The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).

Dive into the NTTC analysis of 2 Peter 3:7, 10, as we unravel whether God will destroy the Earth by fire. This article provides an in-depth textual commentary, looking at manuscript evidence and symbolic interpretation, to address the profound question concerning God’s judgment and the fate of the Earth.

Major Critical Texts of the New Testament

Byz RP: 2005 Byzantine Greek New Testament, Robinson & Pierpont
TR1550: 1550 Stephanus New Testament
Maj: The Majority Text (thousands of minuscules that display a similar text)
Gries: 1774-1775 Johann Jakob Griesbach Greek New Testament
Treg: 1857-1879 Samuel Prideaux Tregelles Greek New Testament
Tisch: 1872 Tischendorf’s Greek New Testament
WH: 1881 Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament
NA28: 2012 Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament
UBS5: 2014 Greek New Testament
NU: Both Nestle-Aland and the United Bible Society
SBLGNT: 2010 Greek New Testament ()
THGNT: 2017 The Greek New Testament by Tyndale House
GENTI: 2020 Greek-English New Testament Interlinear

2 PETER 3:10 2019 Greek-English New Testament Interlinear (GENTI) [BRD]
10 ἭξειWill come δὲbut ἡμέραday Κυρίουof Lord ὡςas κλέπτης,thief, ἐνin ᾗwhich οἱthe οὐρανοὶheavens ῥοιζηδὸνwith rushing noise παρελεύσονται,will go beside, στοιχεῖαelements δὲbut καυσούμεναbeing burned up λυθήσεται,will be loosed, καὶand γῆearth καὶand τὰthe ἐνin αὐτῇit ἔργαworks εὑρεθήσεται.will be found.

2 PETER 3:10 1550 Stephanus Greek New Testament (TR)
10 ἭξειWill come δὲbut ἡμέραday Κυρίουof Lord ὡςas κλέπτης,thief, ἐνin ᾗwhich οἱthe οὐρανοὶheavens ῥοιζηδὸνwith rushing noise παρελεύσονται,will go beside, στοιχεῖαelements δὲbut καυσούμεναbeing burned up λυθήσεται,will be loosed, καὶand γῆearth καὶand τὰthe ἐνin αὐτῇit ἔργαworks κατακαησεται.will be burned up.

Will God himself destroy the earth by fire?

2 Peter 3:7, 10 King James Version (KJV)

⁷But 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 [destruction] of ungodly men. ¹⁰But 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. [katakaesetai]

2 Peter 3:7, 10 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

⁷But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and its works will be exposed. [heurethesetai]

WH NU GENTI καὶ γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔργα εὑρεθήσεται
“and the earth and the works in it will be found out”
א B K P 424^c 0156^vid 1175 1739^txt 1852 syr^ph, arm Origen.

Variant 1/TR και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα κατακαησεται
“and the earth and the works in it will be burned up”
A 048 33 1739

Variant 2 και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα αφανισθησονται
“and the earth and the works in it will disappear”
C

Variant 3 και γη και τα εν αυτη εργα ευρεθησεται λυομενα
“and the earth and the works in it will be found destroyed”
P⁷²

Variant 4 omit
Ψ 1891 vg^mss

The oldest reading that has the best manuscript support, which also best explains the rise of the others is εὑρεθήσεται [will be exposed/discovered], which is attested by א B K P 424^c 0156^vid 1175 1739^txt 1852 syr^ph, arm Origen. Variants 1-4 are scribes making an attempt at clarifying what they feel to be a difficult text, wherein Peter is telling us what will happen to the earth when God Judges the ungodly people.

The Verse Must Agree with the Immediate Context and the Entire Bible

If 2 Peter 3:7, 10 means that the literal planet Earth is going to be destroyed by fire, then the literal heavens (the stars and planets) will also be destroyed by fire. Such a literal view, however, is in conflict with the other Bible verses above. Furthermore, what kind of effect would fire have on the stars? Therefore, “earth” has to be understood in a non-literal way.

When we look at Genesis 11:1, 1 Kings 2:1-2, 1 Chronicles 16:31, Psalm 96:1, and many other verses, “earth” refers to humankind figuratively. We find this to be so here when we look at the context. 2 Peter 2:5, 9; 3:5-6 is dealing with former destruction, the flood of Noah’s day. However, what we see is wicked, ungodly men being destroyed along with the wicked Nephilim, not the earth. Furthermore, 2 Peter 3:7 says that the destruction will be of the “ungodly men.” The meaning of “the earth” is a reference to wicked humanity. This fully agrees with the rest of Scripture. In other words, a symbolic “earth,” or wicked humanity, will be “discovered.”

