The Coming Day of Judgement

[0:00] Please turn your Bibles to 2 Peter chapter 3. Our attention will be directed to verses 1-10.

[0:14] ! Some of you have no doubt noticed that the sermon text and title are the same as last week.

[0:25] And the reason for that is the sermon did not record last week. And because I would like to have the whole series for 2 Peter recorded, I decided that I would preach that sermon again.

[0:44] But I also had the sense that all these things happen under the providence of the Lord. And so I thought maybe the Lord would have us to hear this sermon again.

[0:57] And I will endeavor to be clearer than I was last week. I will again try to allow for some questions and answers at the end.

[1:10] But I am not sure. Based on how our time goes, we will see. Because I did try to expand a bit on some of the things that I shared last week.

[1:22] 2 Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. Please follow along as I read. I am reading from the English Standard Version.

[1:36] This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.

[2:00] Knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, where is the promise of his coming?

[2:15] For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water, and through water, and by the word of God.

[2:42] And that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

[3:07] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved. That with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

[3:22] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you. Not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

[3:35] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. And then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved.

[3:47] And the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word.

[4:00] And we pause in this moment to ask for your help. Lord, would you, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, grant us illumination and lead us into truth.

[4:16] I pray for grace to be faithful to proclaim your word. And Lord, would you grant us grace to all here and obey your word as we should.

[4:28] We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Yes, Yes, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes and atheists raved and continue to rave about Bishop Curry's sermon, the sad reality is that for the faithful Christian, Bishop Curry's sermon gives reason to grieve rather than rave.

[5:23] And the reason that faithful Christians should grieve is that because Bishop Curry does not truly believe the Bible from which he read is the Word of God, without error and unchanging.

[5:43] And I say this because Bishop Curry does not accept God's revelation in Scripture that homosexual conduct is sin, and that marriage is an exclusive voluntary union of one man and one woman.

[5:55] Instead, Bishop Curry believes that marriage is inclusive, and he therefore supports homosexual marriage. He likens opposition to homosexual marriage to discrimination against blacks in the civil rights movement in the United States.

[6:15] He sees homosexual marriage as an issue that people should fight for in the very same way that they fought to bring to an end racial discrimination against blacks.

[6:29] I read the transcript of Bishop Curry's royal wedding sermon, and he had a whole lot to say about love. Brothers and sisters, the love that Bishop Curry talked about is not God's love.

[6:43] As one who rejects Scripture, and what it teaches about marriage and human sexuality, the love that Bishop Curry believes in is a love that hates what God loves and loves what God hates.

[7:00] Listen to these words from 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11. Paul writes, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

[7:14] Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

[7:35] But then Paul goes on and he says this in verse 11, And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.

[7:54] Brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that the unrighteous, among whom are those who practice homosexuality, will not inherit the kingdom of God.

[8:10] And Scripture says, Do not be deceived. And the reason it is there, warning us not to be deceived, is because we can be deceived. And by pointing to the formerly unrighteous people who were washed and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul holds out hope for all people, no matter what their circumstances, no matter what unrighteousness they practice.

[8:40] There's another clear passage on human sexuality in Scripture, and it's found in Hebrews 13.4. And there are others, but this is another that came to mind as I considered these things.

[8:56] Hebrews 13.4 says, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

[9:08] Here in Hebrews 13.4, we're being told that marriage is the only legitimate context for sexual relations. And we're being told that God will judge the sexually immoral, those who engage in sexual relations outside of marriage, be it heterosexual or homosexual.

[9:28] And he will also judge those who violate their marriage covenant through adultery. Brothers and sisters, Scripture could not be clearer on human sexuality and marriage.

[9:44] And so the question arises, how can any faithful minister of Christ deny God's word and support homosexual practice and homosexual marriage?

[9:59] And as I did last week, I want to say again this morning, I'm not here addressing those who struggle with same-sex attraction because the reality is we live in a fallen, broken world and sexuality is also broken.

[10:18] And one of the expressions of broken sexuality is some who are attracted wrongly to the same sex. Some have even gone as far as engaging in the conduct of homosexuality and have turned from it.

