This has been an interesting year especially in light of all the doomsday prophecies. People are willing to believe anything regardless of the evidence to the contrary.
Anywhere from preachers to politicians to historians, people have an itch to wax prophetic. Remember the preacher who predicted the day and the time and when it did not happen he said he got it wrong and he gave us another day and time. When the second prophecy did not come true, he dropped off the grid.
Prophecy is an excellent vehicle to draw attention to yourself. Usually, it is a prophecy based upon a fragment of Scripture and then exaggerated completely out of focus.
There is a purpose behind all of these false prophecies. Look at what Peter says in verse 4, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
All of these false prophecies give scoffers the ammunition they need to raise doubts about the coming of Christ.
Theme…
As Christians, we need to be careful that we do not fall into the area of doctrinal contempt because of the false prophets.
If you knew for certain that the world would end next Sunday at midnight, how would that fact change your life?
John Wesley was once asked what he would do if he knew that in 24 hours he would die. Essentially, he said, I would continue to do what I am doing now. Wesley was living each day as though it was the last day of his life, which may explain some of the passion in his life.
Most people do not have that kind of passion. They just live from day to day with no expectation. Many Christians say they believe that the Lord is going to come again, but if he would come today, it would surprise the socks off them.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables. The tale concerns a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock. When a wolf actually does appear, the villagers do not believe the boy's cries for help, and the flock is destroyed. The moral at the end of the story shows that this is how liars are not rewarded: even if they tell the truth, no one believes them.
This also applies to these doomsday prophets. The latest of course is the Mayan calendar, which predicted the end of the world on December 21. Of course, we are not quite sure when December 21 arrives. What date is it really today? What year?
All of these false prophecies make a joke out of a very serious issue. One of the backlashes of this is it gives people a false sense of hope that the Lord is not really going to return. Isn’t it interesting that Peter, in his day, found people doing the same thing. (2 Peter 3:4).
This is a serious matter and we must really be careful in this area. Several things I believe are important for us if we are to have a biblical view of the last days.
I. Beware of the DANGER of false claims.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36).
“And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” (Acts 1:7).
The Scriptures are quite clear on the subject, that nobody knows the day or the hour. Those who claim they do are quite mistaken, and are doing much harm to the cause of Christ.
One of the dangers of these false claims is that it destroys the spirit of expectancy. Time after time prophecies have been given and have failed. How many times can something fail without it beginning to do serious damage to the people who hold on to that faith? A superficial grip on the Scripture.
Another danger in this area is that it causes people to distrust the Scriptures. All of these doomsday prophets use Scripture to back up their prophecies. Anybody can take a phrase out of context and make it say anything they want it to say. When all of these failed prophecies come to light, it causes people to distrust the biblical doctrine they have heard from youth. This undermines scriptural authority
Peter calls them “scoffers.” The scoffers take center stage and impose on us their interpretation of situations and events.
“They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”” (3:4).
All of these “scoffers,” have a personal agenda. They play into the weakness of many Christians who make celebrities out of these false prophets. Even Christians are a celebrity hungry people.
We must understand that all of these false prophecies carry with it the danger developing heresies and false cults. If you study false cults, you will see that the foundation of their religion has to do with prophecy.
II. This danger should inspire DILIGENCE on our part.
In light of the danger that these false prophecies bring; we need to insist on doctrinal correctness and clarity. What does the Bible really teach? That is the question we need to ask.
This kind of diligence will not make many friends because people like to be free thinkers when it comes to religion and the interpretation of Scripture.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20).
In other words, the Scripture has to be interpreted within the context of all the Scripture. We cannot take Scripture out of context and put our personal spin to it.
We must diligently insist that Scripture be compared with Scripture. Every verse of Scripture must be compared to the whole Scripture. To quote a verse here and a verse there does great injustice to the integrity of the Scriptures.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We must insist on Bible truth. We must insist that our lives he conformed to what the Bible teaches. And every day job.
Then I think we must be diligent to call out these “false prophets.”
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22).
I like the word “presumptuously.”
In other words, the prophet is acting on his own authority, not God’s. There are so many examples of this that I would not know where to start. However, we must be diligent in calling out these false prophets for what they are; false prophets. Every heresy begins with a false prophet. Not everything a false prophet says is wrong. That is the problem. If 99% is right that leaves one percent that is wrong and that one percent can poison the whole glass.
If I diligently align my life up in harmony with the Scriptures, I will never be taken in by any of these “scoffers,” or false prophets.
III. My diligence is based upon my DELIGHT in the
“Blessed Hope.”
With all that is going on and all that is wrong in our world today, especially within Christendom, how can I have a calmness? How can I have a positive outlook with all the negativity around me?
Many times we start out being very diligent but after while that diligence runs out of gas. Anybody can start out good, only a champion finishes. And in this area, we need to be spiritual champions at all cost.
The only thing that really fuels our diligence is what we delight in.
I run into many people who are bored with life. I really feel sorry for them because they have never focused on the delight of their life. No matter what you are doing, no matter what the difficulty is that you are going through at the time, if you have something solid to delight in you will make it through victoriously.
Our delight must be in the “Blessed Hope” that Jesus Christ is coming. I am not waiting for the end of the world. I am, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2a). This is my daily focus
If you look at things, events and circumstances, you are going to be discouraged and deceived every time. Because everything around us is based upon someone’s interpretation and that interpretation can be vastly wrong. It is not events I am looking for but a person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
My delight is in Him. No matter what I have to go through, the trials and tribulations of life, my focus is always on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my delight. He is my hope. Without him, I could not go through anything. All would be hopeless
My strength and my help comes from the Lord. I do not care what happens. I do not care about all the weird prophecies that have been touted over the past few years. None of it matters to me. The only thing that matters to me is I am looking for Jesus. He will never disappoint me.
Conclusion…
I believe it is time for us to get serious about being a Christian. I am not going to allow myself to be deceived by those who are twisting the Scripture to their own advantage.
There is no political solution to our problems today.
No government on earth can solve the problems facing humanity today.
No religion on earth is powerful enough to change the destiny of mankind.
Only Jesus. The Christian has the true message, and the enemy has tried his best to destroy the message and he is doing it from within the flock.
In spite of all the false prophets, we need to keep our focus on the promise of Jesus Christ.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (3:9).
For the Christian…
We need to live each day in the delightful expectation of his return. “But the day of the Lord will come…” (3:10a).
That is our assurance. Meanwhile, we are delightfully and joyously serving the Lord Jesus Christ while we have time.
(2 Peter 3:14-18).
For the non-Christian…
Consider what the Bible teaches, not what some man or woman says. Do not rely on someone else’s interpretation but go to the Bible yourself and see what saith the Lord.
Then ask yourself this question, If Jesus would come today or if the world would end, how would you fare? Is what you are doing right now more important than being in readiness to meet the Lord?
At that time, your family and friends will not be able to help you. They will be too busy trying to help themselves to give you any consideration.
Before this year ends, make it your business to do business with the Lord. Then, as the New Year dawns, make it your diligent business to walk in harmony with what the Bible teaches.
