|
2nd Peter 3:1-18
"This
second epistle beloved I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by
way of remembrance: that ye may be
mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the
commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first that 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. For this they willingly are ignorant of that by the word of God the
heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water: whereby the world that then was being
overflowed with water perished: but the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept
in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men. But 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. 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 [conduct lifestyle] and godliness looking for the 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? Nevertheless we according to his
promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look
for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without
spot and blameless. And account that the
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given
unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles speaking in them of these
things; in which are some things hard to be understood which they that are
unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other scriptures unto
their own destruction. Ye
therefore beloved seeing ye know these things before beware lest ye also being
led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."
"2nd Peter chapter 3 hes going to talk to the beloved talking to us four times
in the chapter. Youll see there
in verse 1 of 2nd Peter 3 it says "beloved I now write unto you;
in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that you would be mindful of the words
which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us the apostles
of the Lord and Saviour:" (verses 1-2) so first of all he says "beloved...I want you to be mindful." In verse 8 he says "beloved be not ignorant
of this one thing" In verse 14 he says "beloved...be diligent" he challenges the believer to be diligent
in regards to these things and in verse 17 he says "beloved...beware" 'I want you to beware of certain
things. So theres an interesting flow in the
chapter here as we jump into it.
The 2nd Coming Of Jesus Christ The Broadest Subject In The New Testament: Why?
"This
second epistle beloved I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by
way of remembrance:" now
we have the mind of Christ its your other mind that gives you problems but
you have a pure mind. We have the
mind of Christ its kind of unmixed "to stir up your pure minds by way of
remembrance: that ye may be
mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the
commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:" (verses 1-2) "of" in King James should be "from the Lord and Saviour:" The idea is the words that the prophets spoke the words the apostles
spoke they were from the Lord the Saviour hes affirming the deity of Christ
there and challenging the Church to be mindful of the things that were spoken
by the prophets and by the apostles in regards to the last days that we should
be mindful of those things. We can
know them and become so familiar with them that they no longer have the
impact that theyre supposed to have on our lives. 'Oh were studying this again oh were talking about
the Rapture again [1st resurrection to immortality for the rest of
us folks] oh were talking... Peter says 'These things are
supposed to have an impact on our lives thats the purpose of them and he says 'he is seeking to
stir up our minds and putting us in remembrance of certain things that our
minds would be full of those things mindful that wed be thinking of them on
a regular basis the words the Old Testament prophets the commandment of the
apostles which
was always watch be sober be vigilant be ready that we would live godly in
light of these things And he says this is from the Lord. There are over 300 references to the 2nd coming of Christ in the New Testament [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming.htm]. Theres seven specific places that talk
about the new birth. Ah theres a
number of places that talk about repentance and faith I forget how many
twenty twenty-five specifically. You know theres about 70 to 80 places that speak of baptisms thats
of the Spirit water baptism as a subject. There are over 300 separate references about the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. It is by
far the broadest subject in the New Testament. And why would that be? He says these things are from the Lord why would that be why would it
be the broadest subject in the New Testament? You know I put myself in the Lords sandals in a sense you
know. Im going to Iraq you know
just making this up. And I know
that while Im gone Americas going to get hit with a nuke. I know while Im gone terrorists are
going to set loose anthrax or something terrible I know theres going to be
trouble here while Im gone. But I
know that Im going to come back and when I get back everythings going to be
ok with my wife and my kids. What
do I write to them about more than anything else? Knowing the Lord loves his Bride more than I love mine the
Lord loves his children more than I love mine thats incredible to me if
thats true I want to grow in that. Because I love my wife and my kids so much. But the reason its the broadest topic in the New Testament
is throughout Christ is saying 'Im
coming youre in a foreign world right now youre a pilgrim youre in a
hostile environment. In this world
you have tribulation if this world hated me its going to hate you also but
Im coming Im coming hes talking to his Bride 'Im coming and when I come everythings
going to be ok. When I get there I
am going to make it all right. When I get there I am putting everything in order. When I get there everything dangerous
and destructive is going to be put in its proper place [read Isaiah 11:1-13;
Ezekiel 36:1-38; Ezekiel 37:15-28 just for starters]. When I get there when I get there Im coming Im coming
[read 1st Corinthians 15:49-56]. And for that reason it is by far the broadest subject in the New
Testament the coming of Christ.
