2PETER CHAPTER 3
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2Pet 3-1,2
(78j) Thy kingdom come
>>
Renewing your mind by the word of God >> Study
the Bible –
Peter is saying we should study both the Old and New Testaments that prophesy, “Mockers will come with their mocking, following after their
own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?'” They made
this accusation against the Old Testament prophets, to Peter and to all the apostles. What we should understand 2000
years later about them in our day is that they posit their
venomous critiques against us too, only with greater fervency than ever,
simply because more time has elapsed to hone their skill. However, the
centuries that have elapsed make the return of Christ that much more likely,
derailing their accusations. They
asked these things of Isaiah who prophesied of a suffering servant, who fulfilled every jot and
tittle of the Law and the prophets about Himself, but the Jews did not receive
Him. The world asks again, “Where is the promise of His
coming?” and we answer that He is under their nose just like He was under
the nose of the Jews in His day. The second coming of Jesus Christ is more
sure than His first visit, in that the world will have no choice but to recognize Him, for He will come
in the power and glory of His Father as a great king and
a conqueror.
(80j) Thy kingdom come
>>
Know the word to minister to people >> To edify
one another
(133l) Temple
>>
Your body is the temple of God >> Holiness >>
Having an awareness of God’s holiness >> The
presence of God makes us aware of His holiness
(152k) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> The Church holds the position of a prophet >>
True prophets
(238j) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge
of the kingdom >> Teachers >>
Teachers "remind" their students >>
Teaching by rote –
Peter was an advocate of teaching by rote, repeatedly telling people the same
things so they understand and won't forget. One example of rote learning is the memorization of Scripture; we read it
over and over until we remember every word and are able to recite
it verbatim, and it remains with us for life. The passage becomes ours; we come into deep
level ownership with it; we may not be able to recite it years later, but
our intimacy with it gives us insight into its meaning that will stay with us
forever.
2Pet 3-1
(78c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Sincerity of heart >> Being honest >>
Free from inconsistency –
Different from Paul who wrote to specific churches, Peter wrote his letters
to entire regions if not to the Church at large. This eventually became true
of Paul’s letters too, for they now are read in every church. The fact
that he said he was stirring up their minds by way of reminder suggests that
he has already told them these things. Peter was an advocate of rote
teaching/learning. He wasn’t trying to teach them anything new
but things the Church had already learned and needed reminding. After he
said this, he began a dissertation on endtimes, how people will act in our
day. There will be mockers who will deny the Lord
Jesus Christ, claiming that He will never come for the Church, but Peter says He will return in His time. Peter was speaking to sincere people who
had a genuine faith in Christ. We could preach the word of God to
people of insincere heart, and we would discover they are a waste of time
and breath,
but if we can find a sincere people, we can preach the word of God to
them, and they will benefit. The numbers of those with a sincere heart for God are
dropping. Go on evangelism crusades house-to-house or hand out tracts at carnivals
and fairs, public gatherings where we can talk to people about Jesus, and we will
find painfully few who act seemingly interested. Of ten, three will come to church,
and of those three one might stay long enough to be
grounded in the faith. The word of God in today’s world spreads very
slowly, yet this is just what the Bible says will happen prior to His return
(2The 2,1-5).
2Pet 3-2
(14a)
Servant >> Servants of God’s word
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2Pet 3,3-14
(40l) Judgment
>>
God is glorified >> God defends His
righteousness through judgment
(49l) Judgment
>>
God judges the world >> Condition of the world
in the last days
2Pet 3,3-9
(200i) Denying Christ
>>
Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using
irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >>
Trying to talk your way out of accountability
(243c) Kingdom of God
>>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >>
Mocking the Church – These mockers scoff at the children of God
for following what unbelievers call fables, the tenets of Scripture that were
written thousands of years ago. The world follows after its own lust, materialized in secular
humanism. Lust itself is composed of
hormones and other complex molecules coursing through their veins, which are just as
invisible as the God they mock, yet they believe in their chemically generated
emotions. It is an honor to serve God, but it is a disgrace to worship our
feelings instead of God who created all things. Mockers are narcissistic in their assertions against
the faithful, claiming all things are a matter of interpretation,
many claiming not to believe anything at all, inadvertently admitting to
having faith in their unbelief, which is an anathema (Heb 3,12-19). These mockers think
they believe in nothing when in fact such unbelief is their religion. Many critics of Christianity are agnostic, unsure of
the existence of a god, yet they are confident that if there is a god, He is
unknowable, otherwise they would believe in Him, they say. Thus they admit
that they don’t know God, though He has made himself available to His
creation, yet they attribute their lack of experience with Him to the character of
God instead of to their own character. They look into the night sky and see all the twinkling stars, knowing they are
looking at infinity, which is an attribute of God. After committing fatal
errors in their logic they still have the audacity to criticize us for believing in
God, who promised every generation that He would return one day and still
hasn't come. We Christians would rather
believe in a God who cannot lie, than to believe in liars who cannot tell the
truth. They have made their choice not to see, not to hear and not to believe,
while having the arrogance to accuse us of daring to open our eyes and seeing
the Son of God raised from the dead and hearing His voice echoing through the chambers
of our heart. See also: Agnosticism; 2Pet 3,3-7; 212f
/ Atheism (Alternate explanation for life and the universe); 2Pet 1-3; 91j
2Pet 3,3-7
(75e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Motives >> Being manipulative >>
Questioning God’s judgment
(212f)
Sovereignty >> God is infinite >>
He is the creator >> Evolution (Defaming God) >>
God created atheists too –
What is perplexing to Christians is the unbeliever’s definition of
freedom. What kind of freedom do they seek when they are looking to be free
from God? They actually want to live in a world without God, and they are completely convinced that nothing
beyond their five senses exists.
