What Ready Looks Like • 2 Peter 3:10-18

55:20 Teaching begins

Notes

God created the world with purpose that nothing can erase: it’s made for judgment.

He created time, too. Time has a purpose: to prepare us for eternity.

Peter wrote to prepare his readers for that time when time runs out. They need to be ready.

You might know the Larry Norman song, “I wish we’d all been ready”.

We want to be ready. What does “ready” look like?

It means that you are found the way Jesus wants, and that you affect others around you as well.

I’m reading in 2 Peter 3 from verse 10.

1. We’re to be ready for the coming of Jesus. Peter refers to His coming in three ways.

A. He calls it the Day of the Lord. It is specifically the revelation of Jesus Christ in glory as God.

1. Jesus came the first time in humility. He was born as a real human being in order to be a substitute for us. He fulfilled all the requirements of God’s law. That righteousness is complete. He fulfilled all the curses in God’s law for disobedience. All the punishment we deserve for our disobedience and rebellion fell on Jesus. Through Him we get to announce the forgiveness of sins to anyone who receives Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We urge everyone to be saved from this wicked and perverse generation.

2. Jesus is coming again into the world, but this time He comes in glory, as the Lord God Almighty. He returns to judge and rule. He will smash all rebellion and wickedness. He will assign punishment and rewards. He will restore the creation to perfection and rule in righteousness.

B. The second reference to this day is verse 12, the Day of God. God is the outstanding characteristic of this day.

1. Isaiah 11:1-9 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

2. It won’t be like now, when you see God marginalised, unjust leaders taking advantage of people and betraying their trust. It looks like evil gets away with murder.

3. In this Day to come God will be everywhere, obvious. Zechariah 14:20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. That phrase was engraved on a plate of gold and attached to the high priest’s turban. The high priest is supposed to be holy to the Lord, but in that day everything will be holy to the Lord, down to the bells on the horses. The Day of God, and He will be exalted in that day.

C. The third reference is in verse 18. “Forever” is literally to the Day of Eternity.

1. We read of the Last Judgment in Revelation 20 when the unrighteous are cast into the lake of fire, when even Death and Hades are cast in. Those are intermediate existences, they have to do with time. But the lake of fire is eternal. When they are cast in the lake of fire that means there is no more intermediate existence. That punishment of God is forever.

2. But God’s blessings are forever. Revelation 21:1-5 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

D. There is a day, a time, coming, then, when God is going to reveal Himself in glory, judge the world, and bring everyone to either eternal punishment or eternal blessing. The day of the Lord, of God, of eternity.

2. Peter shows us the beginning of that day, and the end of the world.

A. He says that it comes as a thief in the night and results in a huge explosion and fire that burns up the heavens and the earth. These two things don’t happen on one 24 hour day.

1. You can use the word “day” to refer to an age or a time characterised by something. The day of the British Empire is over. That wasn’t a 24-hour day.

2. Jesus also used this expression when He told the Jews, John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” It’s singular, and it refers to a time, an age characterised by something.

B. The beginning is like a thief in the night, which means no one will notice when the Day of the Lord begins.

1. You can’t see it, hear it. It sneaks slowly and stealthily to escape notice. No one is going to notice when it happens. No one will even know it’s begun until it’s too late.

2. What that will be is the Rapture of the Church. Jesus will take all the church, living and dead, out of the world in a split second. This is 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 3:10.

3. The scenario in the Left Behind series that there will be worldwide panic and disruption is wrong when you think about it. My sainted wife is gone! The Rapture happened! I’ve been left behind! Not one person on earth will know what happened because they don’t know the Bible. No one will know enough to say, hmmm, was that the Rapture? They’ll just say, funny thing, that, haven’t seen that guy in a long time. If they even think that far.

4. Not only will it be fast, silent, unnoticed, but it will happen in a peaceful way that won’t disrupt anyone or call anyone’s attention. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. My own thought: what if it happens during a lockdown?

5. The reason that the church leaves the world first is because there is nothing that has to happen before that. Jesus said be ready. That’s all the warning you need. You don’t know when that’s going to happen so you need to get ready right now. Do you understand that Jesus isn’t kidding here?

B. Paul says the Day of the Lord is like labor pains. You get a errnh. Was that something or is it a false alarm? Oh, no, that was something. And then it gets more and more painful and the waves of pain all merge into one big ahhhhhhhh I can’t do this! That’s going to happen over seven years, says Daniel 9. Revelation also says that multiple times.

C. Then Jesus comes and every eye will see Him. He will destroy all opposition, set up the kingdom of God on the earth and rule for 1000 years. It says that five times in Revelation 20.

D. After 1000 years the devil is released from the bottomless pit to deceive the nations to rebel against Jesus and they do, and then fire from heaven falls on them and burns them up. Then we go into the last judgment and eternity.