[10:35] And yet they still face trials and temptations to re-engage in that kind of conduct. But they resisted and they fighted in the same way that those of us who would not consider and identify ourselves as homosexual, we have to likewise fight sexual immorality and sexual temptation.

[10:59] So whether it is heterosexual temptation or homosexual temptation, we all are called to resist it. I'm not addressing those in what I've shared.

[11:12] I'm not addressing those who wrestle with same-sex attraction. That is a reality for some in a fallen, broken world.

[11:24] But instead, I'm addressing and talking about people like Bishop Michael Curry who claim to be a minister of the gospel and yet he rejects the word of God and supports homosexual practice.

[11:44] And in rejecting the word of God concerning what it says about homosexual practice, he's also rejecting the promise of judgment that we find in Hebrews 13, 4, where we are soberly and solemnly told that God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

[12:09] And brothers and sisters, this is no false warning or threat as we as parents sometimes engage in or our parents engage in where they say, I'm going to do this and they never follow through.

[12:23] No, this is the God of the universe who cannot lie and he says, I will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

[12:39] Now, if you're wondering why I raised this issue of Bishop Michael Curry in the context of this sermon in 2 Peter, here's why I do so.

[12:50] I do so because Bishop Michael Curry and those like him who reject God's word are modern day examples of the false teachers who existed in the day of the apostle Peter and who were denying the word of God and saying that Christ was not going to return and gave rise to the apostle Peter writing this letter that is before us.

[13:26] A different time and a somewhat different context but the bottom line is still the same. It is a denial of the very word of God.

[13:39] And so in this letter, the apostle Peter in addressing these false teachers, he addresses this false teaching that Christ was not going to return.

[13:52] He addresses their denial that Christ would not return. And he essentially makes this point in the verses that we have just read.

[14:04] He simply says, despite the long lapse of time, Christ will return and will judge the world. Despite the long lapse in time, Christ will return and he will judge the world.

[14:21] Peter is saying, don't be fooled by the fact that a lot of time has elapsed and Christ has not returned yet. He will return and he will judge the world.

[14:36] So at this point in the letter, Peter is directly addressing the church but he has the false teachers still in view.

[14:47] He's addressing the church now but he has the false teachers in view and he addresses what they have been saying in two parts. First, he rejects the lie that Christ will not return.

[15:01] We see his rejection in verses 1-7. And second, he affirms the truth that Christ will return and we see his affirmation in verses 8-10.

[15:14] And so in our remaining time I want to consider these two parts of Peter's argument. The first is he rejects the lie.

[15:26] Peter rejects the lie that Christ will not return. He begins by telling his heres that his aim in both of his letters is to stir up their sincere minds by reminding them.

[15:42] And the first thing that he wanted to remind them of is the predictions of the holy prophets meaning the Old Testament prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through the apostles.

[15:57] Peter was in essence saying to them that the false teachers denials were not surprising. There's no surprise here. He says the holy prophets predicted they would do this.

[16:11] The Lord Jesus commanded us concerning their denials. And Peter says in verse 3 you have been told this already scoffers will come in the last days scoffers will come following their own sinful desires.

[16:29] And by scoffing he means mocking or ridiculing downplaying and demeaning. Now this period of the last days that Peter refers to is considered to be the period of since Christ's death and resurrection until the last day of human history.

[16:50] So in a sense we've been in the last days for some 2,000 years. We shouldn't think that the last days are just with us theologically, biblically, that's when the last days began.

[17:00] starting with the death and resurrection of Christ and then ending the last day of human history. And notice what Peter says in verse 4 is the content of their scoffing.

[17:13] They will say, where is the promise of his coming? Forever since the fathers fell asleep all things are continuing as they were from the beginning.

[17:26] Now what's interesting for us this morning is that these scoffers would have been scoffing approximately 30 or so, 30 odd years after Christ had ascended back into heaven.

[17:43] Not a whole lot of time, but in their mind they're thinking this is a long time and so since Christ has not come, he will not come. And they went further to say and things remain as they always have been since the beginning of creation.

[18:01] And their point was the world will continue to go on. The world has gone on, it will continue to go on as it always had. And there are people who share this view today.

