Look closely at how verse 19 works in the Greek. Paul has already used the word apokalyphthēnai in verse 18. Now he seems deliberately to exploit the poetic potential of the word with the repeated apo, the ‘k’ sound and also the ‘d’: hē gar apokaradokia tēs ktiseōs tēn apokalypsin tōn hyiōn tou theou apekdechetai. Those words starting with ap- (apokaradokia, apokalypsin, apekdechetai) created an explosion of consonants, highlighting the explosive nature of the moment when God will finally complete his work with Jesus’ return and the transformation of all things.
