These are the original teaching notes from this passage.
II Peter 3:1-9
Review…
- KNOWLEDGE of Christ…
- We have been GIVEN – Grace and Peace by multiplied…
- We have been GIVEN – all things that pertain to life and godliness…
- We have been GIVEN – GREATEST promises – making us partakers of the divine nature…
- GIVEN to us through the WORD – like a LIGHT that shines in a DARK place…
- IMPORTANT – because there will be FALSE teachers…
- Who will come in secretly – they are cunning – II Corinthians 11:14
- They teach destructive heresies – and MANY will follow – blaspheming the way of Truth…
- Their motive is greed – and their DESTRUCTION is certain!
- FALSE teachers CORRUPT others through LIES…
- Men who cannot stop sinning – cursed – like Balaam…
- SPOTS and BLEMISHES on the church – who we wash away with the WORD of God…
- They sound PROFOUND – but their words are EMPTY…
- They claim to be messengers of LIBERTY – but they themselves are SLAVES of corruption…
- And those who believe their LIES – are brought back into BONDAGE!
Gods promise…
- 1st – The PURPOSE… vs. 1-2
- 1st – Need to REMEMBER… vs. 1
- Beloved – I now write to you this second [letter]!
- As Peter turns to his THIRD topic – in his FINAL letter before he went home…
- He reminds us WHY he wrote the epistle – he wrote it to the BELOVED [ἀγαπητός]
- His epistle is addressed to those who love God – and are loved by God!
- And it was written to stir us up – 7x in NT – the root word of which means to wake up!
- Romans 13:11 – “It is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
- In both of which I stir up your pure minds!
- STIR UP [διεγείρω] – to continually [present] WAKE us up …
- PURE minds [εἰλικρινής] – 2x in NT – to be judged [κρίνω] by the sun [εἴλη]
- Marble statues were very common in Roman culture – one in every yard…
- But when the masons were carving the statues – they might make a mistake…
- Rather than starting over – they would use wax mixed with marble to cover their error…
- It looked good – until the heat of the sun would melt the wax – revealing the sin!
- When we first get up in the morning – we might think we look pretty good…
- But when we turn on the light – get closer to a mirror – lots of imperfections…
- The closer we get to Jesus – we WAKE UP and realize just how much of a sinner we are…
- Diving us to hold all that much tighter to Jesus – not trusting in ourselves!
- I John 1:7 – “If we walk in the light as He is in the light – we have fellowship with one another – and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
- By way of reminder!
- Peter opened up this epistle noting the importance of reminding us – II Peter 1:13
- Now he closes it with the same exhortation – we need to WAKE UP…
- It is too easy to fall into APATHY – get comfortable in our Christian walk…
- We must JUDGE our thoughts by the LIGHT of the WORD – so we can be PURE!
- 2nd – What to REMEMBER… vs. 2
- That you 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 Savior!
- We are to be REMEBER [passive] the words that were spoken – TWO groups…
- The words spoken before [in the past] by the Holy Prophets – the Old Testament…
- The commandment of the apostles of our Lord and Savior – the New Testament…
- What we NEED to remember – is the entirety of Word of God – the Bible…
- Because when we are in the Word – Old and New Testaments…
- We will find that it shines the LIGHT of Christ into our lives – giving us a PURE mind!
- Psalm 119:11 – “Your word I have hidden in my heart – that I might not sin against You!”
- 1st – Need to REMEMBER… vs. 1
- 2nd – The scoffers… vs. 3
- 1st – Knowing this…
- The RESULT of being in the WORD – is that we will KNOW…
- KNOW [γινώσκω] – to UNDERSTAND [present] through our KNOWLEDGE of the WORD…
- The inference is that if we are NOT in the WORD – then we will NOT know!
- If we are NOT well grounded in the WORD – we are VULNERABLE…
- We have seen there are FALSE teachers who try to deceive us – keep us from following Jesus…
- And if we listen to them – we will be like a ship tossed about in a storm – Ephesians 4:14
- We will never KNOW where we are – where we came from – or where we are going!
- It is only as we are ROOTED in the WORD – that we will know truth from a lie!
- John 17:17 – “[Jesus said to the Father] Your word is truth.”
- 2nd – Scoffers will come…
- SCOFFER [ἐμπαίκτης] – 2x in NT – also Jude 1:18 – the noun form of the verb to MOCK…
- MOCK [ἐμπαίζω] – 13x in NT – all but two of them in relation to crucifying Jesus…
- The gist of the word being someone who MOCKS Jesus – refuses to believe in the gospel…
- So men will [future] absolutely [indicative] come whose only purpose is to MOCK Jesus!
