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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Peter addresses his readers, who face scoffers denying the promised judgment, and points to the flood (v. 6) as precedent for a coming fire.

The thread — The same fire motif appears in 2 Peter 3:10 and 3:12, where the heavens are destroyed by fire and the elements melt, and echoes Isaiah 51:6's image of heavens vanishing and earth wearing out.

Why it lands — The verse removes any ambiguity about the fate of the present order: it is not eternal, it is reserved, and the reservation has a specific purpose tied to the judgment of the ungodly.

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

But 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 of ungodly men.

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 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.
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.
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
2 Thessalonians 1:7 and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
2 Peter 2:9 if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
Matthew 25:41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
Jude 1:7 In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.