THOUGHTS IN 2 PETER - NUMBER 9 - WHERE IS THE LORD? HAS IT ALL GONE WRONG? MOCKERS AND JUDGMENT. 2 PETER 3:3-11
In his second letter Peter has covered a number of things and so far we have looked at several messages in different subjects. Probably the biggest area was the teaching on false teachers, but there is a lot of practical material in this letter.
Today we are going to deviate somewhat into an area I do write on from time to time in exposition – that of prophecy and current events. We are going to consider the following verses –
{{2 Peter 3:3 Know this first of all, that IN THE LAST DAYS mockers will come with their MOCKING, following after their own lusts,
2 Peter 3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming for ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation?”}}
[1]. YES, YOU MOCKERS, WE KNOW YOU ARE AROUND! Verses 3-4
Peter is following on from his exposé of false teachers but takes up what they were saying – and still do – that everything has fallen in a heap because the promises given by God/Jesus have failed. That applies especially to His promised coming.
Verse 3 mentions “in the last days” and we must try to understand that phrase in Peter’s thinking. What were the last days? The last days applied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel before the Assyrian defeat and later to the Southern Kingdom of Judah in the Babylonian defeat, but it is not that, to which Peter refers. He is referring to the last days before the end of the age the disciples once asked about.
I won’t cover the whole revelation of the end of the age because I have done that frequently but will do it this way today. In Matthew 24:3 the disciples wanted to know what were the signs of the times and the end of the age and when the Lord’s Coming would happen. The Lord described conditions leading up to the end of the age but did not tell them when it was, as in years.
That is the age strategic for Israel when the Messiah returns at the Second Coming. The age of man’s rule closes and the age of Messiah’s rule on earth begins. That will be His reign for 1 000 years from Jerusalem (the Millennium).
However 7 years before the Second Coming, the Church is removed in the Rapture and taken to heaven to the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. As many of us believe the Rapture is so close because of signs and the great wickedness of the earth, and the position of Israel right now, then we confidently say we are in the last days. They can say the same thing just before the Second Coming too.
Now returning to our verses 3 and 4 we are told of MOCKERS challenging God. These aren’t necessarily open sceptics such as the lecturers are at universities, and they can be very bad; humanists who discount God and decency. The ones in Peter’s mind are the ones more subdued, whose hearts are full of mocking and unbelief. They mock the promises of the bible, much like the wicked generation did in Noah’s time when told about the flood coming.
Peter mentions they will chase after their own lusts. Today’s society is perverse given to all forms of gross lust. When a man is a mocker of God, he usually is caught up in many ugly types of sin. It is like the glove fitting the hand.
We will always have mockers. They were at the cross on Golgotha – {{Matthew 27:41-42 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were MOCKING HIM and saying, “He saved others - He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel - let Him now come down from the cross and we shall believe in Him.”}} BUT earlier the Gentiles were even more evil and blasphemous –
{{Matthew 27:29-31 and after weaving a crown of thorns they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand, and they kneeled down before Him and MOCKED HIM saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head, and after they had MOCKED HIM they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.}}
It is in the heart of man to mock Divinity because his heart belongs to the prince of this world and anything godly is hated and persecuted. These mockers are here today in the Church age, both vocal and silent. Interestingly Peter says the mockers’ theme is that nothing has changed since the beginning of creation. It is even worse than that because these people today don’t accept creation or the Creator. Some indefinable big bang, hand in hand with evolution, is the supposed intelligence that gave us all we have.
Mockers deny the truth and are irresolute in in their deception. I think they get worse as time advances, but they all live on borrowed time. Mockers mock, but one fact in indisputable – {{Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived. GOD IS NOT MOCKED, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap,”}}
Lately I have been giving thought to a man’s standing before God at the great white throne. These people are going to be subject to this verse – {{Revelation 20:11 “I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.”}} So fearful will be that event that it is described by John as heaven and earth fleeing away. How will the sinner fare? He has no place to hide and his evil acts including mocking will be answered by God’s pronouncement – {{Matthew 25:41 Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”}}
Well that is enough about the mockers and we will move on to the next point. Here are those verses -
{{2 Peter 3:5 “When they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
2 Peter 3:6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
2 Peter 3:7 but the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”}}
[2]. 2 PETER 3:5 – IGNORANCE SPAWNS MORE IGNORANCE
When these people maintain that nothing drastic has happened and all is in a state of inert tranquillity, Peter says “it escapes their notice” what the real picture is. This is a characteristic of deniers and mockers. They have selective agendas, and cut and choose what they want for themselves.
