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Should we sing 100 and 71170?
No, he comes from.
Descending.
Once more.
Lord.
So I'll go down to the greatest rain.
Glory.
Fashion go away. Glory is in love.
To all the joy.
Of trotation.
To the results of the world.
Yeah.
Shall now be behold him.
For a great sun and justice in all the rest of the world. And so embarrassed. And then I'll hear you tell him you're telling him you're telling the blood.
Dream knowing glory.
And glory.
Shall.
Bring.
Tears. I can be right. I can see it.
00:05:07
Jesus.
Come Lord Jesus.
Come on, come.
Great, our God and our Father, we do thank Thee for that wonderful expectation that is before our souls of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that He will come for His Bride to take us to be with Himself. And we thank Thee that He will come and take His rightful place, and we long to see Him.
Honored.
And.
Glorified in this world that cast him out. And we know we'll have.
That wonderful place by his side for all eternity. Share that headship that has been given to him.
That all things, heaven and earth, will be headed up in that man of Thy eternal counsel, My purpose. We thank Thee for Thy purpose and Thy ways in which.
I'll bring that purpose to pass by council made good and even now being presently unfolded for thine own glory before all created intelligence.
Secret of thy heart. And we do.
Thank Thee for Thy sovereign grace that picked us up and made us part of that coming.
United system of glory and heaven and earth. And my beloved Son, we thank Thee that Thou be glorified in Him for all eternity. We thank Thee for Thy great love that has been the deep mode of spring of all to bring it to pass. And so he just asked for Thy blessing. Now, as we open my precious word, may our hearts be more firmly established. Present truth.
And.
Our faith encouraged and strengthened and that we might have guidance and direction for our pathway here while we wait his coming. And we would ask this our God and Father, and the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
Wonder, brethren, if it might be profitable to take up Second Peter chapter 3. We had some of the comments made in connection with the scoffing and the days that we did in the scoffing as to where is the promise that is coming and so on and.
We live in these days.
Sounds good.
Second Peter, chapter 3.
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. They may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? Or since the Father's fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water, and in the water thereby the world that then was being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, preserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing. That one day is with the Lord is 1000 years, and 1000 years as one day.
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The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but as 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 the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also in the works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing them that all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons are ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?
Looking for in hasting unto the coming day of God, wherein 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 wearing dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent, that you may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless and account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto Him, hath written unto you.
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, and which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable, rest, as they do also the other Scriptures are to their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, see ye know these things before. Beware lest He also being LED away with the error 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 believe he was. Peter was writing to the same individuals that he had written the first epistle to, because he says.
Quite clearly that this second official, beloved, I know right unto you. So he was writing in first Peter chapter one to those that had been scattered, those believing Jews that had been scattered because of the great persecution that had arisen. Perhaps at the beginning of chapter 8 it were mentioned that after the stoning of Stephen there was a great persecution and they were all scattered.
Abroad accept the apostle. So it was a measured thing, but there were those that were believers and they suffered in those times and were spread out throughout the Roman Empire. So he spoke to those in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asian, Bithynia, elect according to foreknowledge of God the Father. So we know that he brought before the Saints practical righteousness, how to live as believers. They knew already how to live like Jews, but how to live as those that were believers now in the Lord Jesus.
But in the second epistle we know that there's.
Breakdown and there's really a time of depression departure and it was characterized really by scoffing and materialism. And so this is really what he's addressing here. And we do live in days of scoffing and materialism.
It shows the government of God in connection with the world. First Epistle is more the government of God in the House of God.
The Apostle widens the view here.
And speech of the government of God in relation to the.
The world and the judgment, that is.
I mean over this world.
First, like this one takes up the government of caught in the House of God in connection with the way that we should walk in this world is those that represent the character of godliness and we should be holy priest and royal priest and that when it it comes to the government. We should bow to the government when it comes to our boss, regardless of what kind of a person he he might be were were called to obedience.
And so there it's.
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The judgment is connected with those who don't obey that that manner of life. But here it takes up a little bit different than there's going to be judgment that's going to fall upon this world. And we're called to recognize the judgment that is going to fall upon this world and encourages us to walk in separation. And so we get similar things that that the Lord does in First Thessalonians. You get to get chapter 3 in view of coming back with Christ, in chapter 4 of being caught up to be with Christ.
