We need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return because of how God views time...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of 2 Peter. Yesterday, we saw Peter provide for us a timeless warning that reveals for us a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in that we need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return. And in 2 Peter 3:1-18, we see Peter reveal for us three different reasons why we need to be reminded of Jesus return.

Yesterday Peter revealed for us the reality that we need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return because there will be those who ridicule our belief in His return. The timeless reality is that Jesus return has been promised and proclaimed throughout history. Jesus return was proclaimed by the prophets in the Old Testament. Jesus return was proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament.

And the timeless reality is that Jesus return has been ridiculed throughout history. Those who ridicule Jesus return are driven by a desire for what has been forbidden by Jesus. Those who ridicule Jesus return are driven by a belief that everything has remained the same since His death. They are driven by the belief that Jesus is not returning because the world continues to spin since the beginning of time, which reinforces their belief that God does not intervene in history to judge humanity.

However, those who ridicule Jesus return forget that God does intervene in history. They forget that God intervened in the creation of the universe. They forget that God intervened in the flood to judge humanity. And they forget that God has promised to intervene to rightly judge those who leave God out and live as though He does not exist. Peter then reveals a second reason why we need to be reminded of Jesus return in 2 Peter 3:8-10:

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 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. 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.

Now if you grew up in church, or spent any time in church, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with these verses. However, these verses are some of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in the entire Bible. These verses are often misunderstood and misapplied for two reasons.

The first reason involves the word you that is used in verses 8 and 9. The word you here is plural, not singular. This verse involves a specific promise that is made for all followers of Jesus throughout history. So this verse is not about an individual promise that is made to Dave by God; this verse is about a corporate promise that is made for all followers of Jesus.

The second reason why this verse is often misunderstood and misapplied has to do with the promise itself. You see, Peter has a specific promise in mind. Peter is responding to those in verse 4 who were mockingly asking “Where is the promise of His coming?”  Peter here is addressing the specific promise of Jesus return and those who were ridiculing and deriding followers of Jesus for believing that Jesus would return. Peter here is not addressing any other promise that is made by God in the Bible.

Peter’s statement, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Make sure you do not forget that the Lord exists outside of space and time and is not bound by time. Make sure that you do not forget that the Lord who made this promise does not hold back in hesitation when it comes to keeping His promise. Instead, make sure that you take into consideration the reality that the Lord bears up under the provocation of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity against Him because He desires that humanity would change the trajectory of their lives that are moving away from Him because they have chosen to leave God out and live as though He does not exist back to God so that they could experience the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with Him that you have experienced through Jesus."

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the second reason why we need to be reminded of Jesus return in that we need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return because of how God views time. The timeless reality is that Jesus return is not constrained by time because God exists outside space and time. God looks at space and time like I am looking at this table. The timeless reality is that Jesus return is not constrained by time because God has a different perspective. God does not hesitate when it comes to whether He will keep His promise. Instead, God bears up under our rebellion to give all the opportunity to turn to Him.

And the timeless reality is that Jesus return is not constrained by time because, as Peter points out in verse 10, God will move with great suddenness and force when Jesus returns. Peter uses the word picture of a thief breaking into a home to reveal the reality that Jesus return will be unexpected and sudden in nature. Peter then pains a second word picture, this time of the roar of a lion, to reveal the reality that Jesus return will come with great force.

Jesus return will result in the dissolving of the universe. Jesus return will result in the destruction of the elements of the universe. And Jesus return will result in humanity being exposed to God's right and just judgment. When Peter uses the phrase, the earth and its works, this phrase refers to the actions produced on the earth by humanity that lives on the earth. Peter’s point is that the selfishness and rebellion of humanity that has corrupted the earth and the earth will be destroyed as a result of the burning judgment of God upon Jesus return.

Friday, we will see Peter reveal a third reason why we need to be reminded of Jesus return...

We need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending the month of November looking at a letter that was written by the Apostle Peter and has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter. As we have looked at the book of 2 Peter, we have been reminded of several timeless truths about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in a way that results in us living out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into this next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, we will see the Apostle Peter remind us of another timeless truth about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in a way that results in us living out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us. So let’s discover that timeless reminder together, beginning in 2 Peter 3:1-2:

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

Peter begins this final section of his letter by reminding the readers of his letter throughout history the motivation the drove him to sit down and write this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible. You see, Peter wanted the readers of his letter throughout history to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the reality of the rescue that they had obtained through Jesus. Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible. Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the reality of the danger of false teachers.

And Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of another reality that needed to be reminded of. Peter then explained that this reality that they needed to be reminded of was contained in the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. When Peter uses the phrase words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets, this phrase refers to the message and teaching of the Old Testament concerning the promise of the coming of the Messiah that would come to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth, which was fulfilled through Jesus.