The irony of that is, their five senses are detecting God’s creation,
proving He exists. See also: Agnosticism; 2Pet 3-3,4; 18f
(223k) Kingdom of God
>>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >>
Missing the train >> Miss the return of Jesus
Christ
2Pet 3-3,4
(18f) Sin
>>
False Judgment lacks evidence >> Accusing God –
God wants us to believe in Him by faith. He gave us His word, and He gave us
proof of Himself in the creation, yet the critics’ complain that
everything continues as it was from the beginning. One of the most eye-opening observations about the critics of
Christianity who lived in the first century is that though they spoke everything
imaginable against the Lord, denying the validity of His miracles, denying His
virgin birth, denying His resurrection and the believers’
interpretations of the facts that transpired, but not a single first century critic of Christianity ever denied
that Jesus Christ walked the earth! They couldn’t have denied it from all
the eyewitness that would have immediately converged on them to correct
their lies. Therefore, the enemies of the gospel of Christ provide some of
the greatest evidences of the gospel, according to their own writings, so
now God’s critics are denying the second coming of Christ, making the same
accusations against Him that they made against the prophets of old, who jeered
Christian beliefs and considered all of their doctrines to be fables. The same accusation they posited against them, they posit
against us, and our answer is the same: Jesus came in the flesh and
presented Himself as the Lamb of God, and they crucified Him according to
the predetermined plan of God; He rose from the dead, ascended to the Father
and sent the Holy Spirit, who established the Church in the hearts of men,
and He will return one day at the Father's command and set up His kingdom on
the earth, and He will reign forever and ever. (the apostles’ creed). See also: Agnosticism; 2Pet 3,3-9;
243c
(19g) Sin
>>
Having the mental disease of the world >> Man’s
twisted understanding -- These verses go with verses 16&17
(20d) Sin
>> Nature of sin
>>
Motives of unbelief
(93m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Following Jesus >> Exception >>
Following evil along the broad way
(94d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Perspective on this life >> Perspective on
time -- These verses go with verses 8&9
2Pet 3-3
(76a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Hidden motives >> Based on selfish ambition
(248j) Priorities
>>
God’ s preeminence >> Values >>
The Highest Values >> Top Priority
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2Pet 3,4-12
(170f) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Outward
appearance >> Temporary >>
Whatever is temporary will perish
2Pet 3-4,5
(175k) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >>
Ignorant of what God means >> Ignorant of the
meaning of God’s works
(221a) Kingdom of God
>>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden
behind the veil from the world >> God hides from
man’s ignorance >> God hides from those who
are not looking for Him
2Pet 3-4
(151c) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears
witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >>
The sons of Abraham
(171l) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Outward
appearance >> Outward appearance of
circumstances
2Pet 3,5-15
(40a) Judgment
>>
Jesus is the judge >> Jesus judges the world’s
unbelief
(66l)
Authority >> Lordship of Christ
>>
Jesus’ authority >> The authority of His
second coming
2Pet 3,5-12
(191a) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Baptism >>
Immersed in His Spirit – The Bible
speaks about two forms of baptism,
one by water and the other by fire, in discourse with John the Baptist (Mat 3,1-12).
On the one hand, there is a type of John’s baptism, the kind
that God used to baptize the earth in the days of Noah with the symbolism of
repentance, dying to self and being raised from the water in newness of life. On the other
hand, the baptism of fire is of a type of Jesus baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is a baptism of
divine power and glory, bringing about change and alteration of character to the degree that
we are no longer the same
person. This is why Jesus renamed some of His closest disciples. There
is no going through the fire and emerging the same person. The fire refines
the individual, burning away the things that are combustible (sin), and
leaving behind the treasures of silver and gold and precious stones. In the
last days God will
baptize the earth in fire and in this way refine the earth,
burning away the dross and preserving those who hold God's treasure in
their hearts. See also: Baptism; 2Pet 3,5-7; 244h
2Pet 3,5-7
(40i) Judgment
>> Judgment of Christ
>>
God’s word executes judgment by the Spirit
(104c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Purifying process >> Purified by fire >>
Purified through fiery judgment -- These verses go with verses 10-14
(111j) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Word and the judgment of
God -- These verses go with verse 10
(190c) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Masochism
(Self-made martyr)
>> Passing through the fire -- These verses go
with verses 10-12
(244h)
Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The word of God is
eternal >> The word of God transcends the creation – While
the world scoffs at the disciples of Jesus, it escapes
their notice that the creation itself exists because of the word of God that
Christians have placed in their hearts as the very center of their lives. It
is through His word that God has created all things, including His people. Peter said, “The
earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that
time was destroyed, being flooded with water.” So, the earth experienced a
baptism, both at the onset of creation and in Noah’s day. Before God made
the first living thing He baptized the earth in water. Then He raised up the
land and began His creation of living things, including man. When man became
corrupt, He re-baptized the earth, and everything on it died, except Noah and
his family. The next time God resets the earth because of sin He
will baptize it in fire. The water of baptism kills
and gives life, but fire has a refining effect. In the new heavens and new earth,
unlike
water, the baptism of fire will restructure His creation, giving the elements
new properties, so that God can establish his eternal kingdom
