Podcast 110, 2nd Peter, “Pt 8, Ch 3”

It is accepted that Peter was the Chief Apostle. Peter was present at all the great miracles. It was to Peter whom the Lord said,

Matthew 16:19

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Peter bears witness of earlier prophets.

2 Peter 3:1-2

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye 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 Saviour:

One thing is clear from the Holy Bible, true prophets and apostles bear testimony of the words of other true prophets and apostles. It is according to the law of witnesses.

Matthew 18:16

But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

Christ himself quoted from the ancient prophets.

Matthew 12:39-41

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Ironically, of course, it was Christ who revealed those words to his prophets. By quoting his prophets, he is validating his own words. Christ quoted many prophets: Isaiah, Daniel, Jonah, Moses, Eljah, Elisha, and David. The prophet he quoted most frequently was Isaiah.

Matthew 13:13-15

Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Like the prophet Isaiah, Peter prophesies of the last days.

2 Peter 3:3-4

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 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 the creation.

We are all living in the last days and can see the fulfilment of Peter’s prophecy. Peter says they are “willfully ignorant.” He compares our day to the period during Noah’s flood.

2 Peter 3:4-6

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 the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

The Lord promised that the world would never again end in a flood; however, rather than a flood, it would end in fire.

2 Peter 3:7

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Then Peter offers a unique doctrine regarding the Lord’s time.

2 Peter 3: 8

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

That suggests that the Lord lives on a planet with a different time zone than ours. For example, our time is governed by our own solar system. The earth is 24,000 miles around. It spins 1000 miles an hour; therefore, our day is 24 hours long. The moon circles the earth in approximately 30 days; therefore our month is approximately 30 days long. Our earth circles the sun in 365 days; therefore, our year is 365 days long. Time is relative to our solar system. The same is true with the Lord. His time is marked by the revolutions of the planetary system in which he lives. It is unique, but it explains an enigma in the Creation story. In Genesis we read:

Genesis 2:15-17

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

After eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam did not die within twenty-four hours. Adam lived over nine hundred years but less than a thousand which fulfilled the prophesy. According to the Lord’s time, Adam died in the day that he ate the forbidden fruit.

Of course that introduces another paradox. Adam, before he ate the forbidden fruit, was not subject to time as we understand it for he was immortal. Only after he ate the forbidden fruit was he subject to death. On earth it is entropy that gives time its arrow. We measure our birthdate and our death date. God is immortal; therefore, time as we understand it has no real hold on him. He may live on a planet that measures time by its revolutions, but he lives in an eternal state that is timeless, a concept that we cannot comprehend.

However, it has one tremendous effect on us. Prophecies do not usually deal with calendar dates. The fact is that no one knows when Christ shall come to earth the Second Time. Many, according to Peter’s prophecy doubt the Second Coming of Christ.

According to Peter it is out of mercy that Christ delays his coming. We live in a state of probation. We are given a chance to repent of our sins and come to Christ.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Isaiah warned us:

Isaiah 55:6-7

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

We are warned that the Lord will come at an unexpected hour.

2 Peter 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Peter is not the only prophet who prophesied that the earth would melt with fervent heat. Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, made a similar prophecy.

Malachi 4:1-3

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

There are other verses that refer to the world ending in fire.

Matthew 13:40-43

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Peter, however, is not trying to frighten us. He is trying to get us to repent and prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord.

2 Peter 3:11-14

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

A “new heaven and a new earth” are often spoken of

Isaiah 65:17

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Revelation 21:1

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

We must always recall John 3:16-17. Christ wants to save the world, not condemn it.

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Peter speaks of that same sentiment.

2 Peter 3:15-16

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation;&