First Scoffers
Mockers Will Come Mocking You About Your Belief In The 2nd Coming Of
Christ
He
says 'These things are from the Lord "knowing this first" preeminently not first in an order of
things but this just should be preeminent "knowing this first that there
shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts" (verse 3) scoffers mockers people that will
make fun of the 2nd coming "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." (verses 3-4) You know 'Where is his coming you talk about all the time where is
it? in the last days
mockers will come and it says the reason theyre going to have that attitude
is because theyre walking after their own lusts. What theyre after is something carnal and sensual and
temporary and pleasing in this world and theyre willing to sacrifice what
they know is true or make fun of what they hope is not true for the sake of
their own carnal ways 'This is what we want this feels good I want to do
this now. Dont tell me about the
Bible dont tell me about Jesus dont tell me hes coming because I like my
sin I like the way it feels. Sin feels good. If sin felt bad the Bible wouldnt
have to warn us about it. Theres
nowhere in the Bible that says 'Dont hit yourself in the forehead with a
ballpeen hammer it
just doesnt say that. Because you
aint gonna do that because that hurts. Theres nowhere in the Bible that says 'dont chew up carpet
tacks. It says 'Moses esteemed the
reproach of Christ greater than the riches of Egypt determining that hed
rather suffer that reproach than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
(Hebrews 11:24-27) The Bible is very clear that sin is pleasurable. And it says in the last days there are going to be those
you know what they want to do is they want to continue in their sin and they
do not want to hear the moral standards the ethical standards what the
Scripture has to say about whats right and wrong and the fact that Christ is
coming one day and hes going to bring everybody into account. They dont want to hear it. He says because theyre walking after their own lusts. They dont have a Biblical reason. They dont have a scientific
reason. You know people who want
to embrace evolution people who want to deny that Noahs flood ever happened
it says here they dont have scientific reasons they dont have Biblical
reasons what they have is carnal reasoning that drives them. "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." (verses 3b-4) You know theyre talking about the Church fathers these are the last
days I guess Peter says these will be the last days [when people start saying
this I guess]. 'Yea yea God
created the world nothing ever changes. And it says
these mockers are going to come. Now you know what I like about these mockers? The fact that these mockers come proves that the Word that
said they would come is true. So
Im glad theyre here mocking because theyre just re-affirming how true the
Bible is. And when they give you a
hard time say 'You know I appreciate your mockery so much because youre
just another evidence that what the Bible says is the exact truth thank you
very much! 'Where is the
promise of his coming? Nothings
ever changed
People Are Willingly
Ignorant About The Evidence Of Creation And A Worldwide Flood
"For
this they willingly are ignorant of that by the word of God the heavens were
of old and the earth standing out of water and in water: whereby the world that then was being
overflowed with water perished:" (verses 5-6) "willingly" means their will is involved theyve decided they are willingly ignorant that
all this was by the word of God that the heavens were created in the first
place and the earth. And there is just more and more and more and more
evidence [order and watch "The Genesis Code."]. I dont know if you saw I think it was a US News &
World Report one of the latest articles talked about Steven Myers it was in "World
Magazine" too whose a
Ph.D. hes a brilliant scientist and he wrote a paper on Intelligent
Design. And his premise was evolution cannot
have happened. Now what we
understand now about the digital code in the DNA it is an impossibility a
fish could never grow to be a lizard and a lizard could never grow to be a
dog and a dog could never grow to be a horse and a horse could never grow to
be a monkey and a monkey could never grow to be a human because theres a
digital code they are what they are and its impossible. [Also order and read "Darwins Black
Box" by the Ph.D.
level micro-biologist and geneticist Michael Behe. Youll be able to read about a third of the way into this
1.5 inch thick book before you get lost in the science (as a layman) but he
proves his point of the master-design and intricacy within living cells right
down to the protein and atomic structure level.] And one of the editors for Smithsonian in their publication
read it and was so impressed with it and he has three PhDs that he printed
it in their periodical and then the heads of the Smithsonian Institute took so
much heat that they fired this guy who was their editor with three earned
Ph.D.s because he printed Steven Myers thesis whose also a Ph.D. and a
brilliant guy. But it caused such
a firestorm that people from all over the world are reading Steven Myers
website now and downloading his whole paper and its going everywhere
now. But theyre willingly
ignorant theyre willingly ignorant of that. What they said to Steven Myers is "Intelligent Design" you cant say that because that
insinuates a designer. Duh! [laughter] This whole premise is this has to be designed this cannot
have happened. They dont want to
hear that. Theyre willingly
ignorant of this and it then says "whereby" by the means of water "the world
that then was being overflowed with water perished:" (verse 6) And theres evidence that the whole earth at one point was destroyed by
a flood. In fact there are over
270 records that anthropologists and the archeologists have turned up from
around the entire world from different cultures and different eras and
different ages over 270 records of a worldwide flood. In the Epic of Gilgamesh which goes
back to the Sumerian Tablets it says there that God destroyed the world with a
flood and then when the rain was finished that the guy whoever he names was
on the boat sent forth a dove to see if he found dry land and he tells the
whole story exactly the way the Bible tells it all the way back to ancient
Babylon before Nebuchadnezzars Babylon. And then it tells us that in those days the earth was divided in the
days of Peleg the continental drift. So this story is in the Incas in the Aztecs its in the Chinese
dynasties its all around the world that at one point the entire earth was
destroyed in a deluge by a flood. The whole world knows about it. These people dont know because they want to be ignorant. We know and if we know it seems like
everybody should know. [laughter] The world was
overflowed it was destroyed with water it perished.
God Says 'Next Time
I Will Destroy The Earth With Fire
"But
the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (verse
7) So at the end of the flood God puts
the rainbow in the clouds and says next time if I destroy the world it is not
going to be by water its going to be with fire. Peter here says the world now is reserved by the same Word
of God that created the Word of God in the beginning the same Word of God that
brought judgment on the world that God created the same Word that was spoken
to us by the prophets and by the apostles that we should take heed to by that
Word this world presently is reserved unto fire. It will be cleansed and purged by fire ah against the
judgment and against the perdition of ungodly men. Now first thing 'Beloved I want your minds to be
stirred I want you to understand I want you to keep certain things in mind
because mockers are gonna come and theyre going to try to dissuade you from
your faith theyre going to make fun of what you believe particularly in the
last days (verses 1-4) You know theres an increase in
technology theres an increase in learning an increase in math. People are just as sinful they just
have more [and better] stuff to destroy us with. The human condition hasnt changed. But you have the collective years of
technology and discovery and so forth [going back to the 1700s and really
taking off in the 1800s and 1900s to the point now where technology has raced
ahead to the point where man can now erase all life off this planet 40 times
over with just the US and Russian nuclear arsenals. Once is quite enough.] And thats increasing on a parabola. So know this that youre going to take heat in the last
days if you believe something so simplistic as "God created the world hes
already cleansed it once and hes gonna cleanse it again" people are going to
make fun of you. When they make
fun of you you say 'Thank you I was expecting you because the Bible told
me you would come.
