Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000052
|
01:12 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:14 Our Father in heaven, we thank You so much for the awesome 01:20 privilege of coming into Your presence to hear Your voice, 01:25 speaking to us, and to honor and glorify Your name. 01:30 We ask that as we study the message that You have for us 01:36 from 2 Peter 3, that Your Holy Spirit will be with us 01:40 and instruct us. Help us, Lord, to long for the coming of Jesus. 01:47 Help us to realize that this world is not our home. 01:52 Help us to look for our real and true homeland 01:55 where Jesus dwells. 01:57 We thank You for hearing our prayer, 01:59 for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. 02:04 As you heard from my prayer this morning, we are going 02:12 to study the message that God has for us in 2 Peter 3. 02:19 Now before we begin reading at verse 3, allow me to say 02:24 that this epistle of Peter was written very close to the end 02:31 of his life. In fact Peter, probably, at this time was 02:36 imprisoned, and he was about to be crucified 02:40 with his head down, by his own request. 02:44 And so we have, in chapter 3, the last written words 02:51 from the apostle Peter shortly before his death. 02:55 Now the last words, I believe, are very important words, 03:00 and so it would be well for us to listen to what the 03:05 apostle Peter has to say. 03:07 And, by the way, we're going to notice that he is speaking about 03:11 the end time generation. 03:14 He's speaking about our day and age. 03:16 Now let's turn in our Bibles to 2 Peter 3, and I would like to 03:22 begin at verse 3, 2 Peter 3:3. 03:31 In other words, this is of the utmost importance. 03:45 Now let's stop there just for a moment. 03:48 We're told by Peter that in the last days... 03:52 That places it within our time frame. 03:55 ...in the last days scoffers will arise, mockers will arise, 04:02 and they will want to live according to their own lusts. 04:07 Now this is very, very important as we begin our study, 04:10 because we're going to notice that these individuals 04:14 are actually delaying, and postponing the coming of Jesus. 04:19 In fact they're going to say, Where is the promise 04:22 of His coming? And the reason why they want to postpone the 04:27 second coming, the reason why they're saying where is the 04:31 promise of His coming? is, because according to verse 3, 04:35 they want to live according to their own lusts. 04:39 You see, people who live according to their own lusts 04:43 do not really want Jesus to come. 04:48 They are not anxious about Jesus coming. 04:51 And so Peter begins by saying that in the last days mockers 04:56 will come who live according to their own lusts, 05:00 and they will want to postpone, and delay, the coming of Jesus 05:04 for that particular reason. 05:06 Now if you turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 4, 05:11 we will read some verses from the last epistle which was 05:17 written by the apostle Paul. 05:18 And, by the way, he also uses the expression "the last days". 05:25 So we have the last words from Peter in 2 Peter 3, 05:29 and now we're going to read the last words of the apostle Paul 05:35 as he was imprisoned in Rome, and about to the be beheaded. 05:39 2 Timothy 4:1. 06:17 By the way, that's the identical Greek word. 06:20 ...according to their own lusts, 06:40 Notice, once again, a group of individuals who are living 06:43 in the time of the judgment when Jesus is going to come to judge 06:47 the living and the dead. 06:49 The apostle Paul says that they're living according 06:53 to their own lusts. 06:54 And what they do in order to pacify their conscience 06:59 is they pile up teachers who teach them according to what 07:04 they want to hear. 07:06 Now the image that is being used in this passage of the apostle 07:11 Paul, is that there are people who are itching to hear 07:15 what they want to hear. 07:17 And what they're going to do is they're going to find teachers 07:21 who will scratch their itching ears. 07:24 In other words, they will tell people what people want to hear. 07:29 So we find in the writings of Paul, and in the writings of 07:33 Peter, the last words that each of them wrote they had 07:37 grave concern for the church, grave concern over individuals 07:42 who would live according to their own lusts, 07:45 would teach false doctrine, and would say, Where is the promise 07:50 of His coming? Now let's go on in our study to verse 4, 07:56 2 Peter 3:4. Verse 3 says, knowing this first that scoffers 08:04 will come in the last days, walking according to their own 08:08 lusts. This explains why they scoff. 08:10 Now what are they going to say? 08:28 Where is the promise of His coming? 08:31 Everything is the same as it was from the beginning of time, 08:37 is what these mockers, or scoffers, are saying. 