[18:15] There are people who believe that the world that we live in will never end. Some believe in reincarnation, they believe that even though we will die, we'll come back as something else in some form and there's just this renewing and ongoing continuation of the world.

[18:35] But in verses 5 and 6, Peter points out the error in their thinking. Look at what he says. He says, for they deliberately overlooked this fact that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

[19:06] Now, here's what Peter is saying. It's a somewhat complex sentence, but what Peter is doing is he is appealing back to creation. He is going back to creation.

[19:18] And what we're told is that at the beginning of creation the earth was one watery deep. There was water just covering the entire earth.

[19:31] And when you read in the account in Genesis, what the Lord did was the Lord then created an expanse in the midst of the water.

[19:42] So just imagine water is just being pushed up, water above, water below, and the Bible says he called the expanse above heaven and then even though that expanse had taken place, water was still all over the earth.

[19:57] And so what God did was God spoke and called all the water to go into one area so that the land was exposed and the dry area he called land.

[20:10] And it's quite interesting that when you read the Genesis account and you look at the geography of the world today, you realize that something had to have happened. because the Genesis account says that all the water is in one place and the earth was in another place.

[20:28] And God did all of this by his word. He did it by the word of God. But Peter's point is that that world no longer exists.

[20:44] That world that God created at the beginning, he says that world doesn't exist. He says the false teachers are deliberately overlooking the fact that things have not continued since the day of creation.

[20:56] Something happened. And the something that Peter refers to is the flood. He is referring to God's judgment on the earth.

[21:11] And when God brought that judgment to the earth, eight persons and the animals that were put into the ark with them, they were the only ones who were spared. Everything else, including all the trees and all the vegetation, perished.

[21:27] And what has come out of this, and geologists would confirm this, is that the topography of the earth has changed because of the flood.

[21:40] Peter says, these false teachers are deliberately overlooking the fact and the reality of God's judgment. And he says in verse 7 that the same word of God that created the world is keeping the earth and the heavens that now exist to be one day destroyed with fire.

[22:09] He says he's keeping it unto the day of judgment, when it will be destroyed, when the ungodly also will be destroyed. And so Peter's point is simple but it's very sobering.

[22:20] His point is that the first judgment was by water and it destroyed the ungodly. The second judgment will be by fire and it will also destroy the ungodly.

[22:33] So Peter's first point is, don't believe the lie that Christ is not coming back and there is no future judgment. Now you can only imagine when you consider that these scoffers were scoffing some 30 odd years after Christ ascended back to heaven.

[22:58] Almost 2,000 years later, just imagine whether that scoffing is verbal or expressed outwardly just by the way people relate to this life and to this world, they are rejecting any promise of the Lord's return.

[23:18] They are mocking with their lives, they are mocking how they live their lives more so than they might be mocking with their lips. They are mocking the idea that there is a future day of judgment and accountability.

[23:34] Their view is when you're dead you're done, it's all over, there's nothing else to look forward to. There is no afterlife. And even those who believe that there's an afterlife, they do not believe in judgment.

[23:51] And they believe that there's a happy ending for all. But notice what Peter says in the very last part of verse 7. he says they're being kept, all these things are being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

[24:18] Some of you may have seen a WhatsApp image that was circulating this week done by Jamal Roll, a very talented artist who does the cartoon in the Tribune.

[24:33] And he drew a picture of Princess Diana evidently looking over her son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.

[24:45] her son and when I saw it I thought it was pretty interesting the way he drew her because he drew her with angelic wings on. And it stands out to me because I see this so much.

[24:57] I see it every time any Bahamian of prominence dies. It matters not who he is or who she is. Cyburns, who is the cartoonist for The Guardian, he would always put them with wings and a halo and he would have them doing whatever they did on earth in heaven.

[25:17] He puts everyone in heaven. And that is the prevailing view. The prevailing view if you go to funerals and recently my lot has been to go to quite a number of them.

[25:32] And everyone gets put into heaven. heaven. And it's almost like what's happening to God is God is being subject to the political correctness that we see in our world today where people have to be so careful and so tender with every single thing.

[25:53] You don't want to make people feel bad or exclude people. Everyone has to be in and you have to do things in a particular way and you have to be careful with your words. And it's almost like God is too good to put anybody in hell so we put everybody in heaven.

