We read in Holy Scripture the following: "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." (2 Peter 3:10). This passage has two distinct parts, to which the first is that the second coming of the Lord which will be as a thief in the night, and the second part is that heavens and the earth will be burnt up and be no more, akin to a gigantic nuclear explosion.
It is amazing how often we get commentary from experts or even religions built around the knowledge of our Lord's exact date of His second coming, to which, none of these predictions have ever come to pass, and probably none ever will. The scripture is clear that the Lord will come as a thief in the night, which makes the point fairly clear, that man will not know His exact coming, and in fact, it will be unexpected and unheralded. That doesn't mean that man should not prepare for His second coming, in fact, man should, in his actions and duties, always be aware that our Lord may come at any given moment, so man should at all times behave in such a manner so as to be of service to our Lord, by his love of neighbor, and his sincere purpose of behalf of God.
The second section of this passage is of particular note, as it should frighten anyone that interprets their Bible in a literal manner because the elements are being melted with a fervent heat, does not bode well for planet earth or its inhabitants. However, the Bible is often meant to be meditated upon, and for symbols to be metaphorical or allegorical, so that a careful contemplation of the heavens burning up and passing with a great noise should be looked upon in the manner of understanding that the old must be completely annihilated in order for the activation of the new.
This signifies that the true second coming of our Lord is a time that you will recognize when the old you is burnt away, much like a controlled forest fire that takes out the dead underbrush so as to bring forth new growth and for the good continuance of that vital health for the forest. Also true, is that no one can get into heaven being of two minds, either you will serve the one, or you will serve the other. This means that the change that we desire, the second coming that we must have begins first within ourselves, and it is this that must fundamentally change within our being, or we will never successfully cross the bridge over to the other side.
The earth that we live in is exactly the earth that we have made and if this earth is unsatisfactory in any manner, such as in justice, love, truth, and faith, than that fault lies within ourselves and no other. Our Lord has ever put forth into our being all the ingredients that we need in order to effect real change, but this change must come not only from a sincere heart, but also from a heart that recognizes that its way--that is selfishness and strife cannot possibly ever be the way.
We must endeavor to release the old and to embrace the New Jerusalem, by focusing our minds and our hearts on all that is good and right, and to do all this with a singular purpose. Then, in time, He will come.