08:40 They're saying, we don't have to be concerned about Jesus 08:44 coming soon, anytime soon. 08:47 There's no assurance of that, because you can go as far back 08:51 as you want, and things continue exactly the way they've been 08:55 since the beginning of time. 08:57 I guess we could call these individuals uniformitarian's. 09:03 Basically, this is the idea, that there's nothing new under 09:07 the sun. The ocean stays within its banks, 09:12 that is most of the time. 09:14 The sun rises and sets. 09:18 Nature is governed by set laws. 09:22 Seasons come and they go. 09:25 Society carries on as usual. 09:29 People eat, drink, buy, sell, plant, build, and marry, 09:38 and are given in marriage, just like they have since 09:43 the beginning of time. 09:44 Business is carried on as usual. 09:48 And, so basically, these individuals, these mockers, 09:52 who want to live according to their own fleshly desires, 09:57 or their own lusts, say there's not going to be any 10:01 second coming of Jesus any time soon, because everything 10:05 continues the same from the very beginning of time. 10:09 Now, folks, I have seen in my experience that there are three 10:14 steps that people take, which eventually leads, not only to 10:21 leaving the church, but being turned off also on religion: 10:25 1. Apathy towards the coming of Jesus. 10:30 2. What results from apathy is a more and more secular lifestyle; 10:39 more and more feeling comfortable with living in this 10:44 world, with the things of this world. 10:46 And ultimately a total abandonment of religion, 10:51 the Bible, and faith. 10:54 That's what the apostle Peter is talking about here. 10:58 Individuals who say, my grandparents talked about the 11:03 second coming, my parents talked about the second coming, 11:06 and everybody has talked since time and memorial about 11:10 the second coming of Jesus, but it hasn't happened. 11:13 Things continue as they always have, and they always will 11:18 continue in that way as well. 11:20 Don't be concerned about the coming of Jesus. 11:24 It's okay to live according to your own lusts. 11:28 And apathy leads to comfort in this world, which ultimately 11:34 leads to an abandonment of faith in Jesus Christ, 11:39 and acceptance and belief in His coming. 11:42 Now let's go to verse 5. 11:44 The apostle Peter is going to say that those who argue in this 11:49 way willingly ignore several facts. 11:54 Now notice verse 5. 11:56 For this they willingly forget. 11:59 Now notice that if they simply forgot it, or didn't have any 12:04 chance to know about it, it would be okay. 12:07 But the apostle Peter says that they make a decision 12:11 of their will that they are not going to believe in what 12:15 we're going to talk about. 12:16 In other words, they willingly forget, or ignore, that by the 12:22 word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing 12:28 out of water, and in the water. 12:30 The first thing that they ignore is the fact that by the 12:35 word of God this world was created by God. 12:42 And the idea is that it was created not over long periods 12:47 of time, but it was created by the Word of God 12:50 instantaneously. You see, these individuals believe in long 12:56 ages. Everything has continued the same since 13:00 the beginning of time. 13:01 Peter is saying, you ignore the fact that in old times 13:06 the Word of God created this world. 13:10 Out of the water, it was in water, and by the way, 13:14 He's going to say that the world will eventually 13:16 be destroyed by water. 13:19 Now I want you to notice Psalm 33:6, 9, Psalm 33:6, 9. 13:28 This is describing creation, the creation that these individuals 13:33 are denying, the supernatural, instantaneous, quick creation 13:38 of God at the beginning. Psalm 33:6, It says: 13:53 Now notice verse 9: 13:57 and a million years later it was done. 14:01 That's not what it says! It says: 14:13 In other words, these individuals are ignoring 14:16 that when God created this world, He created this world 14:20 by His Word, at the beginning, quickly, and instantaneously. 14:26 Now how do we know that? 14:27 We cannot empirically prove it. 14:30 We can only know it by faith. 14:34 Notice Hebrews 11:3, Hebrews 11:3. 14:41 This is a very well known verse, but I think it's important to 14:45 read it once again. 14:46 Here the apostle Paul, whom I believe to be the author 14:49 of Hebrews, actually the writer of Hebrews, the author is God. 15:08 And by the way, in the Genesis story we find that each day, 15:13 for example the first day it says that God declared, 15:17 Let there be light, and there was light. 15:21 Let there be the firmament, and there was the firmament. 15:25 Let there be dry land, and there was dry land. 15:28 Let there be plants, and there were plants and trees. 15:31 Let there be the sun, the moon, and the stars, and they were. 15:34 Let the heavens produce birds, let there be fish in the seas, 15:38 and it was so the Bible says. 15:41 In other words, there's no room for long ages of time. 15:45 Everything continues, who knows how far back, the same. 15:50 Peter is talking about individuals who deny that the 15:54 Word of God, at the beginning, created this world 15:58 instantaneously and quickly. 