Easier-To-Understand

Below is the textual commentary on 2 Peter 3:7, 10 using the Updated American Standard Version (UASV), taking into consideration the given manuscript evidence and the context of the passage.

2 Peter 3:7, 10 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

Verse 7: “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

Verse 10: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and its works will be exposed. [heurethesetai]”

Verse 7 Commentary

The text speaks of the heavens and the earth being stored up for fire, reserved for the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. The metaphorical language points to a divine, apocalyptic judgment that will be administered by God. The imagery of fire is symbolic of cleansing and judgment rather than a literal fire that would consume the physical heavens and earth.

Verse 10 Commentary

In this verse, the day of the Lord is described as coming unexpectedly, like a thief. There is an emphasis on the suddenness and inevitability of this event.

The reading “the earth and its works will be exposed” [εὑρεθήσεται] is supported by the oldest manuscripts such as א B K P 424c 0156vid 1175 1739txt 1852 syrph, arm Origen, and is in line with the documentary approach to New Testament textual criticism. This reading appears to be original and is likely to have given rise to the other variants as attempts to clarify the text.

The three different variants mentioned likely arose from scribal attempts to elucidate the meaning of this complex passage.

WH NA UBS: “and the earth and the works in it will be found out”
Variant 1/TR: “and the earth and the works in it will be burned up”
Variant 2: “and the earth and the works in it will disappear”
Variant 3: omits the phrase altogether.

The textual evidence strongly supports εὑρεθήσεται [heurethesetai] (“will be discovered” or “will be found out”) as the original reading, aligning with the documentary approach. The other readings seem to be later clarifications, reflecting different interpretations of what would happen to the earth and its works.

Given the context and the broader scope of Scripture, the language here is not to be understood literally, as in the physical destruction of the planet Earth. Rather, the emphasis is on the destruction of wickedness and ungodliness within human society. The use of “earth” can be understood as symbolic for wicked humanity, as found elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Genesis 11:1; 1 Kings 2:1-2; 1 Chronicles 16:31; Psalm 96:1).

The passage is thus harmonious with the broader biblical message and serves as a stark warning about the coming judgment of God on the ungodly, highlighting the urgency and importance of righteousness and godliness in the present age.

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY: New Heavens and New Earth?

New Heavens and New Earth. The biblical doctrine of the created universe includes the certainty of its final redemption from the domination of sin. The finally redeemed universe is called “the new heavens and new earth.”

In the OT, the kingdom of God is usually described in terms of a redeemed earth; this is especially clear in the book of Isaiah, where the final state of the universe is already called new heavens and a new earth (65:17; 66:22). The nature of this renewal was perceived only very dimly by the OT authors, but they did express the belief that a human’s ultimate destiny is an earthly one. This vision is clarified in the NT. Jesus speaks of the “renewal” of the world (Matt. 19:28), Peter of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). Paul writes that the universe will be redeemed by God from its current state of bondage (Rom. 8:18–21). This is confirmed by Peter, who describes the new heavens and the new earth as characterized by righteousness and as the Christian’s hope (2 Pet. 3:13). Finally, the book of Revelation includes a glorious vision of the end of the present universe and of the creation of a new universe, full of righteousness and of the presence of God. The vision is confirmed by God in the awesome declaration: “I am making everything new!” (Rev. 21:1–8).

The new heavens and the new earth will be the renewed creation that will fulfill the purpose for which God created the universe. It will be characterized by the complete rule of God and by the full realization of the final goal of redemption: “Now the dwelling of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3).

The fact that the universe will be created anew shows that God’s goal for humans is not an ethereal and disembodied existence but a bodily existence on a perfected earth. The scene of the beatific vision is the new earth. The spiritual does not exclude the created order and will be fully realized only within a perfected creation.

It has been usual to discuss whether the new heavens and new earth will involve a renewal of the present universe or a complete destruction followed by re-creation ex nihilo. Both views have ardent proponents, the Reformed tradition favoring renewal and the Lutheran tradition favoring re-creation. Both views seem to have adequate biblical support (e.g., for renewal, Matt. 19:28; Acts 3:21; Rom. 8:18–21; for re-creation, 2 Pet. 3:7–13). The best view seems to be that there is both continuity and discontinuity; the universe will be renewed, but this transformation will be so complete as to introduce a radically new order of existence.

