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9/1.
Still in a land.
Mike mentioned before we pray, Manuel Adamus called me.
Just a few minutes ago and you said that Rafael and those that were with him had a very difficult time with the fuel situation in Cuba. They had to go to 10 gas stations before they were actually able to fill their vehicle up. There's like an acute fuel shortage even in Havana, which is very unusual for Havana to be scarce of fuel so.
We might just pray that the Lord will preserve and open the door to be able to travel a little bit. It may be that when Manuel and I go, we'll have to stay local to Pontelegre and Chambas.
Gracious Father, you know all about these difficult situations, and it's a wonderful thing to be able to come. And if it's your will that Robert Manuel go, we do pray to provide what is necessary. We look up to one who is overall. And so as we begin this meditation, time of meditation of Thy precious word and the subject that we've taken up, we do pray that Thy Spirit would have liberty.
To use me well, give us grace, Lord, to say what you give us, and then to leave room for others as well. We give thanks, Father, for the time together. In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen. Amen.
00:05:20
For those that may not have been here.
Yesterday we had second Peter 3 before us in the in the reading.
How far do you think we got, Bob? I think about verse seven, wouldn't you say? Sounds about right, yes.
From Two Peter 3.
And.
Starting at verse 7. Two Peter 3. Starting at 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. But the love be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as 1000 years, and 1000 years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us. Word not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in 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.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God?
Where in the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved?
Seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye be that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.
An account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, has written unto you.
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to be understood.
Which they that are unlearned and unstable, rest, as they do also other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
He therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being LED away with the air of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.
I know we did comment on verse seven a little bit yesterday, but it bears going over again. It was mentioned that the heavens and the earth which are now are kept in store, reserved under fire until the Day of Judgment.
And kept in store, I believe can be looked upon in two ways.
In the first place.
It's the absolute assurance that God.
Is going to carry out the judgment and as we know at the end of the millennial day.
He is going to consume the heavens and the earth that are now with fire.
But keeping them in store, I believe, has an encouragement for us.
Everyone is all worried today, or I shouldn't say everyone, but many people are worried today about the environment and what's going to happen to this planet if we don't do something about it.
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Well, I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way, but I believe every Christian should be an environmentalist in the sense that this is the Lord's creation and we ought to treat it with respect. But at the same time, we ought not to be all concerned about whether the planet is going to survive until the time when the Lord decides to burn it up.
The Lord assured Noah when he came out of the ark that as long as the earth endure, there would be 4 things, summer and winter, day and night, sea time and harvest and.
What's the 4th 1:00?
Hear me listen. Harvest seek time in Harvard, summer and winter, day and night.
Better turn to it.
What happens when you get old? You can't rhyme things off as we cold and heat, thank you, cold and heat. And so God has promised that the earth is going to endure and it has to last at least another thousand years, even if the Lord came today.
Again, that doesn't mean that we should be careless and wanton in our treatment of the resources God has given us.
Nor does it mean that we should deliberately waste things that God has provided for us, but at the same time.
They're kept in store until that day, and there's going to be, as we know, marvelous blessing in the Millennium, blessing that this Earth has never seen since the Garden of Eden.
Marvelous blessing, but then when this Earth has run its course.
When God is finished with it, He's going to burn it up. And as we find later on here in this same chapter, there will be a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. So that at the same time is a comfort to our souls and an assurance, while also reminding us that the judgment is going to come just as the Lord has said. And this earth is kept in store in the heavens too.
In view of that day.
On verse six, it was the world that was that then was.
Which was before the flat, and it's interesting to think about the difference between the world before the flood and after.
It does seem that there was a Cape of water over the atmosphere. That probably.
Concentrated the oxygen content in the atmosphere. And that's why mankind lived so much longer before the flood. After the flood, you notice the dramatic reduction of human life. Noah got up to 950, but his children only got up to 600.
And that is 400 and then 200. I think Abraham's father was 205 and Abraham 175 and Isaac 180. But it just is dramatic, the reduction. And so that was a different world then. Another thing, before the flood, mankind did not eat meat.
They only ate of the herb of the ground.
Fruits of the Earth and so I'm sure that made a difference.
Another thing, the animals did not have the fear of man. They did be after the flood. It was after the flood that God put the fear of man into the animals. And so there was a different world back then, but it's interesting. It's the world that now is, and that's the world we live in today. And it's interesting that God gives us the perspective that he does and I think.
Say, Bill, about environmentalists and the effort to take measures to preserve the world are those who do not have this perspective at all that God is going to intervene very directly. And I'd like to read in Romans chapter eight of one of the things that's going to take place. It'll be a different change in the environment too, but it will not be a different earth.