16:02 Now allow me to read you a statement, very interesting 16:06 statement, that we find in Patriarchs and Prophets, 16:09 page 111. Do you know that there are Seventh-day Adventist 16:12 theologians today, Seventh-day Adventist scientists today, 16:17 who are teaching something known as progressive creationism. 16:23 It's the idea that God used evolution as His 16:27 method of creation. 16:28 In other words, God used millions of years to bring the 16:33 things into existence as we know them today. 16:36 God used the mechanism of evolution to create. 16:40 And, actually, they're teaching that death existed long before 16:45 sin in the animal world, because the animal world was used 16:49 in the process of evolution. 16:50 And they say that the fossil record reveals that dead 16:54 animals, and dead plants existed long before Adam and Eve were 16:58 created, because they're trying to reconcile the testimony 17:02 of the earth with scripture, and it is impossible, because 17:06 scripture speaks of a quick creation in six literal days. 17:11 It does not speak of progressive creation. 17:14 Now notice Patriarchs and Prophets, page 111. 17:19 Ellen White says: 18:15 This is sad. You see, if you believe that God has taken 18:23 millions of years to create this world, and that the world is 18:28 still evolving, what makes you think that the coming of Jesus 18:32 is anytime soon? 18:33 How much longer are we going to have to wait? 18:37 You see, if you don't have an instantaneous beginning, 18:41 what makes you think that we're going to have an instantaneous 18:43 end? Furthermore, why would we even keep the Sabbath? 18:48 We keep the Sabbath because we believe that God created the 18:51 world in six literal days, and rested the seventh literal day. 18:54 We are supposed to work six literal days, and we are 18:58 supposed to rest the seventh day in commemoration of what He did. 19:01 But if each day was millions of years, as Ellen White says, 19:05 why would we even bother to keep the Sabbath in honor of the day 19:09 which consisted of millions of years at the beginning? 19:12 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 19:14 What the devil is doing is he is attacking the Creator. 19:18 He is attacking the sign of the Creator: the Sabbath, because he 19:23 hates Jesus, and he wants people to forget Jesus. 19:27 Now let me just summarize a little bit what happened 19:31 according to 2 Peter 3:5. It says: 19:47 Now what's this, standing out of the water, and in the water? 19:51 Let me explain, and I'll do this without reading the verses. 19:54 Genesis 1:2 tells us that the planet was covered with water 19:59 before God created it. 20:00 The planet was a globe of water. 20:05 And what God did on the second day of creation 20:10 was to separate the waters. 20:13 He took part of the water and He placed it above 20:17 in the firmament, and He took another portion of the water 20:21 and He placed it under the earth, which is known as the 20:25 fountains of the great deep. 20:27 Scripture speaks about the water that was placed above 20:30 as the windows of heaven. 20:32 And then on the third day God made the land 20:36 appear out of the water. 20:38 That's what Peter is talking about. 20:39 He's referring directly to the fact that this earth, 20:44 which was covered with water, God at creation made the earth 20:48 appear in the water, and He separated the waters from 20:52 the waters; placing waters above and waters below. 20:56 In other words, Peter is saying that God created this world 21:00 by His Word, and He emphasizes the fact that God stored water 21:05 above, and stored water below when He made the dry land, 21:09 and when He made the firmament. 21:10 And he's trying to make this point for a specific reason. 21:13 Go back with me to 2 Peter 3, and let's read verse 5 again, 21:19 and go on to verse 6. 21:21 It says: for this they willingly forget. 21:24 There's evidence, in other words. 21:25 They could have faith, but they forget it purposely, willingly, 21:30 that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, 21:35 and the earth, standing out of water, and in the water, 21:41 Now notice: 21:54 Do you notice the earth was in the water, out of the water, 21:59 and God destroyed the world with that water. 22:03 Now the question is, how did this happen? 22:07 According to Peter, was there once a worldwide flood, 22:12 a worldwide deluge? 22:14 Do you know that some of our own scientists, and our own 22:18 theologians, are saying that the flood referred to in Genesis 22:22 was a local flood in the valley of Mesopotamia? 22:27 In some of our schools that idea is being taught; that the flood 22:33 was not a worldwide flood, it was a local flood that took 22:37 place over in the middle east. 22:39 Now I'm not going to go into the reasons why it was a universal 22:43 flood in their fullness, but allow me just to make a few 22:47 remarks about that. 22:48 The word which is generally used in the New Testament 22:52 for flood, is the word potamos. 