A Slow But Sure Unveiling (2 Peter 3)

A Slow But Sure Unveiling
2 Peter 3

INTRODUCTION:
In 1867, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local paper: “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before. He died a very rich man.”
Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died. A newspaper reporter had made a mistake. But the account had a profound effect on Alfred. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing a means to kill people efficiently and amassing a fortune in the process.
So Nobel initiated the Nobel Prize—an award for scientists and writers who foster peace. “Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one,” Nobel said.

Because of the grace of God, each day you and I have the opportunity to start our spiritual lives over in the eyes of God. To repent of our sins and to start fresh. And we need to do that every day; we need to make sure our spiritual lives are right with God every day so that we can be ready for the second coming of Christ. Because it could happen at any time.

I lived through a hurricane in 1979. Hurricanes can be predicted days in advance. I have lived through several tornadoes having grown up in the south. They can be predicted a few minutes in advance. I have lived through an earthquake. It sort of happens all of a sudden. I suppose there might be some advanced knowledge available to scientists. But there will be no warning when Jesus comes again. And that is a significant parallel between the destruction of the world through the flood of Noah’s day and the destruction of the world at the end of time.

Our VBS year, which started this morning in our Bible classes and will go through Wednesday night, is focusing on Noah and the flood.

The name “Noah” is mentioned 46 times in the OT. In Isaiah 54:9, God mentions Noah by telling Israel that His promise not to destroy Israel entirely was just like God’s promise to Noah that He would not destroy the world with water again.

Noah is also mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel twice in the same chapter: 14:14, 20. In that text, God through Ezekiel tells Israel that Noah’s righteousness would not save them from going into exile in Babylon.

Noah is mentioned in the NT 8 times. In Matthew 24:37-38, Jesus tells His disciples that the destruction of Jerusalem will come as suddenly on the Jews as the flood of Noah came suddenly on the world at that time. Of course, neither the flood nor the destruction of Jerusalem came without warning even if it came suddenly. It’s just the fact that people would not listen.

According to the inspired text in Genesis 7, Noah and his family entered the ark on the same day when God brought all the animals to them into the ark. Everyone went into the ark and the text says (7:16): “the Lord closed the door behind Noah.” God did not want Noah opening the door of the ark. Noah had no authority to water-down God’s commands and allow someone into the ark who did not believe and obey God’s preached Word. In the same way, today you and I have no authority from God to water-down His commands. We have no authority to say “Well, it’s okay you don’t understand what God commands. You are sincere in your disobedience and all will be well.” God forbid that we should disrespect God in that way.

The Hebrew writer also mentions Noah in Hebrews 11:7 when he writes that Noah was warned by God and things that had not yet been seen - a worldwide, global flood. But Noah obeyed and became an heir of righteousness.

The apostle Peter will also mention Noah, twice. Once in 1 Peter 3:20 when he uses the flood as an analogy for baptism when Peter writes that “baptism does now save us.” Peter mentions Noah again, the last time Noah is mentioned in the Bible, in 2 Peter 2:5 where he writes that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness.”

The text I want us to consider however is the following chapter of 2 Peter… chapter 3. In verses 1-2, Peter says that it is important for us to be reminded of the “words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by His apostles.” Peter reminds the readers that God created the world by the power of His word and He destroyed the world by the power of His word. If you doubt the second coming of Christ and the destruction of the world, then you doubt the power of God’s word.

MOCKERS WILL COME - 3:3-4:
Mockers are those who “follow after their own lusts.”

Mockers say, “Where is the promise of His coming? Every thing has continued just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

It was their sinful lifestyles that influenced their thinking. If fact, it often happens that our behavior influences our thinking as much as our thinking influences our behavior. Not long ago, Rachel and I were talking about how easy it is to make exceptions to a diet. Many dietitians will say it is okay to have a “splurge” day or whatever they might call it. But then we make exceptions far too frequently for our own good. We also do that with our spiritual lives. We humans have an amazing ability to rationalize our behavior. We too frequently think our behavior is okay with God. That’s why we must continually go back to the Scriptures and measure our heart and our behavior by the standard of God’s word.

Because we also mock God when we live as if there is no unexpected return of our Savior. When we live as if we will not give an account of our obedience to God. When we live as if His commandments are just suggestions. We will not get by with mocking God no more than Noah’s generation did.

THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD - 3:5-7:
It was the word of God that allows the heavens to exist and the earth to be formed out of water and by water.

It was the waters that destroyed the world in the time of Noah.

But it was God’s word that the heavens and earth were eventually preserved - to one day be destroyed by fire, on the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. God separated the waters from below the heavens from the waters that were above the heavens and in the process, He formed dry land (Gen. 1:6-10). All God had to do was speak the word.