[26:10] Brothers and sisters that is not true. And this is not an issue of goodness or badness. God's judgment is not an issue of goodness or badness from our vantage point.

[26:26] Peter says that the same word word that God used to create the world is that same word that God is using now to preserve this world and to keep it stored up for fire until the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly.

[26:53] Brothers and sisters these are sobering words. Peter was saying to his hearers don't listen to the false teachers.

[27:03] What they're telling you is not true. Christ is going to return. The judgment is not going to be by water now. It's going to be by fire and it includes the destruction of the ungodly.

[27:19] And one of the reasons we sometimes can find it hard to process why would God do this is we minimize sin. We don't see and not that we can see sin for what it is but we don't even begin to approach seeing sin for what it is.

[27:35] And we don't even begin to understand that sin is not in a vacuum. Sin is against the holy God. And if he did otherwise if he overlooked sin it would besmirch his own holiness.

[27:50] And because he is a righteous and just God sin has to be punished. And sin is punished in one of two places. It is punished on the cross on the back of Jesus Christ.

[28:03] Or it is punished in hell on the back of every unrepentant sinner. sin. And so Peter's point is staggeringly sober.

[28:20] There is a coming judgment. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in Acts chapter 17 verses 30 through 31. Paul says this to the individuals who were gathered at Mars Hill.

[28:40] He says the times of ignorance God overlooked but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. And here's why. Verse 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

[29:05] The day is fixed. Let's not let anyone fool us about the return of the Lord and the judgment of the world. That day has already been fixed.

[29:18] The judge has already been determined. The standard has already been determined. It's not going to be on a curve. It's going to be by the righteousness of the man whom he has appointed.

[29:36] And in truth the scoffers were not ultimately scoffing against the return of Christ. They were ultimately scoffing against accountability to God and the judgment of God that the return of Jesus Christ will usher in.

[29:57] Well, not only does Peter refute the lie that Christ will not return, Peter affirms the truth that Christ will return and this brings me to my second and final point, affirming the truth.

[30:12] Peter affirms the truth that Christ will return, but he tells us that it's difficult to know the timing of it. And he tells us the reason in verse 8.

[30:23] Look at what he says in verse 8. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

[30:36] Peter is saying to us that God's view of time and our view of time are different. He says one day is as a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years as one day.

[30:56] Essentially Peter is saying that what for us is a long time a thousand years for God is a short time a day.

[31:07] He's saying that we live in different time realities.

[31:18] We live in time God lives in no time. He lives in eternity. So a thousand years for us are like a day for the Lord and one day for God is like a thousand years for us.

[31:35] Now this morning I want to offer the same question that I offered last week concerning verse eight that has to do with Bible prophecy. What some people have done is they have taken verse eight and although verse eight does not equate a day to a thousand years they have equated a day to a thousand years and wherever they find a day in any scripture that deals with Bible prophecy they insert years for it and you're sure to run afoul of sound interpretation of scripture when you take that approach and so what we read in verse eight is that with the Lord a day is as a thousand years it doesn't say a day is a thousand years and so many people have in particular those who hold to the view of dispensationalism you can make a note of that and you can google it and you'll find some helpful definitions hopefully on that but dispensationalists believe that

[32:50] God has dealt with mankind through seven different dispensations and they try to map out how God deals with man using some what I would think are arbitrary events and they have it figured out in terms of when the Lord will come back some people even go as far as assigning dates to when the Lord will come back now last week during the questions and answers period I answered some questions at least one particular question that sparked a good bit of discussion and I understand why it would because most of us have been raised to believe dispensationalism dispensationalism is roughly a hundred odd years old it is new it is novel it is unheard of in church history beyond earlier than a hundred odd years ago but yet it's what we know and so when we hear something different generally speaking we tend to reject it as new when it actually may not be at all and so what I thought I would do this morning is I don't have the time to go into a whole lot of end time prophecy teaching and so forth but what

