By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
As we think about global warming, ozone layer disappearing, carbon emissions, meteoric collisions, etc. it can lead to a panic thinking what is going to happen to our home? Well, first of all, believers need to rephrase that question because Earth isn't our home. We are citizens of Heaven and just visiting this planet as ambassadors for the King. But secondly, we don't need to wonder what's the future of Earth because Peter spells it out - it's going to be burnt up.
Being premillennial, I understand the future this way. Jesus will come in the clouds, sound the trumpet, the dead believers will rise and those believers that are alive will be caught up in the air and "raptured". We will be in Heaven at the great banquet/wedding feast of the lamb as the bride of Christ. Just like Jewish wedding feasts lasted a week, the feast will last 7 Earthly years and at the end of it, we will return with Christ to an Earth that has been ravaged by the Antichrist and the bowls of wrath of God's judgement on the Earth, and defeat Satan as he has rallied worldwide forces to fight Christ at His return. (Armageddon)
During those 7 years a number of people will choose to follow Christ, and those who weren't killed will be judged at the "Sheep and Goats" judgement along with unbelievers who remain and be joined with us who have been raptured and given Heavenly bodies on a recreated Earth that is more like the garden of Eden. Those people with earthly bodies who were saved during the tribulation will procreate and after a thousand years, even though Satan has been bound, Christ is on Earth ruling, will choose to follow Satan when he is released and rebel against Jesus.
I believe at that time we will all leave Earth and be taken to the gates of Heaven where Satan will be sent to the Lake of Fire along with all those whose names weren't in the Lamb's book of Life at the Great White Throne Judgement. While we are in Heaven, my understanding is that the Earth will be destroyed and a new one created. Matter, as we know it consists of atoms held together by an invisible force. Colossians says that Christ holds all things together. What if He decided to just let go? Would the Earth explode like a nuclear bomb or a ball of fire? And what if then He decided to create a new Earth with a whole different structure than atoms and molecules? Some kind of structure that our Heavenly bodies will be made of with whole different properties. We already know that we won't sleep, die, have pain, and Jesus passed through closed doors, so we get hints of different matter make up.
Anyway, that's my understanding and even though it's hard to fathom because we are in a period of time where everything goes on as it always has, there will come a time where it doesn't and God steps in and ends the status quo. Have you ever heard the statement "It's all going to burn"? This is where that comes from. Every time you buy something remember it's temporary. Don't make it your treasure. Don't stockpile a bunch of kindling. Store up treasures in Heaven that won't burn up.
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