When mankind chooses to deny the Creator then he is capable of concocting many myths. Actually, it is not man himself that invents these things; he is only the agent. Charles Darwin is just an agent. Satan is the puppeteer. Evolution comes from Satan, not Darwin. Modern gender distortion and destruction of heterosexual marriage and so many more WOKE issues come from Satan through the agency of man.
It escapes the notice of man that God created the heavens. The big bang is a frontal denial of {{John 1:3 “All things came into being by Him, and APART FROM HIM NOTHING CAME INTO BEING that has come into being.”}} AND {{Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,”}} BUT the world chooses to believe the opposite, because any straw is grasped when man rejects the light that has been given to him.
Man departs from God and goes from one decline into another and all the time we are told, “God gave them over” (Romans 1) so deeds and attitudes became darker and darker.
So called Christian evolutionists are a lie of the greatest compromise, an accommodating excuse, to reject the bible’s truth in preference to man’s lie from the devil.
In our verse 5 Peter speaks also about the earth formed out of water and by water. This is the Genesis 1 reference to water covering the face of the deep and the formation of continents – {{Genesis 1:9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear,” and it was so.}}
{{Genesis 1:10 “God called the dry land earth and the gathering of the waters He called seas, and God saw that it was good.”}}. All God does is good, unlike us. Some of us find it hard to do any good. That is because there is not one who is good, not even one. God is good so He does good. Atheists and mockers can’t know that because they don’t know God. The Lord created the heavens and the earth. Mockers deny it but one day will be forced to bow the knee before the Lord and confess that HE IS LORD! Not Darwin or some humanist professor. No knee will bow to them.
[3]. 2 PETER 3:6 – THE WORLD OF MANKIND WAS DESTROYED
We move to the next verse. {{2 Peter 3:6 “through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.”}}. This reference is to Noah’s flood but the mockers don’t understand it because “it escapes their notice” that all mankind was destroyed for their ungodly lives.
The flood and flooding the earth is always used of judgement which is why there is credible evidence for the waters of Genesis 1:2-3 suggesting a past judgement but I won’t pursue that; neither will I pursue the argument of a local or universal flood. I say it this way, “The flood was sufficient to destroy ALL people from the earth unless covered by God’s grace in the Ark, but only 8 took advantage of that.
This section of Peter deals with judgement so it is that aspect we are developing, not an exposition of the individual verses. God is not Santa Claus who gives gifts without accountability. Judgement for each man and woman is because all are accountable and all will be judged. Yes, that is a horrifying thing, just like the rising flood was. Those who live in disrespect of God and are mockers, will face severe judgement.
[4]. 2 PETER 3:7 – THE COMING DAY OF JUDGEMENT IS FOR UNGODLY MEN
We move to the next verse – {{2 Peter 3:7 “but the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for THE DAY OF JUDGMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF UNGODLY MEN.”}}
Verses 5 and 6 are the step into verse 7 which is future. The certainty of God is such that the past most certainly establishes the future. It will happen as God says. Peter does not write sequentially on eschatology as John and Paul do, but paints broad brushstrokes without filling in the details.
The “present heavens and earth” are what we have at the time (now) and they will undergo great changes in the judgement to come. Peter talks about “reserved for fire” and fire is always a type of judgement and cleansing. The day of judgement that is mentioned is the Tribulation that is coming on the earth so savagely that is will seem fire has descended upon the world of men, just as the flood did in its day.
There is one point that must be made from verse 7 and it is this. PETER STRESSES THAT THIS JUDGEMENT IS TO DESTROY UNGODLY MEN. The fiery judgement of the Tribulation is against ungodly men, NOT AGAINST members of the Lord’s Church, His Bride. What sort of person would horribly punish and extend wrath to his bride? It is unthinkable. That is why the Church, Christ’s Bride, CAN NOT BE in the Tribulation but is removed beforehand. The Tribulation is post Rapture and pre Second Coming. There is so much biblical evidence for that but it is not our concentration today. The Bridegroom never subjects His Bride to wrath because He, Himself, bore that wrath for the Church/His own Bride, on the cross.
