Bible Strands
2 Peter 3:12
as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The apostle Peter addresses believers in the final phase of his epistle, urging them to live in holiness and godliness as they face the imminent destruction of the present cosmos. He frames this ethical demand around the certainty of the coming day of God.
The words — προσδοκῶντας (prosdokōntas) means "expecting" or "looking forward to," and σπεύδοντας (speudontas) means "hastening" or "eagerly pursuing." Together they command active, expectant readiness rather than passive waiting.
The thread — The imagery of cosmic dissolution via fire and melting elements echoes the judgment motifs in 2 Peter 3:10, Isaiah 34:4, and Micah 1:4. The promised outcome of this destruction is the new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).
Why it lands — The text demands that readers align their daily conduct with the certainty of divine judgment and renewal. It requires active moral preparation and eager anticipation of God's decisive intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Cross-references
- 2 Peter 3:10 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 its works will be laid bare.
- Isaiah 34:4 All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.
- Micah 1:4 The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- Titus 2:13 as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 50:3 Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him.
- Isaiah 64:1 If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
- 1 Corinthians 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Peter 3:7 And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- Revelation 6:13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind.
- Isaiah 2:1 This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem: