II Peter 3:3-13  'There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of his coming?' for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  They willfully forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed, perished, being flooded with water.  But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same Word, are reserved for fire until the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; 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 heavengs being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.'

In a 2006 report completed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), it was predicted that a severe solar storm was coming, estimated to occur in about 2012.  There has also been much talk about the doomsday prediction of 2012, as reflected in the Mayan calendar, and supposedly found in the Hopi myths, the Aztec writings, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Roman Oracles, the writings of Seneca the Elder, the chief Shaman of the Cherokee Tribe in North Carolina, Nostradamus, and the Russian mathematician, Sergey Smelyakov of Kharkov University.  I am not certain about the predictions of these mystics, but I am sure that in the near future a catastrophic event will occur on planet earth, because the Word of God said so, long before the Mayans, Aztecs, Hopi, or Nostradamus appeared on the scene.  Once before, because of sin, the earth was destroyed by water during the great flood of Noah’s day.  The Word of God says that it will be destroyed again, this time by fire.  “The day of the Lord will come like a thief and the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (II Peter 3:10).  “The sun scorched men with fire” (Revelation 16:8).  “A third part of the trees were burnt and all the grass was burnt up…a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea and a third part of the sea became blood and a third of the creatures in the sea died and a third of the ships were destroyed.  A great star fell from heaven, burning as a lamp, and it fell upon a third of the rivers and fountains of water” (Revelation 8:7-10).  “The inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men are left” (Isaiah 24:6).  “The mountains quake, the hills melt and the earth is burned at His presence” (Nahum 1:5).  Christ said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).  John wrote, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth passed away” (Revelation 21:1).  God will redeem His children from this sinful earth and place them on a new heaven and earth.  We needn’t fear, but only be ready for the return of His Son, Jesus Christ, to gather us to Himself.  Are you ready?  The Word of God says, “Fear God and keep His commandments, which is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  Our roadmap to a relationship with the Lord, and to gain eternal life with Him, is the Word of God.  Let us read it and learn what God wants us to know of Him and our future.