FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd

the judgment, with no accountability to follow?Yet the Bible teaches that the pain and agony doesn’t end at the great white throne, but goes on forever. (Revelation 20:10). See finally, this judgment provides the backdrop for a complete destruction of the heavens and the earth . Just like creation was included in the Fall, so it will be part of the judgment as well. As John writes, “Earth and heaven fled away, and no place was for them. The first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea” (Revelation 20:11, 21:1). Peter provides greater detail in the second of his epistles: “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” (2 Peter 3:10). The pounding the earth endures during the great tribu- lation, after which Jesus comes to provide restoration, is but a foretaste of the greater destruction that comes during this final judgment. This time, it takes more than a beating. Ponder this verse and see first that the sky will vanish with a “roar.”The term used for roar “is a colorful . . .word which can be used of the swish of an arrow through the air, or the rumbling of thun- der, as well as the crackling of flames, the scream of the lash as it descends, the rushing of mighty waters, or the hissing of a serpent.” 623 Fire enters the picture once again by destroying the elements and burning up the earth, along with everything in it. Although the word “elements” is a bit confusing, it undoubtedly refers to the materials that make up the earth.There’s no doubt about the fact that this present planet and its structures will be completely obliterated. This is consistent with the close con- nection between God, fire, and judgment. As Moses command- ed the children of Israel before they entered Canaan, “So watch

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