The destruction of the world described in the scripture is the destruction of the evil world, albeit expressed a lot in symbolic and metaphorical terms: fire, clouds, elements melting, dead bodies rising.

But consider: what makes something evil? Is the world evil because of the elements, or the material it is made of? Is a building evil because of the elements it is made of? No. A building become evil when it is controlled and occupied by evil. An embassy becomes an evil place when the forces controlling and using it are evil. This is what sovereignty means. It defines.

The world is like that building. It has been living in a history of evil used for evil purposes. The destruction of the evil world is the destruction of the evil sovereignty ruling over the world. But when that evil sovereignty is replaced by the good true sovereignty, then the world becomes a good place.

Many will disagree, but the understanding of scripture that accepts that symbology and parable are a BIG part of the descriptions of the end times and that it is about the destruction of "satan's world" and the birth of God's world, that perspective is much more powerful, in my view.

"A new heaven and a new earth" does not mean the material elements are all replaced by new ones (not to mention that the heaven here is not even a material place, but a spiritual one). It means, that the old occupant is being kicked out, and the new occupant, the right and lawful one, is being brought back in.

"I feel like a new man!" doesn't literally mean all my cells have been replaced and my brain structure and all been replaced. It means I've been renewed, refreshed, and feel a different spirit than the one I felt previously. Likewise, the world we live in.

Accepting that much of such apocalyptic visions etc, are symbolic doesn't mean LESS faith. It just means more mature faith with understanding. IMO. And, it makes sense, and is supported by the same logic that helps us understand God's own created handiwork: the natural world.