Do Not Forget!!!!
It's easy to forget stuff...you do it, I do it. Keys, wallets, phones and the like all disappear at some point right. Mostly it's into some mysterious black-hole vortex that exists in our houses, only to re-appear in plain sight. It's a fact of life that such things happen, and we live with it.
But....what if we willingly forgot something? If we deliberately chose to set aside the truth - in what position would that place our conscience? Now ponder the fact that such a decision may have eternal ramifications - would you make that decision or not?
In 2 Peter 3:1-14, the apostle Peter brings up this very point when discussing the return of Jesus Christ to Earth. He inserted a very distinct statement within the middle of his teaching, saying - "They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago..." (vs 5a). While this seems to be about creation, it is a much deeper and profound statement that connects what once was, to what will come - and our place within that timeline.
So let's have a close look at the words and warnings of Peter.
1. Peter's Passionate Plea!!
Verses 1-2: "This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Saviour commanded through your apostles."
Peter is trying to get believers to think, to think deeply, to think in a godly manner, and aims to provoke that which we often set aside in our daily lives - the Word of the Lord.
It is easy for us, in the business of modern life to 'forget' what God has promised us, what he has spoken to us in days, months and years gone by.
The weight of Peter's message and his desire for us to 'remember' what has been said to us, is backed up by both the Word of God coming through the prophets and by the teachings of Jesus Christ (whom Peter received wisdom from personally). These are not idle statements - rather, Peter is trying to say "This isn't new to you, but hey you've forgotten the truth that you have already heard"....
Peter actually backs up his statement by quoting scripture in several places: Psalm 90:4 in verse 8, and Isaiah 65:17, 66:22 in verse 13. This again serves to remind us that 'truth'...real truth...is only found in the Word of God, and not from the fallible minds of people.
2. Peter's Reminder of Days to Come!!!
Verses 3-4: "Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
I find it interesting that Peter chose to remind them of things that were to come...things that have yet to even happen in our own lifetime (although I truly believe that we will experience the Rapture in our lifetime). So Peter and the other disciples must have instructed the early church on what Jesus had taught them about his 'second coming'.
This reminder to the church serves as a warning - "There is more to life than what you are living right now, however, how you are living right now will impact that eternity..."
Peter clearly points out what society will be like in those days - they will scoff at Christians who are waiting patiently for Jesus to return - often saying "He hasn't come back yet, he doesn't look like he is coming back at all - all you Christians are delusional". People like that - unfortunately some so called Christians fall in to that category too - are refusing to see and hear the truth. They lack teachable spirits - which is become the key spirit of this current age.
They will mock the truth, and they will follow their own desires - Oh, how we are seeing that come about right now!!! By denying the truth that is contained in God's Word, people are able to justify anything they do, say or believe - all because it is their own construct of 'truth' that they rely on for their moral compass.
3. Peter's Warning of God's Wrath!!!
Verses 5-:7 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed."
This is the pointy end of Peter's plea to believers and those that claim to know God, through his Son, Jesus Christ. Peter is not one to hide his words, or their meaning - in fact Peter is a rather blunt guy - so we need to take heed to what he says.
"They deliberately forget..." - is quite a damning statement. it is an indictment on those who already believe in God, not those who have yet to step into relationship with him. It is shining a light on those who ought to know better, illuminating those that have set aside the truth found in the word of God, for the vain, twisted truths that this world creates for itself.
If people can deny that God exists and is the creator of the universe, then they can deny that his wrath will never eventuate - and when you remove the penalty for doing something that is wrong, then it becomes permissible. This is precisely where the world is today - they deny that God exists, that he created and that he will judge them - so they go about doing whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want.
These verse are a reminder - Peter, is essentially saying "Hey, don't you remember God...you know that eternal, all-powerful being who created the world and the universe out of nothing...well he destroyed folks for turning their backs on him, and he's going to do it again. Where are you at?"
Peter's plea is for us not to be like those that forgot...
4. Peter's Hope For The Lost!!!
Verses 8-10: "But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment."
In these verses, Peter in his typical bluntness, does offer up his hope and what should be our hope.
Peter reminds us of God's timelessness. God created time, he existed before time, and he exists outside of our time and space. This is why he repeats elements of Psalm 90 here when he says "A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day"
Because God operates outside of our timeframe, we humans tend to think that he is slow to act - but Peter shows us that the opposite is actually the reality - God is withholding his wrath on the ungodly and unrighteous...WHY? This is why - "He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent"
God doesn't want anyone to perish or to be damned for all of eternity - instead he wants as many as can be saved, to be saved. That is the heart of God for us.
The problem is that people don't want to repent for their sins...because they have to firstly admit that they are doing wrong, and two things prevent them from doing so.
The first is pride - we say "I'm a good person, I need others to think I'm a good person and if I have to repent for my sins, then others won't think I'm all that anymore."
The second is because a person is holding on to the truth of the world rather than the truth found in the Word of God. The world says that if it feels right to us, then go for it. They also say 'God is Dead!'. So now that they have re-defined truth, and the author of truth no longer exists then "I'm not actually doing anything wrong, so I don't need to repent for anything at all...ever!".
Peter has a warning for those who think like that - "But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief....and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." - You can't get any clearer than that. If we don't repent and turn from the ways of the world...then we will fall under God's wrath...not because God is some ultra-angry, vengeful divine being...but rather because we have deliberately "forgotten" his ways and his word - and those actions have consequences.
5. Peter's Instructions To The Faithful!!!
Verses 11-14: "Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight."
Peter doesn't leave us hanging in a place of doom. Rather, he sets out a path for believers to follow.
Twice Peter states that we should live lives that are holy, godly, peaceful, pure, blameless - not in the eyes of the world, but rather in God's sight.
It is by His divine boundaries that we will be judged, not the world boundaries (or lack thereof).
Even when there are no eyes upon us, God sees what we are doing, he knows what we are thinking, he knows the state of our heart/mind/soul.
So while we wait for his glorious kingdom to arrive...we need to be living lives worthy of the sacrifice that his son Jesus gave for us.
In these days - these end times - we have a job to do...we need to be going about our Father's business, and doing it to his standards, not the world's.
Today...I pray that Yahweh, the creator of the heavens and the earth speaks his truth into your heart and mind. May his truth block out the noise pollution of our chaotic world. May the peace of his son Jesus spread through your being. May wisdom and strength be yours as you face each and every day. May you never forget the word of God, may it reside deep within your heart and soul. God bless you as you continue to live for him.
Written June 12th 2022….