- 3rd – The Last Days…
- In the LAST DAYS – a term that is often misunderstood – we tend to think of Revelation…
- The LAST DAYS began when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost – Acts 2:17
- And will continue right up to the rapture of the church – I Thessalonians 4:16
- In between these TWO events are the LAST DAYS – when HARD times will come!
- II Timothy 3:1 – “In the last days perilous [χαλεπός] times will come…”
- When Jesus came to the east side of the Sea of Galilee – two men met him…
- They were so VIOLENT [χαλεπός] no one could pass by that way…
- Even when the people tried to chain them up – they broke the chains!
- Why MOCKERS come in the LAST DAYS…
- In basketball – the first three quarters do not matter as much – as the FOURTH quarter…
- The team will play its HARDEST – because they know the final bell is moments away!
- Satan knows his time is SHORT – so he is trying his hardest…
- He is become VIOLENT – hold nothing back – to try and keep people from God…
- Every cult – false teaching – and lie he can come up with is everywhere you look…
- We need to KNOW – not underestimate the dangerous times we live in!
- 4th – Walking in their own lusts…
- The MOTIVE of these MOCKERS – is to walk after their own LUSTS [ἐπιθυμία]
- One EASY way to spot a MOCKER – they are always in it for themselves…
- MOCKERS do not look to bless [help] they only look to PLEASE [ἐπιθυμία] themselves!
- Philippians 3:17-19 – “They are enemies of the Christ. Their future is eternal destruction. Their god is their appetite… all they think about is this life…”
- 1st – Knowing this…
- 3rd – What scoffers say… vs. 4
- 1st – Where is the promise… vs. 4
- Saying [present] – Where is the promise of His coming!
- The first question that MOCKERS bring up – where is Jesus…
- The PROMISE – is that Jesus would come back for US – John 14:1-3
- At the end of the SEVEN years of Tribulation – the DAY of the LORD – Revelation 6-18
- Jesus will come out of Heaven on a white horse – King of Kings – Revelation 19:16
- He will return with US – ten thousands of His saints – Jude 1:14
- He will arrive in Jerusalem – and touch down on the Mount of Olives – Acts 1:11
- When He touches down the Mountain will split in TWO – Zechariah 14:4
- With one word he will defeat the Antichrist and his army – II Thessalonians 2:8
- And Jesus will JUDGE those who survive the Tribulation – Matthew 25:31-46
- Then He will establish His MILLENNIAL Kingdom – Revelation 20:1-4
- And we – the CHURCH – will rule and reign with Him for 1000 years – I Corinthians 6:2-3
- But it has been 2000 years – and still Jesus has NOT returned…
- The argument being – if He has NOT come yet – then maybe He NEVER will…
- But BEFORE the TRIBULATION – BEFORE the SECOND coming of Jesus…
- The CHURCH must be RAPTURED [Latin of ἁρπάζω] – I Thessalonians 4:14-17
- No one KNOWS the day or hour – only the Father in heaven – Mark 13:32
- Within a GENERATION of the REBIRTH of Israel – May 14, 1948 – Mark 13:28-32
- Those who believe in Jesus – will be CAUGHT up into heaven – BEFORE the Tribulation!
- Until then – PREACH the Word…
- Romans 11:25– “This will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ.”
- There are a SET number of people who will receive Jesus as their savior…
- ONLY God knows the number – or who will be the LAST gentile to be saved…
- But when the last PERSON to believe – receives Jesus – the RAPTURE happens!
- We are NOT waiting for the RETURN of Jesus – we are WAITING for the RAPTURE…
- And although there is NOTHING we can do take make it come sooner…
- We can PREACH the GOSPEL to everyone we KNOW…
- Maybe someone we share with – will be the LAST person to believe – then the RAPTURE!
- 2nd – All things continue…
- Since the fathers fell asleep – all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!
- The argument – if you look BACK in time – to when our fore FATHER died…
- All the back to the BEGINNING – NOTHING has ever CHANGED!
- There is a scientific word for this view – uniformitarianism…
- The universe has been around for BILLIONS of years – it will continue for BILLIONS more…
- Nothing has CHANGED – nothing ever will ever CHANGE – life goes on!
- My father always talked about the return of Jesus – he hoped to see the RAPTURE…
- But he passed away – and the world went on…
- It would be EASY to think – the same will happen to me – just like my father!