upon an eternal foundation, and both will be preserved (Mat 9-16,17). See also: Baptism; 2Pet 3,5-12;
191a
2Pet 3-5,6
(111d) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Water and the word
(140c) Temple
>>
Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >>
House where you live with Jesus -- These verses go with verses
10-13
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2Pet 3,7-12
(49i) Judgment
>> Judgment day
>> He will come like a thief in the night
2Pet 3-7
(218d) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> Reaping the harvest >>
We choose our actions, not their consequences >>
God controls the consequences of our actions
(245g) Kingdom of God
>>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s
righteous judgment >> Manifestation of God’s
justice -- This verse goes with verses 10-13
2Pet 3-8,9
(94d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Perspective on this life >> Perspective on time
-- These verses go with verses 3&4
(215e) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> God’s timing >>
God views time in eternity >> God sees eras as
moments – God does not live in the confines of
time as we do. He views our puny lifespan of 70 or 80 years like a breath. On
the one side, this is the Lord's explanation for delaying: He would say, ‘It
has only been two days,’ denoting a contraction of time from a
multi-millennial era to just a couple days. God's critics
say it is evil of Him to promise to return and not do it, but to Peter it signifies just the
opposite, that we are to consider God’s patience
to be salvation, because He doesn’t wish any to
perish. On the flipside, one day is like a thousand years, so He can take His
people to heaven and celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which will
take thousands of years, during the bowls of God's fierce wrath, denoting an
expansion of time within a certain framework. If the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls
all consist of 3 1/2 year periods respectively, that would give 1,277 days to the Bowls of
God's wrath, and since He can expand a day into a thousand years, that gives
us 1,277,000 years to celebrate the marriage between Christ and the Church.
See
also: Marriage
Supper of the Lamb; Mat 28,18-20; 191b
2Pet 3,9-15
(88g) Thy kingdom come >>
Fear of God >> Fearing God's judgment is the beginning of wisdom >>
Fear the consequences of your disobedience
2Pet 3-9
(31g) Gift of God
>>
Grace >> Salvation >>
God’s mercy opposes man’s theology -- This verse goes with verse
15
(47d)
Judgment >> God Judges the world
>>
Hell is a place of destruction -- This verse goes with verse 16. God
does not want anyone to go to hell but wants all to come to repentance. He
is more glorified by those who come to Him in faith, but that does not mean those in hell do not glorify Him. In
fact, in the days of Moses, it says that God glorified Himself through
pharaoh. God will use hell for all eternity to show the inhabitance of
heaven by contrast that His grace is limited to faith in Jesus Christ, and also
to show that there is another
side of God; His hatred of sin is real. Hell proves
His sovereign authority, and everybody who refuses to submit to Him must
go there.
(126i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Patience >>
The patience of God >> God is patient
-- This verse goes with verse 15
(193c) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>> Turn from sin to God >>
Repent >> Turn from your evil ways >>
Turn to God
(205d) Salvation
>>
Salvation is based on God’s promises >>
According to promise >> Promise of His
inheritance -- This verse goes with verse 13
(208c) Salvation
>>
The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >>
The expectations of God >> God expects us to
repent and be saved
(215b) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> God’s timing >>
God has good timing >> God’s time is
sufficient –
God is not slow about His promise, though He is slow to anger and slow to
judgment. He is
waiting for circumstances to turn in His favor and for everyone whose name
is in the book of Life to repent and believe in Him. God has been waiting 2000 years,
and His patience is wearing thin, and when
he closes the door, it will be like a mousetrap snapping on those who are
caught in their rebellion.
(247a) Priorities
>>
God’s priorities >> God’s interests >>
God is interested in His people >> God is
interested in the Church –
This verse accounts for God’s postponement of return. Generations pass, centuries transpire, and still He
doesn’t come, and we wonder what is keeping Him so long. If He only waited
ten years before His return, that would indicate the size of heaven, but
2000 years has allowed many people to come to Christ and fill up
His heaven with worshippers, hundreds of millions of people, billions over
the millennia, including the believers of the Old Testament era. Heaven must
be a big place. We could get theological and say that the word
“all” means anyone who will be saved, but that would aggravate
the fifth-degree Calvinists who say that it is impossible for someone who is
not chosen to be saved. That's dead-end reasoning, though
predestination is real, yet the human will is just as real and has equal
importance. Without God no one could be saved, and without man
seeking God, no one would be saved. The Bible teaches that most
people will not be saved, for Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for
the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there
are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow
that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Mat 7-13,14). So
man’s will makes salvation improbable, whereas God’s will makes
salvation possible. God is patient and wishes that
more would repent. The universe is God’s greatest
witness of His existence, power and size. No other generation has ever known as much as we
do about the creation, yet no other generation has been more defiant in
their willful ignorance, but God has set aside a day when He will judge
their contempt of the truth according to their knowledge, unless they repent
of their unbelief. People for
centuries have looked into the heavens and wondered about the stars, and now
we know many of the answers to their questions, and we know answers to
questions they never even thought of asking. Many have seen pictures from the
Hubble Telescope and have attributed the cause of the heavenly images to
some universal force other than God, but He will judge them for preferring a
lie over the
truth.