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It'll be the same earth. But notice what it says in Romans 8, verse 20. The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the ******* of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation grown up and travaileth in pain together.
Until now not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit.
Even we ourselves grown within ourselves, awaiting the adoption.
To whet the redemption of our body, so that in the millennial day, the ******* of corruption.
Is going to be taken off of this creation.
I really think it's going to be incredibly different, and you think of the different things that God announced to Adam and Eve and to the serpent that were the result of sin in Genesis chapter 3. That's the ******* of corruption that was put on mankind.
And since man is the head of his creation, even though it wasn't their decision, the animals and the plants, to have to undergo the ******* of corruption, they are included in that, and that's going to be taken off of the creation. What a different world it will be.
I stand to be corrected, but I think that during the Millennium.
Satan is going to be bound and so people will not be deceived the way they are today.
And so if a person sins during the Millennium, he will know he's doing it in direct rebellion to the Lord Jesus.
And he's going to be cut off the next day. But those that enter in to that millennial day, I think there will be a great number that will pass the thousand year mark before the flood of his 969, as far as we know, the highest that they got up to. Do you think that is right, Bill, that you can see? Think it'll be over 1000 years. They will live. That's the way I looked at it. And those that survived the Millennium.
Maybe that's the wrong word to use, but those that live through the Millennium will.
Go into the eternal state that's mentioned here, won't they?
So it's an amazing thing. It's the ******* of corruption that's going to be lifted off of this creation. Incredible. And we have a lot of descriptions of that in the book of Isaiah. I just like to notice that because in this section we are in our chapter three of Second Peter, it talks about the day of the Lord. And I just like to say the day of the Lord.
Begins at the end of the Great Tribulation.
When the Lord Jesus comes in person, that man this world saw.
Last on that cross.
Hanging dead. That's the last glimpse this world had of the Lord Jesus. The next time they see Him, He will be coming in power and glory to reign supreme, to impose His rule and authority in this world. That is the day of the Lord. And the day of the Lord lasts for 1000 years like Bill was mentioning.
And at the end of the day of the Lord is when this present earth and the heavens and the earth that are now will be dissolved. And so it's going to be a glorious day. In fact, brethren, I honestly have to say when I look at Scripture, I don't think there will ever be a more glorious day than the day of the Lord when Jesus comes back in person.
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To reign supreme.
And you know what? You and I are going to be accompanying him in that day we're going to have.
A eyewitness seat to see that day when the Lord Jesus takes the Kingdom and reigns supreme and puts down his enemies under his feet and reigns supreme. Oh, what a glorious day. People ask me if I've gone to the Holy Land. I say no, I haven't, but I got plans to go.
I think you do too, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus.
Over today it's going to be we should live for that day. This is the day that we should live for. We look forward to the rapture. Yes, that's our hope. Lord Jesus come, but we also look forward to the day of his appearing when he will reign supreme.
We often look forward to the Lord's, the rapture, the Lord's coming for us. But if you look at Second Timothy 4 and verse 8, there's a crown, a reward for those who love the appearance. So it's a nice verse here in Second Timothy 4, verse 8, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them also that love is appearing.
So we we can look forward to this day when the Lord Himself will be glorified before everyone.
In Titus chapter 2 also and verse 13 it says looking for that blessed hope, that's the rapture.
And.
The appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Like I say, I don't think there will ever be in human history a day as glorious as that day. It's interesting to me to notice that even.
Enoch, who lived before the flood.
Prophesied of that day, you might say. How in the world did he know about it?
Enoch walked with God, and I think one day God said to him, you know, I want to tell you about something that's coming.
And it's when the Lord will come with 10 thousands of his Saints to execute judgment.
Oh, what a day that's going to be. That's the day we live for, Brethren, young people. We live for that day. We're not living for anything great down here in this present world. We're living for that day.
It's interesting that verse that was quoted in brother Tim just quoted in second Timothy, it says that we unto all them also that love his appearing, but then very just the next verse down a couple verses.
Her demons hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. So there's one or the other, and so the heart cannot be divided on this matter.
Short comment.
Noah did get a warning from God.
And he took that morning very serious and started to build Narc. And in this moment he did condemn the world.
But that does that mean the result was he knew there would come judgment?
And the people didn't believe.
That's so terrible.
And the result was judgment by water.
And now we should give us a rhetoric rhetoric question.
Why now? Judgment before the day of the Lord.
And this is not a judgment by water, it's a judgment by fire.
Well before the day of the Lord can appear and can start, the Creator has to prepare and to cleanse that place where the Millennium should be occur.
As it is in our days, in the same way like Noah's days if you tell people.