In addition, when Peter uses the phrase the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles, this phrase refers to the message and teaching of Jesus and the writers of the New Testament concerning Jesus. Peter is basically saying “I want to make sure you remember something specific about what the message and teaching of the Old Testament and the message and teaching of Jesus that we have communicated to you about Jesus.”

Peter then revealed what he wanted to remind the readers of his letter of when it come to what the letters that make up the Old Testament and the message and teachings of Jesus that had been communicated by Peter and the other writer of the letter that make up the New Testament had to say about Jesus in verse 3-7:

 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 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." ⁵ For 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, ⁶ through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

Now to fully understand what Peter is communicating in these verses, we first need to understand a few things. The first things we need to understand is what Peter means when he uses the phrase “in the last days”. You see, when we read the letters that make up the Bible, what we discover is that the phrase “in the last days” refers to the time in history that began with Jesus entry into humanity and that will end with Jesus returning to earth to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense.

In other words, on the one hand, we are living in the last days right now, and on the other hand, we have been living in the last days for a little over 2,000 years. Peter, Paul, the writers of the New Testament, and followers of Jesus throughout history have lived with an expectancy that Jesus would return to defeat selfishness, sin and death and usher in the kingdom of heaven in its fullest sense and could return in the very near future to defeat selfishness, sin and death and usher in the kingdom of heaven in its fullest sense. 

Followers of Jesus throughout history have lived with an expectancy of Jesus return, because, as Peter points out in verse 4, Jesus Himself promised that He would return to defeat selfishness, sin and death and usher in the kingdom of heaven in its fullest sense. For over 2,000 years, followers of Jesus have lived with an anticipation and expectation that Jesus would return. But Jesus has not returned.

And because of the fact that Jesus has not returned, for 2,000 years Peter explained that mockers will come with their mocking. Now this phrase, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded like this: “in the time prior to Jesus return, there will be people who will ridicule and deride you with ridicule and derision because Jesus has not returned.”  Peter then revealed the motivation that drove these mockers with the phrase following after their own lusts. As we discovered throughout this series, this phrase refers to a desire for something that is forbidden by God. 

Peter then explained that these mockers, driven by their desire for what is forbidden by God, will ridicule and deride followers of Jesus by basically saying “So where this Jesus who you say has promised to return? I mean if your Jesus promised that He would return; if you think Jesus is going to return so soon, then why hasn’t he returned? After all, followers of Jesus are dying, and He hasn’t returned. And nothing really has changed since your Jesus was killed and since you say your Jesus was raised from the dead. People live and people die; the sun rises and the sun sets, just as it has done from the beginning of time. So you might as well face it, you guys are idiots for believing that Jesus is going to return.”

And for 2,000 years there have been people who have ridiculed and derided followers of Jesus as being idiots for believing that Jesus would return. So how should followers of Jesus respond to the fact that Jesus has not returned? How should followers of Jesus respond to being ridiculed and derided as idiots for believing that a dead guy would not only be resurrected, but would return from Heaven? We see Peter’s response to those who ridicule and deride followers of Jesus as idiots for believing that Jesus would return in verse 5. Peter pointed the readers of his letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to God’s activity in history that is recorded for us in the first nine chapters of the very first letter in the Bible called the book of Genesis.

Peter basically states “when those who ridicule and deride you as being idiots for believing that Jesus will return, it has escaped their attention that God commanded the universe into existence and brought the universe into existence through His activity. When those who ridicule and deride you as being idiots for believing that Jesus will return, it has escaped their attention that God also commanded and brought a flood upon the world as a right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of humanity.”

 Peter then makes a connection between God’s activity in the past in His creation of the world and His consequences that He brought on those who rebelled against Him in the past and God’s current activity in the world in this space in history that is preceding Jesus return in verse 7.  Peter’s statement in verse 7, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “And in the same way today, God, by His command is reserving the universe in its current condition in preparation for his right and just judgment on the selfishness and rebellion of those who leave God out and live as though He does not exist.”

And it is here that we see Peter provide for us a timeless warning that reveals for us a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. And that timeless reminder is this: We need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return.

And in 2 Peter 3:1-18, we see Peter reveal for us three different reasons why we need to be reminded of Jesus return. First, in 2 Peter 3:1-7, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that we need to be reminded of the reality of Jesus return because there will be those who ridicule our belief in His return. The timeless reality is that Jesus return has been promised and proclaimed throughout history. Jesus return was proclaimed by the prophets in the Old Testament. Jesus return was proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament.

And the timeless reality is that Jesus return has been ridiculed throughout history. Those who ridicule Jesus return are driven by a desire for what has been forbidden by Jesus. Those who ridicule Jesus return are driven by a belief that everything has remained the same since His death. They are driven by the belief that Jesus is not returning because the world continues to spin since the beginning of time, which reinforces their belief that God does not intervene in history to judge humanity.