How God Uses Time
So
thats the first "beloved." (covered in verses 1-4). Second "beloved"
"But beloved be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years
and thousand years as one day." (verse 8) Now theres
this one point Peter says 'I dont want you to be confused on this
issue and this is it that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years
as one day. [Comment: This principle was proven to be a law of physics by Albert
Einstein. Order and watch The
Genesis Code. This verse backs up all the laws of
Relativity that the speed of time is not a constant in the universe or with
God Space-Time is variable. Isnt
it amazing how the Bible "scoops" science every time?] Important for us to know that because "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." (verse 9) OK heres the
next thing you need to know and hes saying 'I dont want you to be
ignorant of this because it hasnt happened doesnt mean that its not going
to happen because a day is with the Lord as a thousand [or 8-billion years]
and a thousand years is with the Lord as a day hes outside of time
[right! Space-Time Albert
Einstein!]. Hes not subject to the same rules. You know people are saying 'Oh yea whats taking him so
long? Hes right on time nothings taking
him long. A thousand years is with
the Lord as a day. You may say 'This
has taken so long why is he taking so much time? Well its just like a day to him. Of course on the other hand a day it says is like a thousand
years. He can accomplish in one
day what you would think would take a thousand years to accomplish. He can also do that. Hes not bound by time. Now we have a very interesting prophecy
in Hosea ah you dont have to turn there Ill read it to you Hosea the last verse in chapter 5 and
the first two verses in chapter 6 the Lord says 'I will go and then return to my place. Now thats speaking of his first coming. 'I will go he came died on the cross [ascended back to heaven] 'and I will return to my place until they acknowledge their offense and seek
my face and in their affliction they shall seek me early. Jesus said that to the Jews 'Henceforth you shall
see me no more until you say Blessed is he that comes in the name of the
Lord so that
Lord says 'I will go then Im going to return to my place he says 'until they acknowledge
their offense and seek my face. 'Come let us return theyre going to say this 'Come let us return unto the Lord for he
hath torn and he will heal us. He
has smitten he will bind us up after two days will he revive us and
in the third day he will raise us up and we will live in his sight. After two days the context is Titus Vespasian when Jesus
comes the first time a day is with the Lord as a thousand years a thousand
years as a day after two thousand years hes going to return again thats
where we are now. I dont know
what exact day its the mark but thats where we are. [And add another thousand years going
through the 1000 year Millennial Kingdom of God period (cf. Revelation
20:4-6) and this brings you to the 2nd resurrection when all of
Israel (and mankind for that matter) who have sinned 'been torn and died are
resurrected back to life which is prophecied in Ezekiel 37:1-14 the great
general resurrection the Jews always looked forward to. There have been various interpretations
about this resurrection but this seems to fit this prophecy to a T as far as
the passage of three 'Lord days or three thousand years from his 1st coming. For some of those other
interpretations see http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm] Two days have gone by since the first time he came and returned. And he says 'in the third day which will be the 7th Millennium the Sabbath the one-thousand year reign of Christ six thousand
year history of mankind the seventh day is a day of rest the 7th thousandth years ready to begin soon it says here 'in the third day
hes going to raise us up. 'A day with the Lord is as a
thousand years a thousand years is as a day he says here. And "The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance." (verse 9) [Comment: That great general resurrection back to physical life
spoken of in Ezekiel 37:1-14 seems to fit this verse here coupled to Hosea 5
last verse and Hosea 6:1-2. Amazing but this is a veiled reference to that period of time where
God sets his hand to saving the entire world all those who have lived and died
without a chance for salvation. This theme is just jumping out of these sets of verses here. I find that amazing although most
dont believe this interpretation yet and some fight against it trying to
limit Gods grace.] Ezekiel tells
us that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Why is he waiting? Sometimes as Christians we think 'Lord
get us out of here! You know its bad enough that theres
cancer theres suffering theres difficulty 'Lord Jesus come quickly! And on top of that now weve got these mockers making fun of us
because were saying 'Lord Jesus come quickly. And
Peter says 'I dont want you to be discouraged disillusioned I dont
want you to count slackness the way other men count slackness thats not
whats going on here. But hes
longsuffering because he doesnt want anybody to perish but he wants all men
to come to repentance. I got saved in 1972 I am glad that
Jesus Christ didnt come in 1971. But I wish he would come back now I wish he would come Im so selfish
now that Im in its ok if he comes. You know what I mean? 'Theres
a couple billion people that arent saved on the planet I know that but Im
in so get us outa here lets get the program moving. Its interesting how we are isnt it? Peter says 'I dont want you to be discouraged hes
not tarrying hes not not fulfilling his word he hasnt made a promise that
hes not keeping but hes longsuffering. And the reason hes longsuffering is because he doesnt want anyone to
perish he wants all men to come to repentance and its the only time in either one
of Peters letters that he uses the word "repentance." Very interesting its his only usage
of the word metanoia to
change the mind. And what hes
saying here is the lifestyle should change. Remember John the Baptist when he was preaching
repentance he said 'Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance dont just
say 'I believe in God oh yea Im a Christian no no no there should be a change in your life there should be a
change in our lives if weve come to Christ. When were born again (cf. John 3) and Christ comes into our
heart then the power is there then to break the power of sin in our lives
(Romans 8:1-9). And yes we grow
as time goes by and we change. But there should be a definite recognizable change when we come to
Christ if repentance is real if we are really turning from the world then
were turning to the Saviour. If
were really changing our mind were turning away from something and were
turning to him. And he says here 'God
is longsuffering for this reason because he wants all men to do that. Hes using time to serve grace his purposes of
grace. God is using time to serve
his purposes of grace. And God
measures time morally not by the clock not by the calendar he measures time
morally not by length but morally. And he says they say 'When Lord? and he says 'Its like when you see the vultures
gathering when a carcass becomes so rotten and so putrefied that the carrion
are drawn to it he says 'that is when when things get to that point it gets so rotten
thats when judgment will come. And I dont know how far from rotten we
are. I think were at least at
"rot" [laughter] and I think we might even be at "rott" I dont know if were
to "ten" yet but were pretty close were pretty close. But God is measuring time morally.