22:57 Whenever the New Testament talks about a flood, a local flood, 23:02 it's the word potamos. 23:04 But when Jesus described the flood in Noah's day, He used a 23:09 different word that is used only for that flood, 23:12 and it was the word kataklusmos. 23:15 In other words, the flood in Noah's day was a cataclysm. 23:19 And, by the way, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 23:22 which Jesus presented as parallel with the destruction 23:25 of the world by the flood, the word that is used for 23:28 the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Greek is the 23:31 word katastrophe, which means that the destruction of 23:36 Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction of the world, 23:38 was a catastrophe. 23:40 And the word that Peter uses for flooded in 2 Peter 3, 23:46 is the word kataklusmos, where we get the word cataclysm from. 23:51 This was not some local flood. 23:53 This was a global worldwide cataclysm. 23:58 Now we've all seen the pictures of the Tsunami that took place 24:05 in Asia, in these few places on the globe where the Tsunami 24:11 manifested itself. 24:13 You know, you look at those places before and after, 24:16 and after they don't look anything like they did before. 24:19 Now you're talking about a disaster, so called natural 24:23 disaster, that took place there in a certain 24:27 region of planet earth. 24:28 Now I want you to imagine the same thing happening all over 24:34 planet earth, only a million times worse, 24:38 and you can imagine what the flood was in the days of Noah. 24:43 And so what these individuals are saying in the last days, 24:48 by the way, and I believe that God allowed Peter to see 24:52 what's happening today in the Adventist church, as well as 24:55 with many theologians who are outside the Adventist church. 24:58 He saw people who started doubting a supernatural creation 25:02 by the Word of God, instantaneous, in six literal 25:05 days, and resting the seventh literal day. 25:07 He also saw individuals within the church who started teaching 25:12 that the flood was just a local flood, that this was not some 25:15 global, universal catastrophe. 25:18 By the way, if you go with me to Genesis 7:11, we find the 25:24 description of what happened at the time of the flood. 25:27 Do you know God did not have to invent water for the flood? 25:31 God did not have to create water. 25:33 Do you know what He did? 25:35 He simply took the water that He had placed above, and He took 25:39 the water that He had placed below, and He brought the water 25:42 from up there down, and He brought the water from down 25:46 there up. Notice Genesis 7:11, Genesis 7:11. It says: 26:12 That must have been some type of rainstorm, 26:17 that you could completely cover every mountain on planet earth 26:22 in forty days and forty nights of rain. 26:25 Ellen White says that gushes of water came forth from the earth, 26:31 and they hurled huge boulders hundreds of feet into the air. 26:37 You know, when people today, when scholars today don't 26:41 believe that there was a universal flood, how can they 26:44 ever study geology? 26:46 You see, they're coming to the conclusion that everything 26:49 is the same from the beginning. 26:51 So if they don't take into account that there was a flood, 26:54 they're obviously going to misread the testimony 26:58 of the earth. Now not only do we find this description of this 27:03 cataclysm, but after the flood another thing happened 27:07 which affected greatly the condition, or the situation, 27:12 of the earth. Notice Genesis 8:1, Genesis 8:1. 27:19 Here we're told, very briefly, and in a moment I'm going to 27:22 read a statement from the Spirit of Prophecy, 27:24 which is very interesting. It says: 27:40 So not only do you have this catastrophe of the water 27:44 turning the world upside down, but you also have this massive 27:49 wind that God sends after the flood. 27:51 Now allow me to read you something about this wind, 27:55 because Ellen White saw it. 27:56 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 108. She says: 28:21 Have you ever seen any wind like that before? 28:24 Or notice what she continues saying: 29:02 Can you imagine wind that can take debris and form a mountain 29:09 out of the debris? 29:11 And so scientists and theologians, who deny that there 29:15 was a universal flood, they are going to read, just like the 29:20 mockers in 2 Peter 3, that everything continues 29:23 as at the beginning. 29:25 And they're trying to read the earth as if that were true, 29:28 when there has been a supernatural catastrophe 29:32 in between, which would help them read the earth aright. 29:36 You see, they find fossils in the earth that says, yes, 29:40 the world is a lot older than it appears to be. 29:43 And look at the order of the fossils. 