I've looked up at the stars in the sky on many a night and just wondered about life on other planets. I kept asking why would God create all these stars and planets without purpose. God is not one to do things without a reason. Then it finally hit me.
The stars in the sky are suns for other planets. It's my belief that God has created life on these other planets, just like he did on Earth. However it's not always humans that have souls and free will on these other planets. I think many of the animals we have here on Earth are the animals with free will and souls on other planets.
If there were for instance a water planet. It might be what we consider fish with free will and souls, rather than human beings. The adapted life forms we have here on Earth, could be the lifeforms with free will and souls on other planets.
One other hypothesis is that these other planets are uninhabited now but were once planets like Earth, until God destroyed them. He creates a planet, creates life, and destroys it.
A lot of these planets are the new Earth God created for those who were saved. When God destroys our planet Earth and creates a new Heaven and new Earth we'll go there. And God will create new human life and we'll rule with him.
Those UFO's people see from time to time, they're actually some of the saved from the former Earth trying to make contact with us.
God never allows humanity to become technologically advanced enough to discover the truth. He always destroys his creation so they'll never find out. I however have figured it out. I just wish I had a space vehicle fast enough to allow me to travel to these distant worlds. It'd be fun to worship the same God with a talking Dolphin.
Walter and I have had our disagreements, but he has a great knowledge and understanding of the Bible that I have an appreciation for. Don't underestimate his opinions or beliefs.
This is part of an Internet Debate my Pastor had with an Norm Fields. In this section he dealt with the issue you brought up regarding Peter's sermon. The Earth is not destroyed with Fire as you are wrongly interpreting Peter's Sermon.
The Destruction of the Earth and All Physical Matter
Fields cites 2 Peter 3 as proof that all of this present creation will be utterly destroyed. But, once again, he fails to consider context as well as past precedent for the terminology Peter used. Peter stated his intention for writing, �that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets,� (v. 2). That ought to be the first clue to the reader that Peter�s words cannot be taken in isolation from the Old
Testament prophecies he was citing, as Fields clearly does.
19 The Context of 2 Peter 3
Let�s take a closer look at the context. In verses 3-9, Peter was addressing the question of the apparent delay in Christ�s return. He wrote that many scoffers would appear saying,
�Where is the promise of His coming?� (v. 4). He then compared these people with those of Noah�s day, who scoffed at the approaching flood. He referred to the pre flood earth as
�the heavens of old, and the earth� (v. 5). Again, he referred to the pre-flood world as �the world that then existed.� Should we understand that the world (heavens and earth) of Noah�s day no longer exist? That is clearly not the case. Peter then said that it
�perished, being flooded with water.� (v. 6). In what sense did it �perish?� Did it pass out of existence? Hardly. Rather, its form and order perished, but its substance remained. Peter continued by referring to the present world as �the heavens and the
earth which are now,� (v. 7). Peter�s terminology regarding the present creation excludes �the heavens and the earth� of Noah�s day. Does this imply that the physical substance of the present heavens and earth did not exist in Noah�s day? No. It is the
order and form of the world that passed away in the flood. Peter concluded that the present heavens and earth �are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the
day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,� (v. 7). It is clear that Peter spoke of the flood in language that could be interpreted to mean the total destruction of the earth,
and that the present earth and heavens are different earth and heavens from what existed in Noah�s day. But that is obviously not what happened. �For the form of this world is passing away� (1 Cor 7:31), not its material substance. And this is true of all
passages that speak of heaven and earth �passing away.�
The Biblical Meaning of �Heaven� and �Earth� One of the major reasons Fields misunderstands this passage is because he does not �call Bible things by Bible names.� Rather, he injects foreign meanings into Bible words and phrases. The word �earth� does NOT refer to the planet we call �earth.� The ancients had no concept that we live on a planet. And this planet was first called �earth� long after the Bible was written. We must use God�s definition of the terms, heaven, earth, and sea, the three divisions of our world.