See also: God operates through certain laws; Jn 14-6; 83h
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2Pet 3,10-14
(104c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Purifying process >> Purified by fire >>
Purified through fiery judgment -- These verses go with verses 5-7
2Pet 3,10-13
(66b) Authority
>>
Lordship of Christ >> He is Lord over all
creation >> over the elements -- These
verses go with verse 18. One
of the laws of nature is that matter can neither be created nor destroyed, and
the same goes for energy. Matter
and energy are one and the same, according to Albert Einstein’s famous
equation: E=MC2
(Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared). This equation denotes an enormous amount of energy in the universe. At the center of every atom there is ‘the strong
(atomic) force’ that
holds the nucleus together. This atomic force is incredibly powerful, the same
force that is released in an atomic bomb. It is a force that is very
mysterious to scientists; they don’t know where it originated, because they
are unwilling to acknowledge God (Col 1-16,17). The amount of enriched uranium
that is used in an atomic bomb is about the size of a volleyball, which is
enough to destroy an entire city. This force is held inside the nucleus of every
atom in the universe, and when God is ready to recreate the universe, He will release all
the energy from every atom, and He will reinvest Himself in the new creation, causing the particles to recombine
in atoms to reform the nucleus. He will add something that he
subtracted from the universe after the fall (of Satan), His Spirit. God will
fully invest Himself in the new creation to overcome the force of entropy
that currently reigns over this creation that the Bible defines as the curse. If we followed the pattern of the resurrection we
see that God
will reduce the universe to its elementary components, and from there rebuild
the universe from scratch. According to Peter’s word choice, the
elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and He will reconstruct the universe within a newly designed atom.
See also: New creation; 140c / New heavens and a new earth (Construct of the new
creation);
1Jn 2-12; 234b
(140c) Temple
>>
Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >>
House where you live with Jesus -- These verses go with verses
5&6.
God will create the new heavens and the new earth from the vantage point of
the New Jerusalem, a place that is separate from this creation. Heb 12-28,29
says, “we [will] receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken,” so when the
universe explodes, heaven
will not feel it, because it will be in a completely different dimension. After God
creates the new heavens and new earth, He will escort the New Jerusalem to the
new earth, so that the essence of heaven will dwell among men, the city
of God where His people live. It will be the center of the world and of
the universe. The New Jerusalem is above this present creation. God will make a physical world with His
presence interwoven into it, and it will be from the same substance of our resurrected bodies and
of the New Jerusalem, so the city of God will
blend into the new creation, and the entire universe will take on the
properties of heaven. In this life, people
who die in the Lord are escorted to the New Jerusalem, and they feel at home
there, disembodied spirits in a spiritual place, though it is just as physical, so
when God gives us resurrected bodies we will feel all the more at home in His
presence. See also: New creation; 2Pet 3,11-15; 232k
(245g) Kingdom of God
>>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s
righteous judgment >> Manifestation of God’s
justice -- These verses go with verse 7
2Pet 3,10-12
(190c) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Masochism
(Self-made martyr)
>> Passing through the fire -- These verses go
with verses 5-7
2Pet 3-10
(111j) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Word and the judgment of
God -- This verse goes with verses 5-7
(215g) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> Suddenly >>
The judgments of God come suddenly >> Without
warning
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2Pet 3,11-15
(232k) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Seek the essence of his kingdom >> Seeking the
righteousness of His kingdom –
God will create a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
When God creates the new universe, He will do it in such a way that
righteousness dwells within the atoms and molecules themselves, so righteousness will dwell both
in the conduct of His people and in the fabric of the creation. This righteousness to which
Peter refers suggests that God will infuse His Spirit into the physical
universe, and we will be the first fruits
of that creation. That is, God will create the new heavens and the new earth
after the virtues of the First Resurrection using the same kind of material
that comprises our resurrected bodies (Rom 8,19-23). In this
creation a strong force dwells in every atom that holds the nucleus together;
it is energy from God, but His righteousness does not dwell in the present
universe.
His righteousness probably once dwelled in the creation before Lucifer fell into sin (He was
given the entire universe, whereas Adam was only given the earth). When Lucifer fell into sin, God removed His righteousness (His
Spirit) from the creation, but the strong force remained, holding the atoms
together. When God destroys this present universe, He will simply remove
Himself (the strong force) from it, and when He creates the new heavens and
the new earth, He will re-infuse His power and presence back into the creation. His
power is what held the nucleus together, and His Spirit repelled entropy, the
force that causes all things to age, die and disintegrate. So long as
God’s presence remained within the fabric of creation, nothing died, but
after He removed His Spirit, everything began to perish. Entropy causes the universe to
change from a complex order to a simpler state, so that life reduces to non-life,
and organic molecules revert to inert matter and mixes with the dust of the ground. When God creates the new heavens and the new earth,
He will reintroduce His presence into the creation to remove the curse. See also: New creation; 2Pet 3-13;
38i
2Pet 3,11-14
(42j) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Transformed >>
Conform to the walk of Christ
(84cb) Thy kingdom come >>
Be on the alert >> Be faithful till Jesus comes >> Prepare others for His return –
People mock us for believing in the
second coming of Jesus Christ. It has been 2000 years with every generation
holding out hope for His return, but the Bible does not teach
that believing in a messiah who may never come in our lifetime is foolish or
deceitful; rather, it keeps us on the alert and vigilant.
