A
Supplemental Message to Those
Who
Disbelieved Last Week's Warning
by
Minister Paul J. Bern
To view
this on my website, click
here :-)
Last
week, as my regular readers know, I published a post about how there
could well be an economic reset in the world's future, starting with
the United States. I also used a lot of Bible scripture to back up my
words. I got a lot of strong positive feedback about last week's
posting, but there was a fair amount of the negative kind too,
primarily from atheists and religious conservatives. I have found
myself on the receiving end of open derision from a small but highly
vocal minority because of my “radical” views, as one man called
it. 'How could there ever be an economic reset when capitalism works
so well', was just one of the replies I received (heavily edited, of
course). Apparently many of those individuals did not bother to read
the entire article or, worse yet, just glanced at the title and the
picture, and jumped to whatever conclusion suited them for that
moment.
The
Bible has a lot to say about nonbelievers, but I'm going to quote
this week from the Book of 2nd
Peter, something I don't often get a chance to do. Peter may have
been an illiterate fisherman who dictated the two small books named
after him, but he was filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts chapter
2), and as such he “wrote” some beautiful stuff, and I quote: “3)
Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will
come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4) They will
say, 'Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our
ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of
creation.' 5) But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s
word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of
water and by water. 6) By these waters also the world of that time
was deluged and destroyed. 7) By the same word the present heavens
and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment
and destruction of the ungodly.”
(2 Peter 3, verses 3-7)
Where
is Jesus? I thought he would have come back by now. What's the
holdup? These three questions are on the lips and minds of believers
and scoffers alike. After all, Jesus said about the End Times, 32)
“Now
learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender
and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33) Even so,
when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the
door. 34) Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass
away until all these things have happened. 35) Heaven and earth will
pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
(Matthew 24, verses 32-35) For those of you who may not know, 'the
fig tree' is a Biblical symbol for the nation of Israel. So these
words of Jesus, spoken when he was speaking to the Twelve about the
End Times, refer to the rebirth of the nation of Israel, which
happened in May of 1948.
“....when
you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the
door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away
until all these things have happened.”
So from these words of our Lord and Savior we can safely conclude
that the End Times that Christ spoke about in Matthew chapter 24 have
arrived, most likely beginning with the first two world wars. Since
the nation of Israel was 'born' on May 14, 1948, one could normally
conclude that one generation – roughly 70 years – away from the
nation of Israel's birth could be assumed to be 2018. But it's 2019,
people, and nothing having to do with a Second Coming of Christ is on
the horizon. It's been over 70 years, a generation plus one more
year, and still – nothing yet.
People
are beginning to have doubts because Christ's return is taking longer
than anticipated by many true believers, not to mention the skeptics.
But the apostle Peter knew through the indwelling of the Spirit
within him that this would occur. That's why he dictated the
following words as he continued in 2nd
Peter chapter 3: “8)
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day
is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9) The
Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance. 10)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and
the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11) Since
everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought
you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12) as you look
forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring
about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will
melt in the heat. 13) But in keeping with his promise we are looking
forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
(2nd
Peter 3, verses 8-13)
It is perfectly
normal to have generally doubtful or even pessimistic thoughts enter
our minds. It's even perfectly normal, believe it or not, to have
doubts about the Bible, about God, and about the purpose and meaning
of life itself. But
I think Peter was saying right here to stop wasting time worrying
about these matters, because they are often beyond our control –
but not all the time. In verse 8, Peter is saying as best as he could
that God is timeless, and that He operates in a higher dimension of
existence than ourselves. Since God does not experience the passage
of time like we do, his schedule, his timing, and that of humanity
often don't coincide. Often this can appear to us as if a certain
prayer to the Lord has not been answered. But oftentimes, it's not
that God isn't going to answer our prayers. He's just waiting for an
opportunity to give you even more than you asked for.
In
the very next verse, the Bible tells us plainly why Jesus will be
late in returning. “Instead
he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to
come to repentance.”
Jesus is waiting to return so that as many who want to enter into his
Kingdom, who want to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, can be brought
into it. The apostle Paul wrote, “God is not willing that anyone
should perish, but that all people come to repentance.” So there
you have it from the apostles Peter and Paul. God is going to wait
for as long as he can before shutting the door. But once that door is
shut, it will be shut forever, and then massive destruction will
come.
“....the
day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear
with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be
destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?”
Whatever nature this colossal event is going to be will be unknown
right up until the moment it happens, there can be no doubt about
that based on what I'm reading in verse 10. All indications are that
– based on how this passage of Scripture is worded – Peter was
speaking about some kind of massive cosmic event, either a large
asteroid or comet striking the earth. I'm sorry to disappoint some of
you, it isn't going to be Nibiru which, if it does indeed exist, is
somewhere beyond Neptune right now. That's past Uranus, past Saturn
and Jupiter too. It takes Neptune, the outermost planet of the four,
80 years to go around the sun. If Nibiru is beyond that, even if it
were headed straight for us it would take 40 or 50 years to get here.
Think about it, and do the darned math while you're at at so all you
people can stop worrying about 'Nibiru'.
“11)
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people
ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12) as you
look forward to the day of God and speed its coming....”
God is watching each and every one of us. Not to whack us on the tops
of our heads every time we're 'bad', but because he cares for us like
a parent would their little children. If you were raising kids, would
you give them candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Out of the
question! Would you take them to Six Flags or Disney World every
weekend, whether they deserved to go or not? As before, completely
out of the question. We are raising responsible adults, not spoiled
brats and car thieves. Notice the part where Peter states that we
“look forward” to Christ's return and that we are to “speed its
coming”? The reason Christ has yet to return is because we are not
ready for him to do so. And that's just for the believers. The
nonbelievers would simply be swept away if Christ returned overnight.
They would all be gone, and all their belongings with them, before
morning light.
So
Peter is clearly telling us that we need to clean up our act, and
that we are rapidly running out of time to do so. Otherwise, “That
day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
elements will melt in the heat.....”
“The heavens” presumably means the skies above us, implying a
natural disaster of such Biblical proportions that the earth's
atmosphere may be completely burned away, similar to what apparently
happened on Mars sometime in the distant past. In that event, the
earth's surface would be unlivable, but it would be possible to have
large pockets of breathable air underground in caves. Maybe the cave
men of 100,000 years ago lived there for the same reasons, having
themselves escaped a similar calamity. Could this have been what
Peter was trying to warn us about? Nobody knows for sure, but we all
had better live each day as if that one is our last.
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