But in Chapter 5, we're looking at this world is going to be judged, and we're not children of the dark, but we're children of the day. And so that's really kind of what this is bringing out. It's really bringing out this world is going to be judged. And in view of that, it should encourage us to be separate from that, shouldn't it?
Another aspect of Peter's ministry is that he really takes things up from the Kingdom perspective. And so he speaks of the appearing of the Lord Jesus. And so his ministry is characterized by the appearing and the Lord coming with his Saints. And he's going to come and he's going to judge that which is inconsistent with His Holiness and inconsistent with the in character to the Kingdom. And so he speaks of the appearing in his glory.
And so that's really the focus of the times that he does speak of his coming. He's priestly. He speaks in verse four of the promise of his coming. For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Well, man wants to live in God's creation without any feeling of responsibility towards him. And the Jew wants to live in the land of Israel, but without the Creator, without the Son of God, without the Messiah.
And these people are promising me in verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise.
And then he speaks again. I think it's in verse 13. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and new earth, where he dwelleth righteousness. So Peter.
Really reminds the Saints that it's the word of God and the promises that God has made to them in connection with the reality that he will judge things. He will come, He will set up His Kingdom. He will judge unrighteousness.
And so those things are going to be fulfilled. But in the meantime, as you say, it was an encouragement to them that they could walk in a godly way in a righteous path. And he was reminding them that God was going to intervene in judgment and has intervened in the past. He gives them specific examples, and He will fulfill his promises.
Just box a little footnote, something I noticed years ago. He started chapter 2 talking about, you know, how false prophets came, then they'll come again. And I noticed that all three of the prominent New Testament writers, Paul, John and Peter, all talked about coming.
False teachers and and ones that would lead the Saints astray and so on. And the remedy from all three of them was the same. Remember what we told you? And I found it very interesting here it's in with Peter it's.
Verse two, he may be mindful of the words which was spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. And you know, they were the witnesses. They were the ones who.
Or with the Lord. Paul knew the Lord. He had special revelation too. And.
And they didn't. My point is they didn't pass it on to anybody coming after them.
It was remember what we said and you know that kind of, you know, the whole Roman Catholic idea that, you know, things were passed down by the Church fathers and so on and so forth, and they put their trust on that. But.
They said remember what we said that God has miraculously through the centuries and it is an amazing mirror that we have their words printed page today more on the earth than there ever has been before. But that's what will preserve us and it's what we always have to come back to and what you say Ted is absolutely true. But I'm wondering too in in days of declension perhaps.
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We're not being as careful when it comes to receiving someone at a large table.
What as far as what they hold as far as doctrine is concerned?
I really don't know what they hold. Yeah. I mean, you can always have someone that has received and they don't show their true colors till after the fact. But I'm just wondering if being not as careful as we should be in reception could help alleviate some of that. You'd have been hard pressed to quiz me when I was received at the Lord's Table. I was just saved. I really didn't even have any colors yet. No. Well, I was like that too, Bruce.
And I I was aware of that colors, but I decided that I would just submit myself to my friend.
And through the years, if I said something that was off or wrong, I would expect.
And love to be corrected. To me, that's what we do when we submit ourselves. And I think, you know, we're not made of glass. And I think you told me that. But John Baxter China, Yeah, you know, he can handle it. You know, it's not that we wouldn't be careful, but we certainly are equipped with a shepherd. And, you know, if if the person is presented with the truth and they refuse to accept it.
That's one thing. But many times people come in holding all kinds of bad doctrine and things and it is not a problem. I mean, they get corrected, they receive it, they go on.
I think that's very good, Ted, because there is a happy medium, isn't there? We start to quiz everybody about every bad doctrine. We end up sometimes being like the Roman Catholic priest that in the confessional would ask people about sins that they never even thought of committing and depiled their minds by. But as one of our good writers put it, he said, if I knew that a man came from a House of thieves, I'd want to be sure he was clear of it. And so I think that's the proper way to look at it. Well, that's sort of what I was thinking. I wasn't, you know.