God knew that if He didn’t give us reason to anticipate His second
coming, we would forget about Him. That is, if the only thing Christianity
offered in this life was spiritual fulfillment, we would willingly sacrifice it to please our flesh (1Cor 15-19). Jesus warned not to let His return catch us off
guard. He doesn't want His return to resemble a thief in the night but to be watchful and prepared. As we keep our lamps trimmed, there are mockers
on all sides scoffing in our light, hoping we are wrong about our faith in
Jesus. Proverbs 10-29 says: "The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the
upright, but ruin to the workers of iniquity." Those who
sit silently observing our testimony hold out the possibility of trimming their own lamps
one day in preparation for His return.
(88d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Faith produces works >> The function of works in
faith >> Faith doesn’t move God until it is
manifested in the natural realm
(118j) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Eyes of your spirit >> Giving God your attention >> Resolutely focus on the glory of God
>>
Focus on eternity –
This passage says that the heavens and the earth will one day be destroyed,
that the elements themselves will melt. Talk to any Christian and he will say
that God will reform the creation, not destroy it, that the present universe
will in a sense die and be reborn (Rom 8,20-23). They say it will go through a
process similar to the resurrection, but that is not what the Bible says. In
fact, even science confirms that the universe is already dead. Our bodies are
made of the same stuff as the universe, inert atoms and molecules, inert
meaning not alive, though the cells that are made from these dead atoms and
molecules are alive, and all these cells combine to create an organism that is
alive. This points out the essential mystery of life. There won’t be a death
process and a resurrection of the universe, because it simply doesn’t fit
with Scripture. They mess with the word “destroy”, and say it doesn’t
mean that. Yes, Peter said that God would destroy this present universe and
create a new one in its place. To top it off, it says that the elements will
melt with intense heat, elements meaning atoms, the basic building blocks of
matter. Table salt can be reduced to sodium and chloride, but these cannot be
further reduced to more basic elements. That is, the only way sodium will stop
being a sodium atom is if nuclear fission takes place, stripping the atom from
its protons and neutrons, or else fusion, in which protons and neutrons are
added to it, in both cases releasing massive amounts of energy. Only then can
the sodium atom become something else, a different atom with another name, but
this doesn’t happen in nature. However, God says that He will melt the
elements, meaning He will take away the mysterious force that keeps the
protons and neutrons closely bound together within the nucleus, allowing all
these subatomic particles to scatter, thus destroying the very basis of
creation. Someone will say this is impossible, because one of the laws of
physics is that matter can be neither created nor destroyed; however, God is
above His creation and its laws. The doubter will then say, ‘This is
incomprehensible; therefore, it can’t be right.’ That is like saying God
is incomprehensible; therefore, we can’t know Him, but the Bible says we
can.
(236g) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >>
Invest your treasures into the kingdom >> Invest
your flesh
2Pet 3-11
(41i) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Be godly in all your behavior -- This verse goes with verse 14
(92l) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> Our holy conduct along the
narrow way
2Pet 3,12-14
(34d) Gift of God
>>
Believer owns everything >> New creation belongs
to us
(224c) Kingdom of God
>>
Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of
heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes
all things new >> Description of the new
creation
KJV
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2Pet 3-13
(38i) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death >> Resurrection of the
righteous –
Some people say that the present universe will not be destroyed, but
God will rearrange the elements in some way. People want to hold to this present creation,
believing that God
will restore it, equating it to their understanding of the resurrection. They say
that God will resurrect our current bodies using the same atoms and molecules
it had before death, and they say
that God will do the same with the new heavens and the new earth, using
the same material, but that is not the language Peter used in these verses. They would
be better to adopt Peter's version of events that after He destroys the present universe God will use what is left of
it to recreate a new one. He will use what remains of our old bodies for the sake of those who
would dig up our remains, some of us they martyred, and they will discover us missing. However, people who have been cremated or dead for thousands of years or died at sea and eaten by sharks, their bodies are
gone, pulverized by the forces of nature, and
other similar stories whose bodies simply no longer exist; at the resurrection
God will create new bodies for them. Paul said in 1Cor 15-38, " He gives
it a body," not the old one back, but a new one. God won't hunt down all the atoms
and molecules that composed our bodies and put them back together just
to transform them into a heavenly body. Rather, He will use what remains, and if there are no remains, He will create it from
scratch, and the same goes for the new creation. People are trying to see the new creation in view of Jesus’ resurrected
body. Three and a half days later the Father raised Him from the dead. He had
the same body, because decomposition was at an early stage. See also: New creation;
61j
(61j)
Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Righteous people will dwell in the new
creation / Righteousness will dwell in the fabric of creation
– This is a word-picture of God’s creation
being completely enveloped in flames and destroyed, so that the
creation itself will no longer exist in the same form, suggesting that the
fire will change its composition to something eternal. Science has determined
that matter can be neither created nor destroyed, yet God intends to add to the eternal quality of the
creation, so that it will never wear out. This present creation
cannot be destroyed according to the laws of nature, yet by new creation
standards it is dead and in the slow process of decay, meaning all its intricacy and complexity
is unraveling. However, God will create a
new universe after the millennium that will have the capacity to remain
forever. Once the thousand years have been
completed, God will create a new heavens and a new earth, Peter says, “in
which righteousness dwells.” Before God does that He must destroy the
present one, which He will do by fire, referring to nuclear fire. All things will pass
away only to be resurrected from the dead. This statement, “A new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells,” refers to two things: it means
that those who live in the new creation will be righteous, and it also means
that righteousness will be sown into the very fabric of creation. The
atoms and molecules will no longer war against each other for protons and
electrons that we observe in the fields of chemistry and nuclear physics. The new creation's substance will be
different; we will enjoy a physical/spiritual universe.
