In the Last Days
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2Peter 3:3-4)
WHEN I WAS A BOY, I HEARD PREACHING ABOUT THE "LAST DAYS." Some preaching pointed to the world war we were in and tied it to the “last days.” One said Hitler was the anti-Christ. Another said Mussolini, the Roman Dictator, was the anti-Christ. It sounded deep and exciting to me! It gave me the impression that the “last days” had not been here before but was just around the corner. It sounded like we were in the beginning of the “last days. (The truth is, in our life time we have been cruising into the end… of the “last days, not the beginning of the last days.” The “last days” have been around for two thousand years.)
I LATER LEARNED THAT GOD HAD REVEALED TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR a picture of the end of the “last days.” Young Daniel tells the king what the king had dreamed and then told him what it meant. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2:34-35).
THE STONE THAT STRICKES THE BEAST ON THE FEET AND DESTROYS IT is none other than Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”(Matthew 6:10) One day that prayer He taught us to pray is going to be answered! Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about it and Daniel taught about it. Jesus is that stone!
BUT,WHAT ARE "IN THE LAST DAYS?" John MacArthur tells us:”This phrase refers to that entire period of time from the arrival of the Messiah to His return (cf. Acts 2:17; Galatians 4:4; 2Timothy 3:1; Hebrews 1:2; James 5:3; 1Peter 1:20; 1John 2:18-19; Jude 1:18)” Got it? From the time of the arrival of the Messiah until His return.
JESUS IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, AND ALSO THE KING who is going to rule the world. So, the scoffers increase with their noise making, making fun of the One who is to come again. Peter was writing to persecuted people who were despised and were having a hard time while believing all the things Jesus and the Apostles had taught them. They were to patiently wait until Jesus returns and fulfills His earthly promises to them (and to us).
UP-FRONT: EXPECT SCOFFERS! There would be scoffers. Better get used to scoffers and mockers. But, what is the contest about? The big thing is that Jesus is coming back to earth as He promised. But…why has Jesus been gone for 2,000 years? Peter told us, publicly, on the Day of Pentecost.
ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST, PETER WAS THE PREACHER. Peter was the man to listen to. Included in Peter’s Pentecost speech were these words: And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:20-21) The world events are setting the stage for the continuing fulfillment of prophecy. Those things were not in place when Jesus first went back to Heaven. He will return: “In the fullness of time.”
“PETER UNDERSTOOD THAT HE AND HIS READERS WERE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS, the period of time between the Lord’s First and Second Advents. First of all means “above all” (as in 2Peter 1:20), foremost in importance. Scoffers are the false teachers who deny Jesus Christ (2Peter 2:1) and His return (2Peter 3:4). Jesus had said these heretics would come (Matthew 24:3-5, Matthew_24:11, Matthew 24:23-26), and Paul had written the same (1Timothy 4:1-3; 2Timothy 3:1-9). Peter echoed the warning, adding that their scoffing is accompanied by their… evil desires (epithymias, also used in 2Peter 1:4; 2Peter 2:10, 2Peter 2:18; Jude 1:16, Jude 1:18). Arrogant snobbery and disdain for the idea of a coming judgment led to sexual perversion.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary, written by the faculty of Dallas Seminary.)
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 8, 2018 – FRIDAY
A.M. 2Chronicles 26-28 P.M. John 17
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Memory Verse:
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (2Timothy 2:24)(Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket like President Abraham Lincoln did.)
Song for Today:
Heaven’s Jubilee (2:57) –(Ben Spears)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwWa87kz65A
Jesus is coming again! The “red-back hymnal” is in thousands of Bible-believing churches. Ben Spears’ father wrote this song and many of the songs in the red-back hymnal. How many times have I played this song for choir or congregational singing? A thousand times, maybe. This version is lively! Heaven will be a lively place! I love lively Gospel singing that is sincere and sung to glorify the Lord. I have no patience with slap-happy gospel music that is there to put on a show or that is insincere. Tears of joy and praise to God are in order! You may recognize Jeffrey Hawes as one of the group singers in this piece. He is from our community in Flat Rock, AL.
You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something else you do not want to hear.
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