Today seems like a great day to update everyone concerning Barb's health. After all, today is our 35th anniversary! Amen! Less than two years ago, I couldn't see this day coming. Barb was extremely sick with liver disease and bile duct cancer.
On November 4, 2016, the surgeon at Mayo Clinic called at 3:00 am with great news. They had a liver available for Barb! Later that day she received the transplant that saved her life. Her old liver had shut down completely and she was just weeks, if not days, from certain death.
Since then, as she continued to get stronger, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, her third different cancer since 2014 when she beat breast cancer. A small cancerous tumor was removed. Now she continues to be cancer free! Amen! She is a three-time cancer survivor.
Then, last fall she had a ten-day bout with double pnemonia, which landed her back in Mayo Clinic's hospital, on the tranplant floor where they always care for her. Again, she came through another tough time with flying colors. Amen!
Today she continues getting stronger every day. So much so, that Mayo Clinic doctors have cleared her to be able to travel. So, next Monday we are headed for California to visit her Mother and family. Mostly due to her illnesses, she hasn't been home for six years, since her dad's funeral. Now that will change. Pray the fires won't be a problem and that the extreme heat in California will lessen. Thanks, and God bless you all. Now let's turn to todays Bible Insight.
In Second Peter 3:5-7, Peter turns to Old Testament history to make a point: "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, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 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."
The false teachers with their uniformitarian view of history, ignore historical facts. "They willfully forget" (v. 5a) the biblical truth of history. They know the truth, but they shut their eyes to it. They ignore the historical evidence on purpose. They choose to disregard the biblical truth of divine retribution, because they love their sinful lifestyle. They want to do as they please.
They deliberately ignore two crucial events in history. The first is creation, where "by the word of God the heavens were of old" (v. 5a), or they were created out of nothing as God spoke. God merely said the word and everything instantly came into being. The story of creation in Genesis 1-2, when taken at face value without man reading his own doubts into the text, indicates that the creation was relatively recent, completed in six twenty-four-hour days, and the earth is young. The phrase "were of old" (v. 5a), does not imply that the earth is billions of years old, but easily fits with the truth of a young earth.
God created the earth "out of water and in the water" (v. 5b). Note Genesis 1:6-10, the second and third days of creation: "Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Then God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear'; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good."
On the second day, God gathered the upper waters into a vapor-like canopy surrounding the entire earth, and He gathered the lower waters into underground reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and seas. On the third day, He separated the land from the water, so dry earth appeared.
The second crucial event in history that they ignore is the world-wide flood of Noah. The perfect world didn't remain perfect. Man fell from grace, and sin became rampant on the earth. Genesis 6:5-8, 11-13 tells the story: "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. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD… The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.'"
The result was judgment by Flood. Peter said simply, "the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water" (2 Peter 3:6). The false teachers refused to view world history through proper eyes. They were ignorant of the truth by choice. Today revisionist historians make the same mistake and do the same thing. They deliberately deny both the creation story and the Flood—the two catastrophic events that easily disprove their uniformitarian views.
God promised that the earth will never again be destroyed by a universal flood (Gen. 9:11, 15). But that does not mean there will never again be judgment. As Peter said, "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). The sin of ungodly men will not be overlooked. Judgment will come, and it will come by fire!
Now, Peter turns to eternity to make his point: "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" (v. 8). Peter's argument, pushing back against false teachers who scoff at the delay of the Lord's return, involves a quote from Psalm 90. In Psalm 90:4, Moses said, "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." Our perspective on the passing of time is quite different from God's. We are finite and exist in time; time that God created. For us, it seems like time moves slowly. When waiting for something special, a few days seem like an eternity.
Not so for God. He is eternal. He always has been, is, and always will be. In fact, God created time when He created heaven and earth, the stars and the planets, man and animals; He put time in motion. Having always been, to Him a few days is nothing. As Peter said, "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8b).
From where we stand, we view history as past, present, and future—what was, what is, and what is to come. From where God stands, being eternal, everything is ever before Him, everything is present—what is, what is, and what is. We can remember the past and see the present, but we have no clue what the future holds. God sees and knows it all, including the future, as one big event. It is all ever before Him. That is why for God, time is just a drop in the bucket. His perspective is timeless.
What may seem like a long time to us, is nothing to God. It may seem to us that the return of Christ is a long way off, but from God's perspective it is quite imminent. We must not try to limit God and hold Him to our time schedule. The Lord Jesus will return at the exact moment God decided in eternity past. "Do not forget this one thing" (v. 8a), said Peter. The Lord Jesus will return in God's time, not ours. To demand otherwise, or to think He is not coming at all because He has not come in all these years, is foolish. Remember, God inhabits eternity, and His timing is perfect. So, keep an eye on the sky!
Finally, Peter appeals to the character of God to complete his point: "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" (v. 9). Peter is saying that the reason Christ does not return immediately is to allow sinners ample time to repent. God is patient with sinners. Any waiting is because of God's gracious longsuffering. It is not that He is not coming; He is! It is not that He is indifferent, or powerless, or distracted. It is just the opposite. God is merciful and forbearing. He delays His return, so that as many sinners as possible might come to repentance.
Scoffers argue that the Lord is slow at keeping His promise, so they question whether He will return at all. Peter counters by appealing to God's character: "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness" (v. 9a, NASB). "Slow" in Greek, means "delayed," or "late," or "loitering" (MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 2 Peter & Jude, [Moody Publishers: Chicago, 2005], 121). Not so for God.
His apparent "slowness" (v. 9a), is directly related to His "promise" (v. 9a). In fulfilling "His promise" (v. 9a), God is working out His perfect plan. He will return when the time is right; when as many sinners as possible have been saved. It is the same principle as at Christ's first coming: "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. 4:4).
"Longsuffering" (2 Peter 3:9b), or "patient" (NASB), translates a compound word in the Greek, that combines the words "large" with "great anger" (Ibid). It shows God's ability to store up His anger and wrath for a long time, before it gives way to judgment. Judgment is inevitable, but God's longsuffering or patience beforehand gives the sinner ample opportunity for repentance and salvation. Not all will be saved, but all will certainly have plenty of opportunity.
Time is wasting. Delay no longer. Don't let another minute go by without acknowledging the truth. Repent and trust Christ alone for your salvation. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2b). Amen.
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