Life on earth in this life is clearly a miracle in a universe of inert material,
but in the next creation life may seem like less of a miracle, since everything
will be in a sense alive. In the new creation
life and complexity will remain throughout all eternity, so that God will be able
to establish His eternal throne on it without its foundations crumbling as it would
if He tried to establish His throne on the present creation. See also: New creation; 2Pet 3,10-13;
66b
(205d) Salvation
>>
Salvation is based on God’s promises >>
According to promise >> Promise of His
inheritance -- This verse goes with verse 9
2Pet 3-14
(41i) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Be godly in all your behavior -- This verse goes with verse 11
(42a) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Blameless before God >> Prepare for His return
(100e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Diligence >> Diligence in the sight of God –
The fact that the Church was growing strong both spiritually and numerically
was evidence that they didn’t have to worry about missing the return of
Christ, because Jesus won’t return while the Church is doing well but when
it no longer functions properly, when people are no longer being saved. Also, as a result of the
apostasy of the Church the world itself will implode. This will happen at a
time of rampant godlessness after the Church, that is the salt of
the earth, has been neutralized. That day has sadly come upon us.
(105b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Pure in heart >> A pure heart is an unleavened
heart
(126a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Peace >>
God is at peace >> The peace from God –
The fulfillment of endtime prophecy is a domino effect of cataclysmic events, leading to unveiling
the antichrist. We in our time are
living through the prophesied apostasy. Peter commanded the people of His
watch 2000 years ago to be diligent and found in Him at peace, spotless and
blameless, and if Peter spoke this to them, then he also meant it for us in
the last days even in the midst of turmoil. This indicates that the intended
readers of the Bible are those who are faithful in Christ, the remnant of the
Church who hold to their faith against all odds.
2Pet 3-15,16
(89h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom
of the Spirit
2Pet 3-15
(31g) Gift of God
>>
Grace >> Salvation >>
God’s mercy opposes man’s theology -- This verse goes with verse 9.
There
are two opposite interpretations occurring at the same time between the world
and the Church regarding the second coming of Christ. The world denies that He
will ever return, while the Church attributes His absence to salvation. Christ
is giving time for more people to get saved before He returns.
(126i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Patience >>
The patience of God >> God is patient --
This verse goes with verse 9. To
the degree that the enemies of the gospel speak against the second
coming of Christ is the degree that we should prepare for His second coming.
Jesus spoke about a wedding feast and told us to stay on the alert, for He
knew that in the last days prior to His return the Church would fall away from
the faith (Mat 22,1-7). Also, in 1The 4,13-18 it says that Christ will come and receive His
people to Himself at the advent of the First Resurrection, and we who are
alive an remain will be caught-up together with them to meet the Lord in the
air. 2The 2,1-10 says the saints in Thessalonica were concerned that they had
missed this event, and Paul answered them not to worry, because it
won’t happen until the apostasy comes first. In other words, to the degree
that the Thessalonians were concerned about their salvation was evidence that
the First Resurrection had not yet occurred. Look at the Church today; most
refuse to even address the teaching of endtime prophecy. There are some
Christians who have remained vigilant, but the Church as a whole is wayward, indicating that the second coming of Christ is imminent.
2Pet 3-16,17
(19g) Sin
>>
Having the mental disease of the world >> Man’s
twisted understanding -- These verses go with verses 3&4
(179k) Works of the devil
>>
Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >>
Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading
people through ignorance
KJV
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2Pet 3-16
(17j) Sin >>
Unrighteous judgment >>
Ignorance >> Distorting the facts – Peter was actually prophesying that people
would misunderstand Paul and distort what he said to their own destruction,
meaning that many of those who distort his writings on the mercy and grace
of God will not be going to heaven. Look at the Church today, what they believe and what they have done to the
doctrines of the Church,
turning them into licentiousness (a license to sin). Many denominations use verses like
Eph 2-8,9 to extract works from the equation of the
gospel, saying
that works are no longer necessary, when this was not at all Paul’s message.
(19f) Sin
>>
Having the mental disease of the world >>
Incorrect thinking – Peter was complaining that those who distort
Paul's writings do it to revel in their flesh, which is tantamount to breaking
the laws of God. Their flesh becomes an idol that they place before God,
breaking the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Ninety-nine percent of the time that we revel in our flesh we are hurting
other people, putting our selves first without loving our neighbor as
ourselves. Who knows what kinds of fleshly addictions and spiritual bondages
befall those who refuse to be saved in this life but desire freedom to
fully express whatever is in their flesh to say and do, and to embody whatever hormones are raging in
their carnal nature. God did not give us the freedom to act out whatever we
feel; rather, He wants us free from abusing others emotionally, physically and
sexually.
(47d) Judgment
>> God Judges the world
>>
Hell is a place of destruction -- This verse goes with verse 9
(48l) Judgment
>>
Jesus’ enemies are destroyed >> Enemies of the
truth –
Some people don’t just have differences
with the Lord; they are enemies of God, because the spirit they follow is at
enmity with Him, and for this reason they are at enmity with us. There is no
point in listening to them; if they could move us from our faith, we would become a
feather in their hat. They live to
subvert the righteous, simply because they have no faith of their own, and
they are jealous. They don’t want to believe, but they don’t want us to
believe either, because our faith testifies against their unbelief.
