 |
| There shall come in the last days scoffers |
The Last Days and the Scoffers in 2Pet 3
Here is the Scriptures, 2Pet 3:1-7
3:1 ¶ This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3 ¶ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 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.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
=================
Some thoughts on these few verses.
Introduction
Remember this firmly in your mind: Apostle Peter was writing to the Jewish believers in around 66AD, to stir up their pure mind, urgently bringing to their remembrance the words of the holy prophets and the commandments of the Lord's apostles about one specific matter... the promised coming of the Lord. What is that?
Is that the coming of the Lord in judgment upon Israel in 70AD, as prophesied by the holy prophets, and solemnly reiterated by the Lord Jesus Christ (Mt 24-25), and faithfully taught by the apostles of the Lord? Or is that the coming of the Lord in consummation of the work of redemption at the end of the gospel age?
Which coming is Apostle Peter alerting the Jewish believers he was writing to? The latter is a very popular notion among the Gentile churchmen, embraced and defended by able theologians and students of God's word. I choose to differ. Let the reader judge for himself.
I. Apostle Peter's sense of urgency (v1-2)
He is determined to stir up the pure minds of the Jewish believers, to make them mindful of the words spoken by the holy prophets, and the commandments of Christ's apostles on the specific subject which shall be scoffed at in the last days.
- Apostle Peter wrote the second epistle circa AD 66.
- What is that subject? It is the promised coming of the Lord.
II. The scoffers in the last days (v3-4)
a. "knowing this first" - conveys a sense of importance, and urgency of the matter at hand.
- The matter dealt with was urgent because of its imminency, and will affect the recipients of the letter personally when it happens.
- The matter is not about something still far off into the future.
b. "in the last days" - what is the context of "the last days"?
- Many insist it is the last days of the gospel age/present world, i.e. Peter, presumably under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, was warning the Jewish believers of something still very far away in the future.
- Others understand it as the last days of the ancient theocratic kingdom of Israel, prophesied by the holy prophets, and repeatedly taught by the Lord Jesus Christ.
c. "there shall come... scoffers"
- Scoffers shall most certainly arise, and soon because the last days are drawing nigh quickly. Be vigilant, and don't be taken in by their scoffing. Therefore the great need for Peter to warn them.
- Who were they? They were unbelieving Jews among God's children, i.e. they walk in their own lust, insisting on believing on their own ideas instead of the words of the holy prophets and the commandments of the Lord's apostles on the subject.
- What were they scoffing at? They were scoffing at "the promised coming of the Lord."
d. "Where is the promised coming of the Lord?"
- The derisive and contemptuous question implies a few things:
i. they were well informed of the prophecy by the holy prophets, and by the Lord Himself, and faithfully taught by the apostles of the Lord too;
ii. the solemn and repeated warnings of the Lord Jesus as well as the faithful teaching of His Apostles about the imminent coming has stirred up and heightened the expectation; iii. long periods of time have passed and nothing has happened. Thus the derision and scorn expressed in the question.
The holy prophets prophesied hundreds of years ago, and Jesus Christ has prophesied nearly 40 years ago. But where is the prophesied coming of the Lord in judgment against Israel? Their conclusion - there will be no such coming of the Lord.
- Later the Apostle Peter corrected them that their reckoning of time and the Lord's reckoning of time are on an entirely different timescale! Therefore, just because long periods of time have passed, it does not mean that the prophecy has failed. The word of God remains immutable, and the prophecy will surely come to pass at its appointed time.)
e. The scoffers themselves reason like this:
- "for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." Therefore, it will continue and remain the same...
- What do they mean? Who are the fathers referred to? The fathers of what, and to who? What is the creation spoken of? How are the two related... the fathers and the creation?
- I suggest the fathers refers to the patriarchs of the ancient nation of Israel, and the creation refers to the birth of the theocratic nation of Israel. The Jewish scoffers don't call the non-Jews in such term! The scoffers are saying in effect, "See, ever since the beginning of the creation of theocratic Israel, ALL THINGS concerning our ancient nation has remained, and continued unto this day! It has remained for many hundreds of years!
- Therefore, it will continue and remain the same with our beloved ancient nation of Israel. The promised coming of the Lord to execute judgment upon, and to end Israel is just a hogwash!
- Thus, "WHERE is the promised coming of the Lord?" "No such nonsense," they insist.
f. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise", rebuts the insinuation implied in the question "where is the promised coming?" The Lord is not slack. He will come when the time is fulfilled.
- Any impression of delay or non-fulfillment was in reality, the Lord's longsuffering towards His people among the Jews, including those impudent scoffers. The Lord is not willing that any of His people should perish in the fiery judgment that was coming upon Israel but that all should repent of their unbelief on the prophesied destruction, and to take heed of the warning to flee. Not to do so would get them slaughtered and roasted by the Roman army executing the Lord's judgment.