'The Day Of The
Lord---What Is It?
He
says "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 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?" (verses10-12) Notice plural "heavens." Doesnt sound like a good day. That day is coming he says. Now he calls it "the Day of the
Lord." The day of the Lord begins
at the Rapture [1st resurrection to immortality] of the Church. The Day of the Lord begins when God
supernaturally imposes his will into human history taking the steering wheel
of everything to himself again. It
[the Day of the Lord] goes through the Tribulation (World War III) it goes
through the Millennium to the Great White throne thats the Day of the
Lord. Its the Day of the Lord
because it becomes his day because he intervenes and he steps in and takes
things under his sovereign control in a way that has not manifested itself for
thousands of years. But the Day of
the Lord is coming. Christ is
going to come like a thief in the night. Were told that. And if you
dont think hes coming tonight it might be when he comes. If you werent expecting him to come
while we were here studying the Bible for an hour this might be the hour. It says it will be an hour that you
think not. We know it will be at 2
oclock in the morning when the Rapture happens somewhere. [laughter] "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;" and in the context of that "day of the
Lord" hes saying "the heavens" plural "shall pass away with a great noise" study that word "noise" in the Greek it means to be
crackling and sizzling. Its a bad
noise. "and the elements shall melt with fervent heat" now we have the same word used three times here you have the word "melt"
in verse 10 you have the word "dissolved" in verse 11 and you have the
word "dissolved" down in verse 12 all them are "to loosen" the
same word. Because God is going to
"loosen" the elements. [Comment: When? In Revelation 20:14-15 which everyone
understands as Gehenna hellfire. In Revelation 20:1 the very next verse in Revelation God is creating a
new earth and new heavens. So
obviously verses 14-15 of Revelation 20 and verse 1 of Revelation 21 are part
of the same event where all the elements within the whole universe are
"loosened." Now what does that
mean? Pastor Joe will
explain.] Very interesting
idea. Because the whole idea of
fission the whole idea of what human beings in their technological advances
have done is theyve figured out how to split the atom. They know how to split it they dont
know what holds it together. [Physicists call that force that holds the protons together in the
nucleus a mysterious particle force they have named "gluons."] Atomic structure is a mystery because
in the center of the atom you have a group of protons clumped together. And the law of repelling positive
charges says they should fly apart. The other reason they should fly apart is because electrons that have a
negative charge are revolving around them and that should pull the core of the
atom apart. And scientists have
theories but have no idea what holds the atom together. Now we know from Colossians 1:17 is says 'Christ is the Creator
that all things were made by him and all things consist by him and the Greek word is "cohere to
hold together" that the whole universe is held together through
Christ. We know what holds the
atom together Jesus does. A very
profound idea because that means he held the knuckles together when they beat
his face. He held the thorns
together when they went through his brow. He held the nails together when they went through his hands and his
feet. And he assumed
responsibility for a fallen creation upon himself so that we could be
forgiven. But when they
[scientists] split that atom you see the power thats released. The power to hold it together is
greater than the power you see when its released. It takes the greater power to make the universe hold
together. You know when they did
that Oppenheimer and those guys in the Manhattan Project when they were ready
to set that first atomic bomb off you know what they did the night before they
set it off? They sat around and
talked because they didnt know if the fission process would continue and
incinerate the entire atmosphere of the earth. So the night before they detonated it they sat around and
figured 'Well were hoping that it disperses as it detonates and that it
stops. [Talk about mad scientists not sure of
what theyre doing.] But if it
starts splitting every atom they didnt know if that was going to happen they
figured it will take this long to get to New York they figured it out itll
take this long to get to London it will take this long to get to Beijing
itll take this long to burn up the atmosphere and get to the other side of the
planet 'and well all be crispy critters well all be toast. But lets set it off tomorrow and see
what happens. They set it off anyway! Then when they tested the hydrogen
bomb on the Bikini Islands they said it was equivalent to a hundred million
tons of TNT. And when the
President asked the military 'What are we talking about here? And he said 'Mr. President one of the generals said 'Just think of it this way