(79l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >>
To defend yourself from religion
(108c) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith is the balance between truth and unbelief – Peter made a comment about the apostle
Paul, making this an
unusual verse indeed, and look what Peter said about him: some of the things
Paul taught were hard to understand. Paul wrote largely about the grace of
God, separating grace from works to show that it is actually our faith
that saves us and not our works. He did this because though his ministry was
toward the gentiles, he was a Jew and had a heart for his countrymen, who were
in bondage to a works-based salvation, such external things as circumcision and
keeping the laws of Moses. The result of presenting the gospel in Paul's way
made for a complicated theology. However, we don’t find
the subject of grace particularly complicated, but the fact that we don’t
suggests what Peter was saying, that we have oversimplified Paul’s writings.
(157j) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being
hell-bound >> Unable to know the truth – If the writings of Paul are hard to
understand by those with a remnant of the Spirit, how much less do they
understand Paul who distort his words along
with the rest of Scripture to their own destruction? Peter says that those who
intentionally misquote, misunderstand and warp the teachings of Paul, who say that works are irrelevant, will
never see the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul wrote most of the epistles, so naturally
he wrote the most about virtually every subject, including about living a godly
life. He did more than anyone to make sure that our works were in place, and
if not we should take a closer look at our salvation (2Pet 1-10).
(168i) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world has
deaf ears to God >> Deaf to the word of God from
a lack of understanding – Those who would mock us for our faith cannot
properly interpret the Scriptures, so they don’t know what they are
mocking since they don’t know what we believe. God gives us wisdom
and insight into His word, but those who don’t believe cannot receive from
the Holy Spirit. If they attempted to believe the gospel as we do,
they would fail to acquire a simple faith as ours. They cannot believe the
truth but are confined to their lies and self-deceptions and believe by a
different faith that different spirits have given to them. Faith is not our weakness, any more than God is weak, and if God
who is our strength has led us to believe in Him, then their unbelief is their
weakness.
(177a) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >>
Distorting Scripture >> Distorting Scripture
from a lack of understanding – Paul very diligently made the distinction
between the two aspects of our salvation, faith and works, in the books of
Romans and Galatians to show that we are saved by grace through faith. What
many in the Church don’t seem to understand about Paul's teaching, though, is
that after we recognize faith to be the active ingredient of our salvation, we
are to put works back into the equation, so God can work in our lives. The fact that God is
working in us to deliver us from our fleshly addictions and spiritual bondages
to sin is not what gets us to heaven; rather, these things are an aspect of
our salvation in this life. That is, God wants to save us both in this life and in
the one to come, our faith saving us for eternity and our works saving us in this
life. However, there are some Christians who don’t want to be saved in this
life, but the Bible teaches that if we are not saved in this life, neither are
we saved eternally, for our works prove our faith, and if have no proof,
neither do we have faith.
(177i) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding the word of
God
(198b) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Man
withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >>
Too busy being a teacher to learn anything
(198f) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained
by man >> Men place themselves in positions of
authority >> Men who are ill-equipped to fulfill
the ministry
(223f) Kingdom of God
>>
The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >>
Missing the point >> Miss the meaning of the
truth
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2Pet 3-17,18
(8o)
Responsibility >> Prevent backsliding from God –
Growing is prevention against backsliding –
We who are diligent in the faith make enemies through our relationship with
Jesus, and unprincipled men are littered throughout the world and some are
even in the Church. These
unprincipled men are not criminals but are unprincipled in their lack of
sincerity of faith in their pursuit of God’s holy truth. Those who are
seeking a genuine relationship with God will find it very difficult to make
friends in the Church these days because of the rampant spiritual laziness
that it harbors. If we want to serve the Lord by striving
in our relationship with Christ, we are forced to seek higher levels of faith
alone.
(98b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Rooted deeply >>
Plant the word deeply in your heart – There are some sects of Christianity that
despise the knowledge of God. They think the simple gospel is all we need to
know, and we should not pursue knowledge any deeper, but this flies
in the face of everything Paul taught. Peter also taught us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." God works in us exclusively
through His word that we believe, yet others say that knowledge can
lead to arrogance, that the simple gospel is safer than becoming a student of
the Bible. They warn us to beware of 'being so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good.' This is a common saying in Christendom that has
no basis in the Scriptures. Our faith is
squarely based on the word of God, so the more we know the more our faith can
grow in Him. Faith in the truth is our weapon against the
fallacies and deceptions of our enemies who rail against us with their
deceptions. When we successfully ward off
their attacks, we prove that their goal was to make us fumble our faith.
2Pet 3-17
(83m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >>
Be on guard
(162i) Works of the devil
>>
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >>
Bondage >> Being slaves of men >>
Bad company >> Bad company will entangle you in
their bondage –
We are to avoid unprincipled men who will lead our steadfastness into
complacency, so that we become a constituent of apostasy that has gripped the
Church. When so many people are steeped in apostasy, we cannot avoid
them all. At a time when we can hardly find one who is diligent in his
faith, how can we be diligent in our own, since we need each other to achieve
steadfastness? Being a
Christian has never been easy in this world. There were times
of terrible persecution when people were imprisoned, tortured and killed for their
faith, but this drove the saints together, and they helped each other spiritually and materially, and there was unity between
them, and the Church grew both spiritually and numerically. In times when persecution is rare,
though, we go to church
approved by the state and nobody
stops us, and so it seems in these days persecution originates within the Church, and
those steeped in apostasy persecute those who are diligent in the faith, and
few are getting saved.