Thinking of a whole long list of questions is just just have you know, get to know the person and find out what they believe.
So we have here the apostles in verse 2, and oftentimes when it speaks of the foundational work in the Church of God coming from an ascended Christ, it's through the apostles and prophets. But here we have prophets first, which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles of our of the Lord and Savior, etcetera. So I take it that that is the the profits of the Old Testament.
The the holy prophets in.
What Peter learned from the Lord and what he taught was two things consistent with the prophetic scriptures down through what we call the Old Testament era. And also, of course, he being an apostle was one part of that group that passed on what they had received. Paul speaks of it as a revelation to himself, but it clearly was a revelation to the other apostles.
To also receive what they perhaps learn from Paul. And they've got it, as Paul says in Ephesians 3 by Revelation 2, so.
Sometimes people question well, why is why does Paul say in Colossians chapter the end of chapter one, I think it is that it was given to him to complete the word of God when revelation is at the end of the of the scriptures of the New Testament. But to Paul was given that a special revelation of the church that was the revelation of of the Christ of the Christ in the church together as the Christ. He was given to sort of put the last piece in place of the revelation of God.
A mystery hidden in God and not revealed in Old Testament scriptures. And so in that sense he completes the word of God. But Peter and the apostle John, they really take up and augment and embellish with details and put into a fresh context and confirmation the subject of Old Testament prophets because they did prophecy about a Kingdom that would be headed up by Christ on earth. They did prophecy.
That there would be.
As I sometimes called that the other shoe would drop and all of this ungodliness and false teaching, false prophets and all of that would be addressed in that great day of the Lords appearance. So it's safe when we read Peter, I believe also John.
00:25:05
When they speak of the Lord's coming, they're Speaking of his appearing, because the rapture of the Saints at the first resurrection was part of that.
Line of things that was given to the Apostle Paul.
Well, the.
What was the reason for the puppet? I'm talking about the Old Testament prophets.
Wasn't it because children of Israel got away from God? They were taken up after their own lust? It's, it's, it's not an inconsistent thing with men in this falling condition, is it? So if it's true of the old, old prophets, it's certainly true of today. And so it's bringing out that side of things. And it's, it's giving us to see that, that you've been told about this. This is not something new. You can read it in the Old Testament.
You can go to Isaiah, Jeremiah.
Ezekiel, all of them, they, they, they all speak about Israel having gotten away from the Lord and that in the end they're going to be judged for their wickedness. And so it is here that that knowing that this first, that there shall come in the last days. What last days? Well, in our last days, we certainly know that's going on more and more. You're getting those that are scoffers, especially the day we live in. Man is taken up with his own lust, his own ideas, his own pleasures, his own desires.
God is going to charge it. He does say that they should be mindful of these words. And so that is to be aware of those words and to pay attention to what they teach. And so as you mentioned, it's the Old Testament scriptures. They were to be aware of those Old Testament scriptures. We have authority to read the Old Testament passage of Scripture, but then they were to be aware of the New Testament Scriptures as well. And by the commandments of us, the apostles and the Lord and Savior. I wonder if that maybe some reference to to the gospel.
Because those gospels were written by this time, maybe not John's Gospel, but they had the word of God. And he acknowledges that what Paul wrote was the word of God. He says in verse 16 also in all of 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 the other scriptures unto their own destruction. So Peter acknowledged that what Paul wrote was.
Divine inspiration, it was from heaven and we might just refer to Galatians chapter one where he says in verse 12 of Galatians chapter one, I neither received of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. So he got his revelations directly from the Lord. Different revelations, many revelations, he says and so it's heavenly truth. It's not characteristic of Kingdom truth as what Peter was teaching here.
The last days would refer here to.
The last days of Christendom, would it not? The last days of Israel too.
There are two different things.
The last days of Israel.
Is not until the establishment of the Kingdom.
But I think we're in the last days of Christendom.
Period. Now. And these scoffers.
Were occupied with materialism.
And.
Making.
Setting aside the clear teaching of the of the Word of God.
One brother put it this way, that the wish is parent to the idea.