- We tend to think Jesus will NOT come back in our lifetime – it has NOT happened yet…
- But we are in the LAST days – the RAPTURE could happen next week – today – right now…
- Are we READY – if the RAPTURE was today – what would Jesus find us doing…
- This is a VERY important message – both as an ENCOURAGEMENT and WARNING…
- Jesus is coming – VERY soon – that means HEAVEN is not far away…
- We may NOT know the day and the hour – but we must be prepared!
- I John 3:3 – “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself…”
- 1st – Where is the promise… vs. 4
- 4th – What scoffers forget… vs. 5-7
- 1st – Willfully forget… vs. 5
- For this they willfully forget!
- Willfully FORGET [λανθάνω] – chose to HIDE or keep SECRET…
- It is not that SCOFFERS do not know the TRUTH – it is that they do not WANT the TRUTH…
- They know Jesus is COMING – but they DENY what they know – because of their SIN!
- Romans 1:28 – “As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge – God gave them over to a debased mind.”
- Suppose you stole a THOUSAND pesos from a friend – and he saw you do it…
- Then the next day you saw him – you would feel extremely embarrassed…
- Unless you went to him and repented – you would likely try and avoid him!
- That is what happens to those who do NOT come to God in repentance…
- God SAW their SIN – therefore they are extremely EMBARRASSED to be around Him…
- They try and AVOID Him – some try and DENY Jesus will ever RETURN…
- Because by DENYING – they can fool themselves into DENYING the judgment of their sin!
- 2nd – The Word of God… vs. 5
- By the word of God the heavens were of old!
- SCOFFERS forget – that by the Word of God the heavens were of old…
- Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
- Who CREATED the earth – Jesus – the WORD of God – Genesis 1:3
- Colossians 1:16 – “By Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth – visible and invisible.”
- Hebrews 1:2 – “Through whom also He made the worlds.”
- John 1:3 – “Jesus created everything there is. Nothing exists that he did not make.”
- What about EVOLUTION…
- There are only TWO possibilities for the origin of life – DESIGN or ACCIDENT…
- Because SCOFFERS choose to deny the CREATOR – they believe life is all an ACCIDENT!
- We are familiar with FACEBOOK – it is a PROGRAM that uses 62 MILLION lines of CODE…
- If one WORD in the code is misspelled – then the whole PROGRAM can crash!
- But suppose I tried to convince you all that CODE – was the result of an ACCIDENT…
- They RANDOMLY formed – every WORD in the right place – so we can use FACEBOOK!
- Psalms 14:1 – “The fool has said in his heart – There is no God.”
- In contrast human DNA is made up of over THREE billion lines of CODE [base pairs]
- How much more foolish to think we are an ACCIDENT – deny the God who created us!
- FOOLS who claim to be the wise…
- Romans 1:22 – “Professing to be wise – they became fools [μωρός].”
- More often than not today – higher EDUCATION is turning out FOOLS [morons]
- Because they are not teaching the Bible – about the consequences of sin…
- Instead the students are told there is no right or wrong – it is all relative…
- There is no sin – as long as you think it is ok – it is good!
- Judges 21:25 – “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
- Do not mistake INFORMATION for WISDOM – schools might give LOTS of INFORMATION…
- But the INFORMATION of men – if we listen – can blind us to our NEED for Jesus…
- That is not WISDOM – it is FOOLISH – because it keeps us from God!
- 3rd – The FLOOD… vs. 5-6
- The earth standing out of water – and in water!
- On day THREE of creation God separated the WATERS – Genesis 1:6-8
- Just as there was WATER on the earth – there was WATER above it…
- A layer of WATER above the atmosphere – that would have shielded – heated earth…
- The sun would have heated the WATER – making the earth ONE climate…
- And would have protected men from ultraviolet rays – long lives!
- By which the world that then existed perished – being flooded with water!
- Much of the world we know today was created by the CATASTROPHE of the FLOOD…
- It is POSSIBLE the mountains were not as HIGH before the FLOOD…
- And before the FLOOD there were no continents or oceans…
- It would still take an enormous amount of WATER to cover the whole earth!
- Genesis 7:11 – “On that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up – and the windows of heaven were opened…”
- It was not just RAIN – FOUNTAINS of the deep – huge water underground aquifers…
- And the WINDOWS of Heaven opened – the layer of WATER above the clouds…
- This collapsed pouring all the WATER down onto the earth!