However, those who ridicule Jesus return forget that God does intervene in history. They forget that God intervened in the creation of the universe. They forget that God intervened in the flood to judge humanity. And they forget that God has promised to intervene to rightly judge those who leave God out and live as though He does not exist.

Tomorrow, we will see Peter reveal a second reason why we need to be reminded of Jesus return…

Two additional dangers of false teachers...

Last week, we began to look at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament called the book of 2 Peter. In 2 Peter 2, we discover a timeless reminder in that we need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers. In 2 Peter 2:1-22, we see Peter reveal for us four different dangers of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of.

Last week, we discovered that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated in their influence among people. In addition, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the condemnation that awaits them. Today, we will see Peter reveal two additional dangers of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of in the second half of verse 10b-16:

Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, ¹¹ whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. ¹² But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; ¹⁵ forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ¹⁶ but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.

In these verses we see Peter describe the nature and character of the false teachers of his day that we attempting to influence people away from the true message and teachings of Jesus and toward their false message and teachings. And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the character that defines them. Peter here reveals for us several character traits that often serve to define such false teachers.

False teachers often have a character that demonstrates an audacious arrogance. False teachers often have a character that demonstrates a stubbornness that places themselves first. False teachers often have a character that demonstrates a lack of fear of supernatural beings. False teachers often have a character that demonstrates a lack of reason that results in them being destined for destruction. False teachers are destined for destruction as a result of a lack of knowledge. False teachers are destined for destruction as a result of an inward depravity. And false teachers are destined for destruction as wages for their wickedness.

In addition, false teachers often have a character that delights in living an openly self-indulgent lifestyle. False teachers often have a character that discolors those around them. False teachers often have a character that always looks to engage in adultery. False teachers often have a character that always looks to entice those who are weak. False teachers often have a character that always desires what is more than one's due.

And as Peter points out in verse 15, false teachers always have a character that departs from the message and teachings of Jesus. Peter pointed the readers of his letter to an event from history that is recorded for us in a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Numbers, that involved that actions of a false teacher named Balaam. In this event from history, a prophet named Balaam was so blinded by greed that he attempted to curse the Jewish people on behalf of an enemy nation. Peter pointed to this event from history because false teachers often follow the example of Balaam, who was financially rewarded for rejecting what was right in the sight of God. And Peter pointed to this event from history because, just like Balaam, God has the ability to intercede supernaturally to restrain the results of their foolishness.  In the case of Balaam, God interceded supernaturally through a talking donkey.

Peter then concludes this section of his letter by revealing a fourth danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of in verse 17-22:

 ¹⁷ These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, ¹⁹ promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

Peter here uses two different word pictures to reveal the fourth danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of. First, Peter paints a word picture of springs without water to reveal the reality that the message that was being proclaimed by these false teachers was empty and without meaning. Peter then paints a second word picture, of mists driven by a storm, to reveal the reality that the message that was being proclaimed by these false teachers was going to drive them towards destruction. 

And it is in these verses that Peter reveals for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the consequences they bring on their followers. The timeless reality is that those who follow false teachers are relying on a message that is empty of meaning. And those who follow false teachers are relying on a message that brings destruction. Those who follow the message of false teachers are enticed by arrogant words that are without use or value. Those who follow the message of false teachers are enticed by a desire within them for something that is forbidden. Those who follow the message of false teachers are enticed by the promise of a lifestyle of license that violates all bounds of what is socially acceptable. Those who follow the message of false teachers are enticed as a result of being viewed as easy targets for error.

And, as Peter points out in verse 19, those who follow the message of false teachers are enticed by the promise of freedom that only results in a slavery that leads to condemnation. Peter uses the word picture of becoming entangled in something, in this case the shameful deeds that flow from those things in the word that are hostile to God and that place themselves in opposition to God, to reveal that reality that followers of false teachers become enslaved to the inward corruption that is within them as a result of being defeated by that inward corruption. And, as Peter points out in verse 20, to become enslaved to the inward corruption from within after being exposed to the true freedom offered by the gospel results in those who follow false teachers being worse off than before they heard of Jesus.

Peter’s point is that those who follow false teachers after being exposed to the truth of the message and teachings of Jesus would have been better off not hearing about Jesus. They would have been better off not hearing about Jesus because, as Peter points out in verse 21, the timeless reality is that the greater the amount of revelation that we have received about Jesus, the greater the responsibility we have when it comes to how we respond to the revelation we have received about Jesus. Peter’s point is that those who have been exposed to the message and teachings of Jesus and then choose to reject Jesus to follow false teachers have no excuse. I mean what excuse are they going to use? I didn’t know? But they did know. They were exposed to the message and teaching of Jesus. And because they have been exposed to the message and teachings of Jesus and have rejected the message and teachings of Jesus to follow false teachers, Peter explains that they are in a worse state than they were before they heard about Jesus.