Something like that. And so there's a connection between the moral condition of a person and what they end up embracing in their thoughts and in their teaching or in their doctrine. And so here it is, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last day scoffers walking after their own lust. It doesn't say after their own confusion or ignorance. It comes after their own loss. And so the wish.
Which is a moral side of things is parent to the idea on the.
And I won't digress any further than to say that. And so we see that when the moral condition declines, we get into a state where we put things into our heads and take up with things that is conducive to where we are in our souls. And the opposite is true for us, and we should be exercised about it. It's interesting that in Ephesians 3, just as the apostle Paul starts into that prayer at the end of the chapter.
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Where he speaks about being able to comprehend with All Saints the length and breadth and depth and height, before he goes off into that, he speaks about the foundation being.
That she being rooted and grounded up may be able to comprehend with All Saints and so on. It kind of ties into what my brother was speaking about in the open neediness to love. So the moral condition necessary to be able to take in and to hold and to value and continue on in divine truth. And the opposite is true for these ones as well. And we have that scripture. He that would do his will will know the doctor.
That's the moral condition of this heart is I want to do, I want to please the Lord, I want to do Lord's will.
So to be clear on this and I'll ask this as a question.
Is this speaking about those that have made a profession and are in the House of God that has become a great house and speaking it's the government of the House of God?
Just say that because I don't see that the world caring. Where is the promise of his coming?
Their reference point is the world, not the word of God. But they still, I believe this is professing Christendom that is being spoken of because he's going to judge those that profess Christianity and he's Speaking of those that are professors.
Although I have, I mean I, I personally, you know, my, me and my siblings were brought up in a, in a.
Least nominally Christian Church.
And my brother is quite familiar with the teaching of the second coming of Christ. He's not saved, but he mocks that notion as his sons did, because when his sons would talk to my brother's son, my brother being saved.
I remember what they said, if you're not one of those, Jesus is coming again, people are you, you know, so there was a a mocking and I just say that, but it is. But you could say they were in that.
In the Great house, even if not.
Personally, professors just the So a person in Matthew 24.
And 4:48 it says but, but, And if the evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming.
That's an answer, isn't it? So what? What is it that that the Lord, that the Spirit of God is constantly putting before us? The Virgin's waking up, occupying till the Lord comes, is constantly laying upon our heart that desire to be looking for His coming, to be occupied with His coming. And this is just the opposite of that, isn't it?
The interesting.
Little picture in the Old Testament.
If you think of mocking, and I'm sure there's a number of places, but the one that stands out in your mind probably would be.
The children, children mocking Elijah and what did they say? Go up that bald head, go up. Great. And they were from, let's tell, the House of God. So it was the children that were from the House of God that were the mockers. And what's remarkable is they come under judgment.
And what's the next thing that Elijah does? He comes to Jericho, picture of the world under the curse, and he brings blessing.
And the faithless House of God is going to come under judgment. But this world.
Is going to eventually come under blessing by the Lord, but the the faithless House of God is going to go on as far as this world and responsibility is concerned. It's going to go on into judgment without recovery.
Unless we see that as, as Bill mentioned in his address today, I think it was, unless we see that the House of God has become the great house and that it is inhabited with those that are merely professors through baptism or church affiliation or.
Just check out the box on the job application on a Christian. Unless we see that much of the scripture in Matthew and in other places in the New Testament is going to be confusing to us.
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Because we can get into the mindset that there's the body of Christ and then there's like everybody else.
But the scriptures look upon it, they look upon all that profess His name as being in the house. And that's why you can have such scriptures. Why? Why in Revelation chapter two and three, for example, to move beyond Matthew 24, Do you have the Lord presenting his own coming as a thief?
Because doctrinally everybody in the room will say, well, the Lord never comes to his to his beloved Saints as a thief in the night. He comes as the heavenly bridegroom to catch us up. And it's something we look forward to. Well, he says it to the to the house, so to speak, because it includes profession. And that's and and people stumble over what do you what's an unfaithful servant or was the wise and the unwise and and they get kind of puzzled about this and it it clears it up.
When you see that that's that's the scope that the Spirit of God professes and we're part of that House Bill brought that out today. We need to be humbled by what has entered in in the condition of things in that house. We're all part of it and I was struck and I I mentioned this before I'm at the age where I repeat myself anyway, but but I was listening to A to a reading meeting and Chuck Hendricks was was made or maybe somebody asked him this question.
