A Few Thoughts for The Coming Study of The Book of Revelation.
In 2 Peter3:10-18, Peter speaks of the Day of the Lord. The subject of reference is the return of Christ. Peter is speaking of the second coming of Christ, of which that day generally is the beginning of the judgment of the earth’s inhabitants. For the believer, Peter speaks of the day as a day to look forward to; for the non-believer, it is a day of terrible fear because of the coming judgment.
The Day of the Lord
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are
in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these
things will be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking
for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens
will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore,
beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in
peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother
Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as
also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which
untaught and unstable people twist to
their own destruction, as they do
also the rest of the Scriptures.
17 You, therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.[1]
The question, “will the study of Revelation help me become a better follower of Jesus Christ today,” based on the above passage of scripture, causes a few more questions. Thus, let us look at the above passage as applied to the five “W’s” and an “H” and see if the “who” of the “me” will help us become better followers of Christ.
“Who” Is Peter Talking To, Christians? “We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Also, Peter mentions the non-believer; “untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” The Christian is looking forward to this Day of the Lord when God will create a new heaven and earth where righteousness will dwell. The unbeliever, who is untaught and unstable, is walking toward the same day, basically ignorant of the coming judgment.
“What” Is Peter Talking About? “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Peter is talking about a day in which the heavens and the elements of the earth will pass away and melt with fervent heat and burn up. Moreover, the works here are God’s. We are the work of God’s hands. The heavens and the earth are the works of God’s hands. The implication is a coming day when God will burn up His creation and creatures. Therefore, the globalists’ concerns about global warming are correct. There is a day of global warming coming.
“When” Will This Burning Up Occur? “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” No one knows when this actual day will occur, no one can set a date because God, in His Word, did not tell us. Therefore, if anyone says that the Day of the Lord will occur on a specific date, do not believe them. However, “beloved, since you know this beforehand,” know what beforehand, that the Day of the Lord is coming, “beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.” A study of the error of the wicked is for future studies, but it is sufficient to say that if one turns on the nightly news, he or she will see the behaviors of the wicked. Thus, look at the behavior of the wicked as signs of what we are not to do so we are not led away falling from our steadfastness in Christ.
“Where” Will All of This Occur? “The heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” The expression, “all means all, that is all, all means,” describes the point of being unable to escape the coming Day of the Lord. So, when the question of where occurs, think anywhere, wherever, someplace, everywhere, and every place. The coming judgment is not something one will escape, meaning the non-believer.
Not to forget the point of the question, “will the study of Revelation help me become a better follower of Jesus Christ today,” we need to ask why. Why is knowledge of the coming Day of the Lord helpful for me to be a better follower of Christ?
“Why” Do Followers of Christ Seek, Need, Or Want to Be Better Followers? “Looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.” There is an understanding between people in a relationship, either friends or lovers; they want to be good between them. The idea of good is that there is nothing hidden between them. The relationship stands upon trust built over time with the understanding of a mutual reliance upon each other. Each in the relationship, to a degree, complete the other. We cannot complete the Lord, the Creator, and maker of Heaven and earth. However, we can go to Him for our fulfillment. We can be complete in Christ and enjoy a right standing with Him and our fellow man. Because of our right standing with God, we as Christians look forward to this day of becoming spotless and blameless. Therefore, we diligently live our lives with the understanding of not wanting to displease our Father God.
Furthermore, “because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” Of course, we do not want to displease our Lord God, our Creator, of all that is seen and unseen. Nevertheless, there are some non-believers, the “untaught and unstable people” who “twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures,” therefore, we believers are to “beware lest (we) also fall from (our) own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.”
“How” Will the Knowledge of Revelation Make Me A Better Follower of Christ Today? Knowing that “the elements will melt with fervent heat.” that Peter says twice, “the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat,” is knowledge enough to decide to live our lives for Christ. Again, the knowledge is knowing that the Day of the Lord is coming. What will occur on the Day of the Lord is the point or key to helping us become better followers of Christ today and in our future lives. We do not know when the Lord will return, but we know that one day our time on this earth will expire. Knowing this alone is sufficient to get right with our Lord God, Creator. We do not want to get caught by surprise and suffer the judgment prepared for the devil and his angels.
Be blessed,
See you soon.
Will The Study of Revelation Help Me Become a Better Follower of Jesus Christ Today?
No comments:
Post a Comment