Peter hammers this point home by quoting from two very familiar proverbs of the day in verse 22. The first proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," is found in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Proverbs, in Proverbs 22:6. The second proverb, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire" was a common proverb of the day. Both proverbs point to how tempting it can be to leave the truth to embrace false teaching.

Just like a dog which vomits, and instead of walking away from the vomit goes back and takes a sniff of the vomit; just like a pig who washes itself clean only to be unable to resist the temptation to get dirty again, false teaching tempts us to leave the truth of the message and teachings of Jesus to embrace false teaching, especially a false teaching that promotes a lifestyle of license. However, the result of embracing that false teaching is condemnation and punishment. 

Because, as we have discovered, we need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers. We need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers because the danger of false teachers is demonstrated in their influence among people. We need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers because the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the condemnation that awaits them. We need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers because the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the character that defines them. And we need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers because the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the consequences they bring on their followers.

So here is a question to consider: How are you responding to the temptation of false teachers and their false teaching? And what are you doing to make sure that you would be able to recognize false teachers and their false teaching?

The danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the condemnation that awaits them...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, where we have seen Peter provide for us a timeless warning that reveals for us a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. In 2 Peter 2:1-22, we discover that we need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers. And in 2 Peter 2:1-22, we see Peter reveal for us four different dangers of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of.

Yesterday, we looked on as Peter revealed for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated in their influence among people. The timeless reality is that false teachers will attempt to exert influence both inside and outside the church. And the timeless reality is that false teachers will introduce false teaching that will destroy lives. Today, we will see Peter reveal a second danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of in the second half of 2 Peter 3:

 ³ their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. ⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; ⁷ and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men ⁸ (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.

Here we see Peter continue to warn the readers of his letter of the danger of false teachers by proclaiming that their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. When Peter uses the word judgment here, this word refers to the condemnation and punishment that awaits false teachers. Peter’s point is that the danger of false teachers and the subsequent condemnation and punishment that awaits false teachers is not a new phenomenon that was just beginning to occur in Peter’s day. Peter here is painting a word picture to proclaim that the condemnation and punishment of false teachers for their false teaching has been already been prepared and is on its way. 

Peter then reinforces this reality by pointing the readers of his letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to three different events from history where God’s condemnation and punishment came upon those who engaged in open rebellion against God. First, Peter points the readers of his letter to an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of the very first letter in the Bible called the book of Genesis. So, let’s look at this event from history together, beginning in Genesis 6:1-4:

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ² that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

As we talked about during the “Living as part of God’s kingdom community” series, one interpretation of these verses is that the sons of God were fallen angels who took human wives and had children in open rebellion against God. Now, while there are many questions about this passage and how it is to be interpreted, in a non-biblical letter called the book of 1 Enoch, several chapters of this book were devoted to this event from history. 

The reason why this matters is that Peter and these Jewish followers of Jesus would have been very familiar with the book of 1 Enoch. Peter quoted this event from history, which the readers of his letter would have been very familiar with through the book of 1 Enoch, as an example of God’s condemnation of those who embraced open rebellion against God.

Then, in verse 5, Peter reminded the readers of his letter of another event from history that is a recorded in Genesis 6-9 involving the flood that the Lord brought upon the earth as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity against God. When Peter uses the word ungodly, this word means to leave God out and to live as though He did not exist. In addition, Noah was the most prominently known biblical figure in this region of the world, even among those who were not Jewish.

So the readers of this letter would be very familiar with the story of Noah and the flood. The readers of this letter would be very familiar with the reality that it took Noah approximately 75 years to build the ark the face of criticism, ridicule, and slander. Noah had to place his confident trust in God and act on that trust in the midst of being mocked and marginalized. Noah spent 75 years as a preacher of righteousness that demonstrated his trust and his right relationship with God by building what would serve to be a sign of God’s judgment to those who rejected Him and a sign of grace to those who trusted in Him.

Peter reminded these followers of Jesus that Noah spent 75 years as a preacher of righteousness that demonstrated his trust and his right relationship with God by building what God would use to actively protect him and his family from the condemnation and punishment that God rightly brought to those who left Him out and lived as though He did not exist.

Then, in verses 6-8, Peter reminded the readers of his letter of another event from history that is a recorded in Genesis 19 involving the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Peter uses the word example, this word refers to an example of behavior that is used for the purposes of instruction. Peter’s point is that God’s response to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah’s embrace of open rebellion against God provides an example that should instruct the readers of his letter when it comes to how God will respond to false teachers who advocate false teaching that promotes open rebellion against God.

God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by reducing both cities to a heap of burning rubble as condemnation and punishment for their rebellion against God. However, in the midst of that condemnation and punishment, Peter explained that God rescued righteous Lot. God responded to Lot’s desire to live right before God and the distress that Lot felt as a result of living among a lawless people who embraced a lifestyle of license that violated all bounds of what was acceptable by rescuing him from condemnation and punishment. And this event from history was to serve as an example of how God will respond to those who chose to leave God out and live as though He did not exist by condemning them to punishment and death, while extending grace to those who live right before Him.