Well, will it, will the church be here for the tribulations? And you know, if we had a quiz and we handed it out there, but in here, everybody would 100% say no. And he said yes and no. And I thought, wow, this is going to be interesting. I'm driving along this and this and what you know what he meant now, right? He meant that the truth, every true believer part of the body of Christ here on is going to be caught up at the first resurrection before then kept out of that hour.
But Christendom itself is is going to go on is going to continue on into that what we know as the as the 70th week of diamond until it's judged at around the the middle of the week. So it's good for us to bear that in mind that we would be humble. As you know, I sit sometimes at home and I read through the protest, the prophets and I say to myself, how could they not have been impacted by this?
I mean, the Lord's assessment of their moral condition was scathing, scathing, and he just lets them have it. And I say to myself, and and then he holds out, of course, the encouragement for the overcomers, so to speak in that day. And I say, well, am I doing the same thing? So I can just sit here, as I think Steven mentioned with like a duck with the water coming off my back and and not allow the word of God to to.
Back to the to Christians, to me as part of Christendom.
And can I do the same thing? I can't. And I can just let stuff go by and just kind of grab onto the sweet things that I that comfort me and and I ought to let it get into my conscience too and be exercised about the condition of things that I'm part of and walk humbly and walk softly and, and seek to honor the Lord until he does come for me. I think that was a good answer when he said, will the church be here for the tribulation? And he said.
And no, we cannot believe we cannot leave the great house family with no and as you say, it actually will go on the Kingdom of the heavens will go on after the rapture believe so that's correct at that point you make Bruce I think is very important though, because.
In the first place, we ought to be exercised and humbled by the condition of Christendom, and secondly, God often gives a warning to a mere professor about coming judgment, but intending to warn us about our state. For example, and I name only one example, there are quite a few. At the end of Philippians 3, we read about those whose God is their belly, who mind earthly things, and in the end it says whose end is destruction.
As a believer, am I entitled to dismiss that and say, well, that's clearly talking about an unbeliever so I don't have to worry about it? No, there's a warning for you and me, isn't there? Because my God can be my belly even as a true believer and I can mind her earthly things even as a true believer. And so as you say, we need to be warned by it, not to slap it up. And if if these false teachers who aren't real.
00:40:08
Scoff at the return of Christ. Is it possible?
But that same spirit can come into the hearts of real believers that we would deny his coming or push it off into the distance and say it's not a near reality. Is that possible? You know, it's possible. You you sent me y'all sent me a a little. What do you call those little mini addresses by a, a man with a lot of letters behind his name, the theologian believer. And he he he I listened to it in my hotel room 1 morning and I was it stunned me and I I was affected by it half the day.
Because no, it was good for me to hear it. It was sobering because the the questioner asked him specifically, do you believe in the Lorde coming for, for his Saints? And he just dismissed the thing like it was some little nursery rhyme, like like Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. He just categorically just.
Stuffed it away with the back of the hand and this is this is common today.
My son and I heading out, got an Uber, Lyft to the airport and, and I got to talking with the driver. He turned out to be a Christian And after the obligatory, you know, where do you go and all that kind of thing, I'm just kind of sitting in his car. And I said, you know what I have been reading that morning? I said, where you go? Did he talk about the Lord's coming?
Is that something that you?
You know that you hear as part of your teaching where you go at your church, he says. Well, it's part of the doctrine.
But it.
As we have more conversation than that, but it was basically just kind of a dusty thing on the shelf somewhere. And so that's not mocking, but.
We need to be exercised at the hope of the Lord's coming. It's not just academic with us, but it's actually a real, a real reform theology doctrine is really a denial of the Lord's government. That's a so-called covenant. Theology is such a mixture and such a confusion.
Imprisoned them today. We can be thankful that we have the truth of God. But you say it's more serious than that though, because it says they're willingly ignorant. It's not that they're just ignorant. They're willingly agreed. And I think it's Mr. Kelly said that the spirit of air is to refuse to hear the truth and so clearly to be willingly ignorant.
You have to set aside some portion of the word of God and refuse to read it.