29:44 The fact is that you cannot read the earth as if everything 29:49 had been buried in sequence in the course of history, 29:52 because you have this catastrophic flood. 29:54 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 29:56 Now allow me to read you another couple of statements from the 29:59 Spirit of Prophecy. 30:00 And, by the way, I believe that God has raised up the 30:01 Seventh-day Adventist church for a time such as this. 30:04 When our name was adopted in 1860 there was one individual, 30:10 there was a committee of three, who felt that the best name 30:13 would be Church of God, and the other two said, Church of God? 30:16 What does that say? 30:18 Everybody claims to be the Church of God. 30:19 What would be the name which would show the distinctiveness 30:24 of this movement of this church? 30:26 And after a period of debate, they adopted the name, 30:31 Seventh-day Adventist. 30:33 This is a name that fits perfectly with 2 Peter 3, 30:38 because 2 Peter 3 speaks of a divine beginning. 30:42 God created, by His Word, instantaneously, 30:47 at the beginning, six literal days, and rested on the seventh 30:51 literal day. That's the part of our name which is called 30:55 Seventh-day. It shows that we believe in a literal Creator 31:00 at the beginning. 31:01 But the name Adventist shows that we believe equally in a 31:05 supernatural, instanious end to human history. 31:10 In other words, it's a name that shows that we believe 31:13 in a divine beginning, and a divine end, 31:16 and that in a period when Darwin and other scientists 31:19 were saying, we see no vestige of a beginning, and we see no 31:24 prospect of an end. 31:26 It's as if Peter was writing in those days. 31:30 Now Ellen White has this to say about those who doubt 31:35 the literal story of creation, and the story of the flood. 31:39 On page 114 of Patriarchs and Prophets, she says: 31:47 I like that. She says: 31:55 Jesus said they were supposed to have faith like children. 31:58 Have you ever found a child, when you teach them the story 32:01 of the flood they say, now is that scientifically possible? 32:07 Or you talk about creation and the child says, now ah, 32:12 how in the world could God scientifically speak, 32:17 and suddenly a bird appears? 32:19 I have never been in a Sabbath School where I've shared 32:22 the story of creation, where children will come up with 32:25 such a foolish comment. 32:26 And yet those of us who become sophisticated, 32:31 who get college degrees, we come to the point where we think 32:35 that we're smarter than God's Word. 32:37 We're wiser than God's Word. 32:39 The fact is, folks, that we can trust the Word of God. 32:43 The Word of God created the world. 32:46 The Word of God caused the flood, and that same Word 32:50 we're going to find in Peter, is going to bring destruction 32:53 finally to the world. 32:54 She says these persons have lost the simplicity of faith. 33:22 That is doubting. 33:52 On page 112 she says this: 35:17 Folks, if we ever, if we ever get to the point where we 35:23 disbelieve a literal creation, in six days with God resting 35:28 on the seventh day, automatically, we'll delay 35:31 the second coming of Jesus, because if there was no 35:34 instantaneous, supernatural, miraculous beginning, 35:37 how much longer are we going to have to wait until the 35:40 process of evolution reaches its end, if we believe 35:44 in progressive creationism, that is? 35:47 Now let's go on to 2 Peter 3:7, 2 Peter 3:7. 35:54 Here Peter says these individuals say that since 35:58 creation everything has been the same. 36:00 They willingly ignore that God destroyed the world by a flood. 36:04 And now he's going to say they ignore one further thing. 36:08 Verse 7: 36:24 Now it's interesting when you read the book, Patriarchs and 36:28 Prophets, you'll discover that God is not going to have to 36:31 invent fuel or create fuel to burn this earth. 36:34 Just like at creation, He stored water above and below, 36:38 and at the flood He brought the water from above down, 36:42 and the water from below up. 36:43 In the same way, at the flood, gigantic amounts of organic 36:51 matter: trees, animals, human beings, 36:54 were buried under the earth, and they have become coal, 36:59 and they have become oil. 37:01 Believe me, all the oil that is to be found 37:05 has not been found yet. 37:06 There's much, much more than has ever been taken out. 37:09 And the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that when Jesus comes 37:13 the lightning's from heaven will join this fuel from the earth 37:18 and it will bring about destruction of planet earth. 37:22 And so these individuals ignore three things: 37:26 They ignore that Jesus created the world in six literal days, 37:31 and rested the seventh. 37:32 They ignore the fact that the world at one point was destroyed 37:37 by a universal catastrophe, a universal cataclysm, 37:41 a worldwide flood, for the ungodliness of the inhabitants. 37:45 And they ignore that God has stored His arsenal in the earth. 