Judgment is coming. There is a hell if you don't repent.
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You get lost or whatever. You will meet Jesus Christ as your church if you have and not as your Savior. People look to you. You are from a different star. They do not believe.
And it was on my heart yesterday, but my voice didn't help me out yesterday.
We heard a lot about the word, the word of the scripture that it is the truth and I want to give.
The young people.
A very simple help to understand that we cannot discuss about the truth because the word of God is something we can believe or we don't believe. The word of God is nothing for human intelligence to explain that it is true.
The Word of God is in itself the truth. You believe or you don't, and then the Scripture tells us here that there will come a day of judgment.
You should believe it will come.
That were the day of the Lord is a expression that occurs a lot in the Old Testament prophets. They knew about this day that we're talking about now and Isaiah talks a lot about it. It shall come to pass in that day and he talks, he gives us details as to what's going to happen and Joel is another.
Scripture that talks a lot about the day of the Lord. It's the day when God will vindicate publicly His own beloved Son.
Thank God he's going to be vindicated, fully vindicated, brother. He's not vindicated yet in this world, but he will be.
That should thrill our hearts, and it does thrill our hearts.
Might be good to just turn to Joel and read one of those quotations. It's Job, chapter one, verse 15, and he says, Joel, I'm sorry, chapter one, verse 15, Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand.
And as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come, So the Old Testament prophets, they knew about the appearing of the Lord Jesus.
As you mentioned, Enoch prophesied, he actually preached and there was Noah preached that there was judgment coming, but they did not know about the rapture. And so that was something that was revealed to the the Lord himself gave the seed plot of it in John's Gospel chapter 14. He said if I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That's where I am. There ye may be also.
And so those Old Testament Saints didn't know how they would their bodies would arise and how they would be there with the Lord.
When he came with 10 thousands of his Saints, I think it says is it in Zechariah that he's going to come with all his Saints, not one missing.
Every single one of faith from Adam right to the time just before his appearing that will be raised Revelation chapter 20, the last installment, you might say, of the resurrection, the first resurrection, every single St. of God.
Will be there with the Lord Jesus and he will display his own with him, and those crowns of glory that have been bestowed upon his beloved Saints will all be in display and so will augment the glory of Christ himself at his appearing. There'll be a wonderful thing. I might just point out the in Matthew chapter 13, I think it's chapter 12 and 13, the appearing is spoken of.
And the rapture is spoken of in chapter 25. I'm sorry, chapter 24 and chapter 25. And it's good to get the distinction.
Verse 42, Chapter 24, Matthew Verse 42. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. He's speaking to Jewish people, Jewish disciples here. But know this, that if the good men of the house had known and what watched the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour she think not the Son of Man cometh.
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So the Lord Jesus, when he is identified as the Son of man is always in connection with his appearing and it's his title as the judge. Read it in Revelation chapter one. He's the Son of man and he will come as a thief in the night. And so then in chapter 25, you have the coming of the Lord spoken of him. So the Christian time that we live in from verse one down to verse 13, but you'll notice.
In verse 13, let's read from verse 11. Afterward came also the other virgin saying, Lord, Lord open to us. That's profession. But he answered and said, verily I say unto you, I know you not watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour. Now the last few words were in. The Son of Man cometh should not be there because it's in connection with the church. And so the translators, the King James translators, were immersed in the error of covenant theology and they didn't understand the distinction, so they put those words in there.
So isn't it nice? There's a distinction in the Word of God between the appearing of the Lord and then the rapture. And so He's going to come for us first. Those that are apart. That's really the 2nd installment of the resurrection. The Lord Jesus at First Corinthians chapter 15. He's the first fruit of the resurrection, the first resurrection. The resurrection has already begun, you might say, and you and I are a part of the 2nd installment.
And as I say, the third part, the last part of the first resurrection is spoken of the martyrs that go through the tribulation period. They'll be raised right just before the Lord comes. I don't wonderful every single St. of God from Adam to that very time, regardless of how they were brutalized by this world and treated mistreated like the blessed Savior, they'll come in glory with him.
Going to be a major invasion from outer space. You ever thought of how many the redeemed of the Lord are I? I don't have any way we could calculate it, but I think we could easily say they're going to be billions of the redeemed and not only of the redeemed brethren. The Angelico, Second Thessalonians, chapter one says accompanied by his mighty angels. How many angels are there? We have no clue.
But they're going to accompany us on that major event. Just think of the poor people down here in this world that are arrayed against the Lord Jesus. They don't have a chance. The Lord with this sword of his mouth is going to level one army after another after another, and he's going to reign supreme. And we're going to be eyewitnesses of it. Oh, brother, that's the day of glory. That's what's ahead. I have a question.
