Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Shocking News About End Times Prophecy

Shocking News About End Times Prophecy

Last updated on: January 19, 2018 at 8:58 pm by Keith Giles

Shocking News About End Times Prophecy 2018-01-19T20:58:47+00:00 Keith Giles

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image: Pixabay

“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.” (2 Peter 3:10)

There’s a lot of bad theology out there that frames scriptures like this one in a futurist light, as if what is being described here is some event that has never happened and still needs to occur before Christ returns. But this is the wrong way to read verses like this.

Why? Because the “Day of the Lord” was the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem that took place roughly forty years after Jesus predicted it would happen, in 70 AD.

If we read 2 Peter 3:10 with this in mind, we may also realize that the Old Heavens and the Old Earth have – metaphorically – already been destroyed and replaced with the New Heavens and New Earth.

For example, in John’s Revelation of Christ, we read about his vision of the “New Jerusalem” coming down from God out of heaven. This New Jerusalem is also called “The Bride of Christ” – which is the Church.

Notice what John says about this in Revelation 21:1-3:

**“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…**I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

What’s especially significant here is the last part of the verse where the voice proclaims that “God’s dwelling place is now among the people…” and that “They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

These promises are directly connected to the New Covenant, which Jesus proclaimed in the upper room with His disciples:

“This cup is the New Covenant in my blood…” (Luke 22:20)

What is the New Covenant? Most Christians are sadly unaware of this, but it’s essentially this:

“This is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 33:33-34)

So, if Jeremiah prophesied that this New Covenant would be proclaimed,

and if Jesus already announced it as coming “in his blood” in the upper room,

and if the terms of this New Covenant are that:

*God will put His law in our hearts

*God will be our God and we will be His people

*Everyone will now have access to knowing God personally

*God will forgive their sins and remember them no more

The bottom line is this: The New Covenant reality is here, right now, today.

What this means is that the prophecy in Revelation about God’s dwelling now being among men has come to pass. We are now the Temple of the Living God where He dwells within every one of us.

“For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (2 Cor. 6:18)

Notice that Paul here directly ties this statement about us being God’s temple with the fulfillment of the New Covenant promise “I will be their God and they will be my people.”

All of this is true, right now.

So, when Peter writes about the “Day of the Lord” coming when the old creation will be destroyed by fire and the new heavens and the new earth will be established, this is exactly what he is referring to: The end of the Old Covenant and the establishment of the New Covenant.

This is why Peter ends that statement by saying:

“…That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)

The good news is this: The old things have passed away. The new has come. As Paul puts it:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor. 5:17)

We are living, right now, today, in the New Heaven and the New Earth where God has made His dwelling among men and women.

Jesus wanted us to grasp this truth. This is why He told us:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)

More than this, this is exactly what Jesus meant when he said:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.“ (Matt. 5:17-18)

So, did Jesus fulfill the Law and the Prophets? Yes, he did. He completed his earthly mission to fulfill them both, as he confirms in his prayer to his father:

“ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” (John 17:4)

And as he confirms from the cross when he exclaims in a loud voice:

“It is accomplished!” (John 19:30)

Notice there were, not one, but two “untils” in Jesus’s statement about the passing away of the Law and the Prophets.

One that, “until heaven and earth pass away…” and a second: “until all is accomplished” and both are tied to the passing away of the Law and the Prophets.

So, if Jesus did accomplish his intended purpose to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, then they have passed away. This is what Paul and the author of Hebrews both confirm numerous times. (See Eph. 2:15; Rom. 10:4; 2 Cor. 3:7-11; Gal. 4:24-31; and Heb. 8:13)

But, notice also that if the Law and the Prophets have been accomplished, then Heaven and Earth may now also pass away. This, metaphorically, is what Peter and John and Paul are all referring to. Not to the literal destruction of the planet, but to the symbolic end of the Old Covenant and the coming of the New Covenant.

As John predicted in Revelation 21:1-3, the New Jerusalem has replaced the Old Jerusalem. This city is now composed of people who are in Christ. They are the Bride of Christ. They are the Temple where God now dwells. His home is now among us. He is our God. We are His people. We can all know Him directly, right now.

The Kingdom is here and it is wide open.

What are you waiting for?

Keith Giles is the author of “Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb” and the co-host of the Heretic Happy Hour podcast. He and his wife are part of a house church that gives away 100% of their offerings to the poor in their community. They live in Orange, CA with their two sons.

General Christian Topics

Previous Post

January 15, 2018

When America Celebrated George Washington's Godhood

Next Post

January 18, 2018 Answering Questions About the Old Covenant and the New Covenant

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Biblicism Christian Politics Cosmic Christ Deconstruction Discipleship Dispensationalism Divine Unity Ekklesia End Time Stuff Eschatology Evergreen Following Jesus Gender General Christian Topics Gnostics God's Love Gospel of Judas Gospel of Mary Gospel of Philip Gospel of the Kingdom Gospel of Thomas Gospel of Truth Hell Historical Jesus Inner Circle Investigative Reporting Islam LGBTQ Issues Marriage Mental/Emotional Health Mystery Non-Duality Philosophy Podcast Poetry Politics Poverty Preemptive Love Prophecy Psychology Quantum Theology Racism Reconstruction Satire Sex Technology Theology Uncategorized Universalism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the name "Abraham" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Father of many Blessed man Strong leader Shelter

Books by This Author Books by Keith Giles

See All Titles »