Peter then hammered this point home in verse 9 by explaining that, as these examples from history demonstrate, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. Peter’s point here is that God has demonstrated throughout history that He will rescue those who demonstrate a reverent respect for God that results in a life of obedience to God from being enticed toward the evil of false teaching and the evil that false teaching produces.

And God has demonstrated throughout history that he will cause those who rebelliously refuse to live in a way that is right before God to experience the right and just punishment that they deserve on the day before they stand before God in judgment.  And in verse 10, Peter explains that this reality is especially true for those embrace a lifestyle of license that strives to satisfy the desires for what is forbidden by God and who look with contempt upon the authority of the Lord.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the condemnation that awaits them. The timeless reality is that the condemnation of false teachers has been prepared from the beginning. And the condemnation of false teachers and their followers has been seen throughout history. And God's condemnation of false teachers is rooted in His perfect justice.

God knows how to rescue those who trust in Him from the enticement of false teaching. And God knows how to keep those who refuse to live in a right relationship with Him in position to experience justice and condemnation. Condemnation awaits those who live a lifestyle dominated by the selfish desires for what is forbidden. And condemnation awaits those who live a lifestyle that despises the majestic power of Jesus.

Friday, we will see Peter reveal a third danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of…

We need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled reminder. During this series, we are spending the month of November looking at a letter that was written by the Apostle Peter and has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter. As we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and minds to remind us of several timeless truths about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in a way that results in us living out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into this next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, we will see the Apostle Peter remind us of another timeless truth about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in a way that results in us living out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us. So let’s discover that timeless reminder together, beginning in 2 Peter 2:1-3a:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; ³ and in their greed they will exploit you with false words;

Now to understand what Peter is communicating here in these verses, we first need to remember what Peter stated last week. Last week, we looked on as Peter explained that the writers of the New Testament were not applying the predictions and promises of the Messiah from the message and teaching of the Old Testament to Jesus by their own desire and direction. Instead, Peter explained that these letters were the result of “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”  Peter’s point here is that what was being communicated by those who were writing these letters was the result of the Spirit of God moving and motivating them to direct their energy and efforts to speak for God through the writing of the letters that we know today as the New Testament of the Bible.

With that in mind, Peter then begins this section of his letter by explaining that during the time in which the writers who communicated the message and teachings of the Old Testament lived, there were also false prophets who attempted to influence people away from the true message and teachings of God and toward their false message and teachings. And just as it was in the times of the Old Testament, Peter explained that unlike the writers who were communicating what we know today as the letters that make up the New Testament, there were false prophets who were also attempting to influence people away from the true message and teachings of Jesus and toward their false message and teachings.

Peter then explained that, just as it was in the times in which the Old Testament was written, these false prophets will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Now when Peter uses the word heresies, this word refers to teachings that were contrary to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And as part of their false teaching, these false teachers denied the master who bought them.

Peter’s point here is that this false teaching disowned Jesus and denied that Jesus had provided the opportunity for people to experience the forgiveness of their sin and the relationship with God that they were created for through His life, death, and resurrection. And as a result of denying and disowning the claims of Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus, these false teachers were bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 

However, even though these false teachers were bringing swift destruction upon themselves, Peter revealed the influence and impact of their false teaching in verse two. Apparently, these false teachers were proclaiming a message that Peter referred to as sensuality. The word sensuality, in the language that this letter was originally written in, refers to a lack of self-constraint which involves one in conduct that violates all bounds of what is socially acceptable.

In other words, these false teachers were advocating for what is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as licentiousness. Simply put, licentiousness, or a life of license, maintains that we can do whatever we want and still be right with God. We can lie, cheat, steal, sleep around and have friends with benefits, because at the end of the day, God will still accept us. And as these false teachers promoted their message of license, many responded by following that message. Peter then explained that, as a result of these false teachers and those who followed their false teaching, the way to the truth will be maligned. In other words, the message and teaching of Jesus were being demeaned and defamed by those who instead embraced these false teachers and their false message of license.

Peter then exposed the true motives behind these false teachers in the first part of verse 3. You see, as these false teachers traveled around proclaiming their false message of license, they often charged a fee to those who came to hear their message. As a result, these false teachers were becoming wealthy. Peter’s point is that these false teachers were motivated by greed, which is a desire to have more than one’s due, which led them to misrepresent the message and teachings of Jesus and to fabricate false teaching that would result in them becoming rich.

And it is here that we see Peter provide for us a timeless warning that reveals for us a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. And that timeless reminder is this: We need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers. Just as it was for these early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers. And in 2 Peter 2:1-22, we see Peter reveal for us four different dangers of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of.