Refused to bow to it. And so they're willingly ignorant that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. He speaks of that gap, perhaps Genesis 1 verses 1:00 and 2:00. And then in verse six he speaks of the flood world. That thing was he overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved under fire against the day of judgment by tradition of ungodly men.
And so he speaks of how God has intervened in the time past.
And we know that he's going to intervene in the future. He said one thing, he's not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord is 1000 years and 1000 years is one day. So the believer, while the world, those that are in the world, those that might profess Christianity and maybe take a leading role as those that are teachers and are willingly ignorant, the believer, the true believer is not to be ignorant of these faces. God is going to intervene in a future day.
I if I've substituted Earth, Earth is my aspiration and the Book of Revelation is is speaks multiple times about the dwellers on the earth. And even though I am a believer and whether I accept the teaching of the rapture or whether I don't, if I'm a true believer, I'm going to be caught up but to have Earth as my aspiration.
It's it's quite likely that I the truth of the rapture is it's inconvenient. It's to say the wish for Earth is parent to the idea. I'm sorry. Well, I'm just wondering what a believer is. I mean, if we if I say I believe in.
In a person.
00:45:01
But I don't believe what he said. How can I be believing in the person I This is a difficult question for me because if a person says he believes in Jesus Christ.
And the Lord said I'm coming. I'm not going to leave you or I'm coming.
And they say, well, it's a fairy tale. I just, I have, I have trouble believing they're believing. I mean, you're either a believer, you're not.
Brother brought in a, you know, a brother assembly. You know, I'm Alex Nash when he first got married and he had a neighbor who professed to be a Christian. He was a good man. Oh, but he, but he doesn't believe in the, in the rapture. He doesn't believe in the, you know, this thing and he didn't believe it. And I'm like, I, I'm sorry, but I don't you, you don't get to pick and choose what part of the package you're going to get you, you believe in the Lord or you don't. Now, I know they could be ignorant of the teachings, but if they are.
Made aware of the plain truth and they deny it. I just have a hard time with that. That they could be a truly.
Man himself is the religious by nature. And in Matthew 25 you get 10 virgins, don't you? They all look like believers. They've all made some form of profession. There were five that were real and five that were not. At the end of the day, the Lord brought in the versions. And when the other five came, what did they say? Lord, Lord, open unto us, What did He say? He said, depart from me, for I never knew you. And so there there are those that.
But.
Quite honestly, they they they feel the need for a religion and they look at believers and they see them happy in the Lord and and they go along with them, but they're not real and and and scripture has that brought out a number of times that the very fact that there's an apostate church that later will deny that Christ ever came is a is is a very is the very truth of the fact that one time they made some kind of profession.
But they never really embraced that they were sinners and that He was their Savior.
Well, there is a danger of, as Brother Joshua reminded us, that we can be influenced by the spirit of things in the world. I met recently with a brother I actually met at a meeting room and he used to be in fellowship at the Lords Table, he and his family and so on. He left some years ago and wanted to meet. I spoke with him. He no longer believes that there is a rapture. He believes the covenant theologians and that.
It's all one event and so on. It didn't matter what passage of Scripture I read to him. He had an excuse and a different interpretation and all this sort of thing. He refused. He was willingly ignorant of the fact that Christ is coming for his church. He's going to ****** his church away and then after approximately 7 years, he's going to come with his Saints that is appearing, and he will judge the Western Christian world and that which professes to be Christian but isn't in reality.
And so this is what he's Speaking of, is that appearing and that he is going to intervene and what is not real he will bring under judgment.
We.
It's probably good to remember our early brethren that the Lord used to give us many of these truths all held reform theology before the Lord recovered that truth, and they were believers. So we wouldn't want to label our brethren that do hold reformed theology as as unbelievers.
Just want to make sure that doesn't come across that way. I know that's not intended, but I want to make sure it doesn't come across that way. The other thing is.
There are many who are being swept back to reform theology because those who hold dispensational truth.
In the systems of men that do hold it, don't understand it well enough and teach it well enough that when souls are challenged as to the scriptures and as you say you have an argument preached scripture, the assumption is I never heard this.
