“Then God’s word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world.
The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire. God is poised, ready to speak his word again, ready to give the signal for the judgment and destruction of the desecrating skeptics.
Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day.
God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.”
II Peter 3:6-9, The Message
1—God’s word brought the chaos back in a flood
The Apostle Peter is addressing end-time skeptics. Peter says that the skeptics ask,
“So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming?”
II Peter 3:3, The Message
The Apostle answers by reminding them of the past.
They conveniently forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into existence out of watery chaos by God’s word. ”
II Peter 3:5, The Message
Peter’s following statement in the sixth verse is profound.
“God’s word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world.”
II Peter 3:6, The Message
From that devastation, a new life began. God’s remanent—Noah and his family—ushered in a new beginning.
Looking at the unrelenting sinfulness of his lost humanity and knowing their hidden hearts, God released water to end the madness of satan’s design and make a fresh start.
If you are a Christian, you should have heard of Noah’s flood. If you are a Scientist, perhaps you have seen the evidence supporting the flood. But, the significance of the flood today is the power of God brought great destruction on the earth.
It happened in Noah’s day because of sin and will happen in our day because of sin.
2—The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire
This time as God looks at humanity, he sees the unrelenting sinfulness, but he sees it through the filter of his Son’s shed blood. There will be an end-of-things as it is written in the Bible, and it will happen the way it is written.
Some end-time scholars build a case for a nuclear holocaust because of the widespread destruction spoken of in the Bible.
The Apostle Peter states it will be catastrophic regardless of how it happens. He is saying that we should let the flood serve as our reminder of what God has done because of sin and not forget that he will do it again—because of sin.
So why hasn’t it happened?
3– With God, one day is as good as a thousand years
Using Peter’s mathematical analogy that one day = one thousand years, Jesus has been in heaven for about two days.
The point the Apostle is making is that time is different with God. Because something has not happened within a prescribed amount of “time” does not mean that God forgot, changed his mind, or does not care.
The adversary, the devil, knows this and eagerly uses it to discourage people.
3—God isn’t late with his promise
Do not forget that God the Father created humanity. The Genesis story tells how he handcrafted the first man (the male species) and created the woman (the female species) from that man’s rib. Because God looks at lost humanity through the filter of his Son’s redemption-giving blood, he holds open the door of opportunity for salvation.
Humanity matters to God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is a time—set by the Father and only in his possession—when the door must close. One of two things will happen. Either humanity will come to him en masse, or the Father’s time threshold will be crossed.
Whichever it is, the promise of the Son’s return will happen, and the righteous will be taken home.
A close personal relationship with the Godhead is a journey. I invite you to follow along. I hope that as you learn, you can pass it along so that I (and others) might learn. As I learn, I will pass it along so you, too, can learn.