[34:15] I have found is this and let me just disclose this to you I grew up in a classical dispensational church the church of God Cleveland Tennessee they're still dispensational it is India's statement of faith and I used to teach the men's Bible study on a Saturday night and I would teach dispensationalism and the pastor would come to me and say it was Pastor Weaver he would say Brother Cedric that's just the way the church teaches it and he'd pat me on the back and I kept on reading and I was reading in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 and this would be in 1988 and it dawned on me that what I had been taught and what I was teaching did not line up with scripture scripture didn't support it and the issue that helped me to see that was the resurrection and so here's what I will say to you this morning if you are able to see in scripture the timing of the resurrection that is the most important piece in making sense of the big picture not all the details but of the big picture of the

[35:36] Lord's return and the end of the world so what I want to do is I want to quickly walk you through how I came to this conviction resurrection and I believe you can see it now because the texts are very plain but if you can't make a note of it study it and see how the Lord would convict you so here's the first thing the timing of the resurrection the timing of the resurrection five times in John's gospel Jesus himself says the resurrection takes place at the last day five times he says it in John 6 39 he says it in John 6 40 John 64 and John 654 and then he says it to Martha in John 11 24 when she said to him when he said to her do you believe your brother will rise again and she said to

[36:36] Jesus yes Lord in the resurrection at the last day Jesus never corrected her because that was what he himself said that the resurrection takes place at the last day the four references in John 6 Jesus refers to him raising those who believe in him at the last day so that's the righteous that he's addressing who will be raised at the last day these words of Jesus refute the idea that there will be two resurrections one of the righteous one of the wicked separated by a thousand years they refute it there's no way to reconcile the words of Jesus with this idea that there's going to be a resurrection of the righteous and then a thousand years later a resurrection of the wicked and the simple reason is Jesus says the resurrection of the righteous takes place at the last day you can't have the unrighteous being resurrected after the last day there are no more days after the last day the second passage is 1st

[37:45] Thessalonians 4 16 and this is the classic passage on the Lord's return it is read regularly it is preached regularly about the Lord's return because many say this is the rapture passage so if you would turn there with me 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 16 I'll see how quickly I can move through this 1st Thessalonians 4 and verse starting in verse 16 we read 16 and 17 Paul writes for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first now it is interesting that what

[38:53] Paul says here he talks about a trumpet he says there will be a trumpet sound the sound of the trumpet of God when you read the book of Revelation you read the whole scope of end time prophecies what scripture teaches us is that there are seven angels who will sound seven trumpets now here in 1st Thessalonians 4 16 and 17 Paul does not tell us a sequence of this trumpet he doesn't tell us the number or the place of this trumpet he simply says that this trumpet is going to sound but notice what he what he says in verse 17 he says sorry I didn't read 17 I'll read it now then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we'll always be with the Lord let's look now at 1st

[40:08] Corinthians chapter 15 and we'll start at verse 21 1st Corinthians 15 21 Paul writes for as by man came death by man has come also the resurrection of the dead for as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive but each in his own order Christ the first fruits then at his coming those who belong to Christ let me pause to say this the apostle Paul is talking about the same thing here that he talked about in 1st Thessalonians 4 16 to 17 the resurrection and the gathering of God's people to him to himself now notice what he says in verse 24 then comes the end then comes the end after this resurrection takes place then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the father after destroying every rule and every authority and power for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet the last enemy to be destroyed is death here's what we know when death is destroyed there are no more enemies for Christ to destroy it's a plain text in front of us he says the resurrection is going to take place then comes the end when the kingdom is delivered by the son to the father and every rule and every authority and every power and every enemy has been destroyed and he gives us a clue he says and the last one is death now when is death destroyed when is death destroyed let's keep reading we're not going to read the whole thing but let's jump down to the conclusion of Paul's argument starting in verse 50 still in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50 he writes

[42:41] I tell you brothers flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed let me pause there notice that now we have a number for the trumpet is the last trumpet this is the same event he's talking about in 1 Corinthians chapter sorry in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 it's the same event that he talked about a little earlier in 1 Corinthians 15 around verse 21 21 through 26 but now he says this is the last trumpet so we have seven trumpets seven angels sounded these trumpets the last trumpet but there's this song we used to sing at a faith temple and it's kind of written

