WILL THE EARTH BE BURNED UP?
BUT says one, The Bible teaches that the earth will be destroyed, burned up. We can well understand this objection. This writer believed that too before THE TIME OF THE END! But now the Book is open and its pages are UNSEALED! This quotation – “the EARTH also and the works that are therein shall be BURNED UP” – is part of 2 Peter 3:10, and we have pointed out the glaring mistranslation of the English in the Authorized or King James Version of this text.
We have seen that the word EARTH (from the Greek term GE) means land, and that the words “BURNED UP” mistranslate the Greek term KATAKAIO which means literally will-be-being-found or uncovered, and not burned up at all. Rotherham and other versions render it ‘discovered’ rather than ‘burned up’, and it is clear that Peter is here speaking of the day of the Lord when the mighty whirlwind of Armageddon re-orbits the waters of the sea and the 140,000,000 square miles of LAND (not earth) will-be-being-found, discovered, or uncovered – not burned up at all! The original Greek of Peter’s words translate in part as follows: “Yet will be arriving that day of the Master (Lord) as a thief, in which the atmosphere will be beside-coming elements (mixed with water-elements of the sea) and boomingly, will-be-being-loosed (by the water-spouts of the whirlwind), and LAND (GE, Greek – 140,000,000 square miles of ocean bottoms – not earth) and the works in her will-be-being-found (KATAKAIO, Greek – uncovered – not burned up)” – 2 Peter 3:10, see any Interlinary Word for Word English Translation (Parentheses ours).
There is a vast difference between burning up the earth and uncovering 140,000,000 square miles of new LAND, and it is obvious that this was the theme of Peter’s words and that he had no thought of a burned up earth! Peter believed the prophets, and he accepted their words that “the earth abideth FOR EVER” – (Ecclesiastes 1:4) and that “God himself formed the earth and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it TO BE INHABITED” – (Isaiah 45:18)! We can rely on their words, not upon the words of the faulty English translations, and we can rest assured that our good earth will never be burned up!