The above is by F. Q. Gouvea

Heavenly Hope

Revelation 14:1-4 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

14 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. ³And they sang a new song[28] before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. ⁴These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

The whole of chapter 14 is proleptic. As a summary of the Millennium (20:4–6), the first five verses feature the Lamb in place of the beast, the Lamb’s followers with His and the Father’s seal in place of the beast’s followers with the mark of the beast, and the divinely controlled Mount Zion in place of the pagan-controlled earth (Alford, Moffatt, Kiddle).^[12]

Revelation 7:4 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁴And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

Various efforts have sought to determine the significance of the number 144,000. An understanding of the number as symbolical divides it into three of its multiplicands, 12 × 12 × 1000. From the symbolism of the three it is concluded that the number indicates fixedness and fullest completeness.^[13] Twelve, a number of the tribes, is both squared and multiplied by a thousand. This is a twofold way of emphasizing completeness (Mounce). It thus affirms the full number of God’s people to be brought through tribulation (Ladd). The symbolic approach points out the impossibility of taking the number literally. It is simply a vast number, less than a number indefinitely great (cf. 7:9), but greater than a large number designedly finite (e.g., 1,000, Rev. 20:2) (Lee). Other occurrences of the numerical components that are supposedly symbolic are also pointed out, 12 thousand in Rev. 21:16, 12 in Rev. 22:2, and 24, a multiple of 12, in Rev. 4:4. This is done to enhance the case for symbolism (Johnson). Though admittedly ingenious, the case for symbolism is exegetically weak. The principal reason for the view is a predisposition to make the 144,000 into a group representative of the church with which no possible numerical connection exists. No justification can be found for understanding the simple statement of fact in v. 4 as a figure of speech. It is a definite number in contrast with the indefinite number of 7:9. If it is taken symbolically, no number in the book can be taken literally. As God reserved 7,000 in the days of Ahab (1 Kings 19:18; Rom. 11:4), He will reserve 144,000 for Himself during the future Great Tribulation.^[14] (Thomas, Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary 1992, 473-74)

These ones are made up of those under the new covenant, the Law of Christ, those called out of natural Israel, and the new Israelites, also known as the Israel of God. They are a chosen number that is to reign with Jesus as kings, priests, and judges. Therefore, we ask, what is the other hope?

The New Earth: The Earthly Hope

In the O[ld] T[estament] the kingdom of God is usually described in terms of a redeemed earth; this is especially clear in the book of Isaiah, where the final state of the universe is already called new heavens and a new earth (65:17; 66:22) The nature of this renewal was perceived only very dimly by OT authors, but they did express the belief that a humans ultimate destiny is an earthly one.^[15] This vision is clarified in the N[ew] T[estament]. Jesus speaks of the “renewal” of the world (Matt 19:28), Peter of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). Paul writes that the universe will be redeemed by God from its current state of bondage (Rom. 8:18-21). This is confirmed by Peter, who describes the new heavens and the new earth as the Christian’s hope (2 Pet. 3:13). Finally, the book of Revelation includes a glorious vision of the end of the present universe and the creation of a new universe, full of righteousness and the presence of God. The vision is confirmed by God in the awesome declaration: “I am making everything new!” (Rev. 21:1-8)

The fact that the universe will be created anew^[16] shows that God’s goals for humans is not an ethereal and disembodied existence, but a bodily existence on a perfected earth. The scene of the beatific vision is the new earth. The spiritual does not exclude the created order and will be fully realized only within a perfected creation. (Elwell 2001, 828-29)

What have we learned so far in this publication? God created the earth to be inhabited, to be filled with perfect humans, who are over the animals, and under the sovereignty of God. (Gen 1:28; 2:8, 15; Ps 104:5; 115:16; Eccl 1:4) Sin did not dissuade God from his plans (Isa. 45:18); hence, he has saved redeemable humankind by Jesus’ ransom sacrifice. It seems that the Bible offers two hopes to redeemed humans, (1) a heavenly hope, or (2) an earthly hope. It also seems that those with heavenly hope are limited in number and are going to heaven to rule with Christ as kings, priests, and judges either on the earth or over the earth from heaven. It seems that those with earthly hope will receive eternal life here on a paradise earth as originally intended.

Variant Reading(s): differing versions of a word or phrase found in two or more manuscripts within a variation unit (see below). Variant readings are also called alternate readings.

Variation Unit: any portion of text that exhibits variations in its reading between two or more different manuscripts. It is important to distinguish variation units from variant readings. Variation units are the places in the text where manuscripts disagree, and each variation unit has at least two variant readings. Setting the limits and range of a variation unit is sometimes difficult or even controversial because some variant readings affect others nearby. Such variations may be considered individually or as elements of a single reading. One should also note that the terms “manuscript” and “witness” may appear to be used interchangeably in this context. Strictly speaking “witness” (see below) will only refer to the content of a given manuscript or fragment, which it predates to a greater or lesser extent. However, the only way to reference the “witness” is by referring to the manuscript or fragment that contains it. In this book, we have sometimes used the terminology “witness of x or y manuscript” to distinguish the content in this way.