(181f) Works of the devil
>>
Practicing witchcraft >> Lawlessness >>
Having no regard for the law >> Forsaking the
law –
Peter was writing about something he said in the previous verse, about the
Apostle Paul’s letters being hard to understand. Peter was one
of the men who gave Paul the right-hand of fellowship when he came to
Jerusalem looking for acceptance from the Church (Gal 2-9), but first they had
to investigate his background. It wasn’t just the testimony of his
salvation that convinced the leaders; it was also the things that Paul said
God revealed to him about his specific calling and purpose of preaching the
gospel to the gentiles. That the gentiles were included in salvation was
something that God had recently revealed to Peter in a dream (Acts chapter
10), showing there was a divine orchestration of events occurring that convinced the leaders to approve
Paul. Although he once persecuted the Church of God, Paul related all these things to Peter, James and John, and they
listened
very carefully to every word, and only after they completely
understood his message did they give him the right-hand of fellowship.
Later Paul wrote letters that Peter confessed were hard
to understand, that salvation is based on faith (Eph
2-8,9). Peter recaps Paul in this verse, warning us to be on guard and not
entrust our hearts to unprincipled men. If Peter had a hard time understanding Paul’s
letters, can we really say that the
Church in the last days understands his letters? Maybe we should listen to
Peter more intently and be on guard against misinterpretation. These
unprincipled men might understand salvation based on faith well enough, but
they don’t understand faith itself. Some try to get to heaven based on their
own good works; we must guard ourselves against them too, because they are not
trusting in Christ. However, what about those who adhere
to the teachings of Paul and believe that salvation is based on faith apart
from works but don’t understand the concept of faith itself? Are they not in the
same boat with those who work for salvation? The only difference between them
is that one believes they need to do good works and the other doesn't. The
person who has the wrong concept of faith is actually a worse culprit than the
one who works for salvation. Those who think faith is a matter of believing
in a set of doctrines Paul would say is not from God but believes in Him with
a human faith.
We need to believe in Jesus by a faith that we received from God, but how do we
receive this divine faith? We must believe in the doctrines of salvation
through obedience, and God will impart His Spirit and empower us to believe in
Him with His
faith. See also:
Don't walk beyond your faith; Rom 12,1-3;
43l
(204b) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Back-slider >> Practicing sin >>
Going astray
KJV
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2Pet 3-18
(4g)
Responsibility
>> Advocate God’s cause >>
He who is faithful in little is also faithful in much – We
start with very little knowledge of
God, and grow from there in both
knowledge and responsibility. The two are directly proportional to each
other, for the more we know the more is required of us.
(66b) Authority
>>
Lordship of Christ >> He is Lord over all
creation >> over the elements -- This
verse goes with verses 10-13
(80e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Know the word to learn the ways of God >>
Leading to Jesus –
Peter admonished us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, but
if we do, we may be persecuted by the Church. The world rarely encounters a person who is sincere
in faith that is based on the truth, so when they find one, they
are amazed, but those in the Church are less than impressed who take their
faith seriously and actually pursue God through the knowledge afforded them in
the Scriptures. Talk to some people and they will tell us that it is not
necessary to know the Bible any better than the average person in the
Church, that if we occasionally read the Bible, it is enough. This
is the overall attitude that people have in their own personal studies, and
in this complacent manner they wait for their flesh to feel the urge to open
the Bible, yet days, weeks and months pass with the Bible never
opened. We look at the tremendous knowledge of Paul, and Jesus admonished us
to worship God by a knowledge-based faith (Jn 17,6-8), but probably Peter made the most
succinct statements about knowing the word of God in his epistles, and this
is one of those statements. Some raise accusation against others who are
learned in the Scriptures that pursuing the knowledge of God is not
necessary. They quote this verse, “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love
edifies” (1Cor 8-1). Yes, knowledge can make a person arrogant, but love annuls
pride. Faith is based on knowledge and love is a manifestation of faith, so love is indirectly based on knowledge. This suggests it is imprudent
to perfect love without integrating knowledge into it.
(108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith
>> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation
>> Revelation of His identity
(116c) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through worship >>
Through our relationship with Him
(210f) Salvation
>>
The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >>
We must believe in the savior to be saved
(214j) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> God’s timing >>
God’s time is soon >> God’s time is always
now –
The day of eternity refers to the day of the Lord, which is the day of the
First Resurrection. Eternity past and eternity future are on opposite ends
of the timeline, and we are currently in the present, which is a single
point on that line. When we think of eternity past never having a beginning
and eternity future never having an end, our present is at the center of the
timeline as a fixed point. This point represents the day of every person’s
birth since the beginning of time. If our “present”
point could move along the timeline, it would be in relation to the end and
the beginning of that line, but since this timeline doesn’t have a
beginning or an end, the point remains fixed in the middle.
Tomorrow will be our future present, and yesterday was our past present, so
we can see our present moving along a line between
our birth and our death. Our timeline is finite, whereas God’s
timeline is eternal, yet He can move along the timeline of eternity in any
direction He wants, because He exists at both both ends of
eternity at the same time. He can go to the past, and He can visit the
future, so for God the present is mobile. We will always and forever live
in the present with God, the great I AM, and in that sense eternity doesn’t really exist;
there is only now.
(252b) Trinity
>>
You shall put no other gods before Me >>
Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >>
Jesus is worthy of our worship >> Worship
Jesus for who he is
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