all of the munitions in World War II owned by every side America Great
Britain Japan the Italians the French the Germans the Russians the
complete store of munitions on every side was equivalent to about 3 million
tons of TNT and this weapon will be 100 million tons we surmise. And they set that off. [mankind is nuts.] Now I
dont think this is talking about a nuclear war here [looking at the Greek for
the words "melt" and "dissolve" the elements being "loosened"
in verses 10-12]. OK? This is a button that God pushes when
hes ready. And it says hes
simply going to "loosen" the universe the heavens. Your space-brothers are not coming to rescue you. ok? Your UFO buddies are not coming to bail you out of
here. Because when he does this
the heavens themselves "dissolve" "the heavens of heavens" plural it says and
the earth. Imagine a nuclear bomb
as big as the universe thats some sizzling and crackling. [Actually hell Gehenna fire will
consist of a nuclear detonation 20 billion light-years across and it wont be
slow or gradual in that sense. And then it looks like the BIG BANG occurs all over again with a
recreated universe and recreated earth (cf. Revelation 21:1) where the New
Jerusalem comes down to rest on this new earth forever (cf. Revelation
21:1-23).] Hes going to let the
whole thing go. Hes holding it
all together right now. Thats
what it says. Peter says the day
is coming when hes going to do that. Revelation chapter 20 tells us about that it says "I saw a great
white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heavens
fled away there was found no place for them so theres this big crackling heavens
and the earth dissolve theyre gone (in verses 14-15 of Revelation 20) and all
there is is the great white throne and then all of the dead of every age that
are damned that will be condemned are gathered there before the great white
throne and theyre thrown into outer darkness it says 'whosoever were
not found written in the book of the life of the Lamb was cast in the lake of
fire and then
John says 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven
and the first earth they were passed away and he says 'there was no more
sea either. (Revelation 21:1) [Calvary Chapels and some other
Christian groups believe all the "unsaved dead" those who had not accepted
Jesus Christ in their normal physical lifetimes are all cast into this lake of
fire. The Sabbath-keeping Churches
of God have a different interpretation about the "unsaved dead" which can be
found at http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm. All prophecy including these about the "unsaved dead" are secondary
compared to the Gospel of Salvation and this merely makes them differing
interpretations which do not effect the salvation of the believer. Some like to pound the pulpit and say
any other beliefs other than their own are damnable heresies which is not
so. Paul said with prophecy were
all looking through that darkened glass and thus dont quite know how to
interpret what were looking at. So read it and if you think this
interpretation warrants believing in so be it.] The heavens and the earth are going to dissolve [in this
nuclear detonation] because some people have the Lord coming back and
renovating things [which he will do for the period of time during the
Millennial rule of Jesus Christ. But this event occurs a short while after that 1000 year period] like
this is a fixer-upper. Hell reign
for a thousand years in his Kingdom [which will be on earth] but theres
something much more profound than that that ultimately takes place. Isaiah says it this way 'For
behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be
remembered nor come to mind. 'Behold I create bara is the Hebrew
word "to create something from nothing." Gods going to start all over hes going to let this thing thats been
corrupted by sin hes just going to let it go and its just going to blow up
its going to be gone and hes going to start over again. Now you and I are not going to blow up
because well have spiritual [spirit] bodies by then. But what that means is you and I are going to hear our
Father say "Let there be light" just like in the Book of Genesis [i.e. well be able to witness the BIG BANG of
creation all over again and for those of you who love physics this one will
blow your mind. To get a good idea
of what watching that event might be like but not necessarily following the
exact same creation pattern as before order and watch the excellent move "The
Genesis Code" off of http://www.amazon.com]. 'Let the dry land appear were going to get to watch him go
through creation and watch the new heavens and the new earth come into
existence. I dont know I dont
like anybody telling me Im a doomsday guy thats like the most positive thing
I can ever imagine. Im the
ultimate optimist Im way beyond doomsday Im already into the new heavens
and the new earth. Im not a
doomsday guy I just want to get that over with so we can get the program on
the road.
Do We Have Anything
To Do With When This Judgment Will Come?