- The Lord is not willing that any of His redeemed should perish in such shameful horrendous destruction stated in terms of cosmic and cataclysmic catastrophe, "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."
- It took some of God's children among the Jews, who were born, and grew up in the very bosom of the ancient theocratic Israel, a long time to come to receive the truth. Too many Gentiles are completely oblivious of this unique fact, and their great implications.
III. Apostle Peter exposing the scoffers' wilful ignorance (v5-10)
a. Apostle Peter countered that such scoffing is possible only because the scoffers are willingly ignorant, i.e. bury their heads in the mud, refuse to acknowledge the plain facts recorded in their own Scriptures, for the scoffers were unbelieving Jews. The scoffers are willingly ignorant of the historical facts from Scriptures.
- What are they willfully ignorantly of? The immutability of the word of God.
- By the word of God, the promised coming will be fulfilled. The word of God is immutable!
b. Apostle Peter raised two separate but related matters to demonstrate that exact truth.
- By the word of God, "the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water" Gen 1:9. Therefore doubt not the word of God concerning the promised coming.
- By the word of God, "the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." By the same word of God the world that then was, was destroyed by the universal flood, just as He had warned, and promised through Noah. "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die." Gen 6:17.
- The old wicked unbelieving world of Noah perished completely. Noah was brought safely through that universal judgment by believing in the word of God. He was delivered from the old world and brought into a new world (STILL HERE ON EARTH!!!).
- The flood that destroyed Noah's world was prophesied a long time before it came to pass. And it came to pass despite all the scoffing during the long years when Noah was building the ark. The word of God to Noah was fulfilled, after many years had passed, and despite so much scoffing.
- What made the scoffers of the last days think that the ancient "everlasting" theocratic Israel will stand one day longer than that which the immutable word of the omnipotent God has determined?
- There were scoffers in Noah's day too! No one had even heard of rain up till then. The idea of a flood is just too preposterous, insisted the scoffers then. Israel is an "everlasting" kingdom - it has lasted for millenniums, went through all sorts of extreme circumstances and remained. God Himself has preserved it.
- So, His promised coming to judge and obliterate Israel is just a hodgepodge nonsense, scoffed the scoffers.
c. "the heavens and the earth, which are now" - what are they?
- It is very popular to understand Peter as referring to the physical world that they were then living in. A few understand that Peter was referring to the religious world of the ancient theocratic kingdom of Israel, which has been kept and preserved by the word of God's power for thousands of years but was fast drawing to its end in the purpose of God.
- Where did Apostle Peter get the "terminology" from? He got it from one of the holy prophets, Isaiah. Isaiah 65 and 66 speak of the judgment and abolition of Israel (the old heavens and old earth), and the "creation" of the new heavens and new earth. The great truth of the "old" being replaced by the "new" is the chief subject of another epistle addressed especially to the Jewish believers, i.e. the epistle to the Hebrews.
d. "by the same word are kept in store"
- The ancient theocratic nation of Israel has been kept and preserved by the same word of God through thousands of years despite all forces to destroy it. It was everlasting only because it was kept by the same word of God. No human forces could end the nation of Israel. Nations came and went BUT Israel and all it represents have been kept by the SAME word of God. It will last, and has lasted until then.
- But its end and abolition have been determined by God. It has been prophesied by the holy prophets, and repeated by Christ Jesus, as well as taught by the Lord's apostles.
- Their appointed end was fast drawing nigh. The day of the Lord's wrath is at hand. The last days of the theocratic were at hand, and scoffers shall arise.
e. "reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
- That is the same as the coming day of the Lord spoken of. The great judgment upon Israel is described in cataclysmic and catastrophic language by Jesus himself. Read Mt 24. The same catastrophic language was used by prophet Isaiah, Isa 65.
- "Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.... Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not... And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:" Isa 65:7,12,15.
- It was in such context that we read this declaration, "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." Isa 65:17.
f. The parallel of the judgments in the flood and in the 70AD
- A parallel between the judgment of the old world of Noah and the judgment of the old theocratic world of the Jews is noted by Peter. There were scoffers at both, but the word of God will most certainly come to pass. In both, the world was ridden off the unbelieving wicked through the destruction of the old, and the making of the new world. Noah continued to dwell on in the NEW world on the same planet earth! The believing Jews after the catastrophic destruction in 70AD entered into a new world on the same planet earth without the wickedness represented by the geriatric theocratic Israel.
- Note the words of the Lord Jesus Christ confirming the same: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Mt 24:34-37
- "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; SO SHALL ALSO the coming of the Son of man be." Mt 24:38-39
The Lord Jesus Christ was PLAINLY speaking of the destruction of Israel. All those things came to pass in that generation... yes, in 70AD. The old "heaven and earth" of the Jews were obliterated, and bringing in the new! To the unbelieving, the prophesied judgment shall strike them like a thief in the night. They will be taken by surprise, just as in the days of Noah!