[43:53] I guess it's an old folk song and it talks about I'm going to get out of the grave at the first trumpet sound no scripture says the last one not the first one but the idea is that God dispensationism teaches that Jesus is going to come and he is going to snatch the church out of the world he's going to sneak us off into heaven and then a lot of things are going to happen in the earth the Bible doesn't support that so he tells us it's the last trumpet but let's keep reading because that's not the main point I want to make in verse 53 he says for this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality when the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality he's talking about the resurrection he's talking about when our bodies are changed from these unglorious bodies to glorious bodies he says when that happens notice then shall come to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory oh death where is your victory oh death where is your sting now remember we just read a little while ago in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 26 it says the last enemy to be destroyed is death death is destroyed in the resurrection because when the resurrection takes place death has no more power over us death has no sting over us we have we have moved from the perishable death has power over the perishable not over the imperishable body that we will gain and so this is the resurrection that that is being talked about in 1 Thessalonians 4 16 earlier in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 20 through 26 and now he is affirming again here to the end this takes place at the last trumpet and

[46:10] Paul tells us that when this happens the end comes he delivers the kingdom to the father now there are a lot of things to be fitted in in that period of time but how does it happen you know what happens blink your eye that's how it happens it happens that fast he says it happens in the twinkling of an eye so we have simultaneous events really that are happening or events happening in so close a succession that we even can't determine the proper sequence of them and so this is important because if you understand the timing of this resurrection this is the big picture so I say to people all the time if you want a tribulation you have to have it before the last day you can't have it after the last day and if there is a tribulation then Christians are going to go through it because we're here until the last day and we should not be concerned about tribulation because God's people have always gone through tribulation and the tribulation that we read about in Matthew 24 in the Olivet Discourse

[47:13] Jesus himself said there never has been one like that and there will never be one like that and he was talking about the fall of Jerusalem that has happened that's not a future thing and that's why when Jesus says things like he said to them beware if your travel on that day is on the Sabbath beware if it's in winter those things don't bother us we could travel in winter Sabbath doesn't bother us but that was specific to the Jewish people and was specific to the invasion of the Roman armies and the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews that took place in AD 70 Jesus says there's never been one like it you read Josephus Josephus says that women were eating their children that's how bad the siege was in the city there's never been one like it there will never be one like it will God's people go through tribulation we should expect it but not to that degree never been one like it will never be one like it like it so this idea of a resurrection of the righteous they go up to heaven and then you have a thousand years of millennial rule on the earth is unbiblical not supported by scripture one last thing another aspect of the resurrection that we need to understand is that scripture teaches that there is one general resurrection with two classes two groups of people and this may be projected for you

[49:07] I think John 5 John 5 26 is that projected yeah this is what Jesus says for as the father has life in himself so he has granted the son to have life in himself and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man those two verses refer to spiritual life those two verses refer to a rising from the dead spiritually Jesus gives life to the dead to the to the spiritually dead the father authorized him to do it but notice what he says in verse 28 he says but don't marvel at this don't marvel at spiritual resurrection don't marvel that I am able to give life to the to the dead the spiritual dead and the reason is see Jesus could easily come and say receive spiritual life we would never know so we wouldn't really marvel at that because we'll never see the spiritual life imparted to that person at least not in that moment but Jesus says here's what I want you to marvel at that there is an hour that is coming when all who are in the tombs or in the graves will hear his voice and come out those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment notice one resurrection the hour all who are in the tombs they're all going to come out but they're two classes those who will be resurrected to life those who will be resurrected to judgment or to condemnation or to damnation one resurrection two classes in Acts 24 15 this is the apostle Paul testifying before governor Felix and he says this but I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect

[51:19] I worship the God of our fathers believing everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets having a hope in God which these men themselves accept and notice what that hope is that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust one of the reasons that the Bible doesn't say anything to us for example in 1st Corinthians chapter in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 about the resurrection of the wicked is because the context of 1st Thessalonians 4 was to comfort believers he's saying don't grieve over those who have fallen asleep as those who have no hope so he doesn't go into what happens with unbelievers scripture actually doesn't address it a whole lot but you realize and I know I'm getting all over the place now but you realize that for the wicked to be judged they have to get to heaven somehow in some way or unless