E. It is all the Day of the Lord, the Day of God, the Day of Eternity.

3. Peter emphasises that the heavens and the earth will be burned up with fire.

A. The elements will be destroyed with intense heat, the elements will melt.

B. Secular understanding theorised that there were four elements: air, fire, water, earth. Everything that exists supposedly was made of varying degrees of these elements.

C. Knowledge has increased. We know more about the underlying elements that compose everything, that there is tremendous energy holding the atoms together. If you split that atom you release huge amounts of energy. In the universe there are billions of stars comprising billions of galaxies. Billions times billions of fusion reactors ticking away. What would happen if God relaxed His grip on quadrillions of fusion reactors and just let them go supernova all at once? I think that would result in a pretty big lake of fire. That’s my speculation, that’s not written in the Bible.

D. It does says here that the basic materials of the universe will be destroyed. God will burn up the fabric of reality.

E. It’s not important to know how the lake of fire comes to be. It is important that no one here goes there.

4. Therefore Peter wants his readers to be ready for the Day of the Lord.

A. He says, 2 Peter 3:11-12 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 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? What does “ready” look like?

B. Ready means living holy, being godly. This focus on God is what the Day of the Lord is all about. It’s what eternity is all about. That is to be our lives right now. Be diligent to focus on God because this earth is passing away. There’s nothing for you here.

C. Ready means patience. God is suffering long with people because He wants them to repent and come to a knowledge of the truth. So being ready means You’re going to suffer long with sinners so they repent and come to Jesus. You put up with a lot to save people.

D. Ready means being taught and stable. You notice in verse 16 about the untaught and unstable?

1. We are to be on guard against them. They twist the Scriptures to make them say something other than what God intends. Literally they torture the scriptures. Their attitude toward God is violent, their attitude toward you is violent—they will torture you if you allow them. There is no holiness, no godliness, no peace, no diligence, no patience, in false teaching.

2. In order to be on guard you need to be taught and stable. You need Bible teaching without twisting and torture. I looked up what the opposite of torture is: it’s heaven, it’s paradise. I looked up what the opposite of enemy was: it’s saviour. Do you know if you submit to your Saviour he will not hurt you? He will teach you and you will have peace and stability.

3. Isaiah 54:13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.

4. Psalm 119:165 Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

5. Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

E. Ready means growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. You’re not there yet. You’re not perfect. You still make mistakes. You still sin. You are not proud of that. But you know what to do about it: go to Jesus.

2. You know Him by experience. By His word. By prayer. By living with Him. By being filled with His Holy Spirit. By being poor in spirit, knowing your weakness, and His power in your weakness. By knowing the love of Christ that passes knowledge so that you are filled up to all the fullness of God. Do you know Him?

3. There’s always more. My grandmother said to me once, “Rob, He’s more real to me than you are.” There’s always more. So you don’t get arrogant and unpleasant and angry and stressed out and fearful and lose the plot.

4. This present time is the patience of God for salvation. Are you using the present time wisely? If you are, you are ready right now and you will continue to be ready.

5. So what?

A. Are you losing your life for Christ? That will hasten the Day of the Lord. If you hold on to your life in this world you will lose it. The very fabric of reality is going to burn up. We want to live for this Day that is coming.

B. The great fear when we think of this is: what about my unbelieving family and friends? They don’t know Jesus yet. If I get ready and actually hasten the day of the Lord, I’m dooming my relatives! Then I better hold back and give them more time.

C. Is that what these verses say? When you interpret it that way it sounds like God wants your family and friends to die. When you get ready for Jesus’ coming that means you leave your family behind. Let’s not twist or torture the Bible.

D. You check your idea by asking, does that agree with the context of the Bible? Does God want my family to die? Well, let’s look at the context of this chapter, even. Verse 9 God does not wish for any to perish but that all should come to repentance. If you get ready and stay ready for Jesus’ coming that doesn’t doom your family. That’s not why God says that.

E. When you live for Jesus and focus your life on God it affects others. They can’t help but notice. You are that city set on a hill that can’t be hidden. You are a light in a dark place. The testimony of your life says God is real. The proof of it is you love people with God’s strong, faithful love. Love isn’t weird, spooky, unnatural, revolting. Kindness and patience draws people to Jesus, it doesn’t repel them.

F. If you hold back on following Jesus what profit will there be? You won’t affect others, and you yourself won’t be ready. Does that make any sense at all?

G. Peter spoke about Paul. There’s no conflict between them; they agree in every way. Paul says something great to Timothy on this very thing. 1 Timothy 4:15-16 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

H. As you increase in love, holiness, peace, stability, humility, purity, it will be good for you and good for everyone around you. That’s the right way to live in these last days.

Let’s pray.