We know that in Revelation we see this large group under the throne that are killed for their faith in the tribulation.
There's a statistic that I recently researched that says we're supposed to have 8 billion people on the planet. Now 2.3 billion claim to be Christians.
Those who have researched this say that they believe out of that 2.3 billion, there's only about 600 million that are real. If that's true, that means almost 7 1/2 billion people are on their way to a lost eternity. It seems like when we look at what happens in the tribulation, that in spite of the wrath of God and the wrath of Satan and the wrath of man being on this earth and all the horrible things we read about, that God and grace takes a huge company out of that.
Perhaps billions that get saved that do not accept the mark of the beast.
And so that company you're talking about might be rather large. It would seem that that that that would honor the Lord that he should at that moment gather so many in and respond to the the preaching of the Kingdom that goes on during that time. Does that sound right? That's what we have in Revelation 7. Just look at it because at the beginning of the Revelation 7, you have the 144,000, which I take to be.
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A symbolic number.
But notice after it talks about them and notice verse nine. And I think this is what you're referring to, Sam. After this I beheld and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne.
To the Lamb. So they're the ones that heard the gospel of the Kingdom during the great tribulation and God's going to bring in a great number there doesn't say how many. It says that no man could number them. Well, that's in verse 14 then.
More of those people, right? Yes, man versus I'm talking about verse nine, a great multitude. It says we might just notice that there's two companies that are spoken of in Chapter 7. The first company as you mentioned, the 144th 1000. It's a symbolic.
Number a symbolic figure of those of the children of Israel. So there will be.
Those that are from every tribe of the nation of Israel. The spirit of God is just giving us this is a parenthetical chapter in Revelation. So it looks like chapter 6. The whole of the the continent, the whole of the world is just going to be destroyed that there won't be a survivor. But God says no, no in his sovereignty and his love. He says I'm going to preserve for myself some from every tribe of Israel.
And so he speaks that first company, these first few verses from verse one down to verse eight, and then.
The second company Speaking of Gentiles, verse nine, a great multitude.
Of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. So he's Speaking of the Gentiles there. So in that, the grace of God, the love of our God.
That there are some from every single nation and family upon the face of the earth that are going to be spared and they will go through, perhaps.
The tribulation period and there will be those of faith from every nation. I would just say this to the in connection with the the tribulation period that it is a time of judgment, but there will be.
Significant blessing at the end of it.
And so as our brother from Germany mentioned that he's going to cleanse the earth with judgment and he'll cleanse it thoroughly, and then as the Millennium is ushered in, every knee shall bow. But there are those that are going to yield a feigned obedience. And I think, Brother Bob, you mentioned it's 101St Psalm. There are other verses too that tell us of this, but.
In the 101St Psalm he says that he's going to cleanse the earth every morning. I'm going to read it as as it is in the Darby translation 101St Psalm, verse 8.
Every morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. And so he's going to rule with a rod of iron.
But we need to be very clear. I believe there are going to be more in heaven.
Than in a lost eternity, it says in Luke's Gospel chapter 12, compel them to come in that my house may be full, it will be full. But he says in the book of Proverbs, he says hell and destruction are never full. And so God is going to have his way.
When the rapture happens, every single child of God will be removed. Who preaches to these people?
Every believer that has received the Lord Jesus as Savior will be taken out of this scene, and those children below the age of responsibility will go as well, even if they only have one saved parent. But those Jews that have never heard of the Lord Jesus, those godly Jews, the godly remnant, they will preach the gospel of the Kingdom. So the gospel of the grace of God is just about to cease. We are hearing the last gospel message.
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Of the day of grace and that gospel of the free forgiveness of sins, the grace of God, the love of God to save souls and make them a part of the church. It's almost up. And then the gospel of the Kingdom will go forth, and it will go forth from Jerusalem and out from Jerusalem to the whole earth.
Brother Robert, you were speaking about the blessing coming to the Gentiles, going back a little bit about the Apostle Paul reaching the continent of Europe. And some years ago, I had the privilege of standing on a hillside overlooking the seaside, overlooking a town called Neapolis in Greece. And it was the first spot that the Apostle Paul set foot on.
When he reached Europe.
And it really overcame me when I saw that location, I said to myself, if the apostle Paul had not stepped foot on here, I would probably not be blessed today. And it really made quite an impression on me. So we see the grace of God going forth not only at that time, but continued into the future as we've read.
And so from a practical point of view, if we go back to our chapter verse eight, we find the Lord bringing before us what our brother Mark brought before us last evening, man's perspective and God's perspective. And I believe here in Peter, he is seeking by the power of the Spirit of God to bring us into God's perspective.