I don't have any answers to this. This sure seems like the word of God must be everything I was taught in Sunday school was wrong. And because there isn't sound teaching on dispensational truth, souls get challenged and the assumption is I don't have an answer for this. There really isn't an answer. This really wasn't the truth and they embrace reformed theology. That's really why so many are going over it's it's it's as far as.
00:50:17
Really feeling this is the truth of Scripture. Now there are underlying moral reasons can come in, but there's not sound teaching among those who hold dispensational truth. I had a brother and the Lord at work who went to a Baptist Church. It held dispensational teaching outwardly, but there's a core of sincere, devoted believers that had gone to Reformed theology because dispensational truth was held very.
Casual loose way wasn't really taught, he felt like.
It was really not supported by the Word of God.
And so he left that one to reform theology. The second thing that attributed was attributed to him going over is he looked on those who held dispensational truth and most of the scandals, public scandals and and fundamental Christianity that have hit the headlines in the news are on the part of those who hold the rapture. He brought into me a Wall Street Journal article, threw it on my desk.
This Broadway production evangelical preacher and at the end of his stage show Wall Street Journal.
Article said he lifted off the stage, supported by strings and wires, and floated up like a Gray suited Peter Pan in an imitation of the rapture. He says that's dispensational truth. It makes a mock of the word of God. And so those who have held in an outward way dispensational teaching because of the way they've conducted themselves and the inability to communicate the truth has really contributed in a large way to this. Underneath there's a desire to have the world, to make the world a better place, to settle down here.
But those things have coalesced and come together in the day that we live in, and that's why we're seeing so many go over to reform theology. We need sound teaching. As to these things, we need sound teaching.
Certainly if it's if it's a matter of heart and I don't want to keep diverting, but.
You're a believer and you know the Lord Jesus, How could you not want to see him again? I just, I just cannot conceive of it. How could you any, any kind of doctor that had ever been presented to me. I, I've been saved a couple weeks. I do nothing about Jesus coming again. And thankfully a brother just back from Vietnam came back to be the youth leader at this place where I get saved. He started talking, still see his face.
The light shine in a cellar we call the catacombs. Where's the youth group?
And the light shining on his glasses, talking about Jesus coming again. And I'm telling you that lit a fire in me and it has carried me through.
Crooked path through this world. But I don't. I would never have kept going. I would not. I would not have kept going if it wasn't for that one thing. The Lord's coming to get one going to see him.
And that's a hard thing. Lay aside the dispensational doctrine, the teachings and everything. If a person knows the Lord, how could he not want to see him again? I just, I can't conceive with it. But we preach not ourselves. So will they substitute it for what our early brethren corrected, that they came out of that, like in John 14, when he says, I'll come again and receive you unto myself. That's the Lord coming at death, and that's when we're going to see Him. And so they don't look for the Lord's coming.
In that way they consider the Lord's coming. When I die, that's his coming and he's going to take me to be with him then. OK. And so there is an expectation to see the Lord and a love for the Lord, but extreme confusion as to what the expectation is. But what does it lead to? It leads to saying.
The Lord's coming Is that death that somewhere far away? Or when I die and sorry?
Shall we gather at the river and shall we gather it is coming. I think that him was changed. We'll look at the parable where the servant says my Lord delayeth is coming. It has a disastrous moral effect and it it and that's what the chapter starts to get into is time is about up, but in further part of the chapter.
Peter starts in the verse 11. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved with a matter of persons ought to be and all holy conversation godliness looking for in hasting under the coming of the day of God. Peter is looking beyond the rapture and beyond even the appearing into that Scripture calls the day of God, but that hope that he had of seeing the Lord.
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They're sanctifying the fact and had a present effect on his life. My Lord delayed is coming to begin to even drink with the drunken and to beat the men's servants and and it just introduces an earthly mindedness at best and tomorrow depravity at worst. So it's necessary for us to understand the distinction between the day of the Lord, the day of Christ, the day of God.
We need to understand and appreciate those distinctions. And So what Paul is, what Peter is Speaking of here in verse 10 is the day of the Lord. And that we know begins at his appearing and goes for 1000 years. And so it's really similar to the day of Christ, isn't it? Is the day of Christ is that his coming and his display of his glory? And he'll display not only his own glory, but he'll have his bride with him and her glory and then all of the Saints really.