GOD IS NOT LIMITED BY TIME - 3:8-9:
One day is like 1,000 years to God. He is not limited by time. To God, it has not been 2,000 years since Jesus ascended into heaven. In other words, God does not forget because time has passed nor has God weakened His expectations of humanity because time has passed.

An economist who read 2 Peter 3:8 was amazed. “Lord, is it true that a thousand years for us is like one minute to you?”
“Yes,” God said.
“Then a million dollars to us must be like one penny to you,” the economist said.
“Well, yes,” God said.
“Will you give me one of those pennies?” the economist asked.
“All right, I will,” the Lord said. “Wait here a minute.”

God is not slow about His promise, as some are.

God is patient.

God does not wish any to perish.

God wants all to come to repentance. Notice that God has not watered-down His commands which compel mankind to repent.

JUST AS THE FLOOD DESTROYED THE WORLD - 3:10-12:
The “day of the Lord” refers to the final manifestation of Jesus Christ, His second coming. It will be like a thief - unexpectedly.

What will happen?

The heavens will pass away with a roar.
The elements will be destroyed with intense heat.
The earth and its works will be burned up.
The heavens will be destroyed by burning
The elements will melt with intense heat.

Jesus taught that the world would be destroyed at some point: Matt. 5:18; 24:35. The Hebrew writer taught the same thing: 1:10-12.

In the same way that Noah’s flood happened unexpectedly and when the rain started, there was no changing one’s fate, so when Christ comes again - unexpectedly - there will be no changing one’s fate.

Knowing this, we need to live:

In holy conduct
In godliness
Looking for and hastening the day of the God

WE LOOK FOR A NEW HOME - 3:13-16:
The world upon which Noah and his family stepped after being on the ark was a very different world than the world they had left behind. It was the same, but different.

The world where we are going - heaven - is very different; it will be a spiritual world. It will be a home characterized by righteousness. When each of us was born, we were born into a world dominated by sin. But heaven will be different. It will be our home and we will feel like we belong there. We will not feel like strangers.

This home is “according to God’s promise.” Just like God promised to send the flood and He did it, so God has promised to give us a “new heavens and a new earth” and He will fulfill that promise. It is a home where “righteousness dwells.”

Consequently, Peter again reminds Christians that we need to pay careful attention to how we live our lives. Peter had said similar things back in 1:5-7 when he wrote: “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”

We need to be diligent to be found by Jesus, when He returns:

In peace
Spotless
Blameless

Now, we should also consider the fact that since Jesus has not come back, He is giving us a chance to repent of our sins and get right with God. The patience of our Lord is salvation. Peter states that his message is consistent with what Paul had written according to the inspired wisdom given to him. He wrote that information down; although some things are hard to understand. But people twist and distort the writings of Paul and they are bringing destruction upon themselves for not submitting their thoughts and opinions and behavior to the teachings of the inspired apostles and prophets.
A man and woman spotted each other on the morning air shuttle. Sparks flew, but no words were exchanged as they stood together in the taxi line at Washington National. She got in a cab, looked back, and saw him running after her. She begged the cabbie to stop, but he kept going. In desperation she scrawled her phone number on a piece of paper and pressed it against the back window. But she knew the man was too far away to read it.
She went to her meeting, but she couldn’t stop thinking about him. So she feigned illness and returned to the airport to wait for him to catch the shuttle back to New York. She waited all day, but he didn’t show.
She took her flight. When she stepped into the gate area, he was there. “What took you so long?” he asked. “I’ve been waiting all day.”
The couple eventually married.
How like God this story is. In his great love, he waits for us—but not as long as it takes—so he can make us his own. His patience will come to a complete end and then eternity begins.

PETER’S CONCLUSION:
Peter warns us to “be on our guard” so we will not be carried away, deceived, deluded into believing error is okay with God by “unprincipled men” and we fall away from being persistent in our faith.

On the other hand, we need to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom we desire all glory from now throughout eternity.

For the first time in forty-seven years, the tuna were running only thirty miles off Cape Cod. And they were biting. All you needed to catch one was a sharp hook and some bait. And the rumor was that Japanese buyers would pay $50,000 for a nice bluefin.
Many inexperienced fishermen ignored coast guard warnings and headed out to sea in small boats. What they didn’t realize was that the problem wasn’t catching the fish; it was reeling in the giant tuna and pulling it aboard.
The Christi Anne, a nineteen-foot boat, capsized while doing battle with a tuna. That same day the twenty-seven-foot boat Basic Instinct suffered the same fate, while Official Business, a twenty-eight-footer, was swamped after it hooked a six-hundred-pound tuna. Fishermen on these boats underestimated the power of the fish they were trying to catch.
That is what temptation does to us. It looks great on the surface. Only after we hook into it do we discover its strength.

Take home message: There are mockers at the coming of Jesus Christ, but God’s word is power and He is not limited by time. Just as the flood destroyed the world one time, so it will be destroyed again. So we look for a new home. Let’s be careful to live carefully for that promise.