2 Peter 3
The Day of the Lord
1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I 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.
3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8But 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. 9The 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.
10But 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.[a]
11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear 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. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Footnotes:
a. 2 Peter 3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up
b. 2 Peter 3:12 Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come
4 comments:
To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen!
Interesting look at the patience of the Lord. Without extreme patience, he would have turned our towns to salt or burnt them up like in the OT.
People will mock, but he DID come, and he WILL come again.
One related thought about him coming like a thief. Have any of you thought about the date June 6, 2006? 6-6-6??
You don't know me, so don't think I'm crazy, but thought of it the other day, and thought it was interesting. Why not?
Lord draw us close to you. Thanks for being patient with us. In Christ's name. jmb
2 Pet 3
It was great for me to read v 8-9 again. I have to admit that sometimes it is hard to conceive of dinosaurs and all that, but these verses make is so clear to me that we just need to trust and that we do not understand the Lords time scale. When He has umbrella vision seeing the beginning and the end all at once and a day = a thousand years - just means WOW to me.
How simple we are in comparison.
I also like how he warns of the difficulty of understanding some of Paul’s writing and that they will be distorted.
You guys are going to think I am crazy, but I was sitting in church on Sunday and they were talking about the National day of Prayer coming up this Thursday, and I sort of got angry. It occurred to me, and is probably just very obvious, that we as Christians need to become Roaring Lambs (B. Briners book). In other words, we need to take back America from the direction it is going. All I mean is that this country was established on Godly principles and specifically for the freedoms I see as dwindling. I am going to stop now, but you get my drift.
Father, help us to lead lives that honor you and stand up for what You represent. Make our faith strong and keep our eyes on You. Watch over my brothers this week and keep their motivation level high. Lift up SF and heal her quickly. Watch over JRS and change is heart.
In Christ,
cas
2 Pet 3
I agree with cas, its cool/interesting to see 2 things about Peters discussion of Paul. 1) Even then people were using the Bible/Paul's letters to contort the world to their desires.
2) It was difficult to understand some of it even for Peter, so we shouldn't struggle when we something doesn't quite make sense. Not that its incorrect or improper, just confusing.
17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
"the error of lawless men"-essentially this brings up some of the same feelings cas mentioned regarding watching how our country founded on avoiding religious persecution relies now upon religious persecution. Pretty frustrating.
14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
We should read this one everyday.
Father, thank you for these men, and help us to live holy, spotless, blameless lives, that our lives may be living testimonies. Please watch over ELB, AJB, and AAB and keep them healthy and smiling.
In Jesus name,
crb
catchign up on the readings...Really liked v 8,9.
Love the idea that we cant really define a day or years and that God has His own definition. That God has not forgotten to come again, but that He is showing tremendous grace by waiting and allowing more people to come to know Him. think how many would be lost forever if He came today!
Fathe God, i am tryig so hard to know you, to love you, to honor you. It can be hard. It can be tiring. It can be difficult to comprehend all that is written in the Bible, your words. But God, give us strength. Change us God so that you are our priority. Let us not put the world in front of you. God, you are amazing. i know i am supposed to be living for you. I pray that it will be my desire and pleasure and my most sought after prize to honor you. Amen.
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