Its
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" now he uses this idea of seeing three
times here in the chapter '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?" (verses 10-12) i.e. do you really believe Christ is coming? I hear people say 'Oh I believe Jesus is coming I love
to read prophecy books its (prophecy) not for speculation its for motivation. I hear people say they know Christ is
coming theyre living in sexual sin theyre watching pornography theyre
ruining their family with alcohol or down in Atlantic City gambling the family
money away 'Oh yea I believe Jesus is coming like theyre going to be fine if Jesus
comes while theyre doing that. I
dont know about you guys I got saved in 1972 and by 73 I was backslid for a
little while and if I were to get stoned then and I did then I was like 'oh
man Im going to try to read my Bible oh Lord dont come now dont come
now wait till Im straight please dont come now Lord oh Lord dont come
now. I wasnt saying 'OK here we go
lets get the show on the road! I
know Im stoned but you can come tonight if you want to. If you believe that hes coming if you believe that this is true John
says that 'any man that has this hope purifies himself even as he ["he"
Jesus] is pure. It is the purifying hope of the
Church. Repentance Peter says is
attached to it. "Seeing then that all these things are going to be
dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [lifestyle
conduct] and godliness" (verse 11) and its interesting that Greek word there for "manner" is "foreign" "what
foreign from another country kind of people ought ye to be" and heres why youre foreign "in
all holiness of conversation" thats
"lifestyle" "conversation" "and godliness..." You should be godly people people that dont look like the rest of this
world you should look like a foreigner. If you believe this ball of dirt is going to be incinerated and the
heavens themselves are going to be consumed and burn up then Peter says the
way you should be living here is like a foreigner like an ambassador like a
pilgrim youre here but youre not from here that it should effect our
lives. "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?" "Looking for" 'thats "expectantly eagerly "looking for and hastening 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?" (verse 12) Hes saying that we should live as
foreigners and we should live with an eager expectant looking for the coming
of Christ. It tells us in Romans
8:19 'that even the creation itself with expectation is waiting for the
manifestation of the sons of God. And the Greek word means to have your
neck outstretched looking around the corner waiting for something. It says the very creation itself was
subject to vanity and it is in expectancy that Christ would come. How then should we live? It says we should live in a holy
lifestyle separate holy means separate. If youre a gas station attendant be a holy gas station attendant. If youre a carpenter be a holy
carpenter. If youre a cow be a
holy cow. [laughter] Just you know it means you belong to
him you dont belong to this world and in godliness just living the right
way. Now heres an interesting
grammatical problem in the Greek. I know thats why you came tonight to hear an interesting grammatical
problem "looking for" thats our attitude 'expectantly looking for and then it says "and hasting unto the coming of the day of God" Greek
scholars are divided right down the middle and qualified Greek scholars ask
is it saying that 'looking for and eagerly waiting for the day of Christ? or 'Through our godly lifestyle were looking for and we are
hastening the day that Christ returns? So theres
this big question. Do we have an
effect we pray "Thy Kingdom come thy will be done." Theres a point in time when the fullness of the Gentiles are gathered
in. I hope every time we have an altar
call here that the last one is here. Do we through prayer and evangelism effect the world we live in? Do we have anything to do with
when this judgment comes? Do we
hasten it? You can have two schools of thought
here one of them is going to say you have an error on one side that says 'God
is so sovereign (and he is) and God has everything under control theres no
sense evangelizing theres no sense doing anything because whoever is going
to be saved is going to be saved and everything thats going to happen is
going to happen so theres no sense doing anything. And thats stupid. [Comment: Now even if God never called another human being before the
tribulation that argument is wrong because the Book of Revelation shows
multiple millions of people will come to conversion and salvation through
Christ during the tribulation due to our very witness now and before the
tribulation. Our impact though it
might seem small now will be multiplied millions of times over when these
folk see what weve been preaching and evangelizing to them has come to
pass. People and our friends in
the world may not seem like they hear our message but they do even though
they ignore it for the present. Our evangelistic efforts will not be wasted in the end. So Pastor Joe I agree with you thats
stupid.] 'Go into all the
world and preach the gospel were told to do these things. The
other side is people take themselves so seriously that they think God cant do
anything without them Gods little helpers. [Oh dont you love people like that? Jesus said he could raise up stones to
preach the gospel if need be.] So
people err on both sides of this verse. I think you know as I read through this if I sit alone with this and
I say 'Father speak to my heart as I read this he just encourages me to be everything
that he wants me to be that I would be yielded. And who knows if were completely yielded and were
brokenhearted in prayer maybe that will push back when he comes because maybe
well see great revival in this nation. Or the other side is if we see a great revival the Church is what the
Church is supposed to be and people get saved faster maybe itll hasten the
day that he comes. In Nineveh and
Jonah was bummed because he wanted God to kill them he ran in the other
direction the whale swallowed him the whole story he comes back and he goes
into Nineveh and heres his message 'Forty days and you guys are smoke. Thats all he said. 'In
forty days judgment comes and he left and the whole city repented and judgment was set back. [Now judgment did come Babylon came
many generations later and did smoke the entire city to the point that it
charred the very stones it was made of.] And Jonah sat outside the city bummed out. 'I knew it thats why I didnt want to come here I knew
you were gracious I know youre merciful and I knew if they heard about it
and responded that youd be nice to them. What
kind of prophet messenger is that to the culture? [hes laughing] [But Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria the arch enemy of
Israel. That is why Jonah didnt
want to warn them.] He sat out
there hoping that God would smoke them anyway. But did he have an effect on the judgment of Nineveh? So its an interesting challenge for us
in this verse. You can stand on
whatever side of it you want thats fine with me Im going to try to stand in
the middle. I heard Warren Wiersby
in at a Calvary Chapel pastors conference and somebody asked Wiersby and they
said "Are you a Calvinist or are you an Armeniest?" And he said "Im neither" he said "Im no mans disciple" and he said "and I dont want any man to be my disciple." He said "If youre too much of a Calvinist you rob
man of his responsibility. If youre
too much of an Armeniest you rob God of his glory and his sovereignty." He said "Im not interested in robbing anybody." And he said he said this to us "Besides that you men are pastors" he said "Youre called to feed
sheep not Giraffes." You can think about that. In other words the food is supposed to
be down here where you can get it its not supposed to be way up there where
nobody understands it. So it was
a great answer. He said "Charles
Haddon Spurgeon was the most balanced Calvinist that ever lived he was a five
point Calvinist and challenged people to get saved every week in his
church." Im off the subject but. "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? Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new
heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." (verses 12-13) "We" Im
glad he got back to us because this is a heavy set of verses. "we look for a new heavens and a new
earth" and that goes with Isaiah what Isaiah said "its a fresh" in the
Greek it means "new in substance" its fresh. Its new its created over again [in this case new matter
altogether new protons electrons atoms perhaps even with the second law of
thermodynamics suspended]. "a
new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." "Dwelleth" is the Greek word that means "to
settle down and be at home." You know come on in take your shoes off set a spell thats to
dwell. It says 'in this new
heavens and this new earth righteousness is going to be at home. Doesnt that sound good? Righteousness is just going to snuggle up and be right at home in this
new world. That sounds good to
me.
