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Proverbs 11:1-10
1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with
the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But
righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will
direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver
them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the
hope of the unjust perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, And
it comes to the wicked instead.
9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the
righteous will be delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the
city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
Father God, as human beings we are so gullible, help us
to turn from false teachings and false teachers/preachers. Give us Wisdom
concerning these lies. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Book of II Peter 3:1-9
NKJV
This week in chapter three Peter continues trying to
convince his listeners to listen to him, pertaining to false doctrine and
people that teach false doctrine. He deals with scoffers of the Gospel and their
unbelief. Those that do not believe contend that things have never change over
time, but Peter states that God has his own time frame and the end of the world
will come when God says it is time. Some of the things the scoffers say are
still being said today by unbelievers.
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second
epistle (in both of which I
stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
Beloved, I now write to you this
second epistle; With this statement we know that Peter wrote to this
group of people previously. Evidently his first letter wasn’t clear on some
points or needed to reemphasize his first letter to get what he said to sink
in. We do know that as humans we can be stubborn at times accepting what God
has in His Word for us to live by, therefore repetition is necessary.
In both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder; The main
object of both epistles is the same, to remind those of important truths which
have been taught before, but are in danger of forgetting or are in danger of
being turned away by errors of others.
2 that you may be mindful of the words which
were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the
apostles of the Lord and Savior,
That you may be mindful of the words; Peter is
referring to the
doctrines; the truths; the prophetic statements that were made by him, the
other apostles, and the prophets of the OT. Jude also warns his audience and us
of the same thing in his epistle. Jude
1:17-18 But you, beloved, remember the
words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they
told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according
to their own ungodly lusts. They
both warn us of scoffers, unbelievers.
Which were spoken before by the holy
prophets; Peter
is saying the prophets of old spoke of the same things that he is saying. 2 Peter 1:19-21 And so we
have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that
shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21
for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit. So just this
statement tells us that the OT is the resource for the NT and the NT was all
foretold by the OT.
And of the commandment of us, the
apostles of the Lord and Savior; What Peter is stating here with this
verse, is that he and the other apostles can be considered equal with the
prophets to state and enforce the doctrines and duties of Christianity. They
were inspired by the Holy Spirit just as the Prophets of the OT were.
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in
the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
Knowing
this first; Anyone
that reads the Bible must realize that every book of the NT, this topic is
preached on. That being, false doctrine, ministers, preachers, teachers,
priest, etc. Since it is preached on many times we need to really pay attention
and analyze what is taught and what is in religious doctrine, and literature that
is handed out. Does it line up with what is in the Bible, if it doesn’t then it
needs to be discarded and not practiced. If a person doesn’t discard the false
information and live according to it, then they are committing spiritual
adultery. So as I’ve said many times read and study what is in the Bible so you
will be able to discern the truth.
That
scoffers will come in the last days; Scoffers
is defined as to speak derisively, ridicule, mock, or jeer. It would be people
of unbelief; someone that has all the answers and no matter what you say you
will not change their mind even when you lay out all the verses of the
Bible to point out the truth to the person and how we are suppose to live. All
the Apostles dealt with scoffers probably on a daily basis. Where does this
come from, that old inherited sin nature we are born with. That sin nature
causes us to be prideful and sometimes arrogant in our beliefs. Scoffers could
also result from ignorance because they have never read the Bible. Do you live
according to the truth of Bible Scripture, or do you pick and choose verses you
want live by; or twist scripture to fit your beliefs and lifestyle; or take a short verse out of
context to abide in? Are you open minded to accept correction when you are
wrong about scripture or living a life not according to God’s Word? Can you
change your ways when wrong is pointed out to you, or does your pride keep you
from changing? Remember this, pride caused Lucifer to fall from God’s regiment
of angels!
The last days is referring
to the Church Age which we are living in right now and will continue until our
Lord Jesus returns. We have scoffers to content with today just as the Apostles
did and these scoffers didn’t believe in the Second coming of our Lord Jesus.
Walking
according to their own lusts;
Meaning living in the free indulgence of their sensual appetite. 2 Peter 2:10,
2 Peter 2:12, 2 Peter 2:14, 2
Peter 2:18-19
4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His
coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
creation."
And saying, Where is the promise of
His coming; These
unbelievers/scoffers wanted proof of Jesus return. They had been expecting
Jesus to return soon but didn’t see any signs of what was being preached about,
therefore discrediting the claims.
