Answer: The present heavens and earth are reserved for
fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly
men, (verse 7).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Joel 2:30-31: [God said,] "I will
show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and
billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the
moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the Lord."
Psalm 50:3: "Our God comes and will
not be silent; a fire devours before Him, and around Him a tempest
rages."
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10: "All this
is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will
be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are
suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who
trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as
well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven
in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish
those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord
Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and
shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His
power on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to
be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes
you, because you believed our testimony to you."
2 Peter 3:10-12: "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
everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be
destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You
ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day
of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in
the heat."