First, in 2 Peter 2:1-3, we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated in their influence among people. The timeless reality is that false teachers will attempt to exert influence both inside and outside the church. And the timeless reality is that false teachers will introduce false teaching that will destroy lives. False teachers will introduce their false teaching with malicious secrecy. Their false teaching denies the message of the gospel. Their false teaching will bring destruction upon themselves.

In addition, the timeless reality is that false teachers will introduce false teaching that many will accept as authoritative. Many accept as authoritative their false teaching because their false teaching often embraces a lifestyle of license that produces pleasure for those who embrace its teaching. And as a result, their false teaching often results in the message of the gospel being demeaned and defamed. In addition, false teaching will misrepresent the message of the gospel for the financial gain of its teachers.

Tomorrow, we will see Peter reveal a second danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of…

Is the Bible really true and trustworthy?

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, where we have discovered a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. And that timeless reminder is that we need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible.

In 2 Peter 1:12-21, we saw Peter reveal three aspects of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of. First, in 2 Peter 1:12-15, we see that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their timeless truth. Then, in 2 Peter 1:16-18, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their eyewitness testimony. Today, we will see Peter reveal for us a third aspect of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of in 2 Peter 1:19-21:

 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. ²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Here we see Peter explain that because he and other early followers of Jesus who would go on to write the letters that have been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible had firsthand knowledge of the glory and grandeur of Jesus, we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Now to fully understand what Peter is communicating here, we first need to understand a few things.

The first thing we need to understand is what Peter means when he uses the phrase the prophetic word. With this phrase, Peter is referring to the inspired interpretation of the Divine words of God and the inspired words of God that are contained in the letters that make up the Bible. In addition, when Peter uses the phrase made more sure, this phrase refers to something that can be relied on not to cause disappointment. Peter’ point here is that the inspired interpretation of the Divine words of God and the inspired words of God that are contained in the letters that make up the Bible are reliable and will not disappoint.

Now that leads us to the next thing that we need to understand, which is what Peter is referring to when he uses the phrase “until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” Peter here is making an allusion to a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Numbers. In Numbers 24:17 a prophet named Balaam predicted and proclaimed the coming of a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah that would come from the Jewish people to rule over the world. Peter connects this allusion to Numbers 24:17 with the phrase the morning star arises, which referred to Jesus return to earth at the end of God’s story here on earth, where Jesus will defeat selfishness, sin, and death and to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense.

Peter’s point is that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as proclaimed by Jesus and as proclaimed by himself and the other writers of the letters that make up the New Testament are inspired by God and are reliable. And because of that reality, Peter explained that the readers of his letter would do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. With this word picture, Peter is revealing for us the reality that the letters that make up the Bible are worth paying close attention to, because they are reliable and they are able to reveal and expose what is present in the world along with providing guidance and direction in an otherwise dark world.

Then, in verse 20, Peter stated but know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. Peter here is basically saying “The first thing that you need to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that none of statements made by those who are communicating God’s Divine will or purpose and none of the interpretations of the Old Testament of the Bible that are being made by those who are communicating God’s Divine will and purpose are simply the result of human opinion. Peter then reinforced this reality in the first half of verse 21 by stating “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will”.

In other words, Peter is basically saying “No one who is communicating God’s Divine will and purpose by applying the predictions and promises of the Messiah from the message and teaching of the Old Testament to Jesus is doing so at by their own desire and direction. What is being communicated by those who are writing these letters is not the result of their own desires to proclaim their own opinion.” Instead, Peter explained that these letters were the result of “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”  Peter’s point here is that what was being communicated by those who were writing these letters was the result of the Spirit of God moving and motivating them to direct their energy and efforts to speak for God through the writing of the letters that we know today as the New Testament of the Bible.

Now the big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for what Peter is referring to here is the word inspiration. When we talk about inspiration, we are talking about a dynamic process that was led by the Holy Spirit where God worked through the personalities and life experiences of the writers of the letters that make up the Bible to place His timeless truths on paper. We see this dynamic process most clearly in the gospels, which are the four accounts of Jesus life that are found in the Bible.

We see a tax collector, a doctor, and two fisherman moved by the Holy Spirit to write about Jesus life. Each one of the gospel writers had different levels of education and experiences that God used while inspiring, or moving them, to choose and write His timeless truth of His story of the rescue and redemption of selfish and rebellious humanity through Jesus life, death, and resurrection. One of the best ways to summarize this idea of inspiration is to think of inspiration as the process by which God worked to ensure that what God says the Bible says and what the Bible says God says.

But not only do we believe that the Bible is a collection of letters that were written by men who were inspired by God to write the very words of God to humanity. We also believe that the letters that make up what we call the Bible are without error. In other words, we believe that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the thoughts of the writers who wrote the letters that make up the Bible, but that the Holy Spirit also led the writers of these letters to use the very word structure into which these letters were written so that the original documents were inerrant as to fact and infallible as to truth. In other words, the letters that make up the Bible are totally true and are totally trustworthy.  

Now you might have heard people say that we cannot be sure about whether or not the 66 letters we have in the Bible are the only letters that we should have in the Bible because the church did not establish what letters were to be in the Bible until a bunch of men got together because of the Roman Emperor Constantine hundreds of years after these letters were written. Another common objection or pushback to this idea of God inspiring human writers to write the letters that make up the Bible is often made by asking “Well Dave, how do we know that we have all of God’s truth? Who and how did they decide to have 66 books?” What about other books like the gospel of Thomas, and the Apocrypha in Catholic Bibles? What about the books that the Mormon Church views as being equal to the Old and New Testament?”

Good questions. You see, the Council of Carthage, which occurred in 397 A.D., merely approved what was already an accomplished fact generally accepted by the early church for a long period of time. In addition, as we will discover later in this series, the letters that make up the New Testament of the Bible were already widely circulated and had been collected together within 50 years after their original writing. And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in the Holy Spirit bringing them into circulation.

You see, it is the activity of the Holy Spirit that brings a reliability that requires that we pay attention to the message of the letters in the Bible as we await Jesus return. It is the activity of the Holy Spirit that brings a recognition that the letters in the Bible were not written as a result of the desires men. And it is the activity of the Holy Spirit that brings a recognition that the letters in the Bible were written as a result of the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Because the timeless reality is that we need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible. We need to be reminded that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their timeless truth. We need to be reminded that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their eyewitness testimony. And we need to be reminded that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in the Holy Spirit bringing them into circulation.

So here is a question to consider: What is the source of authority in your life when it comes to your relationship with God and how you live out your life? How do you view the letters that make up the Bible what it comes to their authority?  Do you submit your thinking to the letters that make up the Bible? Or do you submit the letters that make up the Bible to your thinking?

Do you need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible? How often do you find yourself thinking “I know the bible says but?” Do you need to be reminded that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their timeless truth?

Do you need to be reminded that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their eyewitness testimony? Do you need to be reminded that authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in the Holy Spirit bringing them into circulation?

Because the timeless reality is that we need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible…

The authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their eyewitness testimony...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, where we have seen the Apostle Peter remind us of another timeless truth about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. Yesterday, we began to look at 2 Peter 1:12-15, where we discovered the timeless reminder that we need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible.

 And in 2 Peter 1:12-21, we see Peter reveal three aspects of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of. Yesterday, we discovered that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their timeless truth. The timeless truth contained in the letters in the Bible was known to the first followers of Jesus.

We discovered that it was the timeless truth contained in the letters in the Bible that caused early followers of Jesus to be firmly committed in their faith. In addition, the timeless truths contained in the letters in the Bible were communicated by those who felt compelled to arouse followers of Jesus to remember the truth. Those who wrote the letters contained in the Bible often recognized that time was short. And those who wrote the letters contained in the Bible were eager to make sure that the message would be available after their death.

Today, we will see Peter reveal for us a second aspect of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of in 2 Peter 1:16-18:

 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷ For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased "-- ¹⁸ and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

Here we see Peter begin to defend the contents of his letter against potential accusations from false teachers who were questioning the truthfulness of his letters. When Peter uses the phrase “for we did not follow cleverly devised tales”, the word follow literally means to accept something as authoritative. In other words, Peter is basically saying “What we accept as authoritative when it comes to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel is not the result of some cleverly created myth and legend that we made up on our own.” Instead, Peter proclaimed that he and other close followers of Jesus were eyewitnesses of His majesty. Peter’s point is that he did not need to make up a cleverly created myth and legend about Jesus because he had firsthand knowledge of the grandeur and greatness of Jesus. 

And to provide proof of his firsthand knowledge of the grandeur and greatness of Jesus, in verses 17-18, Peter pointed the readers of his letter to an event from history that is preserved and recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. Let’s take a minute and look at this event from history together, beginning in Matthew 17:1-8:

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ² And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." ⁸ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their eyewitness testimony. The timeless reality is that the letters contained in the Bible were not the product of a craftily created myth. Instead, the letters contained in the Bible were the product of events in history.

This reality is what separates Christianity from every other religious system. Christianity is distinctly different from every other religious system because Christianity is rooted in events from history.  What we believe about God, or our theology, is inseparably related to an event that occurred in history. As followers of Jesus, we do not follow Jesus because of doctrine or theology; we follow Jesus because of something that happened in history.

We see this in the incredible detail that is in the Bible and its accounts of Jesus death and resurrection. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus occurred in real time, in a real place, with real people. And the early church responded to this historical reality by leveraging their time, their talents, and their treasure into what they had seen and the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus.

Friday, we will see Peter reveal for us a third aspect of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of...

We need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled reminder. During this series, we are spending the month of November looking at a letter that was written by the Apostle Peter and has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter. The Apostle Peter wrote this letter because he was concerned that the readers of his previous letter would end up forgetting the timeless truths about Jesus and the message and teaching of Jesus that he had written to them in his previous letter as a result of the passage of time and the influence of false teachers in their lives.

And because of the danger that false teachers and the passage of time presented to the readers of his first letter, the Apostle Peter sat down and wrote this letter that we know today as the book of 2 Peter to remind the readers of his letter of several truths about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that were to always be at the forefront of their lives.  And just as it was for the Apostle Peter, as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and minds to remind us of several timeless truths about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in a way that results in us living out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us.

This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into this next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, we will see the Apostle Peter remind us of another timeless truth about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives in a way that results in us living out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us. So let’s discover that timeless reminder together, beginning in 2 Peter 1:12-15:

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. ¹³ I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Peter begins this section of his letter by letting the readers of his letter throughout history know that he will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. When Peter uses the phrase “of these things” he is referring to what he had just written and what he was about to write in this letter.

You see, Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the reality of the rescue that they had obtained through Jesus. Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the reality that the rescue we have obtained through Jesus provides us everything we need spiritually to live a life that represents Jesus well. Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the reality that the rescue we have obtained through Jesus should produce a serious effort to strive to grow spiritually. Peter wanted the readers of his letter to clearly understand that his sole intention was to keep reminding them of the reality that the rescue we have obtained through Jesus should produce a serious commitment to confirm God’s choice to rescue us through Jesus.

Now, it wasn’t as though this was new information, as Peter pointed out that they already had heard the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel so as to have the information about the rescue that they had obtained through Jesus. And it wasn’t as though the information about the rescue that they had obtained through Jesus hadn’t impacted the lives of the readers of this letter. After all, when Peter used the phrase have been established, this phrase, in the language that this letter was originally written in, means to cause to be firmly committed to something. The readers of his letter were firmly committed to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And it wasn’t as though they did not have access to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel, for Peter makes it abundantly clear that the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel was at their disposal.  However, as Peter pointed out in verse 13, he considered it right, as long as he was present on the earth, to stir you up by way of reminder.

In other words, Peter considered himself to be under obligation to awaken and arouse the readers of this letter to all that God had done to rescue them through Jesus by reminding them of all that God had done to rescue them through Jesus. As long as Peter was still on this earth, Peter believed that he was rightly obligated to keep the timeless truth about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus at the forefront of their lives in a way that awakened and aroused a desire to live out those truths so as to reveal and reflect Jesus to those around them.

In addition, as Peter pointed out in verse 14, there was an urgency behind his sole intention to keep reminding them of the reality of the rescue that they had obtained through Jesus. And that urgency was that he recognized that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent. In other words, as Peter sat down to write this letter; Peter knew that he was going to die in the very near future. Peter explained that the reason that he knew that he was going to die in the very near future was due to the fact that Jesus had made it clear to him that he was going to die in the very near future.

Now a natural question that arises here is “how did Jesus make it clear to Peter that he was going to die in the very near future?” Most likely, Peter here is referring to a conversation that he had with Jesus after Jesus was raised from the dead that has been preserved and recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John. Let’s take a minute and look at a part of that conversation together, beginning in John 21:18-19:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." ¹⁹ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me!"

And as Peter remembered and reflected on this conversation with Jesus; as Peter remembered and reflected on the responsibility that he had been given by Jesus to be a foundational leader in God’s new movement in history called the church; Peter had an urgency to make sure that these early followers of Jesus were reminded of their rescue by Jesus and the mission that they had been given by Jesus before he died.

And, as Peter points out in verse 15, it was that urgency and sense of obligation to awaken and arouse the readers of this letter to all that God had done to rescue them through Jesus that led him to write this letter. By writing this letter, Peter was making sure that, even after he was gone from the earth, the readers of this letter would be able to recall what he was going to write down in this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible today.

And it is here, that we see Peter reveal for us a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. And that timeless reminder is this: We need to be reminded of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible. And in 2 Peter 1:12-21, we see Peter reveal three aspects of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of.

First, in 2 Peter 1:12-15, we see that the authority of the letters contained in the Bible is found in their timeless truth. The timeless truth contained in the letters in the Bible was known to the first followers of Jesus. It was the timeless truth contained in the letters in the Bible that caused early followers of Jesus to be firmly committed in their faith.

In addition, the timeless truths contained in the letters in the Bible were communicated by those who felt compelled to arouse followers of Jesus to remember the truth. Those who wrote the letters contained in the Bible often recognized that time was short. And those who wrote the letters contained in the Bible were eager to make sure that the message would be available after their death.

Tomorrow, we will see Peter reveal for us a second aspect of the authority of the letters contained in the Bible that we need to be reminded of...