For since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were
from the beginning of creation. As proof of their disbelief these
scoffers referred to the forefathers of the OT, who also spoke of the coming.
These prophets were much concerned and troubled about it and expected that that
day was drawing near, but they lived to an old age and then died, and the
affairs of the world have gone on very much the same. This frame of mind also
holds true for today. Ponder this for awhile; The “will” of a person usually
has more to do in the denial and rejection of the doctrines of the Bible than
the “understanding” has!
5 For this
they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the
earth standing out of water and in the water,
For this they willfully forget; Here Peter
makes some statements that the people of his time and our time forget; willfully
forget! That God is in control and that events happen according to His will.
That by the word of God; It was by
the Word of God that this earth came into existence and by His Word, it will be
destroyed/cleansed one day. The
thought being that everything depends on God’s Word or will. Genesis
1:6, Genesis 1:9; Psalm 33:9
The heavens were of old; The heavens were formerly made. Genesis
1:6-9 The word
“heaven” in the scriptures sometimes refers to the atmosphere, sometimes to the
starry worlds as they appear above us, and sometimes to the exalted place where
God dwells. Here it is used as denoting the heavens as they “appear,” embracing
the sun, moon, and stars.
And the earth standing out of water
and in the water; Here Peter is referring to the mighty power of God and
that He created this universe out of nothing. He took a mass of elements,
referred to as water, and formed earth. Genesis 1:1-10 Scoffers
forget that God made the heavens by the word of His command, and He brought the
earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.
6 by which
the world that then existed
perished, being flooded with water.
This
verse isn’t referring to Noah’s flood but to the pre-existing condition prior
to God creating earth. There is a belief that some universal catastrophe
occurred before God created this earth spoken of in Genesis 1:10, where a flood destroyed earth and
put it in the deluge state of being. The point Peter is trying to make is that
God created this earth and God can destroy this earth and that is why we need
to believe and take up the Cross of Christ daily, because we don’t know when
Jesus will return.
7 But the
heavens and the earth which are
now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men.
But
the heavens and the earth; We
don’t really know what Peter was referring to when he included “the heavens” in
his description here. We know from verse ten below that the heavens will be
changed somehow, but the question is does this include the third heaven where
God resides? Ah, but I think we have a clue in Revelation 21:1-2 Now I saw a
new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven (This
doesn’t say heavens it is referring to the first heaven our atmospheric heaven
created in Genesis 1:7-8.)
and the first earth had passed away. Also there
was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
(This heaven is
referring to the third heaven where God resides.)
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The inferno would not only destroy the earth, but would
change the heavens, first heaven and the second heaven as they now appear to
us.
Which are now preserved by
the same word; The
present day heavens and earth are preserved by God, dependent solely on the
will of God. He has only to give command, and all will be destroyed. The laws
of nature have no stability independent of his will, and at his pleasure all
things could be reduced to nothing, as easily as they were made. A single word,
a breath of command, from one Being, a Being over whom we have no control,
would spread universal desolation through the heavens and the earth.
Are
reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men; What Peter is saying here is that the
heavens and earth will be renovated by fire when the unjust are judged at the
Great White Throne Judgment. 2
Peter 3:10 But the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass
away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the
earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found
no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing
before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were
judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the
books. 13
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the
dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his
works. 14
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of
Life was cast into the lake of fire.
8 But,
beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day.
But, beloved, do not forget this one
thing; Here
Peter is saying fellow Believers considering that we have the Word of God,
there is no reason for you to be ignorant concerning spiritual things.
That with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day; God may have seemed slow to these believers
as they faced persecution every day and longed to be delivered. But God is not
slow, he just is not on our
timetable.
What
seems to be a long time to us is a brief period with God. In the infinite life
of God there is abundant time to accomplish his designs, and it can make no
difference with him whether they are accomplished in one day or extended to one
thousand years. Man has but a short time to live, and if he does not accomplish
his purposes in a very brief period, he never will. God has the power to carry
out His plan as He sees fit, whether one day or a thousand years.
9 The Lord
is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
With
this verse it should be easy to understand the delay in end time events. God does not will that any should perish,
His nature is benevolent, and He sincerely desires the eternal happiness of
all, and His patience or longsuffering toward sinners “proves” that He is
willing that they should be saved. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
