Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
The world before the Flood, in the days of Noah and Enoch, was overwhelmed and destroyed by water. The waters came when rain from above joined with waters hidden beneath the earth. By that same word the present heavens and earth are kept and reserved for fire against the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. That day will come as a thief in the night, when the heavens pass away with great noise and the elements melt with fervent heat and the earth and its works are burned up. As the Flood cleansed the earth with water, so fire from heaven uniting with fire stored in the earth will purify it.
World That Then Perished
The world that then was is the world before the Flood, the ancient world in the time of Noah and in the time of Enoch, and it perished when it was overflowed and overwhelmed with water. The floodwaters that overwhelmed it came by water from above uniting with waters concealed beneath the earth, water from the heavens joining with water in the bowels of the earth. By that union the word of God accomplished the destruction despite claims that such a thing was impossible.
In perishing, that world was buried, with immense forests overwhelmed and laid down to become in later ages the coal and oil deposits, while fires stored underground and the action of water upon rock and ore remain able to produce volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The rocks and mountains of the earth still bear witness to this overwhelming, for its broken surface stands as a record that God destroyed the wicked because of their transgression of His law.
Judgment did not fall without a time of probation in which that generation was proved and tried before the Flood came. During that time they were urged to find refuge in the ark, and escape was offered to them by repentance and faith in the warning preached by Noah and in the warning words of Enoch who walked with God. Many at first apparently received Noah's warning yet did not fully turn to God with true repentance and did not endure the trial, but the prevailing degeneracy overcame them. They would not leave off their sins but continued in polygamy and the indulgence of base passions, joined the corrupt in deriding and scoffing at Noah, while the multitudes mocked the solemn message and went on more boldly in evil ways.
The Flood that thus swept them away was God's just judgment, and at the same time an act of mercy to the world, because its wicked inhabitants were leading others into rebellion. Its waters remain as a sign of God's verdict upon the wicked, declaring that those who persist in rebellion are incurable.
Coming Destruction by Fire
By the same word that overflowed the former world so that it perished, the present heavens and earth are kept in store and reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition and destruction of ungodly men. The earth will not be destroyed by water again, but another storm is coming in which it will again be swept by desolating wrath and cleansed by an unquenchable sea of fire that human efforts cannot stop, destroying sin and sinners and the morally corrupt earth. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat and the earth and its works shall be burned up. This fire comes at the very near coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory at the end of all things when wickedness is at its height, penetrating everything and cleansing the tainted atmosphere, and after it has fulfilled its mission the dead come forth to resurrection.
As the waters of the flood cleansed the earth, the fire of God will purify the earth in the same way, with fire from heaven uniting with fire stored up in the earth. The floodwaters came by water from above uniting with waters concealed beneath the earth, and the coming purification follows that same pattern of joining above and below. The God of nature made and controls the laws of nature and can use the works of His hands to serve His purpose and bring judgment by means beyond human understanding. In Noah's day philosophers said destruction by water was impossible, and now men of science say destruction by fire is impossible and against nature's laws, while worldly voices claimed the Flood was impossible and dismiss warning as fear or superstition, yet such arguments cannot overturn prophecy.
Enoch's translation to heaven just before the Flood represents the translation of all the living righteous from the earth before its future destruction by fire. They will be glorified in the presence of those who hated them for obeying God. The Flood and later destructive fires and waters are acts of divine judgment that display God's power and sovereignty, and the Flood buried immense forests that later became coal and oil deposits, while underground fires and the effects of water on rock and ore can produce volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The Flood's waters serve as a sign of God's verdict on the wicked, and the fires of the great day will likewise declare His verdict that those who persist in rebellion are incurable, unwilling to submit and unable to be changed after life ends, so that their destruction is an act of mercy to the universe.