The glory of the Saints will be displayed alongside himself, but we need to know these distinctions. He's not Speaking of the same day. And so the day of the Lord begins at his appearance. He's going to come and he's going to come as a thief. And when it mentions his coming as a thief, he comes in judgment. So he's not going to come in judgment. When he comes at the rapture, he's going to, it's a secret coming. And I might just say what Brother Steve mentioned is that when the truth was recovered, our brethren who really recovered the truth of dispensational truth, they suffered persecution.
Severe persecution and ridicule from those that continue to hold covenantal theology. And so I believe that even right now, at the end of the age, right in the last hours of the day of grace, as we hold the coming of the Lord, the Rapture, and we value those scriptures that teach it, we need to begin to be ridiculed for it. And we may suffer some approach for holding that truth.
Always I make a small comment here. Sorry, no, no, go ahead. Well, just on.
Roberts definition of a daze. It might be confusing to somewhere It says in verse 10 the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away and so on. And then it says in verse 12 The day of God were in the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved.
That's what I was going to ask about, son. He ain't going to hear what you have to say. Well, the Darby corrects that in a nice way.
Reading verse 12 as looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved. The day of God can't be ushered in until there are new heavens and a new earth.
But it really happens at the end of the day of God, not correction in the end of the day of the Lord.
Not actually in the day of God. Is that correct? Yes, so, so to to the the day of the Lord is his judgment, the day of Christ is his millennial reign, and the day of God is the eternal state. Yes, good to see that those are distinct things. But the Millennium is still part of the day of the Lord. The day of Christ has more to do, as Robert brought out with the revelation of Christ and his pride. It brings you and me in.
But the day of the Lord really includes judgments that set up the Millennium, the whole of the millennial day, and then the judgments at the end, the in between night and end is 1000 years, isn't there? So when you when you look at that, it's it's 1000 years between night and in and in that thousand years is the millennial reign. And then it's after that that then you have this happen.
In the which the heaven shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. That's a whole new thing. Everything that was identified with a fallen creation is destroyed, and a whole new thing is developed. So it's after that seeing then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of person ought ye to be?
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And all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting on to the coming of the Day of God.
That's the eternal state. So at the end when everything is burnt up and everything is new, that brings in the eternal state. That's the day of God. So the day of Christ isn't developed here there, but there's but there's a dash and there's 1000 years that's not talked about. And so it's you know, we need to see that that's going on there. There's not going to be a fervent fire that's going to happen during the Millennium.
That happens at the end of the Millennium, after judgment comes. So it's just good to see that there's actually a a terrible rebellion at the end of the Millennium, isn't it? Satan is going to come forth with the reception and large numbers will follow him.
And then God comes out in judgment upon him, that whole, that whole rebellion, that Satan.
Means well our time is up. But I just mentioned the other scripture that mentions the eternal state. Its first Corinthians 15 verse 24, really down to verse 28 so.
We don't have time to really read it and develop it, but that is the other scripture. I think there's only the three scriptures. What we read in Revelation chapter 21 verses 1:00 to 8:00, what we read of in first Peter here or second Peter, and then what we read in First Corinthians chapter 15, verses 24 down to 28. And he brings in the internal state and the condition of things.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, it's our hope.
Could we sing #168?
This is an hour and a half meeting. We couldn't get there. Anybody who would like to go? Maybe just best.
Did you say 168? One, six, eight? Yes.
No.
Rejoicing Israeli rings and joyrides and your Lord.
For some freaking love.
They say.
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It's a pain.
So much.
My fellow swing, breathing in the land with shining.
To be home.
Ourselves.
Our God and Father, we are so thankful for this many meetings we've been able to have this weekend and.
Thank you for this one this evening and this truth that has been before us and.
Perhaps we recognize that there's a danger even.
Though we may hold the doctrine of our Lord's return that.
You may not treat it with the importance that it deserves. And so we just asked for help as we go out from here, that we would have this before us and that it would have the needed effects on our daily lives that it ought to this truth. And so we just asked this and thank you.
In the name of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.