<p>3:7 <i>But the heavens that now are and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men</i>- The flood was the result of God's commands to the Angels. &quot;By the same word&quot; could suggest that when God spoke to the Angels about the flood, His commandments then also included details of the judgements at the second coming.</p><p>&ldquo;By the same word&quot; of God that had caused the earth to rise from the waters and later called the waters over the earth, &quot;the heavens and the earth which are now... are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment&quot; (AV). The allusion to Mt. 5:18 confirms that there must be some reference here to the passing away of the Law and the Jewish system associated with it: &quot;Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled&quot; . Our Lord's fulfilment of the Law was primarily on the cross, but the fact that 2 Pet. 3 speaks of the Jewish heavens and earth passing away in AD70 indicates that the finishing of the Law did not come into full effect until the destruction of the temple. This explains the many hints throughout the New Testament that the believers kept some parts of the Law prior to AD70.</p><p>2 Thess. 1:8 speaks of the Lord Jesus coming &quot;from Heaven with his mighty Angels, <i>in flaming fire </i>taking vengeance&quot; on those who had rejected the knowledge of God, and had consciously disobeyed the Gospel of Christ. This connection not only underlines the fact that both AD70 and our last days are spoken of in 2 Pet. 3, but also proves that the &quot;heavens and earth&quot; which suffer fire are representative of individuals. Hence Peter's description of the day of &quot;fire&quot; as being &quot;the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men&quot;.</p><p>2 Pet. 3:7 speaks of the heavens and earth being reserved unto &quot;<i>the day</i> of judgment and perdition of ungodly men&quot;, and then goes straight on to point out that &quot;one <i>day</i> is with the Lord as a thousand years&quot;. Whilst the judgment seat itself may last a very short time, does this read as if <i>the day</i> or era of judgment will in some way be the 1,000 years of the Millennium, even though the wicked individuals themselves will probably die fairly quickly? The Millennium will be the period in which the earth will gradually be cleansed of the results of the sins of &quot;ungodly men&quot;. See on Rev. 14:11.</p><p>2 Pet. 3:7 uses the same Greek word for &quot;ungodly&quot; as in 2 Thess. 1:8 to describe the false teachers; and it occurs an impressive six times in Jude's letter concerning the same people. The warning that judgment would no longer be delayed shows that &quot;the day of judgment&quot; which came on the Judaizers must refer to AD70. But there can be no doubt that &quot;The day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men&quot; must refer ultimately to the second coming. The idea of punishment being &quot;reserved&quot; is continuing a theme of the preceding chapter. &ldquo;The angels that sinned&quot; were &quot;<i>reserved</i>&quot; unto judgment&quot; (2:4), the responsible people to whom Lot preached are &quot;<i>reserved</i>... unto the day of judgment&quot; (3:7), and thus for the false teachers of the first century too, &quot;the mist of darkness is <i>reserved</i> for ever&quot; (2:17). As the first two examples received judgment in this life and also a 'reservation' of future punishment, so the sinners within the first century ecclesias would receive a punishment at the manifestation of the Lord in AD70, and also at his second coming. This explains the dual reference of 2 Pet. 3 to both these periods. The theme of judgment being &quot;reserved&quot; adds weight to Peter's plea for his readers to realize that God was not suspending judgment indefinitely, but that despite an apparent delay in meting it out, judgment was without doubt reserved for revelation at a future date. The continued emphasis on God using the agent of His word to do this must be connected with Peter's request for us to give more careful attention to that word as spoken by the true prophets / teachers (3:12,15,16). It will be by the Word and our attitude to it that we will be judged at the last day. As the word of God would be the agent of destruction for the unworthy, so it could bring salvation to the righteous.</p><p>I have earlier suggested that the language of creation used here may echo the idea of the new creation in Christ. &quot;By the word of God the heavens were of old&quot; suggests the account of the new creation in Col. 1:17- and &quot;the word of God&quot; is a title of the Lord. Thus as He had brought about the new creation, so He was capable of punishing (in AD 70) and destroying (at the second coming) those parts of it which failed to reflect His glory.</p>