2 Peter 3:10-12: But 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 burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Revelation 21:1: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Before the eternal kingdom is established on the earth, the planet and all the evil works that have been done upon it must first pass away. The Greek word for “pass away” is “parerchomai,” which means, “to pass from one form to another.” The planet will be entirely annihilated before it is renewed.
The apostle Peter said that “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” The word “elements” in the Greek is “stoicheion,” which refers to the most basic element of nature. Today, we know the atom to be the smallest building block of nature. But the elements shall “melt” (“luo” in Greek), or be loosed. The same Greek word is used in John 11:44, when Jesus said to “loose” (“luo”) the graveclothes from Lazarus.
God is going to “loose” the atoms of the galaxy in which we live. In other words, the atoms will become unstable and will be loosed in an atomic chain reaction, similar to what is experienced in the detonation of an atomic bomb. No wonder then that there will be a great roar, and intense heat and fire. After the atoms have been loosed in a terrible display of destructive power, God will then bring those atoms back together, in order to rebuild the planet and its atmosphere, upon which shall live a people who no longer have the sinful nature.