Gen 1:8-10 NKJV
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Both the Hebrew and Greek words translated �earth� really mean �dry land.� They NEVER include the whole globe, the seas, or the atmosphere. God called the 20 atmosphere, �heaven.� Whenever the terms �heaven and earth� appear together,
�heaven� refers to the atmosphere where the birds fly, and �earth� refers to dry land where people live. In the context of most passages, the word �earth� usually means a particular piece of land, like the �Promised Land� or the �land of Canaan.� Every time you see the word �earth� in your Bible you should substitute �land� for a better understanding. The context will tell you the limits of the term �land.� �Heaven and earth� should always be understood as, �sky and land.�
Furthermore, the word �new� Peter used in the clause, �new sky and new land,� does NOT mean a different land. It is frequently used of something that has been refurbished.
For example, Paul used the same word when he wrote, �if any man be in Christ he is a new creation.� Paul did not mean that the sinner was blown to smithereens and a completely different person took his place. Rather, �new� means changed, refreshed,
made better.
I would really like to know how Fields can point to 2 Peter 3 as proof of the total destruction of this creation, and not notice that the �new heavens and new earth� overthrows his claim that a non physical reality awaits the believer in heaven! Which is
it, Mr. Fields, �new heavens and new earth,� or a non material existence outside of the material creation? You can�t have it both ways! Heaven and earth (sky and land) are both things of this creation (Gen. 1:8-10), and are physical by definition!
The Day of the Lord According to the �Holy Prophets�
Peter writes, �for the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,� (v. 10). This begs the question, what is the �Day of the Lord?� The answer is given in the �words which were spoken before by the holy prophets,� (v. 2). Isaiah describes it in several places.
Isaiah 13:9-13
9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate [the promised Land]; And He will destroy its sinners from it.
[please! see Psalm 37:9-11]
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the
arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in the day of His fierce anger.
21 Is this the total destruction of this creation? Isaiah continues.
Isaiah 14:1-2 1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the
house of Jacob. 2 Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the LORD; they will
take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.
Virtually every time we have a description of the �Day of the Lord� in the Old Testament prophets, it is followed by a description of the restoration of the land of Israel and Jerusalem, (cf. Isaiah 34-35, Zech. 14). Consider Joel�s prophecy of the Day of the Lord as a typical example.
Joel 3:12-21
12 "Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
[cf. Rev. 14:14-16] Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow �
For their wickedness is great." [cf. Rev. 14:7-20, Rev. 19:15]
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. 16 The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
17 "So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again." 18 And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall be
flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD And water the Valley of Acacias. 19 "Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, For they have shed innocent
blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall abide forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the LORD dwells in Zion.�
This theme is consistent throughout the prophets � the fiery destruction of the land in judgment, followed by the restoration of the land with its present places and landmarks,
the restoration of God�s people permanently to the Promised land, and God�s dwelling among them forever.
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That Peter was merely alluding to prophecies of this kind is proven by his direct quote of Isaiah 65-66. �Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a
new earth in which righteousness dwells,� (v. 13). �His promise� that Peter referenced is Isaiah�s prophecy of the �new heavens and new earth.�
The entire �promise� in Isaiah consists of both chapters, 65-66. However, the clause itself, �new heavens and new earth� (refreshed sky and refreshed land) is found in
Isaiah 65:17 & 66:22. And the context clearly defines what it means. After God provides a �refreshed sky and refreshed land,� this occurs.
Isa 65:25 NKJV
25 �The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,� Says the LORD.
The same physical animals remain in the �new heavens and new earth� (refreshed sky and refreshed land). It is apparent that the animal kingdom is also refreshed, since animals are no longer carnivorous. In chapter 66, the prophet Isaiah went on to further
describe the restoration of Jerusalem. He spoke of missionaries going out to the world proclaiming worship of God in Jerusalem. God concluded �His promise� as follows:
Isaiah 66:15-16, 22-24
15 For behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by
His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many. �
22 �For as the new heavens and new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD, "So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD.
