ant portions of the Bible. The third chapter of Peter's second Epistle, and some passages in the writings of Paul, would of course be referred to as teaching very clearly that the material world will be destroyed by fire. I will briefly examine a few of the more important of these passages, and will endeavor to throw upon them a few rays of the heavenly light of the new dispensation.
The apostle Peter begins his remarks upon this subject, by earnestly charging his brethren to "be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets." His subsequent remarks show that, by the words of the prophets, he means those passages in the divine word which, in their literal sense, appear to predict the destruction of the material world. For after warning his brethren of the dangerous influence of scoffers, who would come in the last days, walking after their own lusts, denying and ridiculing the doctrine of the second coming of the Lord, and even confirming themselves in their infidelity by rejecting the scriptural evidence of the world having been once destroyed by a flood, he adds, that "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." He says that "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up;" and that, "the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved." "Nevertheless," says the apostle, "we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
The above passages were evidently intended to be substantially the same with certain "words which were spoken before by the holy prophets;" for the prophets often declared that "the heavens shall shake," "shall be rolled together," "shall tremble," "shall be clothed in blackness," "that there shall be wonders in the heavens, and in the