Warning for the Last Days
The world that perished by being overflowed with water is a warning and precedent for the last days, for the same unbelief and mockery shown toward Noah and toward Enoch who walked with God will be shown by the last generation toward servants bearing a similar warning message. As in Noah's time many at first apparently received the warning but did not fully turn to God with true repentance, failed to endure the trial in which the world was proved and tried, and were overcome by prevailing degeneracy until they joined the corrupt in deriding and scoffing at Noah, would not leave off their sins, and continued in polygamy and indulgence of base passions. Some gave heed to the warning and renounced their sins, but the multitudes mocked the solemn message and went on more boldly in evil ways. Those who dismiss God's warning as fear or superstition do not prevent His judgment, and arguments that destruction is impossible under nature's laws cannot overturn prophecy, because God controls nature and can use it to fulfill His purpose. As in Noah's time, some hearers in the last days reject the message, become scoffers, and fail to stand until their probation ends, when accepting the truth and practicing its conditions would have been their life and salvation.
Those who perished had been urged to find refuge in the ark but refused the warning, and their fate shows that people who reject God's warnings may lose the opportunity to respond when the Spirit of God ceases to awaken conviction. After a time of probation in which they were proved and tried, many who seemed to receive the warning did not endure but fell back into sin and scoffing. To fail to stand until probation ends is to lose life and salvation, which comes by accepting the truth and practicing its conditions.
The days of the old world that perished in the waters of the Flood were marked by selfishness and violence and crime, and those same evils prevail as the close of this earth's history approaches. The abominations and crimes seen in the present state of the world fulfill the prophecies concerning the wickedness that would prevail during the last days.
The judgment was accomplished by means beyond human understanding, with waters from above uniting with waters concealed beneath the earth in the bowels of the earth to fulfill the word, despite worldly claims that such destruction was impossible. Those who died had been offered escape by repentance and faith in the warning, by finding refuge in the ark, and the verse now urges finding refuge in Jesus Christ and heeding the message of warning. The earth will not be destroyed by water again, but the Flood is a pattern for the last great day when fire will purify the earth in the same way, and therefore people are warned to prepare for what is coming upon the earth rather than giving themselves to pride and vanity. They are to be ready to give an account for wasted time and money and to be taken by Christ at His soon coming instead of being rejected as workers of iniquity. This fulfillment should lead true Christians to live lives of humility and prayer and to take their position for righteousness and truth.
The world before the Flood, in the days of Noah and Enoch, was overwhelmed and destroyed by water. The waters came when rain from above joined with waters hidden beneath the earth. By that same word the present heavens and earth are kept and reserved for fire against the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. That day will come as a thief in the night, when the heavens pass away with great noise and the elements melt with fervent heat and the earth and its works are burned up. As the Flood cleansed the earth with water, so fire from heaven uniting with fire stored in the earth will purify it.
World That Then Perished
The world that then was is the world before the Flood, the ancient world in the time of Noah and in the time of Enoch, and it perished when it was overflowed and overwhelmed with water. The floodwaters that overwhelmed it came by water from above uniting with waters concealed beneath the earth, water from the heavens joining with water in the bowels of the earth. By that union the word of God accomplished the destruction despite claims that such a thing was impossible.
In perishing, that world was buried, with immense forests overwhelmed and laid down to become in later ages the coal and oil deposits, while fires stored underground and the action of water upon rock and ore remain able to produce volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The rocks and mountains of the earth still bear witness to this overwhelming, for its broken surface stands as a record that God destroyed the wicked because of their transgression of His law.
Judgment did not fall without a time of probation in which that generation was proved and tried before the Flood came. During that time they were urged to find refuge in the ark, and escape was offered to them by repentance and faith in the warning preached by Noah and in the warning words of Enoch who walked with God. Many at first apparently received Noah's warning yet did not fully turn to God with true repentance and did not endure the trial, but the prevailing degeneracy overcame them. They would not leave off their sins but continued in polygamy and the indulgence of base passions, joined the corrupt in deriding and scoffing at Noah, while the multitudes mocked the solemn message and went on more boldly in evil ways.
The Flood that thus swept them away was God's just judgment, and at the same time an act of mercy to the world, because its wicked inhabitants were leading others into rebellion. Its waters remain as a sign of God's verdict upon the wicked, declaring that those who persist in rebellion are incurable.
