Confidence in Christ's Return

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Mockery in the Last Days

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Peter continues to warn them about the Agnostics, those who scoffed at the second coming of Christ. He tells them that it is his desire that they be kept in the "true faith" by constantly reminding them of certain facts.

First, he reminded them of the predictions of the Prophets and the Apostles which said, "In the last days, there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." The Prophets of old, led by the same Holy Spirit, knew as did the Apostles, that Satan would use scoffers as he has through out the ages, to weaken the faith of God's chosen people.

He gives three examples of this:

1. In the Garden of Eden, the "scoffer" was very subtle. He asked, "Did God say that you should not eat of any tree in the Garden?"
2. To Noah, he scoffed at a man who was crazy for building a boat on top of a mountain.
3. Here the scoffers were laughing at those who believed in the return of Christ. It had been 40 years sense His ascension, where is this promise of His return?

What is a scoffer? Anyone who walks after the flesh, laughs and scorns those who walk after the Spirit. He will laugh at you when you are sick. "Where is your healing?" He will laugh at you in the time of crisis. "Where is your promised peace?"

When we speak of His Second Coming, they will scoff as they have in every age sense His ascension. "Where is this Jesus who promised to return?" They even argue, "Those to whom the promise was made are all dead and things continue as they always have, where is that promised Kingdom?"

"This", Peter says, "is subtle reasoning and is apt to be impressive on weak minds." We must guard against being impatient, God works in His own way and in His own time. Jesus said, "It is not for you to know."

Then Peter again reminds them of past judgments that God brought upon scoffers. One was to the scoffers of Noah, they died in the flood. Note Peter has a very interesting observation about how the flood occurred. He believes that the water existed before the earth and that when the earth was created, it was created out of water. Then the water was separated, the low water created the seas and the high water encircled and encased the earth. At the time of the flood, God simply combined the two waters, allowing them to come together until the low water rose to a point where it was 22 feet above the highest mountain on earth. Thus God destroyed everything on earth that was not in the Ark. Thus He brought judgment upon the scoffers. After the flood, God promised never to destroy the earth again by water. The next time it will be destroyed by fire and considering the power of the atomic bomb, this is very feasible.

Matthew Henry says, "The ruin that came upon the earth by the flood is no concern to us as it happened long ago, but, the judgment by fire is yet to come and will surly come when we least expect it." "It may happen in our lifetime." The "Day of Perdition" will surly come when the ungodly will be destroyed by fire. While scoffers, in Peter's time, made light of this and scoffers, in our time, do the same, you can rest assured the Day of Judgment will come. Verses 8 thru 10 deal with that very event.

The Day of the Lord

We see here that time does not mean the same to the Lord as it does to us. Eternity seems like two hours in the doctor's office, waiting to be called. We tend to be impatient and measure everything in light of the moment. We are constantly facing "the end", the end of the day, the end of our vacation, the end of the year, even the end of life. Therefore we relate everything to time. God does not do this, there is "no end" to anything for God. "A day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is but a day, in the eyes of the Lord."

Peter reminds us of this so that we can put time in its proper perspective. If He tarries, it is because of His patience with the loss, for it is not God's will that any should be loss. Now this "long suffering", this delay, has been mistakenly taken to be a sign that He will not return and the promise was not valid. This is the work of the Devil, the work of scoffers, for He will come, in His good time, when we least expect it. Peter says it will be like a thief in the night. And with His coming, all who are saved will be caught up to be with Him, the dead first and then those who are alive, and then comes the end of the world as we know it, according to Peter.

Here Peter describes the end as coming with a "loud noise", with all the elements being destroyed with fire. Some believe this to be a destroying fire others believe it to be a testing fire, a fire that will test man's works (I Cor. 3:13-15) All that is improperly motivated will be consumed. All that is of God will be refined. So let us rest assured that the Lord will come, in His own good time, and until He does, be about His business. Nothing will rebuke the scoffers more than that.

Maturity

Here Peter poses an interesting question. "Sense all things are to be dissolved or consumed by fire, what sort of person ought we to be?" Well it seems that Paul and Peter were in agreement on this. Sense all scripture was written to enlighten us and improve our spiritual knowledge so that we might become more like the Lord, we should then be a Bible studying person. In light of the judgment, we should seek, by Bible study, seek to improve ourselves spiritually as God gives us the ability to do this. Peter calls this living lives that are holy and godly. We often call this "growing in Grace", or sanctification.

He also adds that we should not be discouraged in waiting but rather take courage in the patience of God. He then goes on and reminds us that Judgment Day is not the end, only the beginning for the believer, for He promised to give us a "New Heaven" and a "New Earth". This heaven and this earth will pass away, therefore, Peter says, strive to be spotless, or without blemish and at peace.

Can we be spotless? Matthew Henry describes this as being without those blemishes that are seen of man and take from our witness. But he also says we must seek to loose those blemishes that man cannot see, but are seen of God. Perhaps we need to examine ourselves in this light.

Peter says that we are not to think that the Lord's delay in coming is to give you more time for the things of this world. It is only Grace to give you more time to grow spiritually.

Notice how, by now, Peter's opinion of Paul has changed. He has forgiven Paul of all the false charges that he made against him in Jerusalem before his conversion. Now Peter calls him a "beloved brother", one who has an uncommon measure of God's wisdom. It would appear the Peter had read some of Paul's letters by now and acknowledges that there are in them some things that are hard to understand and warns that those who are ignorant and unstable may twist what he says in them. Peter was telling them this so that they would be fore warned and not carried away by false teachers.

Paul realized this also as he acknowledged in First Corinthians that he could not address them as spiritual men, but as "Babes in Christ". He acknowledged that he had to feed them with milk, not solid food, for they were not ready for it. This is still true today, often people who are not well established in God's Word, twist what it says to their liking or take it out of context.

Peter's final plea is they might grow in the Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. To Him, be the glory, both now and to the Day of Eternity. Amen.

THUS ENDS SECOND PETER

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