the end-time events, the Second Coming (see the descriptions of the end times in Dan. 9:24–27; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:1–12). At the end of this age in the day of the Lord’s judgment, the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt, presumably by fire (v. 12). Peter’s description requires the unlimited power of God in dissolving the very elements of the universe, from which He will create a new heaven and new earth (see v. 13; Rev. 21; 22).