But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as on day. The Lord
is not slack concerning His promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. But the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also and
the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Peter 3:8-10
Ungodly men and women, children, who have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will be destroyed. This may sound harsh and that a loving God would never destroy. Really? God who is Just demands justice. Sin is unjust against God who created men and women to have life, to have the good that God intended for men to have and then lost by sin, a sin agianst the will of God. Justice then would be that those have sinned against God would be judged and that judgment is final: they must pay for their sins. God has throughout history provided the means for all to come to know Him but many rejected Him, even Israel at times rejected God and were punished. In time God came to earth by sending His Wisdom to become the Son of God, the Son of Man to pay this debt that man cannot ever pay. All that needs to be done to have salvation is to recognize that a person is sinful and in need of a savior and then recognize that Jesus is that Savior and by faith in Him they will be saved, eternal salvation, this free gift from God given to men by His Grace and Mercy. Men and women, children all over the world need to hear the word of God and we are the means to bring to them His word by which faith comes (Romans 10:17; Ephesians 2:8,9; 4:8). We are to take this faith giving word to the world (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:8): will you? You may not be called to go into foreign lands or to be a full-time evangelist, but you are commanded to take this message of salvation to your world. Will you?
Men have distorted a passage in Peter to meet their presuppositions and one such distorting is: "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as on day." Some teach this literally as with Jehovah Witnesses, but they have had to revise their beliefs due to the fact that their prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ does not fit their understanding of these words. Other Christian Churches and men have distorted this to fit their presuppostions about the coming of Jesus Christ. So then, how are we to understand these words of Peter? Peter seems to be referring to a common saying among the Israelits founded on: "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4). God is eternal, no beginning, no end, always present therefore time is something different to Him and for Him a thousand days, years, are just like a day to Him. Furthermore, the Hebrews interpreted days of millenniums, and reckoned millenniums by days, and used tht phrase in confermation of it. Peter does not give us a start date, or time, for the thousand years to begin, or end, he just tells us that for God time is insignificant but not for men and women who need to come to Jesus Christ now and be saved. Furthermore, for God, for Jesus Christ God Himself who died for men and promised to come again will certainly come again even though for some time for His coming seems slack. But here is a problem, men count time different from God, but God will keep His promise to come. He, God, promised to come when He spoke to Adam and Eve, and to others thoughout history until the day came that God came into Mary to fulfill that promise. That promise was that by Him salvation was now for all who will come to Him and believe on Him and put their faith in Him. God is and has been longsuffering but a time is coming when God will put an end to the ungodly as He did by the Great Flood, and by His mercy saved eight souls who believed in Him.
We do not know the day or the hour Jesus is coming for He will come like a thief in the night, but He is not coming silently, for there will be great noise, and then this earth will be dissolved by fire and all that are therein who have not accepted Jesus Christ will be destroyed and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). We can see that this world is getting worse and that God is being removed from almost every part of life and being replaced by an ideology like Socialism, Atheism, and this occurred by men and women before the Great Flood, then God seeing that man will not change, albeit that God's will is for all men to come to Him and be saved, they will not and God will judge them to be destroyed.
Is this love? Yes! For God will protect His children from the influence of sinful men. A time, a time without time, when a day is like a thousand years comes to all God has saved wherein all of God's Authentic Christians with Authentic Christian Faith will live eternally for God has a plan for His children who will live eternally as He intended when He created men and women. Will the flames of fire lick you unto death, eternal death, or will you enjoy the peace of God eternally living as God intended for you to live? You have a choice, what will your choice be?
I went to Palo Alto at the Veterans Hospital and met with my surgeon for my cancer and while it was planned for some cosmetic surgery on my nose we did not feel the need to do so as I am breathing easily and there was no real need to correct the little disfiguration. That was good, but I also learned that the margins of my tissue removed had signs of some cancer so I must be seen and examined every three months for the next two years. Oh well! In every life a little rain must fall, but I, and you too, have an umbrella to protects us and that unbrella is the Holy Spirit, God Himself, so that no matter what happens He will keep His promise to all who are saved. Praise God!
He who dwells in the shelter
of the most High will rest
in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is
my refuge and my fortress, my God
in whom I trust.
Psalm 91:2
Are you resting in God, or by your own efforts?
Richard L. Crumb
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