Coming Destruction by Fire
By the same word that overflowed the former world so that it perished, the present heavens and earth are kept in store and reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition and destruction of ungodly men. The earth will not be destroyed by water again, but another storm is coming in which it will again be swept by desolating wrath and cleansed by an unquenchable sea of fire that human efforts cannot stop, destroying sin and sinners and the morally corrupt earth. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat and the earth and its works shall be burned up. This fire comes at the very near coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory at the end of all things when wickedness is at its height, penetrating everything and cleansing the tainted atmosphere, and after it has fulfilled its mission the dead come forth to resurrection.
As the waters of the flood cleansed the earth, the fire of God will purify the earth in the same way, with fire from heaven uniting with fire stored up in the earth. The floodwaters came by water from above uniting with waters concealed beneath the earth, and the coming purification follows that same pattern of joining above and below. The God of nature made and controls the laws of nature and can use the works of His hands to serve His purpose and bring judgment by means beyond human understanding. In Noah's day philosophers said destruction by water was impossible, and now men of science say destruction by fire is impossible and against nature's laws, while worldly voices claimed the Flood was impossible and dismiss warning as fear or superstition, yet such arguments cannot overturn prophecy.
Enoch's translation to heaven just before the Flood represents the translation of all the living righteous from the earth before its future destruction by fire. They will be glorified in the presence of those who hated them for obeying God. The Flood and later destructive fires and waters are acts of divine judgment that display God's power and sovereignty, and the Flood buried immense forests that later became coal and oil deposits, while underground fires and the effects of water on rock and ore can produce volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The Flood's waters serve as a sign of God's verdict on the wicked, and the fires of the great day will likewise declare His verdict that those who persist in rebellion are incurable, unwilling to submit and unable to be changed after life ends, so that their destruction is an act of mercy to the universe.
Warning for the Last Days
The world that perished by being overflowed with water is a warning and precedent for the last days, for the same unbelief and mockery shown toward Noah and toward Enoch who walked with God will be shown by the last generation toward servants bearing a similar warning message. As in Noah's time many at first apparently received the warning but did not fully turn to God with true repentance, failed to endure the trial in which the world was proved and tried, and were overcome by prevailing degeneracy until they joined the corrupt in deriding and scoffing at Noah, would not leave off their sins, and continued in polygamy and indulgence of base passions. Some gave heed to the warning and renounced their sins, but the multitudes mocked the solemn message and went on more boldly in evil ways. Those who dismiss God's warning as fear or superstition do not prevent His judgment, and arguments that destruction is impossible under nature's laws cannot overturn prophecy, because God controls nature and can use it to fulfill His purpose. As in Noah's time, some hearers in the last days reject the message, become scoffers, and fail to stand until their probation ends, when accepting the truth and practicing its conditions would have been their life and salvation.
Those who perished had been urged to find refuge in the ark but refused the warning, and their fate shows that people who reject God's warnings may lose the opportunity to respond when the Spirit of God ceases to awaken conviction. After a time of probation in which they were proved and tried, many who seemed to receive the warning did not endure but fell back into sin and scoffing. To fail to stand until probation ends is to lose life and salvation, which comes by accepting the truth and practicing its conditions.
The days of the old world that perished in the waters of the Flood were marked by selfishness and violence and crime, and those same evils prevail as the close of this earth's history approaches. The abominations and crimes seen in the present state of the world fulfill the prophecies concerning the wickedness that would prevail during the last days.
The judgment was accomplished by means beyond human understanding, with waters from above uniting with waters concealed beneath the earth in the bowels of the earth to fulfill the word, despite worldly claims that such destruction was impossible. Those who died had been offered escape by repentance and faith in the warning, by finding refuge in the ark, and the verse now urges finding refuge in Jesus Christ and heeding the message of warning. The earth will not be destroyed by water again, but the Flood is a pattern for the last great day when fire will purify the earth in the same way, and therefore people are warned to prepare for what is coming upon the earth rather than giving themselves to pride and vanity. They are to be ready to give an account for wasted time and money and to be taken by Christ at His soon coming instead of being rejected as workers of iniquity. This fulfillment should lead true Christians to live lives of humility and prayer and to take their position for righteousness and truth.