[52:28] God is going to relocate his throne down here to judge them because they can't go up there to be judged but I'm going to read a text shortly in Revelation 20 where the Bible says they're all before the throne now I don't know if the Lord is going to rent a jet to get them there rent Bahamas there to get all the Bahamians up to heaven when you're like that we'll be late we'll be late for the judgment if I'm going to take us so let's look at that last one and then we're going to move on Revelation chapter 20 starting in verse 11 then I saw a great white throne with him who was seated on it from his presence earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them and I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and the books were opened then another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done and the sea gave of the dead who were in them sorry the sea gave of the dead who were in it death and

[54:02] Hades gave up the dead who were in them and they were judged each one of them according to what they had done then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire this is the second death the lake of fire and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire couple of things one dispensationists will tell us that this is a judgment of the wicked so they say it's the great right throne judgment only wicked people are there no righteous people are there scripture doesn't support that the very text we have says that the book of life was opened there is no need to open the book of life if there are only unbelievers standing in that judgment because they are not in it then John also tells us in verse 15 he says if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the fire giving the reasonable indication that not everyone's name was not found written in the book of life if this was an exclusive judgment only to unbelievers without exception they'd all be thrown into the book of life because their names would not have been in the book of life notice that when you read this in context with the other passages that we read in 1st

[55:32] Thessalonians 4 and in 1st Corinthians 15 this is talking about the resurrection and it's also talking about death being thrown into the lake of fire now what does that mean how can you take death and throw it in the lake of fire you can't it's simply saying this death is destroyed it's a figurative language it's symbolic language and it is just to say death is no more the resurrection has happened death is no more death is no more power over us in that sense death and the grave death and Hades all of it is done away with but the book of Revelation is this symbolic kind of book so you see things in the book of Revelation like talking about John says he saw this mighty angel with this great chain and these keys to this bottomless pit and he takes the dragon and he chains him and he locks him in this pit I mean all he's simply saying is that keys represent authority and chains represent restriction he's simply saying that

[56:40] Satan is going to be restricted and bound not that he necessarily is going to be put in these chains in that sense and in the same way he's not telling us that there's something called death that God is going to burn up in hell burn up in the fire he's simply saying death is no more that's what he is saying well I trust this has helped you but it has been very helpful to me to understand the timing of the resurrection takes place to the last day when the resurrection takes place there are no more days things are happening in fast culmination the Lord is going to return the kingdom is going to be ushered in and there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth this doesn't fill in all of the questions I'm sure this doesn't answer a lot of questions that you have but here's what it will do for you it will protect you from dispensationalism and it will protect you from those who speculate on dates and events reading the newspaper and trying we don't read the newspaper to try to figure out what God is saying you don't watch the news and see what's going on in the

[57:51] Middle East and then read your Bible it should be the other way around read your Bible first and then try to figure that stuff out right I must move on and there's a whole section of the sermon I will not get to but we will cover it promise you during the conference this week because it touches on some of the things we are dealing with in the conference so back to 2 Peter and I'm going to wrap up Peter tells us because God is living in eternity because a thousand years with him is like a day God is patient he's in no hurry and verse 9 says the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some counts slowness but is patient toward you not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance this is a favorite go to scripture for those who would say that to believe that

[59:02] God before the foundation of the world elects specific people for salvation they would refute that and say no no no God wants everyone to be saved and he would not before the foundation of the world choose anybody in that way the problem with that is that scripture just refutes that idea look at Ephesians this will be projected for you Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 5 here's what it says blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will I highlighted and read four parts of those verses notice he chose us before the foundation of the world he predestined us according to the purpose of his will could not be plainer could not be plainer that's what

[60:18] God did he chose us and it's so important to recognize personal pronouns and how they're being used I remember talking with a good friend about this he says oh us means the whole world he chose the whole world I said that doesn't make sense because what that means is if he chose the whole world it means he predestined the whole world it means the whole world is going to be saved scripture says no there are going to be people in hell the whole world would not be saved the us refers to believers that's the only way it makes sense otherwise you get universalism he chose us Paul is helping the Ephesians to understand what happened in their salvation he is getting them to look back essentially saying you may have thought you chose God but your choosing was secondary to his primary choosing you before the foundation of the world but yet we have in our Bible 2 Peter chapter 3 9 God is not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance so how do we reconcile these two well the very short answer is that we have to hold them in tension we have to say both we don't choose one over the other we say both and what we know is that despite

