2 Peter 3

[Amanah]

Will the earth be destroyed by fire?

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

I'm disturbed by the state of our world in many ways and I just can't see it continuing indefinitely.

Our world is so spiritually bankrupt and immoral, we are living in the day when Christians are seen as intolerant, biblical values are seen as hate speech. The things Christians consider evil are seen as values to be protected.

We are living in a world where it is very difficult to discern reality. Who is the enemy? What is fake news and what can we believe?

We are also living in a world since the industrial revolution in which a small percent of the world has consumed a vast amount of the worlds resources, living in a manner that is unsustainable. How can we go on living this way?

Our water, air, and food is contaminated. I don't see our world lasting forever.

Back to Christianity. How far are we from the book of acts church? Jesus said for us to take up our cross and follow.

It seems to me that if someone actually embodied Philippians 2, they would seem alien and radical to us, what should be normal, isn't.

Philippians 2:1-8 1Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!

People are far more interested in consumerism, eating and drinking and being entertained, then in doing the hard work of fixing our world.

[Amanah]

And, everyone is so freaking fat. people are not healthy, but they are stuffing their faces with cookies, and candies, and cakes and pies.

[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by Amanah

And, everyone is so freaking fat. people are not healthy, but they are stuffing their faces with cookies, and candies, and cakes and pies.

Jediwill showed me some cool pizzas last night.

[navygoat1998]

Originally Posted by Amanah

And, everyone is so freaking fat. people are not healthy, but they are stuffing their faces with cookies, and candies, and cakes and pies.

Have ye made peanut brittle since ye believed?

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by navygoat1998

Have ye made peanut brittle since ye believed?

Yeah, but we were shown the way of God more perfectly.

[jediwill83]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Yeah, but we were shown the way of God more perfectly.

Like adding pecans?

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Amanah

And, everyone is so freaking fat. people are not healthy, but they are stuffing their faces with cookies, and candies, and cakes and pies.

Its not just the pastry dishes. People don't exercise, eat processed garbage that masquerades as food, consume way too much GMO and soy, and are just generally weaker, dumber, and lazier than previous generations. We're on the backside of the Bell curve at this point.

Today my 10 year old boy knocked out 200 dumbbell curls, a couple sets of clean and presses, and some deadlifts and squats (light barbell), plus a bunch of calisthenics. I'm back to the same size pants I was wearing 20 years ago. My older girls can literally crush pumpkins with their legs. Our goal is within 12 months to be getting zero food from the grocery stores.

Fat, soft, lazy, and stupid do not forge civilizations. But artificial societal respiration (aka mass welfare) certainly will kill a civisation.

[Amanah]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Its not just the pastry dishes. People don't exercise, eat processed garbage that masquerades as food, consume way too much GMO and soy, and are just generally weaker, dumber, and lazier than previous generations. We're on the backside of the Bell curve at this point.

Today my 10 year old boy knocked out 200 dumbbell curls, a couple sets of clean and presses, and some deadlifts and squats (light barbell), plus a bunch of calisthenics. I'm back to the same size pants I was wearing 20 years ago. My older girls can literally crush pumpkins with their legs. Our goal is within 12 months to be getting zero food from the grocery stores.

Fat, soft, lazy, and stupid do not forge civilizations. But artificial societal respiration (aka mass welfare) certainly will kill a civisation.

will you be buying and selling at farmer's markets?

[mfblume]

The elements melting is similar to the world flooding in Noah's day. It's not the planet. In fact ELEMENTS is only used as a term to speak of the old covenant basic elementary issues that foreshadowed the new.

This is first century material.

[mfblume]

The Language of Judgment
Marvin Simmons
November 17, 2004

Scripture Text:

2 Peter 3:1-13 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: (2) That ye 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: (3) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, (4) And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (5) For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: (6) Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. (7) But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (8) But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (11) Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, (12) Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.


Message:


Scriptural language shows evidence of God speaking in certain ways.


* Revelation notes God signified his truth to John -- symbolic language depicting bible truth.
* Why?
* Why did Jesus speak in parables?
* A seeking heart that is teachable has a great quality.
* It is not given to some to know.
* Two people can hear the same word and one will approach it spiritually and benefit, while the other from a natural viewpoint gets nothing.

I detest fear-mongering and scare tactics in preaching relative to God's Word.

* You cannot scare folks into the Kingdom.
* They will only produce a surface commitment.

And some make it so mysterious they cannot understand it.

* Some believe they can never understand the bible.
* However, all scripture is inspired and profitable.
* Not one word is not profitable.
* That means we are meant to understand it.
* It is God-breathed.

But do not try to understand Revelation in a 21st century concept.

* If you read the first few verses it tells you that the book was sent back to seven churches.
* What would make the book something a first century church could understand and be blessed because they heard it and understood and received it, when today you can get 50 dozen different interpretations form the same book?
* The pastors would read it to those congregations, for them to hear, believe and understand and live by it.
* Is it sensible that 3 of those churches would believe it one way, three another and one totally different again?
* He does not teach differently in Ephesus than in Smyrna.The Spirit is one teacher.

When the letter came and they read it, all those first century churches would understand it.
o They did so without cobra helicopters, and stinger missiles and Abraham tanks and jet planes and computer chips.
o Someone wrote recently that God held the Revelation on the shelf until the computer age so we could now understand what they read when they read about the mark.
o So, what about the people beforehand in 1900 years who knew nothing about computers?

A language is being taken out of its context in cultural terms and time element terms.

* But God is doing something.
* As God pulls the shroud off the hearts of sincere people, a liberty of the Spirit occurs that will not be found otherwise.

The second coming of Jesus is real.

* He will break the clouds of glory and come again!
* But a revival must occur that will bring salvation to the lost.
* There will be a final resurrection of the people of God, but I do not believe it will be tonight.
* Does this destroy the coming of the Lord?
* Not at all.

We are accused of not believing Jesus is coming back again.

* I deny that!
* He is!
* It's just that my time element is different from others.

So let's look in the scripture.

Continued...