In verse 11 Peter goes on to say, “All these things being thus dissolved, what kind of persons ought you to be in holy manner of life and godliness.” All things, both in the heavens and on the earth, have been defiled by the rebellion of Satan and the fall of men. Although all things whether on earth or in the heavens have been reconciled to God through Christ by His blood (Col. 1:20), the heavenly things having been purified by the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:23), they still need to be cleared up by being burned up in God’s governmental dealing so that they may become new in nature and appearance in God’s new universe (2 Pet. 3:13). Thus, what kind of persons ought we, the children of the holy God, to be in holy manner of life and godliness; that is, what kind of transformation ought we to have to live a life in the manner of God’s holy nature and godliness to express Him so that we may be qualified to match His holy government? How wonderful that the divine power has provided us with all things that are needed to live such a life in the holy manner and godliness (1:3).
In verse 12 Peter says, “Expecting and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements burning with intense heat are melted.” While we live a transformed life in a holy and godly manner, we are expecting, awaiting, and hastening the coming of the day of God. Knowing that God is so holy as to dissolve all things, we ought to be in a holy manner of life and godliness as we expect and hasten the coming of the day of God. Not only do we expect the day of God—we would hasten it.
The day of God is the day of the Lord (v. 10), and the day of the Lord is the day of Jehovah to the children of Israel in the Old Testament (Isa. 2:12; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obad. 15; Zeph. 1:7, 14, 18; 2:2-3; Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:1, 5). The “day” in such terms is mainly used in the sense of judgment for governmental dealings. Before the Lord comes it is “man’s day” in which man judges until the Lord comes (1 Cor. 4:3-5). Then it will be the “day of the Lord,” which will begin from the Lord’s parousia (with all its judgments) and will end with the judgment upon men and demons at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). The Lord’s parousia will start when the overcoming saints will be raptured to the throne of God in the heavens before the great tribulation of three and one-half years (Rev. 12:5-6; 14:1). Then, with the overcomers, His parousia will come to the air (Rev. 10:1). Along with that, all the natural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets will be meted out to smite the heavens with their heavenly bodies and the earth with the things on it (Rev. 6:12-17; 8:7-12).
Then the great tribulation will begin; it will last for three and one-half years with the woes and plagues of the last three trumpets and the seven bowls (Matt. 24:21-22, 29; Rev. 8:13—9:21; 11:14; 15:5—16:21). That will be a time of trial to the inhabitants of the whole earth (Rev. 3:10), including the Jews (Isa. 2:12; Zech. 14:1-2; Mal. 4:1, 5; Joel 1:15-20; 2:1, 11, 31) and the believers in Christ who will be left in the tribulation (Rev. 12:17). Before the end of the great tribulation, the dead saints will be resurrected and raptured together with the majority of the living believers, who will have passed through the great part of the tribulation, to meet with the Lord in the air (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16-17; Rev. 14:14-16). Following this, all the believers will be judged by the Lord at His judgment seat in the air (2 Cor. 5:10).
About this time, the great Babylon will be destroyed on the earth (Rev. 17:1—19:3). Then the Lord will have His wedding feast with the overcoming saints (Rev. 19:7-8). Immediately after this, the Lord with His bride, composed of the overcoming saints as His army, will fight and defeat the Antichrist and his army, the army of Satan. They will seize the Antichrist and his false prophet and cast them alive into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-21). Following this, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss, the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1-3). Then the Lord will come with His saints to the earth (Zech. 14:4-5; Jude 14; 1 Thes. 3:13) and will judge the nations (the living—Matt. 25:31-46; Joel 3:2). After this will be the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4-6).
Following the thousand years, Satan will be loosed from the abyss to instigate part of the nations, Gog and Magog in the north of the eastern hemisphere, to rebel the last time against God. They will be subdued and burned, and the deceiving Devil will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10). Following this, the heavens and the earth will be fully cleared up by being burned up (2 Pet. 3:7, 10). Then will come the final judgment upon men (the dead) and demons, and probably also the fallen angels, at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). That will be God’s consummate dealing with His old creation in His universal government, in addition to so many judgments and dealings executed within the day of the Lord to clear up the old universe. Then a new universe will begin with a new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 21:1), in which there will be no more judgment of God’s governmental dealing, for no unrighteousness will be there. Therefore, not counting the one thousand years, the day of the Lord will be very short, probably not more than seven years, of which the last week (seven years) of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 will be the main part.
It is not correct to consider the day of God and the day of the Lord as two different days and claim that the day of the Lord ends with the millennial kingdom and that the day of God begins with the burning of the heavens and the earth followed by the judgment of the great white throne. Actually, because the judgment of the great white throne will still be executed by the Lord Jesus (Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1), it will also be in the day of the Lord. God does not judge anyone; He has given all judgment to the Lord (John 5:22).
In 3:12 the relative pronoun “which” refers to the coming of the day of God. The coming of the day of God is to execute judgment upon every part of the old creation to clear it up. On account of the coming of such a day, the heavens will no longer be able to stand and remain as they have been, but will be dissolved, their elements melting in the intense heat of the burning fire. Therefore, Peter says that “the heavens, being set on fire, will be dissolved, and the elements burning with intense heat are melted.”