[61:34] God's expression in this verse Peter relaying the Lord's heart that he's not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance there will be people in hell because the Bible does not teach universal salvation and so the way we reconcile it is this way what we see in scripture is that God has revealed to us remember this is a infinite God who has revealed to finite creatures like us expressions of who he is God has not fully revealed himself to us we do not fully know God we sufficiently know God to serve God but we don't fully know God if we fully know God we can say back over let me be God now it's my turn it's never our turn because he's always he's always God so what we see in God revealed in scriptures

[62:36] God has a will of decree and those things that he decrees he determines absolutely to bring to pass and he brings to pass and it would be like what we see in Ephesians chapter 1 that before the foundation of the world he chose us and he predestined us and what scripture teaches is that not one Jesus says it I don't have time to get to it but Jesus says it in John 6 he says all that the father gives me will come to me and none of them will perish all without exception will come to me so all those that Jesus is determined to save he will save so God's decreed will his will of decree he brings to pass and then there's God's will of desire where we see these expressions there's also an example of this in Ezekiel 18 where God says I don't take any pleasure in the death of the wicked but God expresses these desires but for his own reasons does not bring them to pass

[63:47] I mean think about it if the God of the universe wants to save everybody the God of the universe can save everybody but he doesn't and so we see these two wills of God his will of decree which would be attached to those whom he has elected and whom he has chosen for salvation and then his will of desire which will be expressed in a broader sense I have to leave it there but we will cover this in far more detail on during the conference the first night I'll be laying the foundation so we'll have time and we also have like three different Q&A sessions of half an hour each so we have ample time to work through these so please come if you have any questions about these things very next verse 10 Paul says this for the day of the Lord will come if you mark in your

[64:48] Bible please underline that those words for the day of the Lord will come and focus on it the day of the Lord will come brothers and sisters it will come indeed it is coming it will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed brothers and sisters this is the same coming of the Lord that we have been reading about nothing secret about it pretty loud with a roar heavenly bodies being burned up and and dissolved and earlier Peter tells us it will also mark the destruction of the ungodly but notice what he says in the latter part of verse 10 he says in the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed means we'll be laid bare it means it'll be seen for what it is and see brothers and sisters this should sober us because what it is telling us is that there are many things in this world that we don't see as we ought to see them they are somewhat camouflaged they are they're covered from ultimate reality and when

[66:20] Peter tells us that things will be exposed he's speaking about God's judgment and how when God's judgment comes it'll judge things in this earth the works that are done on it our priorities and everything else he will judge them in the light of truth in the light of what they really are they will be exposed for what they are and what we will see in some cases is we have had wrong priorities we have focused on what was not important and ignored what was important things will be exposed for what they truly are success will be exposed for what it truly is from God's vantage point and there many verdicts of success now that would be overturned on that day because we would consider people successful I saw the other day someone saying Sebastian is successful I wonder what God will say on the day of judgment!

[67:21] and some of the no name people some of the people who are struggling in our society some of the people who are being exploited in our society they will stand before the Lord and he will say well done he will say you are successful on the day of judgment God will expose all things for what they truly are and so brothers and sisters let us do our best to try to live in light of that day and to say God give me right priorities God help me to see things for what they really are I don't know if you've had this experience but often times I go to funerals and I find that at funerals I get adjusted I get adjusted in so many different ways I I tend to see more clearly I tend to I tend to see life for what it really is more than I did before going to the funeral funerals have an effect on us in that way brothers and sisters the coming day of the Lord should have a similar effect all the things that are done on this earth will one day be laid bare before the blazing eyes of the judge of the universe and he will pass his verdict on it may God help us to live in light of that day may God help us as we use our time as we set our priorities as we use our resources to be able to say

[68:54] Lord I am doing this aware that one day your eyes will be gazing upon it and you will expose it for what it really is may God help us to live for that day then God's verdict will be given on everything on this earth everything that is done on it let's pray God help us God help us God help us God help us God help us