Man's perspective is bounded by time, and we all are. We can't think beyond that. We can't, with our finite minds, wrap our minds around eternity as we are here on this earth now. We can't think in terms. We know what the word means, we understand the concept, but that they think in terms of eternity. We're bounded by time, but we were made for eternity, weren't we?
And so.
Here we are reminded in verse eight that one day is with the Lord.
As 1000 years and 1000 years as one day, and how good it is to get from man's perspective into seeing things from God's side. It's very necessary and we could go on and on about that.
We know Paul could talk about it in Second Thessalonians where he well, we might turn to it just for a moment. I've really enjoyed the Scripture.
Now read it is Second Thessalonians 3 and verse five and I'll read it as it is in the Darby translation. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and what into the patience of the Christ.
That's looking at it from God's side, from the side of Christ. He's far more anxious to have you and me with him than you and I are to be with him, seeing things from God's side. So when God brings in this perspective of 1000 years as one day.
I remember at the Bhutan conference several years ago, way over in northern India, some of the young people put some questions out publicly and said, we've been hearing all along about the Lord's coming and we keep hearing that it's very soon, but he never comes. What's what's all this about?
We have to get it from God's perspective, don't we? I don't want to go on about it, but I had happened to fall to me to answer it. I said how many here have been saved within the last 10 years? 50% of the hands went up. How many people here have been saved in the last 20 years? 75% of their hands went up. I said, you know, I was waiting for the Lord to come long before 20 years ago, but aren't you glad He waited for you?
That settled it. And so it is. God is patient.
And as Brother Robert is brought out, his house will be filled, and the iniquity of this world has to be full. So God lives and moves in eternity. And while we can't in that sense.
00:45:08
Wrap our minds around it yet we can understand that God is going to accomplish all his purposes and if we're getting a bit impatient, we have to remember that God looks at things from his side in 1000 years is as one day.
And as it said earlier in the chapter, God is not willing that any should perish, that all should come to repentance.
So that's in verse nine, I guess it's not earlier in the chapter, but verse nine. That's why he's waiting His name, that's his desire that all should come to repentance.
We might just make a comment on the two days in Scripture. The Jews were not clear. They didn't know it's Christian revelation that the church period would take place. They didn't know about the church period. They knew that the from the prophetic scriptures. They didn't like to read them, but they knew that Christ the Messiah would suffer. They they could read of the sufferings of Christ, but they love to read of the glories that should follow. But they didn't know that the nation would be set aside. They had a sense that it would be set aside if they read.
Daniel Chapter 9 and but let's just look at Hosea chapter 6 and I think it's verse two. Yes, verse two. He says after two days he will revive us. In the third day He will raise us up and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord. So they were familiar with those two days of Scripture in a sense, the third day.
They didn't understand this, but you and I do. And it's Moses that really spoke of the one day being 1000 years and 1000 years is one day. I think it's in the 90th Psalm. He, he speaks of it and.
He has a prayer of Moses, the 90th Psalm, a prayer of Moses the man of God. And so in verse 10, the days of our years are three score and 10 years.
I'm sorry, that's not what I was looking for.
Verse four OK yes, 1000 years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is passed and as a watch in the night. And so there are different passages of scripture in the New Testament that give us the two days of Scripture. He says in Luke chapter 10, the Good Samaritan, he says he took out 2 Pence and gave them to the innkeeper.
And said take care of him. So we're being taken care of in the presence of the Lord in the assembly during the time of the Lord's absence and he will come again. So the third day really is the Millennium that in connection with the the Jews.
Might just clarify that comment. It's in John's Gospel chapter 2 That the marriage and Kingdom of Galilee was on the third day. And so there's the Lord Jesus was the Spirit of God was Speaking of that third day. So what Peter was saying about one day being 1000 years and 1000 years being one day was something that had been revealed even to Moses. And so they knew that there would be an interval of time and that interval of time is almost over.
The Lord has never spoken of his coming for his church or His bride in the character of a thief in the night. That is all in connection with the judgment that is going to be poured out upon that the unsaved. So the day of the Lord extending from tribulation right through to the end of the Millennium.
Is all described as the day of the Lord.
But.
The Lords in connection with the Lord's appearing, certainly not with his rapture. So this the term Son of Man is is always connected with the Lord's appearing in revelation and judgment. So this year must be at the end of the.
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The the end of the millennial period, because it speaks of fiery judgment here, when Satan is released from his prison and that he goes about to deceive all the nations of the earth. There's a great conflagration there at the end of the Millennium, just prior to the commencement of the eternal state. Is that right?
