2 Peter 3:7
“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →By that same word the present heavens and earth are kept for fire, reserved for the day of judgment of the ungodly.
What Does 2 Peter 3:7 Mean?
Peter draws the line from past to future. "The heavens and the earth, which are now," are "by the same word... kept in store, reserved unto fire." Just as the former world perished by water, the present world is held for "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." The God who judged once has appointed a day to judge again.
The present world is not abandoned to chance but "kept in store" by the same word that made it and once flooded it. This time the reserved means is fire, and the appointed time is the day of judgment. Peter presents this as the certain answer to the scoffers: God's word holds the world even now, awaiting His final reckoning with ungodliness. For the believer, the assurance is twofold — evil will surely be judged, and that judgment rests entirely in God's timing and word. The reader is sobered toward holiness (as the following verses urge) and comforted that the universe is held, not by accident, but by the purposeful word of God.