth and the works therein will be burnt up. There does not seem, therefore, to be any cause for abandoning the common meaning of στοιχεῖα, the elemental principles of which the universe is made." On the other hand, the word στοιχεῖα is certainly used of the heavenly bodies by Justin Martyr ('Apolog.,' 2. c. 5, and 'Dial. cum Tryphon,' c. 23); and the heavenly bodies are constantly mentioned in the descriptions of the awful convulsions of the great day (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:12, etc.). The objection that the word does not bear this meaning elsewhere in Holy Scripture is of little weight, as this is the only place in which it has a physical sense. The literal translation of the clause is, "The elements, being scorched, shall be dissolved." The word for "being scorched" (καυσούμενα) occurs in the New Testament only here and in verse 12; it is used by the Greek physicians of the burning heat of fever. The verb λυθήσεται means "shall be dissolved or loosened." The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. By "the works that are therein" St. Peter seems to mean all the works both of God and of man, "opera naturae et artis" (Bengel). There is a very remarkable reading here (supported by the Sinaitic and Vatican and another uncial manuscript), εὑρεθήσεται, "shall be discovered," instead of κατακαήσεται, "shall be burned up." If we understand "the works that are therein" of man's works and actions, this reading will give a good sense (comp. 1 Corinthians 3:13, "Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is"). Or the clause may be regarded as interrogative, "Shall the earth and the works that are therein be found?" But the reading, "shall be burned up" is well supported, and suits the context best.