Home	Our Hope
Bible Study		November 29, 2009
Hope of the Second Coming

Background

This lesson spends a little time on the subject of end-times prophecy. It is valuable for the Christian to understand the difference between the world's definition of a prophet and the Biblical definition of a prophet. The world refers to a prophet as someone who can predict the future. The Bible refers to a prophet as a holy person who is given a message from God to tell others. The Bible also refers to false prophets as people whose message comes from themselves or from other spirits.

Lesson

Peter begins the third chapter of his second Epistle (2 Peter 3:1-13):

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.

It's important to remember that the verses in this lesson are given with that intent - “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.

Peter is saying that he is about to discuss prophecies given to prophets in his past and those given the apostles by Jesus. We don't know exactly which of the apostles were given which prophecies but we do see that there is a common thread that links the Spirit guided writings of Peter, Paul, and John, and the words of Jesus recorded in the gospels.

³ First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴sup> They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

There have been scoffers for every prophecy and prophet. Sometimes little things in prophecy can be very important. Here we see the scoffers are Jewish or Christian. Also, generally scoffers don't scoff unless there is a prophet speaking the words of God. A book can be easily ignored, but not so a person.

We see Ezekiel had a similar problem with scoffers. For a long time he had been giving the people of Israel the prophecies of the Lord, and telling them to repent and turn from their sins or they would be destroyed. Eventually it came to this, from Ezekiel 12.

²¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ²² "Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'? ²³ Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. ²⁴ For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. ²⁵ But I the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious house, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "

While it's true that most days come and go and one is pretty much like the other, prophecy comes true in its time. It has before and will again.

⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed 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 ungodly men.

The people of Noah's time were surprised to discover that God's words to Noah were true. God destroyed the world once with water and then promised never to do that again. The final destruction of the world and the heavens will be with fire.

It's important to understand that the Bible describes three heavens, the first is the atmosphere of earth, the second is space, including the planets, stars, and so on, and the third is Heaven, the home of God. We believe the destruction described here refers to earth and only the first two heavens.

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. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The problem that Peter is addressing here is a belief by many in the church at the time that Jesus would return very soon, as He had said He would. But God's sense of time is not the same as ours. Below we see what Peter said in Acts 2 after they had received the tongues of fire.

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
¹⁷ " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
   Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
      your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
      I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heaven above
      and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
      before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

Much has been made of Peter's 1 day = 1,000 years relationship. If we assume, as many do, that the relationship is literal and that the holy week pattern is in use, we get this model of time.

Peter continues:

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 in it will be laid bare.

Peter is describing events that we believe are still very far in our future. The following must occur first

         7 years of tribulation - Rev. 4 - 19

         The second coming. Resurrection of the dead in Christ to imperishable bodies and transformation of those alive in Christ to imperishable bodies. - 1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:16

         Satan chained - Rev. 20

         The millennium rule by Christ with His people - Rev. 20

         Satan unchained - Rev. 20

         The last battle of Gog and Magog. Resurrection of unbelievers. The Great White Throne judgment - Rev. 20

Then the destruction of the earth and heavens by fire described by Peter will occur, and a new earth and a new heaven will be created.

Now Peter turns the focus from future events back to our lives.

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, the home of righteousness.

This is essentially another way of saying we should live our lives with the intent of building up treasure in Heaven and not on earth.

Note that in returning to the topic of living holy and godly lives Peter has used prophecy not for the sake of prophecy but “to stimulate you to wholesome thinking”. And so he has done what he said he would.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.

Conclusion

There are many interpretations of the various end-times prophecies. Many people have put a lot of time into understanding them. That's as it should be; Jesus himself said that we should be watchful and prepared.

But we must avoid the temptation to fully accept one interpretation and reject all others. Many people have made specific predictions and have been embarrassed when proven wrong. I strive to understand the various interpretations but without making a decision - and I watch for signs.

Here are some signs I've seen. Recently schools in Israel have started teaching courses for Levities. These courses instruct them in the conduct of all the rituals and sacrifices of Mosaic Law so that when the time comes they will be prepared to fulfill their duties. Also there is another group that is preparing all the tools and objects necessary for the practice of temple worship and sacrifices. They are plainly preparing for a new temple which is a pre-requisite for end-times activities.

Also, but from a different viewpoint, there is increasing unjust treatment and even anger against Israel by world leaders, including the UN, Europe and the Obama administration. It isn't hard to imagine they will soon try to force Israel to give up land or nuclear weapons. See Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Exercise