Yes, that term, the day of the Lord shall come, as a thief in the night always refers to his coming in judgment. I sometimes say to the Latin brethren, I say, Do you want a thief to come to your house and say no?
You wait for thee, no. Now a couple other questions. Do you want the Lord to come? Yes. Do you wait for him? Yes. And I think that clarifies that when we talk as is coming as a thief in the night, it's not for believers, it's for unbelievers that don't wait for him, that don't want him to come. It's very clear. Look at First Thessalonians chapter 5 where we have that expression as well.
And we know that in chapter four we have the revelation that Paul was given.
About the Rapture, the most clear exposition of what's going to take place at the Rapture. There are other scriptures, of course, but.
Verse 15 to verse 18 in chapter 4 are a parenthesis and then he says in verse one of chapter 5, but of the times and the seasons, because times and seasons are not in.
Effect when you're talking about the Rapture, it has no time frame that we can give when it's going to take place.
When you're talking about times and seasons, you're talking about when the Lord Jesus is going to come back to establish his Kingdom that, yes, is connected with times and seasons. And so he says yourselves, know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. But now notice in verse four, he makes it very clear, ye brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. So.
He's not coming for us as a thief, brethren, He's coming for us as our heavenly Bridegroom. Oh, what a wonderful day.
Your comments about the.
About our God, the first being as to is nature. God is far beyond our comprehension but it says here one day is with the Lord as 1000 years. So for us to understand that we would have to try and conceive having 365,000 days packed into this one day that we're experiencing now and our God is capable of that and more than that.
In terms of what is understanding this power is.
And then the other side of that is the exact opposite that.
1000 years as as one day, it's all expanded out. He has that complete extremely long time frame in which he can look at all the details as if he has 1000 years to look at them inside any one of those time periods. And it kind of boggles your mind to consider a being that has the ability to do that kind of thing and comprehend that kind of thing.
Is to me really points out how much greater our God is.
Than even the greatest mind that we have. And then the second thing speaks to his character in verse 9.
And that is that he's not willing, He's not choosing, that any should perish. And that's where his patients come from, that he has that heart of love and that desire for blessing. And yet at the same time, in the midst of the fact that he is a holy God and will bring judgment, you have that character of his coming out, that desire to have blessing and to have as many as possible.
Come into blessing. It's not his desire that any should perish.
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They perish.
It's their responsibility, not God.
It's nice to see this little expression in the Scriptures. Verse four, it says that they say, where is the promise of His coming? There's a promise made, God's going to keep His promise. And then verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise. He has made a promise, He's going to keep His promise. And then a little further on in verse 13, nevertheless, we according to His promise, look for new heavens, new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
And so it's absolutely certain to take place.
What a marvelous thing we can trust. The living Word of God. The blessed Savior spoke these things too, and so by inspiration. What a comfort these words must have been to those dear Saints of God who had seen Jerusalem. I guess it hadn't been destroyed yet, but they were going to see it destroyed. But this epistle would be a comfort to them as they went through and saw the destruction of that whole religious system.
They had the promise of God.
So in verse 10 it says the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. And then notice it says in the witch, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
And maybe you think that the Lord is going to come and that's what's going to happen at the beginning.
Of the day of the Lord. But what we have in Revelation shows it's what happens at the end, but it's still in that same day, in the witch in that same day. But at the end of that day is when the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also in the works that are there in shall be burned up.
Still remember a brother that went to I forget what city it was and they were showing them around at the.
Wonderful skyscrapers in the buildings that were there and they asked them after they showed them it, a lot of it, he said, what do you think brother? And he says, I see some words written across it, reserved under fire. And so, brethren, there are interesting things to look at these skyscrapers that they build. Incredible, the wisdom that God has given to mankind. But it's all going to come to its end.
And this takes place, and let me show you, in the Book of Revelation in chapter 20.
When this happens, chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation and verse 11.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. This is the time that it's spoken of. Here they shall melt with proven. I don't know, some may remember.
Our late brother Jimmy Smith from California, he was involved a lot in the Latin work and so I had a lot to do with him. He was an engineer.
By profession. But he says verse 10 describes an atomic explosion. You remember that bill? No, I don't. But I didn't know him as well as you did. OK.
The word really.
Burned up really means to be. I believe it's Holocaust and it's.
Strong's #2618 or something like that. And it means to utterly consume. So what happened at the what we read in Genesis chapter one is the reconstruction of the earth or a renovation. You might save the earth and but this is no renovation. This is the place where man and his great wickedness.
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Crucified the Son of God.
And has done everything possible.
To develop the world system, to live in comfort and to live in a state.
Of pleasure in the state of alienation from God.