'Be Diligent About
These Things Ive Been Telling You So That You Might Be In Peace
Here
comes the next exhortation. "Wherefore
beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found
of him in peace without spot and blameless." (verse 14) Were seeing something again here seeing that were looking for such
things. Be diligent to keep
yourself because the last chapter was about the false teachers mockers
people are going to come particularly targeting new believers trying to steal
away their faith. He says "be
diligent" we have to be diligent we have to be mindful he says we have to be
wise not ignorant regards to certain things. And we need to be diligent. God is asking for your
cooperation you need to be diligent we need to be in the Word we need to be
in prayer we need to be living in such a way that were not ashamed when he
comes. He says that that we live
in such a way that we may be found in peace. Can you say tonight 'Lord come Lord Jesus? I remember that first year of my Christian experience struggling and
backsliding and I couldnt say that 'To come tonight Lord. You know to walk with him is a struggle and a struggle with the flesh
and a struggle with the world but the great thing is I can lay my head down
every night when I go to bed and say 'Lord it would be nice to wake up
right around the throne. (cf. Revelation 4:1-11) 'Come Lord Jesus. And the only
reason were ever found without spot and blameless is because of the
righteousness of Christ thats imparted to us that were living in faith. Youre never blameless in and of
yourself. The Book of Revelation
chapter 12 verse 10 says that Satan whose the accuser of the brethren catagero categorizes our sins ceases not to
accuse them day and night before the throne of God. But it says they overcame by the blood of the lamb and by
the word of his testimony. It
doesnt say 'Satan accused them of stuff and the stuff he accused them of
wasnt true no the
reason he did accuse them is he had some stuff the reason the enemy accuses
us is because hes got the goods on us in one sense. But the way we overcome is through the
blood of Christ and the word of his testimony. Be diligent here to be in Christ to be in the Word be
ready when he comes so you can live in peace waiting for the coming of Christ
People Are Going To
Be Saved Because God's Waiting
"And
account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation:" people
are going to get saved because he's waiting "even as our beloved brother
Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;" (verse
15) And Paul said the same thing in Romans
chapter 2 verse 3 that through God's longsuffering he's hoping that through
his mercy people will turn and through his goodness people will come to
salvation.
'Some People
Torture A Scripture Until It Says What They Want It To Say To Their Own
Destruction
"As
also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they
do also the
other scriptures unto their own destruction." (verse 16) Now Paul in Thessalonians Colossians Philippians all of his letters
spoke of the coming of Christ. Now
Peters got some nerve saying some things Paul said are hard to be understood
saying that because he wrote a few things here that were all scratching our
heads about. Notice this "also
the other scriptures unto their own destruction." He
just told us that the epistles of Paul the apostle where part of the inspired
Word. He said 'Some people
wrestle with some of the things that Paul wrote as they do with the other
scriptures Peter
realizing that the New Testament was being written and that Pauls epistles
were part of the Scripture. And he
said 'Some people wrestle those things to their own destruction. It means its an interesting Geek word it was most often
used you ever see one of those movies where they put somebody on a rack and
they stretch him? That means to
torture somebody on the rack. And
it says some people do that with Scriptures they take a verse and they torture
it until it confesses whatever they want it to say. If you torture any verse long enough you can get it to say
whatever you want instead of exegesis its isogesis theyre putting meaning
into it instead of expounding the Scripture and getting the meaning out of it
and understanding what it says. And you see people do that in the church they come up with all kinds of
strange ideas because they torture some text until it confesses what they want
it to say. He says there are those
that are unlearned and unstable and they torture the Scripture to their own
destruction. "Ye therefore
beloved seeing ye know these things before beware lest ye also being led away with the
error of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness." (verse 17) Heres the last "beloved" and the last "seeing" Seeing what things? What hes written in these chapters to
us that weve escaped the corruption of the world through lust through the
great and precious promises that have been given to us that the Word of God is
dependable that false teachers will come that Christ is going to judge the
world even though mockers will come in the last days that God has given us
promises and that our hope is set on those things and we are looking for it
hasting unto the day of Christ that we should live separate in this
world. He says 'seeing you
know these things before beware Now seeing you know these things its
interesting in the Greek "seeing you know these things before" is prognosko pro "before" gnosko "to know." You see these things ahead of time seeing you know what the
prognosis is. You look at this
world right you know my dad congestive heart failure then the kidneys fail
everything goes and they say that somebody dies of "complications." Thats what our world is dying of right
now complications. Because one
system is shutting down another and its just becoming way too complex to keep
it all going thats the prognosis. Our present world is in hospice care right now. "seeing ye know these things before" you know the prognosis "beware" be on your toes be constantly
watching heres what he says "lest ye also being led away with the error
of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness." What
does he mean "lest you also"? He
uses a grammatical structure that includes himself "unless you also." Is he thinking back to that rooster
