Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from 2 P 3.1 and following. Indeed, Pierre is not afraid of repetitions. He never tires of recalling the same truths in memory of God’s children (2 P 1.12-15; Ph 3.1-3; Jude 1.17-19). Let us not tire of re-reading and meditating on them. For the 3rd time, the example of the flood returns under the pen of the apostle. In contrast to those who willfully ignore all warnings (Eph 4:17-24), the Lord’s beloved must not ignore His intentions. The “end of the world”, which many evoke, either with fear or with lightness, will intervene only at the moment chosen by Him. The heaven and earth “of now” will then be destroyed. Only God’s patience, which has in view the salvation of sinners, has so far suspended judgment. He does not want any to perish (Seb 33:10-11). And this patience is exercised even in favor of the mockers who challenge and outrage it. But humanity is engaged in a relentless “countdown.” A moment will come that will be the last, when the promises so often heard will suddenly turn into reality. Events will have finally proved right the hope of God’s children, for the confusion of mockers and the ungodly. Then it will be too late to “come to repentance.” Now is the time to do it.
Thus, the apostle aims to awaken the pure intelligence of the saints, an intelligence that comes from God, by reminding them of these things through his two epistles. It is not a new revelation that he gives them, but it reminds them of the things that the holy prophets of the Old Testament had told them in advance about the end times and the holy commandment that the Lord and Savior had given them through his apostles, in view of the last times, that they might be on their guard in the face of the perilous times of the end. Thus prophets and apostles were perfectly in agreement on the character of the last days we are going through, while it is precisely the opposite that is announced in Christianity today. Poor world deceived by the enemy, and listening to all the voices that announce a gradual improvement in the present state of affairs, and in the state of men in the midst of these circumstances.
For the people of whom the apostle speaks mocked the promise of his coming, no doubt, as much as concerned the saints, for they spoke of the fathers who had fallen asleep (v. 4), as they did with regard to the world. They denied the Lord’s coming for His beloved, and also denied His coming to judgment on the world. But it is this second act that constitutes the special subject of the second epistle of Peter. But, says the apostle, on the lord’s day, this second act of his coming, when he comes, no longer to take away the saints to meet him, but when he comes with them to exercise judgment over the world, that day, he says, will come like a thief. This is stated as for Protestantism degenerated into Apoc. 3:3.C is the judgment of the living described in Apoc. 19:11-18. Only, when the apostle addresses the subject of judgment, he extends this event until the moment when, after the millennium, of which he does not even say a word here, the heavens will pass with a whistling noise and the burning elements will be dissolved, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned entirely.
Nothing will remain of all the works that men have accumulated on earth, no doubt hoping that some lasting testimony will survive. Nothing! for judgment will reach the whole. As an explanation for this complete omission of the millennium in this passage, it is worth recalling that this subject was treated in detail as a special revelation made to the apostle, in the first chapter of this epistle where the apostle shows the Christians, to whom he speaks, how carefully he had made them known, as an eyewitness, the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was thus all the more entitled to join in our passage the coming of the Lord with the day of the Lord.
This is therefore our practical condition in the face of an appearance of delay. The whole word of God pronounces in our ears and in our hearts this word: salvation, and this is all the more remarkable because this epistle speaks to us with holy indignation of the character of the wicked of the end. We therefore rejoice in being in full communion with the Lord’s thought. Here the Apostle expresses the same communion of thoughts on this subject with the “beloved Brother Paul”. The latter had written to the Hebrews, to these same believers, according to the wisdom given to him, and his writings in general contained things difficult to understand, twisted by the ignorant and the ill-strengthened, to their own destruction, as they did with the other Scriptures. Thus Paul’s writings were part of the Scriptures, but there were also others, such as the Gospels, Acts, James, Jude, John, and Revelation. This passage is all the more important because it destroys all rationalist ideas about the alleged antagonism between the two apostles Peter and Paul.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
If the Lord delays:
- The authority of the Church
Mt 16:19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven: what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you untie on earth will be untied in heaven. John 20:23 Those to whom you forgive sins will be forgiven; and those to whom you will hold them, they will be held away from them. Acts 6:4 And we will continue to apply ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Hb 13:17 Obey your leaders and have deference for them, for they watch over your souls as if to account; so be it, that they may do so with joy, and not with groaning, which would be of no benefit to you.
- Voice of the Prophets
Mt 13:35 so that what had been announced by the prophet may be fulfilled: I will open my mouth in parables, I will publish things hidden since the creation of the world. Luke 1:70 As He foretold through the mouths of His holy prophets of ancient times, Acts 3:21 that heaven is to receive until the times of the restoration of all things, of which God once spoke through the mouths of His holy prophets. John 5:10 Take, my brethren, as models of suffering and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 2 Pet 3:2 that you may remember the things foretold in advance by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior,
- Day of the Lord
Ml 3:23 Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the Lord comes, This great and fearsome day. 1 Cor 5:5 that such a man be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 2 Cor 1:14 as you have already recognized in part that we are your glory, just as you will also be ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Thess 5:2 For you yourselves know well that the lord’s day will come as a thief in the night. 2 Pet 3:10 The lord’s day will come as a thief; on this day the heavens will pass with a bang, the burning elements will dissolve, and the earth with the works it contains will be consumed.
- Secret things
Dt 29:29 The hidden things are to Jehovah, our God; the things revealed are to us and to our children, in perpetuity, so that we may put into practice all the words of this law. Pr 25:2 The glory of God is to hide things; The glory of kings is to probe things. Dt 12:9 because you have not yet arrived in the place of rest and in the inheritance that Jehovah your God gives you. Mk 13:32 As for the day or the hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Rev 5:3 And no one in heaven, neither on earth nor under the earth, could open the book or look at it. Rev 10:4 And when the seven thunders had made their voices heard, I was going to write; and I heard from heaven a voice that said: Seal what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it.
From all the above, we note that believers, knowing these things, are exhorted, in turn, not to be drawn into the error of the perverts and not to lose the firmness that had characterized them until then. The way to resist and not to remain stationary, because the station is already a step backwards, was to grow in two directions: the 1° in grace, 2 ° in the knowledge of this wonderful thing: the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was what David himself had desired: “I have asked one thing of the Lord, I will seek it: it is that I dwell in the house of the Lord, every day of my life, to see the beauty of the Lord, and to diligently inquire into him in his temple” (Ps. 27.4). The apostle concludes with this precious doxology: “To Him the glory, and now and until the day of eternity. Amen! Thus introducing his beloved brethren into the enjoyment of eternal things! That is why these last exhortations are not based as the previous ones on “the most great and precious promises” (2 P 1.3-9), but on the instability of everything that fills the present scene. Let us sometimes make an inventory of the goods to which we hold most dear, writing below: “all these things must therefore dissolve…”. So we will be careful not to put our hearts into it. How much knowing these things in advance should stimulate us to holy conduct and piety. Nothing leads more to the separation of the world and evil than the thought of the imminent return of the Lord. Nor does anything encourage evangelization so much, for his coming will mark the end of his patience at salvation. Let’s study to be found as Christ wills us at His return (Ph 1.9-11), having made some progress in grace and knowledge. The apostle performed his service; he is now ready to “put down his tent.” And he gives us an appointment in this day of eternity that our faith greets and anticipates, giving glory now to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the word of life; communion with God and forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. »
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.