37:49 and that very soon this earth is going to be enveloped in flames, 37:55 and it's going to be destroyed once again, along with all those 37:58 who are ungodly, and do not love the appearing of Jesus. 38:03 Now lets go to 2 Peter 3:8. 38:06 Peter's going to discuss this a little bit further. 38:09 Notice, he says in verse 8: 38:23 Now do you notice that? 38:25 What is Peter saying? 38:27 Peter is simply saying that time for God, and time for us, 38:31 needs to be looked at differently. 38:33 He's speaking about the temporality of man, 38:36 and the eternity of God. 38:37 You know, we speak of a delay, ah, it's been 6,000 years. 38:41 How much is 6,000 years for God? for one who is eternal? 38:46 I mean it's not even a drop in the bucket! 38:49 For God 6,000 years is not a delay at all, because the 38:57 concept of time that God has is very different than the 39:01 concept of time that we have. 39:03 The fact is that in the sight of God there is no delay. 39:08 We know that there's a delay, and that's the reason why, 39:10 according to Peter, these individuals were saying, 39:13 where is the promise of His coming? 39:14 They developed apathy. 39:16 They got caught up in the world, in a secular lifestyle, 39:20 and they were about to lose their faith. 39:22 And Peter is telling the believers, he's saying, 39:25 don't fall for it, don't buy it, because it's not true, 39:29 because the delay is only a delay in our mind. 39:33 It's not a delay in the mind of God. 39:35 Now notice 2 Peter 3:9, 2 Peter 3:9. 39:42 See, what's he's saying is, you who are saying that the 39:47 promise of Jesus' coming is not here, and it's not going to 39:50 come anytime soon. 39:51 You doubt that the Word of God created the world. 39:53 You doubt that the Word of God brought about the flood. 39:56 You doubt that the Word of God is going to bring destruction 39:59 upon the world. You're saying that God is delaying His coming. 40:03 He says, listen, you can speak of a delay, but for God there is 40:08 no delay, because for God one day is as a thousand years, 40:12 and a thousand years as one day. 40:13 In other words, there is no delay in the mind of God. 40:16 And then he says, I am going to tell you the reason why 40:19 Jesus hasn't come yet. 40:21 Notice verse 9. It says: 40:25 Slow, that means. 40:36 As some count slowness, in other words. 40:54 What is the reason for the delay? 40:55 Humanly speaking, because for God there is no delay. 40:59 The reason for the delay is because there are people 41:03 who still need to be what? still need to be saved. 41:07 Now you say, how's that? 41:09 Let me ask you, do you think God has set a date 41:13 for His second coming? for Christ's second coming. 41:17 Do you think God has set a date? 41:19 Or does God have a sliding date? 41:23 Has God set a date? Yes, He has. 41:27 Does God know the end from the beginning? 41:30 Isaiah 46 says that He declares the end from the beginning. 41:36 Does God know the date of the second coming? Sure He does! 41:42 Mark 13:32, Jesus says: 41:53 The Father knows the date of the second coming. 41:56 But that date, according to Acts 1:6-8, is hidden in the 42:03 secret councils of God. 42:09 Now some people have troubles with this idea of hastening, 42:12 or delaying the coming of Christ. 42:14 Let me explain exactly how we should understand this. 42:18 Did God arbitrarily set a date for the second coming of Christ? 42:23 Did God say, I make a declaration, 42:27 I'm going to come such and such a month, of such and such 42:31 a day, such and such a year. 42:33 Ready or not, here I come! 42:36 Did God set an arbitrary date? 42:40 God did not set an arbitrary date. 42:42 He did not give a divine decree saying when Jesus 42:47 was going to come. 42:48 On what basis then did God set a date? 42:51 He set a date based on His knowledge of the decisions 42:55 that His people would make. 42:59 Are you following me or not? 43:00 Did God know that His people were not going to get caught up 43:07 with Him? That His people were going to slumber? 43:11 That His people were going to become lazy? 43:15 That His people were going to be comfortable in the world? 43:18 Did He know that long before it happened? Yes. 43:21 So what date did God set for the second coming? 43:25 He set the date according to His knowledge of when His people 43:29 would prepare, and are ready for Jesus to come. 43:33 Do you know that Jesus could have come back to this earth 43:37 shortly after 1844? 43:39 In fact, He could have come back in 1888. 43:43 Allow me to read you an interesting statement 43:45 from the book, Evangelism page 696. 43:48 She says, for forty years did unbelief, murmuring and 43:52 rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. 43:57 The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel 44:02 into the heavenly Canaan. 44:05 Could Jesus have come before this? Of course. 