“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.” 2 Peter 3:3-4
Read 2 Peter 3:1-7
Are the new heaven and the new earth nothing more than a dream, an illusion and a pious wish or are they a reality? The scoffers in Peter’s day had no use for the Christian’s hope of eternal life. They regarded their expectation as a fantasy world. Nothing would come of it. Everything would remain the same as it was from the beginning of time. They said it was vain to hope for a new heaven and a new earth, that the promise of Christ’s return would not be fulfilled.
You will come across the same type of people today. They are commonly found outside the church; however, they are in the church as well. If we are honest, do doubts not sometimes fill our hearts as well? Are our beliefs about eternity perhaps not a mistake? Are these promises really true? It is taking so long; will they perhaps not happen after all, for are delays not dangerous? Peter refuted those that ridiculed the Christians expectations. They were seriously mistaken. When God makes a promise, He also performs it. Peter used the great flood as an example from Old Testament history. That was a day of judgment. The Lord had predicted that it was going to take place and that day did come. The world was purified through this catastrophic event. After the flood, the earth resembled a new earth. The final Day of Judgment will come one day too. The world will not be destroyed by water but by fire. Heaven and earth will continue until that great day; then the ungodly will be utterly destroyed. This will be the terrible end of mockers. How blessed are those who have learned to hope and wait upon the Lord, for they shall one day experience that all things have been made new!
Thought: Do you ever reflect on the glorious future that the Lord has promised at the end of time?
Psalter 204:2,3,4 (based on Psalm 73) Ever, O Lord, with Thee, All shall be well with me, Held by Thy hand; And Thou wilt guide my feet By Thy own counsel sweet, Till I for glory meet, In glory stand. In earth or heav’n above Who is there that I love Compared with Thee? My heart may faint with fears, But God my strength appears, And will to endless years My portion be. O it is good that I May still to God draw nigh, As oft before; The Lord Jehovah blessed, My refuge and my rest, Shall be in praise confessed, Forever more.