24 "And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.�
How does Fields explain the presence of the corpses of the wicked in his mythological �new heavens and new earth?� This is Gehenna, spoken of by Jesus as still future when
He quoted this passage, (Mark 9:43-48). The smoldering corpses of the wicked will be visible throughout the millennium to those who come to worship the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem. It will be a reminder to �all flesh� what happens to those who
oppose God.
23 Joel 2:1-11 describes the Day of the Lord in graphic detail. The burning of �earth� (land) that day is the purging of the land of Israel by God�s angelic army.
Joel 2:1-11
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand:
2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness. Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains, a people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many
successive generations.
3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And
like swift steeds, so they run. 5 With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. 7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. 8 They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. 9 They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. 11 The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the
day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
Yet, as we continue reading, we find the restoration of the land follows, and God dwells there forever, (Joel 3:18-21). Likewise Malachi describes the purging of the land of Israel by fire in similar terms. Yet, the righteous remain in it AFTER the burning.
Malachi 4:1-3 NKJV
1 "For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; And you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts.
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Fields� problem in 2 Peter 3 is that he wants to divorce that passage from �the words spoken before by the holy prophets� (v. 2) in general, and from �His promise� (v. 13),
quoted from Isaiah 65-66, in particular.
The Elements
Fields appeals to the word �elements� in 2 Peter 3:10-12, attempting to show that even the building blocks of matter will be destroyed. But, is that what it means? Was Peter trying to give his readers a lesson in chemistry? Strong�s defines the primary meaning of στοιχια as �something orderly in arrangement.� Fields quotes Vine�s, �used in the plural, primarily signifies any first things from which others in a series, or a composite whole
take their rise.� This does not support Fields� claim. The following passages define the biblical meaning of the word, στοιχια (elements).
Gal 4:3-4 NKJV
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
Gal 4:8-10 NKJV
9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Col 2:8 NKJV
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
Col 2:20 NKJV
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations Not once in the Bible does στοιχια have anything to do with chemistry. The �fervent heat� will consume the foundational elements of human society, the infrastructure of
civilization that mankind relies on for his survival. Peter said, �both the land and the works that are in it.� Man�s �works� are synonymous with �the elements.�
�Burned Up� or �Discovered?�
The NKJV, based on the Textus Receptus, renders the last word in verse 10 as �burned up,� from κατακαησεται. However, the oldest manuscripts, p72, , & B, have ευρεθησεται instead,12 which means to �discover.� This word was used of Mary, when
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she was discovered to be with child by Joseph. The same word was used by Jesus in the clause, �seek and you shall find.� The NIV translates ευρεθησεται in 2 Pet. 3:10 as �laid
bare.� The implication is that what man has done will be tested (and discovered) by the fire, to see whether or not it will survive. We find precisely the same idea in two other New Testament passages.
Hebrews 12:27-29 NKJV
27 �Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let
us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.�
Note that the Kingdom we are to receive will include the things that survive the great shaking and burning. �Things� is neuter, referring to things on earth, the things of human government, society, infrastructure, and even what Christians have done.
1 Cor 3:13-15
13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day [of the Lord] will declare it, because it will be revealed [discovered] by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive
a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Consistency and Harmony is Proof of Correctness
The consistent teaching of the Prophets and the New Testament is that the Day of the Lord will test man�s works by fire. What is good will remain, and what is not will be consumed in the fire. What could be clearer when we harmonize all these passages,
both Old Testament and New? There is perfect harmony in Scripture, when your presuppositions are correct. Fields isolates 2 Peter 3 from the rest of the Bible. His interpretation makes Peter contradict the very prophets he claimed to be referencing!
�Any doctrinal position that requires Scriptural contradictions cannot be the true doctrine of Christ.�
Let us stand together in agreement to pray for this young man, that God would bring him to repentance, that he would be forgiven, and that he would know the Truth.