TERMS AS TO HOW WE SHOULD OBJECTIVELY VIEW THE DEGREE OF CERTAINTY FOR THE READING ACCEPTED AS THE ORIGINAL

The modal verbs are might have been (30%), may have been (40%), could have been (55%), would have been (80%), must have been (95%), which are used to show that we believe the originality of a reading is certain, probable or possible.

The letter [WP] stands for Weak Possibility (30%), which indicates that this is a low-level proof that the reading might have been original in that it is enough evidence to accept that the variant might have been possible, but it is improbable. We can say the reading might have been original, as there is some evidence that is derived from manuscripts that carry very little weight, early versions, or patristic quotations.

The letter [P] stands for Plausible (40%), which indicates that this is a low-level proof that the reading may have been original in that it is enough to accept a variant to be original and we have enough evidence for our belief. The reading may have been original but it is not probably so.

The letter [PE] stands for Preponderance of Evidence (55%), which indicates that this is a higher-level proof that the reading could have been original in that it is enough to accept as such unless another reading emerges as more probable.

The letter [CE] stands for Convincing Evidence (80%), which indicates that the evidence is an even higher-level proof that the reading surely was the original in that the evidence is enough to accept it as substantially certain unless proven otherwise.

The letter [BRD] stands for Beyond Reasonable Doubt (95%), which indicates that this is the highest level of proof: the reading must have been original in that there is no reason to doubt it. It must be understood that feeling as though we have no reason to doubt is not the same as one hundred percent absolute certainty.

NOTE: This system is borrowed from the criminal just legal terms of the United States of America, the level of certainty involved in the use of modal verbs, and Bruce Metzger in his A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), who borrowed his system from Johann Albrecht Bengel in his edition of the Greek New Testament (Tübingen, 1734). In addition, the percentages are in no way attempting to be explicit but rather they are nothing more than a tool to give the non-textual scholar a sense of the degree of certainty. However, this does not mean the percentages are not reflective of certainty.

Textual Sources

B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort, Introduction to the New Testament in the Original Greek: Appendix (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1882)
Bruce Manning Metzger, United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.) (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994),
Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle, Nestle-Aland: NTG Apparatus Criticus, ed. Barbara Aland et al., 28. revidierte Auflage. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012).
Dirk Jongkind, ed., The Greek New Testament: Apparatus (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017).
Dirk Jongkind, ed., The Greek New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), Matt. 6:8.
Eberhard Nestle and Erwin Nestle, Nestle-Aland: Novum Testamentum Graece, ed. Barbara Aland et al., 28. revidierte Auflage. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012)
The NET Bible. Garland, TX: Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Philip Wesley Comfort, A COMMENTARY ON THE MANUSCRIPTS AND TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2015).
Philip W. Comfort, New Testament Text and Translation Commentary: Commentary on the Variant Readings of the Ancient New Testament Manuscripts and How They Relate to the Major English Translations (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2008).
Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts: Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts, 2 Volume Set The (English and Greek Edition) (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2019)
Wallace B., Daniel (n.d.). Retrieved from The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts: http://csntm.org/
Wilker, Wieland (n.d.). Retrieved from An Online Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels: http://www.willker.de/wie/TCG/index.html

Theological Sources

Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 828–829.

[12] Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1995), 189.

[13] Alford, Greek Testament, 4:624; Charles, Revelation, 1:206; Lenski, Revelation, p. 154.

[14] Bullinger, Apocalypse, p. 282. Geyser is correct in observing that the predominant concern of the Apocalypse is “the restoration [on earth] of the twelve tribes of Israel, their restoration as a twelve-tribe kingdom, in a renewed and purified city of David, under the rule of the victorious ‘Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David’ (5:5; 22:16)” (Albert Geyser, “The Twelve Tribes in Revelation: Judean and Judeo Christian Apocalypticism,” NTS 23, no. 3 [July 1982]: 389). He is wrong, however, in his theory that this belief characterized the Judean church only and was not shared by Gentile Christianity spearheaded by Paul (ibid., p. 390).

[15] It is unwise to speak of the written Word of God as if it were of human origin, saying, ‘OT authors express the belief,’ when what was written is the meaning and message of what God wanted to convey by means of the human author.

[16] Creating anew does not mean complete destruction followed by a re-creation, but instead a renewal of the present universe.

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