2 Peter 2
2 Peter 2
By Dennis Huebshman
In numerous messages, I provided biblical end of age signs given by Jesus and Paul, with specific scripture listed. Mainly, they were Matthew 24 and 2 Timothy 3. I also referenced information from John and his main gospel (Chapters 10, 14, 16, and 20), along with 1 John 2 and 3. (any emphasis mine)
As of today, everything except the actual beginning of the Tribulation and the Rapture is very much present in our world. Numerous prophecy “experts” agree that the next main event on the countdown to the end of this era will most likely be the Rapture – calling up all believers to meet Jesus in the air, so that God will have fulfilled His promise to keep us from the Wrath.
There are numerous verses about our not going through the Tribulation, such as 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “…and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Also, the main rapture verses in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
In many of the posts which the Lord put on my heart, I also mentioned Peter as a source of end times material, but only used limited material from his epistles.
In 1 Peter 1:23, he tells us, “since you have been born again, not perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” This “born again” says that our souls have changed our destiny from condemnation, to one of salvation, because we became a member of Jesus’ flock by accepting His gift, and asking Him to be our Savior. From the moment we sincerely call on Jesus, our eternity has begun with Him, even though we are still on this earth.
Philippians 1:21 comes to life within us, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” If we are to die before the Rapture, our experience will be to change from our current life to be with our Savior immediately from that point on, and be with Him all through eternity.
Going to 2 Peter 1:20-21, we are told why God’s word is so precious, “…knowing this first of all, no prophecy of scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. (21) For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This should explain why God is angered by the false prophets that take His Holy Word, and twists the meanings to fit their own greedy purposes. This is why all the New Testament disciples speak out against false prophets and antichrists.
This is brought out further in 2 Peter 2, where he tells us about false prophets who were among the people of that day; and also said there “will be false teachers among you.” This speaks of a future time as well. He speaks of many that will follow them as the truth gets blasphemed. This is one thing that is obviously here today. He makes the point that God did not spare angels when they sinned, but put them in “chains of gloomy darkness” until the Judgment.
Peter tells about God not sparing the world, except for Noah and his family when He brought a flood on the “ungodly”. Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned, saying He turned them into ashes while sparing Lot and his family. Both of these incidents show that God can and will rescue the faithful, while punishing the unrighteous. It’s said the unrighteous will be “kept under punishment until the day of Judgment.” An example I have used is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. As soon as the rich man died, he was in agony. However, his final Judgment has not taken place. It will happen at the end of the Millennium at the Great White Throne – Revelation 20:11-15. At that Judgment, all the ungodly from the Old Testament up to the cross at Calvary, will be in that line. Also, all those who did not, or will not, accept Jesus as Savior from Calvary to the end of the Millennium will be there. They will be assigned their degree of forever punishment.
Peter speaks of those who “indulge in the lust of defiling passion, and despise authority” will be at that day of Judgment. They are blasphemers about matters of which they are ignorant. They have eyes full of adultery, and hearts trained in greed. He uses the illustration of following Balaam who loved wrongdoing, and was rebuked by a donkey talking to him in a human voice. (Numbers 22:21-39)
Peter ends Chapter 2 by saying those who have known about our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, yet turn back to the ways of the world, will be worse off than before. He says it would have been better for them to have never known or experienced the Way of Righteousness; and after knowing it, turned back from the Holy commandment that was given to them.
His example is a dog returning to its own vomit (disgusting), and a sow after being washed, goes back to wallow in the mud.
He was definitely speaking of all the apostasy (abandonment or renunciation of a religious belief) that was taking place in his day. His message is understood to include our times, and going all the way to the end of the Millennium.
Peter points out that the unrighteous will be held in a place of punishment until the White Throne Judgment, or as he says, “until the Judgment”.
As mentioned before, there will be more than one Judgment for the righteous; but to receive or lose rewards. These are not “punishment-oriented”.
Paul covers this in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (The only Way John 14:6) (12) Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw (our faithfulness in serving Him on earth), (13) each one’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (14) If the work that anyone has built on the foundation (on Jesus) survives, he will receive a reward. (15) If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
God knows each individual has different talents, and He asks that we use what was given us to serve Him. For someone to have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior, but not use the talent that the Father has given them, their “work” here will burn up as would hay or wood. This is not talking of being saved because of our works. All we can contribute to having Jesus in our lives is to accept the Gift that was paid for completely at Calvary. To try to “buy or earn” our Salvation is an insult to our Savior by saying His sacrifice was not enough.
Our “work” after we have received Jesus may be nothing more than praying daily for others. It could mean visiting the shut-ins or supporting missionaries. Not everyone is destined to preach the “Word”, but those who are, need to fulfill their part of the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:16-20)
One thing each of us needs to do is take inventory of what our capabilities are, and to ask the Father to lead us in whatever He wants us to do. You may not receive an immediate answer, but He will provide answers through the Holy Spirit. It’s up to each individual to respond when the opportunity presents itself.
This world is headed in a direction that can only lead to a “new world order” with a “one-world leader”. The speed of all this is increasing daily, and in some cases, hourly. Thankfully, that also means all believers are closer than ever to going Home. (Rapture) Jesus said when all the signs are present, to look up – our deliverance is very near. Against what some false prophets are saying, it will happen, and Jesus is the only Way, Truth and Life to keep us from the Wrath that is also coming. Call on Him today!
Ahavah Olin! (Love Everlasting!)