Living Toward the Dawn – 2 Peter 3
Peter strikes me as a pretty good wordsmith, full of fiery passion and vigor. Not many lines portray this like v. 11.
“Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be…”
Peter isn't trying to warn us about impending apocolypse or inviting us to bury ourselves in deep bunkers with freeze dried beans and rice. He’s reminding a weary people that this story is going somewhere—and not toward destruction, but renewal.
It's heading towards a new heaven and a new earth.
This isn't a brand new Universe that would make Marvel's CGI creators drool, He isn't merely wiping the slate clean, chunking everything He's made like so much cosmic trash. Instead, scripture paints us a picture of transformation versus annihilation; purification, not replacement.
The fire Peter mentions is the fire of refining—like the prophets describe—where God burns away corruption so creation can finally become what it was always meant to be. He will restore the world to the Eden He always intended.
In his book "Surprised by Hope", N.T. Wright says this:
It's heading towards a new heaven and a new earth.
This isn't a brand new Universe that would make Marvel's CGI creators drool, He isn't merely wiping the slate clean, chunking everything He's made like so much cosmic trash. Instead, scripture paints us a picture of transformation versus annihilation; purification, not replacement.
The fire Peter mentions is the fire of refining—like the prophets describe—where God burns away corruption so creation can finally become what it was always meant to be. He will restore the world to the Eden He always intended.
In his book "Surprised by Hope", N.T. Wright says this:
“God will do for the whole cosmos what He has done for Jesus in the resurrection.”
In other words, resurrection isn’t just personal—it’s cosmic. He isn't just saving you and me. He's saving and restoring EVERYTHING.
Peter echoes the beauty of Isaiah 65–66 as he speaks of the coming “new heavens and new earth,” a renewed creation where righteousness makes its home. A world where the shalom (peace or rhythm) we often only see in fleeting moments becomes the air we breathe.
The entire chapter is a call to live now in light of what God will fully do then. Theologians call this the "Already, Not Yet". The idea that the Kingdom of God, as Jesus proclaimed, is already "at hand" and is "near." But it also has a component of completion which is yet to be fully realized, but one will be at His return.
If God intends to renew all things…
If He’s not ditching creation but redeeming it…
If He’s preparing a world where righteousness dwells…
Then my life today should reflect that reality and lean towards that future.
My daily habits of life ought to have baked into them the anticipation of full redemption. It's where we find holiness that isn't fearful of reprisal, but hopeful of joy.
It looks like me trusting with patience in His timing, not stubbornly clinging to mine. Like a love that refuses cynicism even when the world gives me so many good reasons to be so.
Peter isn't saying, "Look out, the world is going to BURN, so hold on!" He's saying "God's future is breaking over the horizon, so live like it is already day."
Just like the morning sun that slowly overtakes the distant horizon, God's renewing work in each of us is a preview, a "first fruit" if you will, of the new world He is making new ... for us.
Today, whatever dark night of the soul you're facing, look towards the dawn, your redemption draweth near.
Peter echoes the beauty of Isaiah 65–66 as he speaks of the coming “new heavens and new earth,” a renewed creation where righteousness makes its home. A world where the shalom (peace or rhythm) we often only see in fleeting moments becomes the air we breathe.
The entire chapter is a call to live now in light of what God will fully do then. Theologians call this the "Already, Not Yet". The idea that the Kingdom of God, as Jesus proclaimed, is already "at hand" and is "near." But it also has a component of completion which is yet to be fully realized, but one will be at His return.
If God intends to renew all things…
If He’s not ditching creation but redeeming it…
If He’s preparing a world where righteousness dwells…
Then my life today should reflect that reality and lean towards that future.
My daily habits of life ought to have baked into them the anticipation of full redemption. It's where we find holiness that isn't fearful of reprisal, but hopeful of joy.
It looks like me trusting with patience in His timing, not stubbornly clinging to mine. Like a love that refuses cynicism even when the world gives me so many good reasons to be so.
Peter isn't saying, "Look out, the world is going to BURN, so hold on!" He's saying "God's future is breaking over the horizon, so live like it is already day."
Just like the morning sun that slowly overtakes the distant horizon, God's renewing work in each of us is a preview, a "first fruit" if you will, of the new world He is making new ... for us.
Today, whatever dark night of the soul you're facing, look towards the dawn, your redemption draweth near.
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