2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Our Lord steadfastly reminds us through many writers of the Scriptures that we should not delay in preparing ourselves for the Day of the Lord. It is not my intention to impress my personal beliefs on anyone; what a person believes should come directly from the Holy Spirit. That won’t stop me from asking God to make sure that I am responsible to Him in my writing and teaching, letting Him interpret what a citation means by allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. The Day of the Lord is spoken of in 1 THESS 4: 16-17, which describes the rapture. In MT 24: 36, Christ tells us, “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come-neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.” 1 THESS 5: 2 gives a message repeated in today’s passage from Peter. “For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night.” In today’s passage, 2 PET 3: 10-13, Peter gives us an expanded view of the Day of the Lord to include astronomical events that will occur in the seven years of the Tribulation. They are also described in John’s vision in the book of Revelation. Here is what Peter says, “But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish. Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon-the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. But we wait for what God has promised; new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.”
It is important to put together what Peter says in today’s passage along with what was discussed in yesterday’s devotion about our idea of a day being different from God’s. My personal belief is that just before the antichrist comes on the scene, the rapture will take place. The seven years of tribulation will follow that. I base my belief on my understanding of a passage in 2 THESS 2 about the “wicked one” [the antichrist]. 2 THESS 2: 3-8, “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until the final rebellion takes place and the wicked one appears, who is destined to hell. He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God’s Temple and claim to be God. Don’t you remember? I told you all this while I was with you. Yet there is something that keeps this from happening now, and you know what it is. At the proper time, then, the wicked one will appear. The mysterious wickedness is already at work, but what is going to happen will not happen until the One Who holds it back is taken out of the way.” The mysterious wickedness is evil, which we know exists in the values of the world in which we live. I believe the “One Who holds it back” is the Holy Spirit indwelt in the believers, and that He will be taken out of the way when the believers are raptured, that is we are called to that meeting in the air spoken of in 1 THESS 4: 17.
The most important lesson of today’s passage in Peter is emphasized in 2 PET 3: 11b, “Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God.” There is an urgency about this, one which God has built into what He has revealed. As I have mentioned previously, God makes His revelations gradually, as He decides mankind is ready for them. Because He wants us to have faith, to take Him at his word, He doesn’t give us the exact day when the Day of the Lord will happen. That is why I would question any theologian who tries to do that. A lot of competent theologians believe that we are seeing more signs that the end times are coming soon at any one time than ever before in mankind’s history. That is the subject of another series of devotions in the future. Two citations focus our attention on this important message from God. MT 24: 42-44, “Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house. So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting Him.” REV 16: 15, “Listen! I am coming like a thief! Happy is he who stays awake and guards his clothes, so that he will not walk around naked and be ashamed in public!”
We know that the seven years of Tribulation will include a series of increasingly dire judgments that God orders to affect the final separation of the righteous from the unrighteous. REV 8: 5-13, which I hope you will read, highlights the first four trumpet judgments, ones that deal with astronomical events that will occur. That lends credence to Peter’s prophetic description of what happens in 2 PET 3: 12. God’s promise in 2 PET 3: 13 is revealed as being consummated in REV 21: 1-3. “Then I [John] saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished. And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God; prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: ‘Now God’s home is with mankind! He will live with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them, and He will be their God.” Dear Ones, God speaks through Peter, John, and others to give us teachings and make promises which are wholly consistent and true. What has been revealed that will happen in our future, and I believe-near future, is worth the effort we need to make to prepare ourselves spiritually for it. God never lies and always keeps His promises.
PRAYER: O Lord, when we have faith in You, we are able to see how consistent Your messages are, no matter what time in our history they are revealed or which writer of the Scriptures You use as Your mouthpiece. Your Son, Paul, John, and Peter have all told us that You have Your reasons for not revealing, even to them, the exact Day of the Lord. We are to be trusting, obedient, and faithful, stepping up our efforts to prepare for that Day. You have told us vital information regarding signs of the end times, and You have inspired Scripture writers to describe events that are a part of that final separation between believers and those who reject You. It is because You love us so much, that You provide this information and ask us to believe it. You want as many of us to be saved and to eventually dwell with You in Your Kingdom as possible. That, too, is evidence of the love You have for us. We anxiously await that Day when the work of the separation will be complete know in our hearts that You will keep Your promise to establish the new heavens and new earth, where righteousness will be at home. We humbly offer You praise, thanks, adoration, worship, glory, and honor forever! In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at what Peter has to say in 2 PET 3: 14-16 about the opportunity for salvation that God has given us. We have been told as the end times near that there will be a proliferation of false teachers. At the same time, it has been prophesied that there will be much effective work that will be done to spread the Gospel. I believe we are in those times now and that God equips us to discern the truth when we study His word. Our loving Abba provides for us and protects us against these lies, because of His profound love for us. Each day we spend with Him, our lives are richly blessed. It is my hope that you are experiencing those blessings now. My husband, Peter, and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn