Author: Charlie Garrett

Sunday, 23 February 2020

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. 2 Peter 3:9

In the previous verse, Peter, refuting the scoffers, noted that to the Lord, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day. That was provided to show that “The Lord is not slack.” The word here is bradunó. It signifies, “to loiter” or “to be unduly slow.” There is the sense of being late in regard to an appointment.

Peter is saying that this is not the case with the Lord. Rather, He has His appointed time for all things, and He will meet those appointments perfectly. This includes the timing “concerning His promise.” That is speaking of the return of Christ which Peter said the scoffers bring up as a way of mocking His truthfulness. In verse 3:4, he cited them as saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”

But Peter shows that the promise has been made, and that even if it seems like an inordinate amount of time has gone by, and that the Lord is tardy to His appointment, this is not the case, especially “as some count slackness.”

In the previous verse, it was noted that we as humans look at time, and the events in time, from our own personal perspective. This is why there have been prognosticators in every generation who have claimed that the Lord was coming during their own lifetime. When it doesn’t come about, there is the accusation that the Lord is unnecessarily tarrying, or that He is actually slack. These scoffers then use that as a pretext to deny the truth of Scripture.

But what they believe is a delay which allows them to sin, and to live in lives of sin, is actually a delay which has come about for their own possible good. It is the Lord’s way of showing mercy, even on them. As Peter says, the Lord “is longsuffering toward us.” This is one of the main attributes of the Lord. In Exodus, Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory. When the Lord passed before Him, He made a proclamation concerning Himself to explain His very nature. When He did, He said –

“The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6

The Lord is merciful even to those who scoff at Him. He is gracious in giving them time to consider their errant ways, and He is longsuffering in His attitude toward them, not immediately giving them exactly what they deserve. He is also “abounding in goodness and truth.” He has made sure and reliable promises to His people, and He will fulfill them exactingly. Peter then precisely explains this by saying that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish.”

Man is made in His image. The value of man is not in who he is, however, when in Adam. In Adam, man is fallen and is already condemned. However, the Lord Jesus came to remedy that. He entered into the stream of human existence to specifically correct that defect in man – giving him a value which he was originally intended to possess. After His coming, He gave instruction to those who have come to Him to continue teaching about Him – even to the ends of the earth.

If Christ came back immediately, or after a short time, the world would not be fully evangelized. But when we set our priorities correctly, we will desire to have others come to Him, and we will set our budgets, our actions, and our lives to work in accord with that. All of this is because the Lord truly desires “that all should come to repentance.”

These words are specifically spoken concerning even the scoffers. To repent simply means “to change one’s mind.” One cannot repent about Jesus if he has never heard of Jesus. However, scoffers have obviously heard of the Lord. They have heard of His promised return, and they have scoffed at it. This indicates that they are not saved, and they therefore need to repent, or change their minds, about who Jesus is and about the state of their relationship with Him.

The words of this verse, as much as any others in Scripture, show definitively and without any ambiguity, that the doctrine of free will is correct. It utterly refutes the Calvinistic concept of the Lord first regenerating a person to believe, who then believes and is born again, and who then chooses Christ and is saved. If this was so, then what Peter says here would also indicate that God has failed.

If he desires that none should perish – but that people do perish – then God is the one who failed to regenerate the people that He desired to not perish. Rather, man has been given free will, and man must come to his own conclusions about the Lord, calling out to Him for salvation.

Life application: Peter reveals here what he has been leading up to for the past eight verses. Those who laugh at or argue against the Lord’s return, because of the many intervening years, have failed to understand the reason for the delay. It is for our personal benefit that the Lord is waiting, and for the sake of all who will be a part of His heavenly temple. As Paul says in Ephesians 2:19-22 –

 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

The Lord is building a holy temple and is using the saved of the ages as living stones to form it. What we may perceive as “slackness” is the Lord’s longsuffering. As wickedness abounds in the world, He is holding out His hands to those who would call on His name. He is doing it as a master Architect. No builder would start a project without considering the materials needed to complete it. God knows the exact number of souls that it will take to build His temple, and when the last person who is needed to finish the next phase of that project calls on Jesus, then the next event in His time schedule will come to pass.

The Lord is not willing that any should perish in the process, but that all will call on Him. Those who actually do will receive their reward; those who fail to do so will be condemned. The process is completely just and is perfect in its scope and execution. What a great God!

O God! How precious it is to be one of the elect – a living stone in Your glorious temple. Thank you for having been patient and longsuffering, and that those who have called on Jesus have been given the chance to do so. Now, please give us patience as we watch You work in other lives, bringing them to the same state of salvation which we now stand in. To Your praise alone! Amen.

Saturday, 22 February 2020

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. 2 Peter 3:8

The words here take us back to verse 3:4 where the scoffers ask, “Where is the promise of His coming?” Peter gave an answer to the question in the next two verses. He now gives a second reply, directly from Scripture, where he cites the substance of Psalm 90:4. This is a Psalm written by Moses, and thus it is the oldest psalm in the Bible –

“For a thousand years in Your sight

Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.”

Following this general thought, Peter writes, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing.” Peter is asking his audience to not “willfully forget” as the scoffers were said to do. Rather, he asks them to actively remember what he will say.

Whereas the scoffers willfully forgot the acts of creation that Peter spoke of; they then willfully forgot that if there is a creation, there is a Creator. If there is a Creator, He is before His creation. If this is so – and if time, space, and matter are all a part of the creation – then God is outside of time.

Therefore, time has no bearing on God’s plan, except as He has set that plan into motion within the stream of time. But to Him the amount of time something takes to occur is irrelevant.

The scoffers, like all people, are bound by time, and thus the reference to time is important. Everything that we do is set within a definite boundary – a span – which we cannot exceed. And further, that boundary is unknown to us. We live our lives not knowing what will occur, or when will it occur. This is especially true in regard to death.

As death is the final boundary of our reference to the world, and as we have an understanding that there is a generally set maximum span for each human to live, we naturally expect that a promise which has been made will be fulfilled in our lifetime.

For example, since the Bible was written (even within the Bible), people have expected the Lord to return. Writings throughout Christian history reveal that people expected that their generation would be the one to see Christ’s return. How much, then, would those who deny the Creator’s hand in His creation also want to deny the return of the Lord – simply because of the vast amount of time which has elapsed without it coming about.

But Peter next says, “that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Because God created time, He is outside of time. Therefore, the difference between a second and a million years is irrelevant. God sees all of time, and all that occurs within time, as one simultaneous event.

If a train leaves New York on the way to San Francisco, God sees the beginning, all of the journey, and the arrival without any hindrance to a time reference. The entire journey – and indeed the ages of ages – are laid out before Him.

Because of this, a promised return of Christ could happen at any time – be it one generation or a thousand – and it will be considered a promise kept. We cannot limit God, and what He is doing in the stream of history, to our own limited span of time and expect to find fault in Him. But this is what the scoffers are doing. They imply that because the Lord hasn’t yet returned, He is not trustworthy to return. It is small-minded, shallow thinking.

Life application: The biblical pattern is that God’s plan for man is laid out on a 7000-year timeframe. Jesus came right around the 4000^th year, directly in the middle of the timeline. Based on this, and based on a literal 1000-year millennial reign of Christ (as is clearly indicated in the book of Revelation), we can estimate a return of Christ sometime around 2000 years from His ascension. Before the millennial reign, the book of Revelation first tells us of a 7-year period known at the Great Tribulation which focuses on the Jewish people.

Knowing this, we can look to the book of Hosea for a pattern based on Peter’s words –

“After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.” Hosea 6:2

If a thousand years is like a day to the Lord, then we could expect that Israel would be revived after 2000 years of dispersion – exactly what has happened.

Likewise, we can expect that at the dawning of the “third day,” the Jewish nation – with Christ as its Head – will be raised up to rule the nations, just as is promised in the Old Testament.

Likewise, they will “live in His sight” as He rules from a literal throne in Jerusalem. This isn’t idle speculation, but a sound analysis of what God is doing in human history. Jesus Christ really will return, and He really will rule the nations from Jerusalem. The time is coming, and may it be soon!

Lord, we long for the day of Your glorious return. There is nothing in heaven or on earth that we would rather see than the beauty of Your countenance. We look to You now in faith, but we long for that faith to be turned to sight! It is our great hope and our greatest desire. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.

Friday, 21 February 2020

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. 2 Peter 3:7

Peter just relayed sacred history by saying that, “the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.” Now, he speaks of the present world and what its fate will be. In this, he begins with, “But the heavens and the earth which are now.” The construction of the words is similar to the previous verse. There, the Greek said, “the then world.” Here, it says, “the now heavens and the earth.” It is the ordered structure which now exists. Of them, Peter says they are “preserved by the same word.”

Compare these passages in verses 5 & 7 –

“by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth…”
“But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word.”

All things were created by the word of God, and the word sustains all things. It is God’s word that keeps all things as He determines. In the case of the heavens and earth which are now, Peter says that they “are reserved for fire.”

There was first a destruction of the world by flood. God promised to never again destroy the earth by a flood (Genesis 9:11). However, He did not promise the earth would not be destroyed again. Rather, it is assuredly going to happen. But next time it will be by fire.

The reason for the destruction is obvious. In Genesis 6:5, it says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Peter’s words, and indeed the words of Scripture elsewhere, point to the same condition being found among humanity in the future. There is a time coming when the world will be so wicked that the only remedy will be an almost complete annihilation of man once again. The world as it is now is being prepared for that day, preserved, as Peter states, “until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

This is the period known as “the tribulation” which is spoken of in both testaments of Scripture. Judgment is coming upon the world because of the wickedness of man. Isaiah, quoting the Lord, says of that time that, “I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12).

Again, Jesus speaks of this time as well –

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:21, 22

Very few humans will survive through the fiery trial which is coming. For those who do, there will still be a judgment upon them after Christ’s return. The world will be purified and prepared for the millennial reign of Christ. What is interesting is that fire is to be the instrument of destruction, and it is the modern store of weapons, both conventional and nuclear, which appear to be the very things that will cause this prophecy to come about. This is something that was not possible in previous generations of humanity.

Life application: After the Flood of Noah, God made a promise that He would never again destroy the earth by a flood. This doesn’t mean there won’t be large floods on the earth, but rather not a flood to completely destroy the earth. However, God didn’t promise that He wouldn’t again destroy the earth in a different way – and this is the subject of the next few verses.

The same God who spoke the universe into existence and who continues to hold all things together by the power of His word, has reserved the earth for a different type of judgment. Such judgment comes because we as humans continuously fail to learn lessons from the past.

God created Adam and Adam rebelled. Despite knowing this, his son – the first person ever born – killed his own brother. When wickedness abounded to such an extent that there was no remedy for man, God destroyed the world by flood. Later, man’s continued rebellion led to the dispersion of the peoples of the world, dividing them into various groups and languages.

After that came the redemption of the people of Israel and their own stubborn rebellion. Twice they were exiled for disobedience. The church has continuously fallen away from the truth of the Bible, one denomination after another apostatizing. Eventually, man will stray so far from God’s purposes that the world will face the tribulation minutely detailed in the book of Revelation.

These things happen because we simply don’t acknowledge and properly respect the Creator. Individually, we are responsible for our actions, and we will receive judgment based on them. Likewise, mankind will also be collectively judged with fire on the Day of Judgment. Call now on Jesus and be saved from the wrath to come.

Heavenly Father, You have been more than patient with us as we continuously stray from Your intent and purposes for us. In wrath, remember mercy and look tenderly upon those who have called on Your offer of peace which comes through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Thursday, 20 February 2020

…by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 2 Peter 3:6

Here, the Greek presents a difficulty. The words “by which” are di hon, or literally “through which things.” The pronoun is plural. This then must cause the reader to ask, “Which things?” Peter has mentioned creation, the word of God, the heavens, the earth, and the waters. Therefore, it could be any or all combined.

