If I was a United States Senator in charge of the right committee and with a huge budget, I’d authorize a study of society’s deliberate USE of FEAR to direct and manage the people of this country. There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of expensive studies to investigate a variety of useless things, but this one might be helpful. A study of fear could at least give the preacher a good illustration with which to start his sermon. The University of California San Diego spent a $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to measure the endurance of mudskippers on treadmills. Why not a study of the misuse of fear? In 2016, taxpayers funded a $3 million NSF study of the public’s fear of sharks when listening to the “Jaws” theme song. Fear of sharks may be a beginning, but I have no fear of sharks in Lake Pend Oreille or Coeur d’Alene. Over the past twenty years, the National Institutes of Health has spent $3.4 million studying aggression and anxiety in male hamsters. But I’m pretty sure that what causes anxiety in hamsters doesn’t cause me any anxiety. Why don’t we have a more thorough study of society’s use of fear?
Isn’t it obvious that fear is used as a tool in politics, media, marketing and a number of other areas? Politicians exploit fears to sway voters and encourage conformity to their opinions. Marketers use the fear of missing out. “This special sale ends in ten minutes.” How much fear is used in the medical world, to draw people into expensive treatments and surgeries? And of course, false religions use fear to guarantee people’s allegiance. “If you aren’t a member of our church, it is guaranteed, you’ll go to hell.” “God will never bless you unless you donate, immediately to our ministry.” Fear is everywhere, and almost all of it is unnecessary. It is not guaranteed that you’ll get shingles if you don’t get the shingles shot, but that’s what we’re told. Your world will not collapse if you don’t buy the latest I-phone. Your house will not fill with deadly bugs or mold if you don’t have a rumba. Many industries are fueled by unnecessary fear.
But here ARE definitely things to fear in this world. However, personally, I have no fear of running into a crocodile or a cobra in my back yard. “There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets,” says the slothful man, and the foolishly fearful man – Proverbs 26:13. When was the last time you saw a mountain lion on your street? I have never, and I do not now, fear being crushed by a piece of a disintegrating soviet space craft. And despite my past history I am not afraid that I’ll have a DVT blood clot tomorrow. I certainly don’t fear losing my salvation because my Saviour has died again and cancelled my policy.
The Bible tells me what I should fear, and it is a surprisingly small list. Hebrews: “We may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will NOT fear what MAN shall do unto me.” Solomon wrote: “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” – Proverbs. 29:25. And he summarized his Book of Ecclesiastes with: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: FEAR GOD, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Solomon, do you mean I shouldn’t fear global warming, the eruption of Mt. Rainier or reelection of liberals? What if I get cancer because my mother cooked with Teflon pans and used a microwave oven? “The FEAR of the LORD prolongeth days,” says Solomon once again. (Proverbs 10:27) The fear of anything else is a waste of emotional energy, and in fact shortens our days on this earth. The Lord Jesus said, “ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” – John 14:27.
But doesn’t II Peter give us stuff to fear? Isn’t there some terrifying information here? There is a day coming when the heavens and the earth shall melt under fervent heat. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, and the elements of the universe are going to liquify under the wrath of the Almighty God. Be afraid, be very afraid.
But I have more fear being crushed by a disintegrating soviet space craft than I fear being destroyed in the conflagration Peter is describing. I have no expectation of being here when that happens. (And it has nothing to do with my age.) It is like the ridiculous weather reporter last week, repeatedly telling the people of Spokane about a hurricane in the Atlantic that wasn’t even projected to come anywhere near the east coast of this country. The only emotion that struck me listening to her was anger that she was wasting my time talking about it.
Have you heard that some branches of pseudo-science tell us that the world is going to be dissolved?
Have you heard that green-house gases are destroying the ozone around the planet, permitting harmful radiation to fry our skin and brains? Some self-professed experts are telling us that an unstable global environment is going to destroy us all. Therefore we must stop harvesting trees in the Amazon jungle.
The “Bulletin of Atomic Scientists” – the bulletin of some “scientists” – so it must be accurate… This bulletin declares that the existence of nuclear weapons and the continued proliferation of powerful technologies pose a significant threat to civilization. North Korea, Pakistan or some other unstable country could start a nuclear war which could vaporize the earth – in a manner similar to what Peter describes. Another semi-scientific publication says that the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence, particularly its integration into military systems, presents unprecedented danger, including automated warfare that could mean the destruction of human life. We better start refurbishing those cold war bomb shelters. My AI-controlled computer told me that … “the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories act as a potent ‘threat multiplier’ that undermines public discourse, decision-making, and the ability to address these global existential threats.” Then it added, “The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic timepiece maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that represents how close humanity is to destroying its world. In 2025, it was set to 90 seconds to midnight, signaling grave dangers from nuclear weapons, climate change, AI, and other threats.”
There are lots of non-religious, biblically-illiterate people who are saying that universal destruction is coming. Some say that LIFE on EARTH will be destroyed through radiation or some other means. Others amplify that by saying the ENTIRE earth will be destroyed, because the sun will eventually explode, or some other astro-physical phenomenon will occur. Those fear mongers usually stop short of forecasting the destruction of the entire universe. For many of them the universe is their god. They say the universe has always existed and the universe created us through evolution. It cannot die.
There is absolutely no need for you to listen to any of these people before you listen to the Lord.
