Will the Earth Be Destroyed?/The Bible's answer

 Doesn't the Bible teach that the earth will be burned with fire? 

No, it does not. Such a misconception often comes from a misunderstanding of 2 Peter 3:7 which says: "The heavens and the earth that now exist are reserved for fire." Consider those two important points that help us understand the meaning of those words: 

1.The Bible uses the terms "heavens," "earth," and "fire" to refer to more than one thing. For example, Genesis 11:1 says: "All the earth continued to be of one language." Here "earth" refers to human society. 

2. The context of 2 Peter 3:7 indicates the meaning of the heavens, earth, and fire mentioned there. Verses 5 and 6 draw a parallel with the Flood of Noah's day. On that occasion, an ancient world was destroyed, yet our planet did not disappear. Instead, the flood wiped out a violent society, or "earth."  (Genesis 6:11) It also destroyed a kind of "heavens"-the people who ruled over that earthly society. Thus, wicked people were destroyed, not our planet. Noah and his family survived the destruction of that world and inhabited the earth after the Flood. - GENESIS 8:15-18. 

Similar to the waters of the Flood, the destruction, or "fire," of 2 Peter3:7 will bring an end to the world of wicked people, not to planet Earth. God promises "new heavens and a new earth" in which "righteousness is to dwell." (2 Peter 3:13) A "new earth," or new humans society, will be ruled over by "new heavens," or new leadership-God's Kingdom. Under the rule of that Kingdom, the earth will become a peaceful paradise. - REVELATION 21:1-4. 

Next time: Life in a Restored Paradise

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