44:11 Did God set an earlier date, and then say, oh, oh, I've got to 44:14 change the date? No. 44:16 Did God know that His people were going to manifest 44:19 this spirit? Yes, so what did God do? 44:21 He set a date when He knew that His people would be ready 44:26 for Him to fulfill His promise. 44:28 He did not determine the date. 44:30 He knew the decisions that His people would make, 44:32 and on that basis He set the date. 44:35 She continues saying, In neither case,... 44:40 That is of Israel or us. 44:42 ...were the promises of God at fault. 44:46 It is the unbelief, the worldliness, the unconsecration, 44:53 and strife among the Lord's professed people, that have kept 44:59 us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years. 45:03 The fact is folks, that God is not going to close the door 45:08 of probation upon this earth until every single human being 45:12 has had a chance to make the choice for or against the Lord. 45:17 And the reason why it hasn't happened is because God's people 45:21 have not gone out to preach the gospel so that the end can come. 45:25 And God knew that His people were not going to do it. 45:29 But God also knew that if His people had done it, then God in 45:34 His calendar would have set an earlier date. 45:37 Raise your hand if you're understanding what I'm saying. 45:39 See, God does not arbitrarily choose a date 45:42 to close probation for Jesus to come. 45:45 He establishes the date based on His knowledge of the choices 45:49 that His people are going to make. 45:52 So Peter is saying, listen, God is not delaying His coming 45:58 as some think of a delay. 46:01 He says, the reason why there's an appearance of a delay is 46:05 because God wants everyone who is savable to be saved. 46:09 He doesn't want anyone to perish, but He wants everyone 46:14 to come to repentance. 46:16 Now let's go to 2 Peter 3:10, 2 Peter 3:10. It says here: 46:29 That's interesting; as a thief in the night. 46:33 What usually happens when a thief comes in the night? 46:37 People are sleeping and they're unconscious about the thief 46:42 coming, right? Are a lot of people going to be caught 46:45 by surprise? Sure they are. 46:50 Because they're what? they're sleeping. 46:54 Hum, reminds me of, this is kind of an interesting little 46:59 story I heard of a young boy who was using some building blocks 47:04 to the living room of the house, and his father came into 47:08 the living room; burst in and started talking real loudly, 47:11 and the son looked at his father and he went shush! 47:17 And his father said, why should I be quiet? 47:20 The little boy says, because I'm building a church. 47:23 The father felt real well. 47:26 He said, wow, my son, he's learned the lesson of reverence. 47:30 Then he said I'd better ask, and he says, Son, why should I 47:33 be quiet in church? 47:35 He said, because everybody's sleeping! 47:44 That's the picture that Jesus gives. 47:47 Jesus, when He comes, is going to find a lot of His people 47:52 what? sleeping! And He will come as a thief in the night. 47:56 He will be surprising, even for many of God's own people. 47:59 Notice, once again, verse 10: 48:09 That's the noise of raging fire. 48:16 The heavens and the elements are the building blocks 48:18 of planet earth; the ABC's so to speak. 48:28 And then He says what we should be doing in the light of 48:30 the fact that this is coming. It says: 48:44 How should we be living as we expect this great event? 48:57 That means anxiously anticipating the... 49:22 A better translation would be, in which righteousness makes 49:26 its home, or righteousness abides. 49:30 And then notice verse 14: Therefore, beloved, looking 49:36 forward to these things be diligent to be found by Him in 49:41 peace, without spot, and blameless. 49:46 The apostle Paul speaks about the church being without spot, 49:50 or wrinkle, or any such thing. 49:54 Jesus spoke about the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 49:59 John said that those who have this hope in their hearts, 50:03 they purify themselves, even as He is pure. 50:11 In other words, God is not going to take to heaven individuals 50:15 who do not have purity of thought, and purity of life. 50:21 The whole purpose of this passage of Peter is to encourage 50:26 and exhort the church. 50:28 Yes, to believe that there was a supernatural, literal creation. 50:32 Yes, there was a supernatural worldwide, global flood. 50:38 Yes, there is a delay, humanly speaking. 50:41 But the reason for the delay is because there's still people 50:45 who have to make the choice to be saved, so that probation 50:49 can close. And he's saying, just like what happened at the flood, 50:53 is going to take place again. 50:54 As in the days of Noah, so also shall be the coming 50:57 of the son of man. 50:58 And so as the ungodly were shut out at the flood, the ungodly 51:03 will be shut out at the end. 51:05 So He says we should live in peace. 51:07 We should live a Godly life. 51:10 We should live with pious conduct in our lives 51:14 as we await that great day. 51:18 Now I wouldn't want to close without mentioning one further 51:21 thing about 2 Peter 3:13. 