- The evidence of the FLOOD…
- The evidence of the flood – the judgment of God is all around – FOSSILS – OCEANS…
- Fossils do not form under normal conditions – it takes WATER – pressure – and mud…
- We have fossils of whales on top of mountains – how do you suppose that happened!
- Our world is a one giant testimony to the judgment of God…
- Yet most ignore the evidence – they are just like the people in the days of NOAH!
- Luke 17:27 – “They ate – they drank – they married… until the day that Noah entered the ark – and the flood came and destroyed them all.”
- So many people today are just going about their daily lives – OBLIVIOUS…
- They assume they have all the TIME in the world – tomorrow will be just like today…
- They do realize that Jesus is coming SOON – the JUDGMENT is right around the corner!
- 4th – The FIRE… vs. 7
- The heavens and earth which are now preserved by the same Word!
- The same WORD – Jesus – who created the world in SIX days…
- Is the same WORD who allowed – by His WORD – for the world to be JUDGED by WATER…
- Is the same WORD who holds the world together today!
- Are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men!
- He holds it all together – reserved for the FIRE – Colossians 1:16
- For the DESTRUCTION [ἀπώλεια] – of those who do not FEAR [ἀσεβής] God!
- If you hold TWO positively magnets together – they REPEL each other…
- Within every ATOM there are REPELLING forces that should cause it to fall apart…
- Scientists today struggle to explain what holds an ATOM together!
- But what science does NOT know – the Bible answers for us…
- Jesus literally HOLDS the whole universe together – atom by atom…
- And when He lets go – the whole universe would just explode in a fiery blaze!
- II Peter 3:10 – “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night – in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise – and the elements will melt with fervent heat – both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
- 1st – Willfully forget… vs. 5
- 5th – Not SLOW… vs. 8-9
- 1st – The TIMING… vs. 8
- Beloved – do not forget this one thing…
- With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day!
- Since Jesus JUDGED the world with the FLOOD – in the days of Noah…
- And we KNOW He will JUDGE the world again in the FIRE [after the tribulation]
- Since it has NOT happened yet – when will all this take place!
- BELOVED [ἀγαπητός] – we must NOT [imperative] FORGET [λανθάνω] one thing…
- A day with the Lord is like a thousand years – and a thousand years is like a day!
- Paul thought Jesus might come back in his lifetime – Philippians 4:5
- James thought Jesus might come back in his lifetime – James 5:8
- John thought Jesus might come back in his lifetime – Revelation 22:20
- But the Lords TIMING is not our TIMING – He is not in a RUSH…
- We think that WAITING on the Lord means a couple of HOURS – maybe WEEKS…
- Following Jesus means being PATIENT – willing to wait on His TIMING!
- Psalm 27:14 – “Wait – I say – on the LORD!”
- The prophecy of TWO days…
- Hosea 6:2 – “After two days He will revive us. On the third day He will raise us up.”
- The nation of Israel was destroyed in 70 A.D. – the destruction of the Temple…
- For 2000 years [TWO days] they were lost – until the nation was reborn in 1948…
- When Jesus returns Israel will be lifted up on the THIRD day [1000 years]
- Perhaps speaking of the ultimate restoration of Israel in the Millennial Kingdom!
- 2nd – The REASON… vs. 9
- The Lord is not slack concerning His promise – as some count slackness!
- Lord [κύριος] – the MASTER – the one in CHARGE…
- Is not SLACK [βραδύνω] – to be DELAYED [present] – to be SLOW…
- Concerning His PROMISE – as some men count being SLOW – the SCOFFERS…
- The context being the RETURN of Jesus – which concludes with the JUDGMENT…
- And ultimately the DESTRUCTION of the earth by FIRE!
- But is longsuffering toward us…
- Not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance!
- LONGSUFFERING [μακροθυμέω] – compound word – LONG [μακρο] ANGER [θυμέω]
- God is not SLOW to COME back – He is SLOW to get ANGRY and JUDGE…
- His PURPOSE in WAITING is so that men would NOT perish [eternal destruction]
- Instead WILLING that ALL men would COME [χωρέω] – to have ROOM – to REPENT…
- Peter is NOT saying that ALL men will be saved…
- He is saying by not JUDGING already – God gave us TIME to REPENT and be saved!
- If Jesus had come back 30 years ago – how many of us would be in heaven!
- Just because Jesus has NOT come yet – does NOT mean that He is not coming…
- God has shown amazing PATIENCE – because He desires for MANY to be saved!
- 1st – The TIMING… vs. 8