2 Peter 3:10

10 But [de] the day [hemera] of the Lord [kurios] will come [heko] as [hos] a thief [kleptes] in [en] the night [nux]; in [en] the which [hos] the heavens [ouranos] shall pass away [parerchomai] with a great noise [rhoizedon], and [de] the elements [stoicheion] shall melt [luo] with fervent heat [kausoo], the earth [ge] also [kai] and [kai] the works [ergon] that are therein [en] [autos] shall be burned up [katakaio]. KJV-Interlinear

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. NASB

The Day of the Lord is generally a reference to the final judgment, or a significant event in which the Lord judges with awesome power and authority.

When Israel found itself in a battle, there were many days of the Lord in which He fought for them and won their victories, defeating their enemies with a thoroughness.

However, Peter is referring to the final judgment of Christ, the judgment that will occur at the end of human history.

There are three huge events remaining in history, with respect to Christ s victories. The first, and the next major event will be the Rapture.We do not know the date of that event, but when it occurs, it will be the final event of our dispensation, closing out our dispensation and resuming the dispensation that we interrupted, the Age of Israel.

The Age of Israel was interrupted by our dispensation, leaving that dispensation with seven more years to go within it.We call those seven years the Tribulation.They will be the seven worst years in all of human history, and they will be shortened by a little in order to preserve the human race.

The next major event is the Second Advent.That will occur at the end of the Tribulation.Again, the Tribulation has seven years as its duration. But, since Satan knows this and since he will be going all out in order to wipe out the entire human race, Christ will return a little short of those seven years. The Bible describes it, unless those days were shortened. That exact date is not known either.

The third major event and final event is the final judgment of Christ which will occur at the end of the Millennium.

During the Millennium, which is also called the Kingdom of God, there will be peace and prosperity. Prosperity will be so thorough for the entire 1000 years of that millennium, that there will be no poor and no war.

But, just as in any other time in history, no one can get along in life without God in their soul, so too, in the Millennium, people will be discontented. This, even though Jesus Christ will be there personally ruling the planet, with perfect prosperity and peace. People will live very long lives. Sickness and illnesses will be all but forgotten. But people without doctrine in their soul, will never find contentment and happiness in things.

However, people will reject Christ as their savior, and those numbers will grow into a huge percentage of the population by the end of the Millennium. Satan will have been incarcerated for the entire 1000-year period, and in the end, he will be released. Satan will raise up an army of the discontented, and lead a revolt against Christ.

That revolt will be short-lived, and history will end immediately. Christ will put down the rebellion, handcuff all of those who revolted, and resurrect all of those Millennial believers, who have believed in Him, and the Great White Throne will come to order.

All fallen angels and unbelievers will be dispatched into the Lake of Fire, forever disappearing from our sight.All final believer evaluations will be accomplished.And then, the universe (not heaven), will be destroyed by fire.

Peter is here referring to that last and final destruction of the universe. He refers to the elements, which are the ultimate and smallest components of this universe.

When something is burned up it generally leaves a residue of ash and smoke, but ash and smoke are really a form of an element of the thing which was burned. Here Peter indicates that these elements will also be destroyed.Therefore, the entire universe will be wiped away from existence. There will be no dust, no ash, no smoke, nothing remaining, but empty space, or what ever is left when this universe disappears forever.

You can find more details of this final event in our study at the end of Isaiah and Revelation.

The Lord will then create a new universe (out of nothing), combine it with heaven, and that will become our new and final home and playground forever.

As for the thief. When does a thief come along? When you least expect it. The thief comes in the dark of night, when you are away, or when you are asleep, and so forth. If you knew when the thief was going to come, you would be there ready and waiting. But in each of these events (Rapture, Second Advent, final judgment), the spiritual status of most folks will be so low if it exists at all, that they will be in a sense, absent, asleep, spiritually darkened with respect to truth and the signs of the times so to speak. They will not expect Christ, they will not keep track as to when to expect Him, and they will be totally surprised, after the events have occurred.

When do you realize that the thief has been there? After he has already come and gone. Too late, in other words. You have already lost your valuables. And in the spiritual sense, they will never be recovered.

As for us, our next event will be either our personal death, or the Rapture. We do not know when either will occur.

So alertness is in order with respect to our own spiritual life.

We may have hours or years remaining in each of our lives.We presume that they will be a long time in coming, but then where have all the past years gone?Weren t we much younger just yesterday?

Time and indifference can make you forget and lose track of time, and then it is suddenly too late.

Now is the time to post a prayer.