51:25 It says that we're awaiting new heavens, and a new earth, 51:30 where righteousness dwells. 51:33 Notice that we're waiting for a new heavens, and a new earth. 51:36 Now listen up. How many days did Jesus take 51:40 to create the world? 51:41 Six days, and then what did He do? rested the seventh. 51:47 Is this world going to be dissolved? 51:49 Is it going to be burned up? 51:51 In fact, we get the impression from 2 Peter 3 that this planet 51:55 is not going to exist anymore. 51:57 God is going to make a new planet, because it is going 52:00 to be totally vaporized. 52:02 So my question is, how many days do you think God 52:06 is going to use to create this world again? 52:13 Is He just going to make it appear all of a sudden? 52:16 I don't think so. 52:19 In fact I know He's not going to. 52:21 You say, how do you know that? 52:23 At the beginning, when Jesus created this world, 52:27 Adam and Eve weren't here. 52:31 They had to accept the fact that God was the Creator by faith, 52:36 because they didn't see God create anything. 52:39 I mean Adam didn't even see God create Eve. 52:43 God put him to sleep. 52:44 They saw God create nothing! 52:47 The only way that they could know that God was the Creator, 52:50 is because He told them so, because there could have been 52:54 another explanation. 52:55 The devil said, ha, God isn't the Creator. Come on! 52:58 There were other possible explanations. 53:00 They simply needed to abide in faith 53:02 that God was their Creator. 53:03 But at the end of time, the wonderful thing is, that all of 53:07 God's people will be alive when God makes a new heavens, 53:10 and a new earth. Imagine what it will be like when God 53:14 re-creates this planet, and He says, Let there the light! 53:19 And there was light. 53:22 Let there be the firmament, and there was the firmament. 53:25 Let there be dry land, and there is dry land. 53:29 Let there be trees, and flowers, and plants, and it is so. 53:35 Let there be in the heavens sun, moon, and stars, 53:38 because the sun, moon, and stars are going to be moved out 53:40 of their places when Jesus comes. 53:42 They will be moved! 53:46 Imagine what it will be like when God says, Let the waters 53:49 be filled with fish, and let the airs be filled with birds. 53:54 And when He creates animals, like at the beginning. 53:59 Straw eating lions. 54:04 The Bible says that children will play with snakes. 54:08 That's an amazing world! 54:13 And then, of course, God's people will observe the Sabbath, 54:18 in commemoration of the new creation. 54:21 You say, how do you know that? 54:22 It's very simple. 54:23 In Isaiah 66 we are told very clearly, as the new heavens, 54:33 and the new earth that I create shall remain before you, 54:40 so shall your name remain. 54:41 And then He says, it shall be that from one new moon 54:45 to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall 54:49 come to what? to worship before Me. 54:52 The new heavens and the new earth are followed by the 54:56 command to observe what? the Sabbath, in Isaiah 66. 55:01 Only we'll be observing the Sabbath in commemoration 55:05 of the new creation. 55:07 And then God's people will live with Jesus forever and ever. 55:12 Now listen folks, the passage of time can produce one of two 55:20 results. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 55:28 Are you homesick when you really want to be with somebody 55:31 and you've been absent for a long time? 55:33 Are you really homesick to be with that person? Absolutely! 55:37 Why are you homesick? 55:39 Because you love that person. 55:42 And the more you think of that person, the more you want to be 55:44 with him or with her. 55:46 But there's another danger, and that is with the passing of time 55:52 we don't think about that person, and love grows cold. 56:02 Either one is a possibility, and it all depends on whether we 56:07 have our focus on Jesus. 56:09 I don't know if you're homesick for Jesus or not. 56:11 I didn't say homesick for heaven, 56:13 I said homesick for Jesus. 56:15 The only way we can be homesick for Jesus, is if we love Jesus 56:19 more and more each day. 56:20 If we think of Him; if we can't stand even one moment living 56:24 apart from Him. Our focus is on Him, on that world where we're 56:30 going to be with Him, our Redeemer, our Creator, 56:33 forever and ever. And when Jesus is the center of our thoughts, 56:37 we become sick of the world, and homesick for Jesus. 56:40 But if we don't focus on Jesus, love grows cold, and that's what 56:49 Peter is talking about. 56:50 People who have lost their faith, people who have lost 56:56 their assurance that Jesus is coming, because in the passing 57:01 of time they have forgotten Jesus. 57:05 I pray to God that in this coming week, we will make it a 57:10 point to think of Jesus more and more. 57:15 That we will be homesick for Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17