crowing? 'lest you also be
led away with the error of the wicked 'I
swore he could count on me and I told him all the other guys they might
leave but Lord you can count on me and what I got for that was err err err
err errrr! So I want you
brethren to beware. You know
these things lest you also are moved from your own stedfastness. Or was he talking about when Paul rebuked him in front of the church at
Antioch? Because Peter was out
there was enjoying the fellowship with the Gentile believers Barnabas was
there and they were eating Italian sausage and pork roll [it never said that
in the Scripture hes reading things into this it was a cultural thing that
had to do with separation between Jew and Gentile and had nothing to do with
the Hebrew food laws of Leviticus 11] and having a great time and certain
brethren came with James from Jerusalem and it says that then Peter began to
draw back Paul uses a word for a sailor he began to trim his sails. And he [Paul] says 'Youre not
walking orthopedao youre not walking straight-footedly according to the
Gospel. Is Peter talking about that? Maybe hes thinking about that. But Peter knows that there were
struggles in his own past and in his own life and he knows that a believer
doesnt fall from salvation [I disagree with that Hymenaeus and that other
guy Demas went back into the world different groups have different
interpretations here "once saved always saved" is one view and "you can fall
from salvation" being the other viewÑwell find out later at the 2nd coming and Wedding Feast when a lot of doctrinal interpretations will be
clarified] but a believer falls from their stedfastness. And thats what hes warning us about
because he wants us to be stedfast he wants us to have our feet on the path
and he wants us to be making steady progress moving forward growing in
Christ. And he warns 'you
know the prognosis (for this world) we know these things ahead of time we see
them he says 'so
lets beware lets guard those things "lest ye
also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own
stedfastness." (verse 17b)
'Grow In The Grace
And Knowledge Of Jesus Christ
"But" rather than that "grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory
both now and for ever. Amen."
(verse 18) King James says "of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ" it literally says this "grow in grace and knowledge from our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ." 'Grow in grace and its 'continually grow in
grace it talks
about a steady growth. He doesnt
say 'Grow in spurts sputter along have a rollercoaster experience with
Jesus. He says 'Grow constantly in grace
and knowledge. If we grow just in grace we can
end up doing foolish things. If we
grow just in knowledge we end up being heady and being so right were just
dead right [i.e. dead orthodoxy] knowledge puffs up love edifies it. But he gives us this challenge that we
should grow in grace and in knowledge both of them. Grow in grace and in knowledge. Paul signs off with grace in the end of 2nd Timothy. John signs off with grace
in the end of Revelation. Its
very interesting Paul used the word grace (charis) more than any of the apostles
because he had murdered the Church he had slaughtered Christians and he used
grace over 120 times in his writings. Peter uses grace sparingly and talks about the very-colored grace of
God many hues many colors because he was emotional he was up and down he needed
very-colored grace thats what suited him. John is the most reticent and he uses the word "grace"
seven times. If you read Johns
Gospel 1st 2nd and 3rd John and the Book of
Revelation you will only find the word "grace" seven times in all of his
writings. Four times in the first
chapter of his Gospel "that grace and truth has come by Christ" that we see grace in the face of
Christ. Grace for grace hes given
us. Then he doesnt use it
again. Once in 2nd John and then he uses it in the introduction of Revelation and the close of
Revelation "grace" but he does say this 'We see grace in the face of
Jesus Christ. And then he used the word "Jesus" 270
times in his Gospel almost more than the other Gospels combined. He says 'You want to see grace
look at Jesus. And then he says 'Let me tell
you about Jesus. And man does he tell us about
Jesus. But grace they all commend
us in the most difficult of days to Gods grace. Paul warning about the last days commends the Church to the
grace of God he says 'only Timothy hes the only one I can trust. Peter here too says 'This is the way the last days are going to
be scoffers false teachers but commits us to the grace of God. John has the Book of Revelation sees things that are unimaginable and
it ends by commending the Church to the grace of God. Thats why were here tonight Gods grace. Thats why we are what we are Paul
says 'I am what I am by the grace of God. That were to grow in grace he says through Titus 'that grace
has drawn us to salvation teaching us to deny ungodly lusts in this present
world and to look forward to the coming of our God and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Paul says 'Grace saved us grace
keeps us grace makes us look home. Peter ends
here by saying "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. To him" to Jesus "be glory both now and
for ever. Amen." We will probably see Peter face to face before we get back
to his two epistles again. On
Wednesday night itll be at least 11 years by the time we get back here. On Sundays were probably five years
away. So Im hoping to see Peter
before I see his epistles again besides in my own reading. Ah 1st 2nd and
3rd John read ahead some remarkable remarkable remarkable
things I encourage you to read ahead...lets stand lets pray...[transcript of a
connective expository sermon on 2nd Peter 3:1-18 given by Pastor
Joe Focht Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia 13500 Philmont Avenue Philadelphia
PA 19116]
related
links:
The
2nd Coming of Christ the broadest subject in the New
Testament. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming.htm
How
God Uses Time How He Created the Universe and will again. Order the DVD movie "The Genesis
Code" online at: http://www.amazon.com
|