It was the word of God which spoke these things into existence, and it is – as Peter will say in the next verse – “the same word” which preserves the heavens and the earth. But Peter has just spoken twice of the waters as well, showing that the earth stood out of them. It is also the waters which are the focus of the flood narrative (see Genesis 7:24). Further, the focus here is on destruction by water, whereas the next destructive cataclysm will be by fire – as Peter will next note. However, it is the earth that was broken up and let forth the waters, and the windows of the heavens which were opened (see Genesis 7:11). A case could be made for any of these.

In the end, nothing happens apart from God. It is His word which spoke all things into existence, and it is His word which holds all things together. He is the principle cause of all things, and through His word comes the instrumental cause of all lesser things – such as the heavens and the earth, or the waters, bringing about destruction.

With this in mind, he says, “the world.” This is speaking of the state of the world before the flood. It speaks of its inhabitants – man, animal, and plant life. It speaks of the state of the world as well – long life, a canopy above, and etc. The word is kosmos, and it speaks of the order or arrangement of the system which existed at that time. That world existed, and then it “perished.”

The Greek word signifies violently and completely perishing. There was a world that existed, and then it was wiped out. Because of this, what the scoffers say is obviously untrue. In verse 4, they had said, “…all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” But that very thought is proven false. There was creation and from it was an ordered system which existed. But then there was a complete end to that ordered system. And so, their logic in denying the coming of Christ is based on a faulty premise.

Peter then says that “the then world” (as the Greek reads) was utterly destroyed, “being flooded with water.” Here, Peter uses a word found only this one time in Scripture, katakluzó. It is a verb which forms the root of our modern “cataclysm.” There was an overwhelming inundation which wiped out the entire planet.

From these words, a few points can be determined. First, Peter speaks of the flood as an absolutely true narrative. To deny a literal reading of the Genesis account of the flood is to then deny the inspiration of Scripture, the words of Peter (which cite the word of God – the heavens, the earth, the water, and the destruction – both in occurrence and scope), and to then deny the accuracy of all of Scripture – because Peter will, in this very chapter, refer to Paul’s letters. Paul is referred to by Luke in Acts, and Luke is referred to by Paul in Colossians. Mark is spoken of by Paul and Peter. Luke’s account refers to the other apostles, including Matthew and John. And all of them cite and refer to the Old Testament Scriptures, and all of them speak of Jesus. And Jesus likewise speaks of a real Noah, a real flood, and the actual consequences of that flood.

On and on, each point brings in another point, unifying the entire body of Scripture as one inspired work of God. Thus, to deny the account of the Flood of Noah leads to an implicit denial of all of Scripture. The word, then, becomes a pick and choose body of words and sentences without any true cohesion, and certainly lacking any divine inspiration.

Secondly, regardless as to the flood narrative – for those who deny the truth of Scripture – there is still the truth that the world has obviously been destroyed before. Whether by a flood, or by an asteroid, the evidence of a previous world that once existed, and which no longer exists, is testified to by all. And so, the failed logic of those who say that everything continues on as it has since creation is completely false. In the end, only the Bible adequately and accurately explains what happened, when it happened, why it came about, what the results of it were, and what it means for the future of man.

Life application: Peter’s point in what is written is that, just as obvious as it is that the world was created, men have no excuse when they deny the truth of God’s written word, even when it says Jesus will return. God spoke the world into existence with a word, and God’s promises in the Bible are just as sound as the very act of creation.

The ancient pre-flood world was destroyed because of its wickedness. Certainly, a lack of faith in the Creator embodies this wickedness. Were they to have had faith in His sovereignty, they would have acknowledged Him and honored Him. Instead, they turned to ever-increasing moral depravity until there was no remedy. Thus, God destroyed the world with water.

The very waters from which the earth stood out became the tool of destruction of the earth. Just as the ancient world was destroyed for its unbelief, so false prophets and scoffers who deny the authority, miraculous working, and promised return of Jesus will likewise be destroyed.

