The Question of Continuity and Discontinuity in 2 Peter 3

The return of the Lord Jesus is presented in 2 Pet 3:5—13 as ushering in a new created order in which ungodliness and wickedness have no abode. What fate does 2 Peter 3 envision for this current creation? 2 Peter 3 has become the locus classicus for arguing that at the return of Jesus, the creation will be annihilated and replaced. Edward Adams has recently argued that 2 Peter makes use of Stoic cosmology to describe the conflagration of the world. Is that a fair reading? Rather than turning exclusively to Hellenistic concepts and language to prosecute his argument, Peter deploys a biblical eschatology and seeks to connect God’s works in creation and redemption. A high Christology that establishes Jesus as God’s anointed King, the typological model of the Noahic Flood in 3:5–7, and Isaiah’s eschatological vision provide 2 Peter 3 with a theophanic picture in vv. 10–13 in which the earth is exposed for God’s judgment. This comes to the fore when vv. 10–13 are read in the light of vv. 5–7. Within Peter’s picture, there is continuity and discontinuity between this world and the next.