And he's tried to make himself as comfortable as possible while he's alienated from God and all of his works, every single one will be destroyed, burned up utterly so.
Your pardon, a personal reference that I was working on my house and some of you know, I got an old wooden house, Janet and I and now it requires a lot of work and I had my level out my square and I was working way on something. My son came in and he said, Dad, what are you doing?
As well, I'm trying to make this just doing a real good job, making sure the next generation gets a nice house. If somebody ever has death, He says nobody wants this old house. He said what's going to happen is they're going to take an excavator and just smash the thing up and then, you know, take a couple of bucket loads, put it in a couple of dumpsters, haul it away and then burn the rest. He says don't waste your time. Nobody wants an 80 year old house and so.
You know, we need to have that perspective, brethren. That's all going to burn. It'll burn real well. It'll be utterly consumed. I might just say, too, that Jonathan, the fire that he had in a shop, the shop burned and.
I never heard a noise like this. I've been to Niagara Falls and you hear the roar of Niagara Falls. It was similar to being right next to the fall, the noise of a fire.
Is astonishing. And the heat, brother Dave Hurlbut was taking a shovel and shoveling snow against the wall of the next building that was over. I don't know, might be 60 or 70 feet away. The heat was intense. And so God knows how to destroy and to he's going to take this platform, this planet Earth where his son was so dishonored and he's going to destroy. He's going to be finished with it. So he's going to translate those that are of faith.
Translate them to the new heavens.
And a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, it says in verse 13.
I wonder if it's a new heavens because man's depiled the heavens as well. If you go out tonight and it's a clear night, you're going to look up and you're going to see constellations and planets that are named after man's gods as well as he's flung out his technology. Think one's actually left. The solar system is not very far enough. Full scope of things, but man's defiled to heavens too.
You're not going to look up in the new heavens and new earth and see anything that was named after any God that man ever worshipped will not be.
Yeah, I believe that's important, Brother Steve, and thank you for that remark, because man has crucified the Son of God in this world, but he is also polluted both it and the universe with sin, as he and God allowed it, but he created this whole world and the whole.
Universe essentially in order to display and to honor. Well, let me rephrase that. In order to honor and glorify his beloved Son. And so when God created this world and created time, he did it so that his Son could be honored and glorified. And he will be as Bob is brought out.
God is going to vindicate His beloved Son.
In the very place where he was crucified and rejected. And as I thought the words were very good. You use Bob vindicated. There's going to be the public vindication of God's. You might say honor and glory to his beloved Son during the millennial day.
But then what's the other half of the story?
The eternal state spoken of in verse 13.
And also in verse 12 is going to be for the everlasting satisfaction.
Of God's heart the vindication takes 1000 years.
That'll be that'll be enough to vindicate God's beloved Son publicly. But the eternal state will be the satisfaction of God's heart in a scene where every possible, I shouldn't say possible, every vestige of sin will be forever removed, never to raise its head again.
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I think that's why you could say it's not only the Day of God, but perhaps very literally translated the day according to God. In other words, it's a day in which everything is perfectly according to God and all He is in his holy nature.
Light and all, He is in his love.
Really. Is the the?
Verse that we often quote behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, the.
Full bearing and fulfillment of that verse.
Is the destruction of every.
Source of evil in all the corruption that sin has brought into this world, the animal creation groans together with us because of man's sin. But I was thinking it's remarkable that this judgment referred to takes the plague takes place at the end of the millennial period.
Men and women have had 1000 years of.
Unexamined prosperity and blessing.
And.
Fruitfulness in the natural world and blessing.
Materially as never before, and yet at the end, the last Test of God, they follow the enemy, Satan.
They're not to regenerate, they're not saved people, but they've enjoyed the blessings of of the Millennium as long as they were in submission to the Lord Jesus and the lineal descendant of David who is ruling over the earth at that time. As long as they are subservient and obedient, they enjoy those blessings of the Millennium, even though they may not be truly believers.
But at the end, when Satan is released from his from the abyss, he gathers a large number together to follow him and to attack the holy city of Jerusalem. It's, it's really amazing, incredible to think that.
Man's man's heart is still in alienation against God and cannot be changed. Just going to say before I was just looking back into Genesis Chapter 9 when he thought set that rainbow in the sky.
Was a token that God would no longer destroy the world by a flood, but today.
That same rainbow that was put into the sky by the Lord has been perverted, has it not, and is a symbol of something that is very displeasing to the Lord? So it doesn't take very long for something that God has established to be changed and perverted. Here we had a provision of God's grace. He would no longer destroy the world by a flood, but now that same symbol.