Nevertheless, the Bible says that the world will indeed be dissolved and destroyed.
Perhaps we need to ask WHY or HOW? It will not be because we use gasoline in our cars, or coal to create electricity, or we raise cattle for food. It will not be specifically because Israel hates Iraq and Iraq hates Israel. It will not be a result of the butterfly effect or Trump’s tariff policies.
The world will be destroyed, because God has determined and guaranteed His glory in His created universe. He is the Potter – the Artisan who crafted this enormous, incredibly beautiful masterpiece – the universe. But after He created it, He deliberately permitted the introduction of a single flaw – the sin of Adam. Then, even before that flaw spread throughout Adam’s children, the Creator cursed His entire creation. He summarized it all when He said to Adam, “Because thou… hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the GROUND for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” I’ll amplify this in just a minute. But Jehovah did all these things – from creation to destruction – for His glory.
The Bible says that God’s creation will be dissolved. HOW will that happen? Will God use nuclear weapons to melt the world? Will He use global warming? Will He turn the sun into a Giant Red Star, or cause it to explode in some hydrogen malfunction? I won’t say the Lord couldn’t use some means to accomplish this end, but He doesn’t need anything. Just as He spoke the universe into existence, He can speak its dissolution and demolition. The Almighty God doesn’t need anything outside Himself to do anything He chooses to do.
And how can I be so sure of any of this? The Bible tells me so. I don’t need some scientific facts and figures; statistics and probabilities. Isaiah, from his limited position as a prophet to Israel, was looking at what Peter describes. He said in chapter 24 – “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.” We could multiply Old Testament scriptures like this.
Peter, from his perspective as an Apostle and much nearer the actual event, sees it in its wider extent. “The day of Lord will come as a thief in 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. All these things shall be dissolved… the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” Do the repeated references to “the heavens” indicate that the entire universe will be dissolved? Perhaps. Certainly, God is NOT going to send a global tsunami to sweep life from this planet, as He did in the past. He actually promised never to do that again. But He will send a firestorm to accomplish the same thing. “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” – verse 7. In that day the very ground around dead men’s bones will vaporize, along with even the sun, moon and stars.
In the light of this, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? What CAN we do?
Should fear and our anticipation of this destroy our ability to think and to serve the Lord? Should we pull out our hair or dive into our bomb shelters? Maybe we should elect a government that will take the steps necessary to stop God from doing what He has promised to do. Can we stop or delay this destruction?
What should we do? That is the question Peter asks in this scripture, before he gives us God’s answer. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be?”
First, we need to be believing people, and we need to be Bible-studying people. Verse 13 – “WE, according to his promise, LOOK for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” As Christians and Bible-believers, we look beyond the destruction to the divine RECONSTRUCTION. So many people pick and choose which scriptures they want to read or believe. That is why so many think that baptism washes away sins. Taken out of context some scriptures seem to teach baptismal regeneration. Picking and choosing is why some believe they are eating flesh and drinking blood of Christ in communion. Just like the Christians in Peter’s day, the Christian today, does not have to worry about any of this. The Lord will have us at that time, firmly held in the palm of His protective hand, either already in or looking for our new fully righteous and eternal abode. I heard a man ask recently, “Why do we fuss and fight about the details of future events which ultimately have NOTHING to do with US?” Why do we care about a category 1 hurricane which is already veering away from the eastern seaboard?
Yes, we should look for the first aspects of the oncoming – and quickly hastening – Day of the Lord. Because in its initial steps, God’s saints will be delivered from all this wrath to come. And with that in mind, “what manner of persons ought ye to be?”
We should strive to be holy and godly – verse 11. “Holy conversation” doesn’t refer to our speech, as we might use those words in the 21st century. “Holy conversation” speaks of every aspect of our lives – our words, our facial expressions, our attitudes, our steps, our tears and our plans. As God’s children we should be like our Heavenly Father – we should be godly. Among other things, that means we should be joyful and hopeful, knowing that He controls all things. We should be sin-free, or at the very least, hating and fighting sin in our hearts and outward lives.
Even in the midst of all this talk about universal dissolution and destruction, verse 14 tells us to live in “peace.” Peace? In the midst of this firestorm? In this yet future firestorm? Yes, because it is GOD’S firestorm. Remember that in the context of Peter’s words he brought up the flood which destroyed all earthly life – “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” – verse 6. While Peter mentioned the flood, he didn’t mention Noah; Peter left Noah to me. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,” and he passed through that universally destructive flood. He passed through that firestorm unsinged – without even the smell of the flames upon his clothes. Looking back at the family of Noah, and reading of God’s promises to us, we have access to perfect peace.
“What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” In thankfulness for the Lord’s grace and salvation, we ought to be without spot, striving to be blameless. Choosing and striving to be spotless in this filthy world, will not give us a pass on the upcoming judgment. These things don’t earn salvation for us. Rather peace, spotlessness and a hatred for sin, are indications – evidences – of God’s gift of grace and salvation’s deliverance. Peter essentially says, “Strive to show to the people of the world that you are citizens of heaven.” “Show to the people under judgment that your sins have already been judged in the death of the Saviour.” “Let the world know that you are aware of what God intends to do, but that you will not be a part of it.” “Because of God’s saving grace, live like children of the great Victor.”
“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”