God isn’t a cosmic pushover who can be flagrantly denied and held in contempt. Rather, He is the sovereign Creator who holds in His grasp the fate of all men. If you hear conflicting accounts about the surety of the flood narrative, the lordship of Jesus, the truth of the Gospel, or the promised return of Christ, you would fare well to trust God’s word rather than the naysayers. God. He who assures us of these things cannot lie. So, stand firm in His word and have faith!

Creator God, you gave us breath so that we could and should praise You. Your name is great and matchless, and so may our lives be as a continual offering of praise to You. Also, may our lives shout out to You, and may our mouths sing forth to You – in the greatness of Your marvelous majesty. You are God, and we offer ourselves to You in humble and awestruck adoration. Amen.

Wednesday, 19 February 2020

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, 2 Peter 3:5

Peter, still referring to the “scoffers” of verse 3, and who dismiss the coming of the Lord as noted in verse 4, now says of them, “For this they willfully forget.” The idea here is that these people know something to be true, because it has been revealed to them, and yet they purposefully push that truth out of their minds. Instead, they forge ahead with what they know to be false rather than acknowledge the evidence which lies before them (such as evolution does concerning creation).

With this understood, Peter next continues with the thought from verse 3:4. There, he cited the scoffers. They said, “all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” The act of creation is the subject. To expand on that, he cites the Genesis creation account with the words, “that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water.”

The translation here lacks the intent of the Greek. Four articles, not in the original, have been added. Rather, it says –

“that heavens existed long ago, and earth, formed out of water and through water – by the word of God.”

The water is the focus of the words. The earth obtained its consistency, or material substance, from the water. And it was by means of the water that it came about. With this understanding, the words can be more properly evaluated. Peter says that these things occurred “by the word of God.”

In the Genesis account, it says, “Then God said.” There is the spoken word, and it is followed by an action in the creation itself. This is also repeated in Psalm 33 –

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
⁹ For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6-9

The Psalmist read the word of God, accepted it at face value, and repeated what God (the Lord) had done. However, these scoffers willingly and purposefully forget what the word says, denying the evidences around them as they speak of the creation. They deny the truth, and because of this, God’s judgment is ready to destroy them. This will be seen as Peter continues.

Life application: Those who scoff at the second coming of Christ fail to reason out the truthfulness and power of God. It is so much easier to bury one’s head in the sand than to acknowledge that there really is a God, that He really did create, and that all creation therefore is within His purview. If this is so, then the same God who did these things will fulfill His promises, including the return of Christ.

Peter’s return to the first chapter of Genesis is to remind us that God created the heavens and the earth. There was a time when these things didn’t exist in any form; there was nothing. God spoke these things into existence and then actively worked to form them into the universe and world we know.

One only needs to look at a tree to think the process through. “There is a tree; the tree didn’t create itself; the tree is connected to the ground; the ground is part of the earth; the earth didn’t create itself; the earth is in the universe; the universe didn’t create itself; all of this order came from somewhere; the universe didn’t always exist, but now it does; there must be a God; this God must be intelligent because the tree (along with all the universe) has order and beauty; I can perceive the tree and contemplate it; I must have reason and intellect; my reason and intellect must have come from somewhere; order cannot come from chaos; therefore God must be actively involved in the entire process – from the tree to me.”

As we continue to think on these lines, we can make reasonable deductions about God. These deductions will inevitably lead to understanding His nature. He must, by the very nature of who He is, be truthful. If He has said Jesus will come again, then this must be true. Naturally, a multitude of deductions which lead us to this point have been skipped, but the end result is that we are without excuse when we fail to acknowledge both the sovereignty and also the truthfulness of God. Think it through and have faith that God will fulfill every promise, just as His word states.

O God, surely You are in control. The splendor of a mere bumblebee tells us that You are wise and loving. How much more should we be able to trust You when we look to the rest of creation and see Your majesty displayed in it. May we never doubt that You are competent to fulfill every promise You have made…including the promised return of Jesus our Lord. Amen.