To me, when I see a rainbow, I go back to Genesis Chapter 9, but it's taken on an entirely different perspective today. May we clearly see what God has intended in these symbols. We might just sorry what you were saying, Brother John, about the rebellion that takes place at the end of the Millennium.
Shows that.
The problem is not in government, the problem is in the human heart, because 1000 years.
Of perfect government, the Lord Jesus reigning in righteousness.
And man rises up in rebellion. So it shows the problem is the human heart.
Could just touch on the issue that is so common today. I believe it's called critical race theory.
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And the assumption is that it's our environment, it's our culture, it's our society that is the cause for the corruption of men. And that thousand years is the final proof that, as you just said, the problem is the hardest deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. The will is corrupt and against God. And after that point in time, the great White Throne judgment is perfectly appropriate.
Man has no excuse.
Was just going to say in verse 11 we have the conclusion of what Peter is Speaking of, that there should be the coming of the Lord. The appearing of the Lord should have a practical effect upon our lives. It's not just that he's telling us about these facts and that we Get the facts straight, but that they should have a practical display in our testimony in our personal lives. And so he says, seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be?
In all holy conversation and godliness, our manner of life and godliness should express to one another, and should be a testimony that we are waiting for the glorious appearing of the Son of God to set this place straight, and to assume His rights, and to, as you say, be vindicated, glorified. And so God will bestow upon His beloved Son every honor and every dignity that is possible to bestow upon him.
In this world.
Want to give 3 scriptures.
That I find go together.
And like to say to young people, jot these down because I find it very helpful. The first one is Romans chapter 5 and verse 21, and this is in connection with today.
Where we are today in the dispensation of grace. Notice how it puts it in the last verse of Romans chapter five, that is.
As sin hath reigned unto death, this part, Even so my grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
So today grace reigns through righteousness because God has been satisfied, fully vindicated in the work of the Lord Jesus as to His righteousness.
Grace reigns through righteousness. Second verse I'd like to give you, as in Isaiah 32, and this is about the Millennium.
Verse one.
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and Princess rule in judgment. So the Millennium, it will not be a day of grace, it will be a day when righteousness reigns. And then back to our chapter talking about eternity, it says in verse.
13 Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Those 3 verses help to understand those 3 periods. So just give you that to meditate on. Brother Bob, you earlier contrasted that.
The the world that then was.
And the world that now is. But there's a comparison with the world that then was.
To the new heavens and new earth, there was number government in the world. That then was because there was nothing. There was nothing instituted by God to restrain man, but there's no government in the new heavens and new earth because there's nothing for righteousness to put down. There's no nation. There were no nations in the world before the flood. There are no nations. And the new heavens and new earth, they were all of one language.
That's all going to be one in that day and I think it could go on. There's other comparison as well. I would like to.
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Pick that up next reading maybe in the Lord. Well, the eternal day. I find that so fascinating to think about. Scripture speaks very little of that day, but it does say things about it, and perhaps we can meditate on that.
Could we stand?
What was that again #40 in the appendix?
Hail to the Lord's anointing.
And grace, and where you'll find my Lord, we're only here shall come.
He comes to bring a crush on.
Decepticons.
To take away the scratch.
And begin.
To love every now and the sound can't stand.
God and Father, we thank Thee for this blessed hope that we have.
Of soon entering into all the glory that we have.
Been reminded of in these scriptures. When I thy consort, thy bride, we shall share the inheritance with thee over this whole created scene.
The establishment of thy glory, where thou wilt have thy rights.
And well, where every tongue will be united in Thy praise. But here and now, our God, we do seek grace and strength for the pathway which may lie a little while before us. How often we become occupied with these material passing things.
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Help us to live in view of eternity.
The time when?
Blessed Savior, we shall reign with thee.
And enjoy thy company and fullness.
And the administration of this scene.
Which will be so blessed through.
By the establishment of thy Kingdom, which we look forward to, but now, Lord, as the in the scene of thy rejection.
This dispensation of grace we seek guidance and help and energy to hold forth the word of life with our long-suffering, and not willing that any should perish, beseeching men and women to be reconciled unto Thee. So we do pray that we may hold the things of this world lightly and live in view of the glory that is before us. And as stewards of all that Thou hast given to us, so we pray thy blessing on the remainder of the meetings this day.
In the glorious gospel going forth.
Asking it with Thanksgiving for this privilege, above all for the gift of Thy Son, Thy Blessed One, who bore the penalty of our sin and guilt, went down into those deep waters of judgment and shed His precious blood to give us a flawless title to eternal glory. So we pray for all our brethren in death. Give Thee thanks for this privilege of being together.
In the worthy and precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen. Amen.