The “day of judgement” begins precisely with this verse that is the coming of Antichrist, the man of sin. {{Revelation 6:1-2 I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come,” and I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering, and to conquer.}}
[5]. GOD IS TIMELESS, OUTSIDE HUMAN TIME FRAMES
{{2 Peter 3:8 “Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord ONE DAY is as a thousand years, and A THOUSAND YEARS as one day.”}}
This is an unusual verse and has been applied to many bible interpretations, some of which are quite fanciful. The range includes the 6 days interpretation of Creation in Genesis 1; the understanding of prophecy, plus others. However, for our Peter verse it must be placed in context and that context is the waiting for the promises to come to pass.
For example in Isaiah we read, {{Isaiah 11:8-9 “The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain for THE EARTH WILL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA.”}}. The setting for this is Messiah’s Kingdom when He comes to reign over the earth. Chapter 11 describes some of the conditions.
That prophecy/promise was penned 2 700 years ago and still waits for fulfillment which will happen after the Second Coming. 2 Peter 3:10 speaks about “but the day of the Lord will come like a thief . . .” and it is that specifically what the verse refers to.
The Day of the LORD is when the great judgements come on earth and there are probably a hundred or more Old Testament references to that. I have a number of posts in the Eschatology Series on The Day of the LORD. Because the Day of the LORD had not yet come when Peter wrote, mockers arose with the following {{2 Peter 3:4 and saying, “Where is THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING for ever since the fathers fell asleep, ALL CONTINUES JUST AS IT WAS FROM the beginning of creation?”}}
Our verse is just saying that God’s timing is in His hands, not ours. The fact of the promise is totally certain; the timing is not for us to know.
[6]. THE REASON FOR TIME BEING EXTENDED
{{2 Peter 3:9 “THE LORD IS NOT SLOW about His promise, as some count slowness, BUT IS PATIENT toward you, NOT WISHING FOR ANY TO PERISH but for all to come to repentance,”}}
The verse begins with confirming the previous verse 8 about the Lord’s promises. God is not slow and when He says, “Wait!” then there is a reason for that. We are impatient as human beings, and are worse now than at any time in history because so many things have become instant.
We can send a mail to another country in a matter of seconds whereas 60 years ago it may have taken weeks. We can travel up to 1500 km a day by car but 200 years ago it may have taken 100 days or more on our horse. Coffee is instant.
Patience is not a virtue that shines from the present generation. Sadly more of the younger generation want an instant drug fix. True patience is a quality of the Holy Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23.
God has everything fixed in His own timing and His promises will see fulfillment, BUT there is a stated reason why the patience of God prevails. God’s patience is to provide opportunity for repentance. This is such an important verse. It totally rejects the wrong doctrine of reprobation, for God is not willing or wishing that ANY PERISH – Not one to perish in context, but it does depend on repentance.
Repentance is the way to God. It leads to salvation. It is one of the most used words in the bible regarding the connection between God and man. God is waiting for men to repent, for the heart of man to turn to Him, but that patient waiting is not forever for it will abruptly end as the next Peter verse says – {{2 Peter 3:10 “but THE DAY OF THE LORD will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”}}
The Day of the LORD is coming, but is delayed giving the human race time to repent but will they? Will the reprobate heart of man turn to God?
One Old Testament example is pertinent here. Isaiah promised the overthrow of Judah if it did not repent and turn to God. The LORD put the nation on notice. That was roughly 700 B.C. but God was not slow about His promise but was waiting for national repentance. Jeremiah came along and preached and warned the nation all his life and godly King Josiah was on the throne BUT the nation did not repent. Rather they got worse. God’s patience came to an end and severe judgement came on Judah by the Babylonians in 597 B.C.
It is the same today. God’s patience is upon the world but not for long. It has been 1970 years of waiting for the Lord’s coming but the Day of the LORD is just so close. World repentance is not forthcoming but men’s hearts are more hardened and sinful just as it was in Judah.
Next time I wish to look at 2 Peter 3:10-11 because this is all one passage and one theme.
